NHL Notebook: Ducks acquire Husso, provide Red Wings with cap relief, Zegras suspended 3 games

Welcome to another edition of NHL Notebook, where we examine some of the most compelling news and notes around the NHL.

During a relatively quiet night on the league calendar, the Anaheim Ducks and Detroit Red Wings were at the centre of two of the day’s most intriguing developments.

Ducks acquire Ville Husso, provide Red Wings with $3.6M in cap relief

Ville Husso was acquired by the Anaheim Ducks from the Detroit Red Wings, in exchange for future considerations. It’s a trade that doesn’t appear to make much hockey sense, and the Ducks did the Red Wings a favour, providing them with $3.6 million in salary cap relief.

Anaheim will immediately assign Husso to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls. Husso has struggled throughout the year, with a 1-5-2 record and .866 save percentage in nine games with the Red Wings this season. He’s been a replacement-level NHL goalie for the past three seasons, and the Red Wings will now have more room to operate from during the upcoming trade deadline, where it could be a buyer, currently holding a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Barring a spectacular end-of-season run, the Ducks are poised to missed the playoffs, so Husso doesn’t fit their timeline in any capacity. They didn’t receive a real asset from the Red Wings, and it’s certainly a puzzling move from their vantage point. Husso is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the summer, and perhaps the Ducks are making a bet that he can revitalize his career within their organization, while figuring out what’s next for Lukas Dostal and John Gibson.

Trevor Zegras suspended three games

Ducks forward Trevor Zegras was suspended three games for a hit to the head of Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen, with the incident occurring on Sunday. Zegras was not assessed a penalty during the game, while Rasmussen did not return to the contest. Rasmussen will not play in Tuesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild.

As a result of the play, Zegras was also fined $89,843.76.

It was a dirty hit from Zegras, and it’s the first suspension of his NHL career. Zegras was once considered one of the NHL’s most promising talents, but he’s struggled throughout the season, with seven goals and 16 points in 34 games.