The Nashville Predators have acquired another right-handed defensemen in Stefan Elliott, sending Victor Bartley to the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes then flipped Bartley and All-Star captain John Scott to Montreal for Jarred Tinordi and Stefan Fournier.
Believe sequence of events is Nashville first trading Bartley to Arizona for Elliott. Then it’s the Coyotes who flip Bartley/Scott to Habs
— Pierre LeBrun (@Real_ESPNLeBrun) January 15, 2016
I’m told this 3-way trade Nash-Ariz-Mtl took a few weeks to bring together.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 15, 2016
The 24-year-old adds to the growing list of players trying to fill in on the sixth defensive spot. Since trading Seth Jones, Anthony Bitetto and Petter Granberg have taken turns, with Bitetto seeing most of the action. Yesterday, Nashville acquired Patrick Mullen from Ottawa and today they add Elliott.
We all knew trading Jones was going to hurt the top-heavy defensive depth, but right now the lack of quality prospects is really being put on full display. David Poile looks to be working to find a serviceable replacement to skate with Barret Jackman. They obviously don’t have to be Jones 2.0, but be reliable in the few minutes they’ll be getting. Right now there are at least several options, I guess, barring more trades or roster moves.
We’ll see how the roles shake out, but for now it’s presumably Bitetto vying with Elliott for roster time, with Granberg possibly being pushed off the roster for now. Mullen’s around just in case.
Nashville, Tenn. (January 15, 2016) – Nashville Predators President of Hockey Operations/General Manager David Poile announced Friday that the club has acquired defenseman Stefan Elliott from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for defenseman Victor Bartley.
Elliott, 24 (1/30/91), has skated in 82 career NHL games, posting 24 points (8g-16a) in parts of five seasons with the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman has spent the 2015-16 campaign with Arizona, notching six points (2g-4a), 10 hits and 16 blocked shots in 19 games.
The native of Vancouver, B.C., was Colorado’s second-round selection (49th overall) in the 2009 NHL Draft.
UPDATE: Per the Milwaukee Admirals’ press release, Elliott will meet the Ads in San Antonio.
Elliot (sic) will meet the Admirals in San Antonio, where they are set to play a pair of games against the Rampage on Friday and Saturday night. Milwaukee doesn’t return to the BMOHBC until Saturday, January 30th when they host the Grand Rapids Griffins at 7 pm.