Arizona Coyotes acquire Markus Hannikainen from Columbus

The Arizona Coyotes have had a fairly quiet trade deadline day, with just one reported trade at the time of writing.

According to reports out of Columbus, along with CapFriendly, the Arizona Coyotes have acquired 26-year-old forward Markus Hannikainen from the Blue Jackets.

In exchange for the former undrafted forward, the Coyotes offered a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2020 Draft. The condition on the pick is whether or not Hannikainen plays ten games with the NHL club - which will determine whether or not the Blue Jackets receive anything in return.

Should Hannikainen remain in the AHL, the Coyotes will not send Columbus anything, therefore technically receiving the impending UFA for literally nothing.

While the Helsinki native is expected to continue his impressive run of form in the minor league, with seven goals and 18 total points in 28 games for the Cleveland Monsters this season, he does bring with him some NHL experience.

Since joining the Blue Jackets organisation in 2015, Hannikainen has featured in 91 regular-season games in the NHL - registering eight goals and seven assists while predominantly featuring on the fourth line.

Standing at 6-foot-1, 201lbs, Hannikainen has used his size frequently as a professional, with 117 hits and 28 blocked shots in the NHL alone.

One interesting statistic from his days in the big league is his ability to win the puck from opposing players while retaining possession fairly effectively, with just five giveaways compared to 26 takeaways during his time with the Blue Jackets.

His cap hit of $750,000 is fairly negligible if the Coyotes wish to call him up for a game or two, but this is most likely a move to help provide additional depth for the Tucson Roadrunners, who are still hoping to make the post-season after slipping to some disappointing results in recent weeks.