Devils acquire defenceman Vatanen from Ducks for Henrique

NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils have acquired defenceman Sami Vatanen from the Anaheim Ducks for centre Adam Henrique and forward Joseph Blandisi.

The teams announced the deal Thursday. New Jersey gets a conditional 2019 or 2020 third-round pick along with Vatanen and sent a 2018 third-round pick to Anaheim.

Even though he has a goal and three assists in 15 games this season, Vatanen gives the Devils the offensive defencemen they were looking for. The 26-year-old is signed for two more seasons at a salary-cap hit of $4.875 million.

In Henrique, the Ducks get centre depth as they deal with injuries to Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler. The 27-year-old has four goals and 10 assists in 24 games this season and is signed through 2018-19.

The conditional pick is exchanged in 2019 if the Ducks sign Henrique prior to making their third-round pick at that draft and in 2010 if they sign him afterward. If they don't re-sign Henrique, no pick is exchanged.

__

More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey

The Associated Press