Islanders add Boychuk, Leddy in separate deals

Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) – The New York Islanders orchestrated a pair of trades Saturday to obtain two seasoned defensemen, acquiring Johnny Boychuk from the Boston Bruins and Nick Leddy from the Chicago Blackhawks.

In exchange for Boychuk, a member of the Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup champion team, the Islanders sent Boston their second-round picks in the 2015 and 2016 NHL Entry Drafts as well as a conditional future third-round selection.

Leddy, part of Chicago’s 2013 Stanley Cup-winning squad, comes to New York along with goaltender Kent Simpson, with the Islanders dealing defensemen T.J. Brennan and Ville Pokka along with goaltender Anders Nilsson.

Boychuk established career bests with five goals, 23 points and a plus-31 rating while skating in 75 regular-season games for the Bruins last season. The 30-year-old also owns 79 career games of postseason experience.

The Edmonton native has recorded 19 goals, 56 assists and a plus-89 rating over 321 overall regular-season contests, all but four of which came with Boston.

Leddy tallied a career-high seven goals along with 24 assists while playing in all 82 games for Chicago in 2013-14. The former first-round pick hasn’t missed a game since the 2010-11 campaign.

Over 258 career regular-season contests — all with the Blackhawks — Leddy has posted 20 goals and 73 points.

Nilsson appeared in 19 games for the Islanders last season, recording an 8-7-2 record with a 3.11 goals-against average and an .896 save percentage. Brennan participated in 40 NHL games with Buffalo and Florida from 2011-13, but spent all of last season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

Categorized in: NHL