New Jersey Devils Get Center Andrei Loktionov From Los Angeles Kings

By Jonathan Katje
Andrei Loktionov Kings
Ron Chenoy – USA TODAY Sports

It’s not very often that a trade takes places between two teams that met in the previous season’s Stanley Cup Finals, but that’s exactly what took place Wednesday when the Los Angeles Kings shipped forward Andrei Loktionov to the New Jersey Devils for a fifth round pick in the 2013 draft.

Since being drafted by the Kings in the fifth round of the 2008 draft, Loktionov has for the most part toiled in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs. He appeared in 39 games for the Kings last season, scoring three goals and adding four assists. He also appeared in two playoff games, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time. He has seven goals and 14 points in 59 NHL appearances, and will be sent to New Jersey’s AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils.

Loktionov doesn’t have great size, but is a capable defender and a threat in the offensive zone. His low goal totals reflect a tendency to pass rather than shoot, something he will need to improve upon if he hopes to get back to the NHL with the Devils. This was a pretty solid move for the Devils, who currently have Stephen Gionta centering the fourth line and are a bit short on prospects at forward in the AHL. Loktionov’s stats with the Monarchs this season put him fifth in scoring if mixed in with Albany’s players, and adding a Stanley Cup champion to the locker room can’t hurt things either. The Devils currently sit fourth in the AHL’s Northeast Division with an 18-16-9 record.

Jonathan Katje is an NHL blogger for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JKatje or add him to you network on Google.

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