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The Arizona Coyotes have completed yet another trade, this time with one of their former division rivals.
Early on Saturday morning, the Coyotes traded forwards Tyler Steenbergen and Brayden Burke to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forward Boko Imama and defenseman Cole Hults.
Official: We have acquired forward Bokondji Imama and defenseman Cole Hults from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forwards Brayden Burke and Tyler Steenbergen.https://t.co/Spf1Nvb6c8
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) July 24, 2021
Imama is a pending restricted free agent who will turn 25 in August. He’s an extremely physical left-handed winger who scored nine goals and 14 points in 31 AHL games with the Ontario Reign in 2020–21.
Hults turned 23 in May and was a fifth-round pick of the Kings in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He’s a 6’, 200-pound left-shot defenseman who starred at Pennsylvania State University between 2017 and 2020. Hults scored five points (one goal, four assists) in his first 19 AHL games and has one year remaining on his entry-level contract.
Steenbergen, 23, is another pending RFA who played the hero for Team Canada at the 2018 World Junior Championship. He’s a 5’10” center who scored 10 goals and 13 points in 31 games with the Tucson Roadrunners in 2020–21.
Burke is another pending RFA who turned 24 in January. He’s a 5’10” left-handed winger who struggled to score with Tucson in 2020–21 after leading the team with 52 points in 51 games the year before. Burke scored just one goal and 14 points in 28 games with Tucson in 2020–21.
Imama’s hulking size and physicality, combined with his offensive skill, makes him a relatively unique player in the Coyotes’ system. The one-time 41-goal scorer in the QMJHL could contend for a spot on Arizona’s fourth line in 2021–22.