The Pittsburgh Penguins have sent forwards Joseph Blandisi and Jake Lucchini to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for fellow forwards Riley Barber and Phil Varone, the team announced Thursday.
Barber and Varone will both report to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League according to the Penguins official NHL.com site. Both will then become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.
Barber has split the 2019-20 season between Montreal and the Laval Rockets of the AHL. In 39 games with the Rockets this season, Barber has recorded 13 goals, 18 assists and 31 points. Varone, 29, has played 27 games with Laval this season, recording four goals, 10 assists and 14 points.
From the Canadiens side of things, they’ve acquired Blandisi, 25, who has played 21 games in the NHL this season with Pittsburgh, registering five points (2 goals, 3 assists).
Lucchini, 24, has played 53 games with Wilkes-Barre (AHL) this season, collecting 15 points (7 goals, 8 assists). The 5’11” and 183-pound forward agreed to a one-year, entry-level contract with Pittsburgh on March 11, 2019.
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