by Rochell KleiberThe Nashville Predators traded veteran forward Nick Bonino to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday in exchange for forward Luke Kunin.
The Wild also received the No. 37 and No. 70 picks in the ongoing 2020 draft and sent the No. 101 overall pick to the Predators.
Bonino, 32, tallied 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) and a plus-17 rating in 67 games in his 11th NHL season in 2019-20, his third campaign with Nashville.
He has 282 points (122 goals, 160 assists) in 626 games with the Anaheim Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Predators. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Kunin, 22, registered 31 points (15 goals, casino kuwin 16 assists) and 55 penalty minutes in 63 games with the Wild in 2019-20.
A first-round pick (15th overall) by Minnesota in 2016, Kunin has collected 52 points (23 goals, 29 assists) over 131 games in three seasons.
“Luke Kunin is a solid, young, up and coming player with a great future ahead of him,” Predators president of hockey operations and general manager David Poile said in a release. “He is a former first-round pick with good pedigree that can play both center and on the wing, and in all situations, including on the penalty kill and the power play.”
After selecting goalie Iaroslav Askarov with the 11th pick in Tuesday’s first round, the Predators’ remaining picks are in the second (No. 42), third (73), fourth (101), fifth (135) and sixth (166) rounds.
Bonino has one year remaining on a four-year, $16.4 million contract signed in July 2017. His cap hit for 2020-21 is $4.1 million.
Minnesota now has six remaining selections in the 2020 draft in the second (37, 39), third (70), fifth (132), sixth (163) and seventh (194) rounds.
–Field Level Media