Minnesota Wild Trade Cal Clutterbuck to New York Islanders for Nino Niederreiter

Dec 17, 2011; St. Paul, MN, USA; New York Islanders forward Nino Niederreiter (25) against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The Islanders defeated the Wild 2-1 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY SportsAccording to a tweet by the Star Tribune’s Michael Russo, it appears Cal Clutterbuck’s time in a Wild sweater has come to an end.

Niederreiter was drafted 5^th overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, four spots higher than 9^th overall pick Mikael Granlund. Rushed into the NHL way too early by the Isles, Nino scored just two goals and an assist for three points and a negative-30 rating in 64 career NHL games in part of two seasons. However, he did post a very solid 2012-13 campaign with Bridgeport of the AHL, potting 28 goals and 22 assists for 50 points and a negative-5 rating in 74 games. His play this past season earned him the honor of being named to the AHL All-Star game along with (now) fellow Wild prospect Jason Zucker.

This could be a very interesting move by Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Nino is a big power-scoring winger and a projected top-6 forward. The addition of the 6’2” 205-pound right winger certainly addresses the franchise’s lack of depth at the position.

The Isles also received the 70^th pick in this year’s draft.