JUST IN: Red Wings and Rangers swap AHL players

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The Detroit Red Wings already made a move today, sending forward Riley Sheahan to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Scott Wilson. Now, they’ve made another move – this time with a fellow Original 6 team.

The Red Wings have sent defenseman Ryan Sproul to the New York Rangers in exchange for Matt Puempel.

 

At 6’2 and 190 lbs, Puempel was originally selected 24th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2011 NHL Draft. He was routinely a healthy scratch by Ottawa and was subsequently waived and claimed by the Rangers last season. In 79 career NHL games, Puempel has scored 10 goals to go with five assists.

Puempel alreay has a minor history with the Red Wings, as Ottawa traded a pair of second-round picks (35th and 48th overall) to the Red Wings in order to get the 24th overall pick used to select him.

He’ll likely see the bulk of his playing time with Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. He also cleared waivers this summer and is on a one-year deal that will expire with him being an arbitration-eligible restricted free-agent. 

He took to Twitter to express his thoughts:

At 6’4 and 205 lbs, Sproul has played 220 games in the AHL and has scored 29 goals and 66 assists and 95 points. This year with the Grand Rapids Griffins, he has a goal and three assists for four points. In 28 career NHL games, Sproul scored one goal to go with six assists. 

He’s already cleared waivers this season and can be sent straight to New York’s AHL affiliate in Hartford.

Puempel’s cap hit is $725,000 and Sproul’s is $625,000.