NHL Notebook: Utah inks Karel Vejmelka to contract extension, Sharks acquire Vincent Desharnais, and more

Penguins move Vincent Deshanrias, acquire Luke Schenn

The Pittsburgh Penguins were busy on Wednesday and they might not be done ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.

The team moved defenceman Vicent Desharnais to the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-round pick in 2028. Not long after that, they dealt Michael Bunting and a draft pick to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Luke Schenn and Tommy Novak.

This is the second time Desharnais has been traded this season. The former Oiler inked a two-year contract worth $2 million annually with the Vancouver Canucks in the summer and got shipped out after 34 games.

The Canucks moved Desharnais to Pittsburgh as part of a five-player deal that resulted in Marcus Pettersson landing in Vancouver. The big defender played in 10 games for the Penguins before getting moved to San Jose.

The Penguins aren’t going to make the playoffs this season but this addition could signal that they’re still looking to add. Both Luke Schenn and brother Brayden Schenn played in their 1,000th NHL games this season and there’s been speculation that the two of them want to play together before their careers are over.

St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has indicated that he’ll listen to trade offers for just about anybody on his roster and the team’s captain isn’t off the table. Brayden Schenn has 12 goals and 38 points in 63 games for the Blues this season, who sit fifth in the Central Division with a 30-27-6 record.

More news and notes from around the NHL…

• The New Jersey Devils will be without Jack Hughes for the rest of the season. The team announced on Wednesday that the 23-year-old has undergone successful shoulder surgery and would be out for the remainder of 2024-25. Hughes has also been placed on long-term injured reserve, but is expected to return for the Devils’ training camp ahead of the 2025-26 season. This is a difficult loss for the Devils, who are in second in the Metro Division with a 33-24-6 record, as Hughes is tied for the team lead in scoring with 70 points.
• The Devils added some defensive depth on Thursday, sending Herman Traff and a second-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Brian Dumoulin. The 33-year-old defender won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 and signed a two-year deal with the Seattle Kraken as a free agent in the summer of 2023. After one season with the Kraken, Dumoulin was traded to the Ducks.
• The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a third-round pick. Smith was an original member of the Golden Knights in 2017-18 and won the Stanley Cup with the team in 2022-23. Vegas moved the winger to the Penguins as a cap dump in the summer of 2023 and he was moved again in the summer of 2024 to the Rangers. Through 58 games this season, the 33-year-old has 10 goals and 29 points.