Lovejoy traded; Reese recalled

Wednesday, 06 February 2013 22:52

Written by Shelly Anderson

The Penguins made two changes on their defense Wednesday night, trading Ben Lovejoy to Anaheim for a fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft and recalling Dylan Reese from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Lovejoy, 28, signed as a free agent in 2007 after playing at Dartmouth, had four goals, 25 points in 98 games with the Penguins. But he had played sparingly in just three games this season and was a healthy scratch the past four games. He pretty obviously had fallen to a solid eighth on the depth chart, lately even behind rookies Simon Despres and Robert Bortuzzo.

Reese, 28 and an Upper St. Clair native, signed with the Penguins last summer. He had three goals, 15 points in 39 points for Wilkes-Barre. He previously had three goals, 17 points in 74 games with the New York Islanders following a college career at Harvard. His recall might be insurance while Matt Niskanen is injured. It will be interesting to see if he plays and, if so, who sits.

Both defensemen are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after this season. Lovejoy counted $525,000 against the salary cap. Reese counts $600,000 against the cap.