New Jersey Devils Trade Viktor Loov to Minnesota Wild

Today the New Jersey Devils traded Binghamton defenseman Viktor Loov to the Minnesota Wild for two forwards, Christoph Bertschy and Mario Lucia. Both players acquired were playing in the American Hockey League for the Iowa Wild.

Alaskan born Lucia has racked up 41 points in 93 games in just over two seasons in the AHL after spending four years in the NCAA at Notre Dame. Bertschy on the other hand has had a bit more offensive output for Iowa. In 184 games over three seasons in Iowa the Swiss forward has 76 points. He has also skated for the NHL Wild nine times and represented Switzerland at men’s level ten times. Bertschy, a 2012 6th round pick for Minnesota, played four seasons on SC Bern’s men’s team before making the move to North America in 2015.

Viktor Loov found himself near the bottom of the Devils defensive prospects after being acquired from Toronto for Sergey Kalinin. Loov has been having his best offensive season, 4 points shy of his career best on North American ice, 17 points in 36 games but also carries a -17 on +/-.

Ultimately, this trade should be one that helps the BDevils going forward and opens up space on Minnesota’s 50-man roster with Boston University forward Jordan Greenway expected to sign his first pro contract.