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Penguins Trade: Acquire Lefty D-man for Caleb Jones, Prospect
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- Penguins Trade: Acquire Lefty D-man for Caleb Jones, Prospect
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
For the second time in a week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired a left-handed defenseman buried on their depth chart. Monday evening, the team acquired Ryan Johnson from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Caleb Jones and depth prospect Daniel Laatsch .
Johnson, 25, was Buffalo's first-round pick in 2019 (31st overall) and spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota before turning pro. He split his first pro season between Buffalo and its AHL affiliate in Rochester, playing 41 NHL games.
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Johnson, 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, is a defensive-oriented blue liner who skates well. He spent the vast majority of the last two seasons in the AHL, playing only three NHL games in each season. In 47 NHL games, Johnson has seven assists, all coming in his rookie season.
Last season in Rochester, he played 56 games, totaling 19 points (5-14-19). He is signed through the end of the 2027-28 season, and his contract carries an average annual value of $875,000
The Penguins signed Jones as a free agent to a two-year, $1.8 million deal on July 1, 2025. He earned a spot in the opening night lineup, but a lower-body injury cost him months, and then, in his rehab assignment, an upper-body injury cost him more time before the NHL suspended him for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
Jones only played seven games for the Penguins last season. Laatsch is a big defenseman (6-foot-5, 193 pounds) who turned pro last season and played 29 games for the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL. He has not appeared in the first three games of the season for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
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The Penguins did not have a depth defenseman on the NHL roster after placing Trevor van Riemsdyk on the injured reserve list Monday.
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