The Minnesota Wild made a big mov eon trade deadline day last season. They traded Marat Khustnutdinov, Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth round pick to the Boston Bruins for Justin Brazeau who had ten goal sand ten assists in 57 games with the Bruins.
Brazeau, 27, played in 19 games for the Wild following the trade and had just one goal and one assist. He finished the season with just one goal in 36 games.
The 6-foot-5 forward was acquired to add some bottom-six scoring considering he had ten goals in 57 games at the time. He was also used on the second power play unit in Boston so that was a possibility.
But in 19 regular season games with the Wild and six in the playoffs, Brazeau scored one goal. He was left unsigned and went to free agency. He ended up signing with the Pittsburgh Penguins as former Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas, now the Penguins General Manager, signed him.
He was playing in the preseason on the second line with Evgeni Malkin as the center. That line was very good in the preseason and on opening night Brazeau scored two goals. He followed that up with a goal in his second game. The Penguins are 2-0-0 and Brazeau is taking advantage of his top-six minutes.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
– Wild Place Nico Sturm On Injured Reserve.
– Wild Sign Kirill Kaprizov To An Eight-Year Contract Extension.
– Wild Claim Defenseman Daemon Hunt Off Waivers.
– Wild Sign Filip Gustavsson To A Five-Year Contract Extension.
– Wild’s Mats Zuccarello Out For Two Months With Lower-Body Injury.
