ARIZONA COYOTES
Coyotes trade Nick Ritchie in package for brother Brett, per reports
Arizona Coyotes left wing Nick Ritchie (12) avoids the check from Columbus Blue Jackets center Sean Kuraly in the first period during an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
The Arizona Coyotes have agreed to trade winger Nick Ritchie and defenseman Troy Stecher to the Calgary Flames in exchange for forward Brett Ritchie, who is Nick’s brother, and defenseman Connor Mackey, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The 27-year-old Nick Ritchie has appeared in 58 games and accumulated nine goals with 12 assists in 43 penalty minutes. He was set to reach unrestricted free agency and is on a $2.5 million contract for 2022-23.
Ritchie had played for Arizona since 2021-22, when he was acquired midseason. The Coyotes nabbed the forward and a draft pick in a trade that shipped out Ryan Dzingel and Ilya Lyubushkin.
For Arizona this year, Stecher has seven assists in 61 games and 29 penalty minutes.
The 29-year-old Brett Ritchie joins the Coyotes having played in 34 games for Calgary this season. He has six goals and two assists on the year.
The older Ritchie brother has an expiring deal paying $750,000 in total this season.
Mackey, 26, has played in 10 games this year and just 19 for his career. He has two goals and an assist.
The trade by the Coyotes wraps up a busy week of deals for general manager Bill Armstrong, who shaved the roster of expiring deals, piled on more draft picks and took on portions of salaries for players either not playing or on other teams.
