Wild and Ducks pull trade on Wednesday

The Ducks have acquired defenseman Dmitry Kulikov from the Minnesota Wild for future considerations.

A day after the Wild signed forward Sam Steel to a one-year contract worth $825k, the team is sending the blue liner to Anaheim. Steel was selected by the Ducks with the No. 30 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft.

After trading Kulikov to Anaheim, who has one year left at $2.25M, Cap Friendly shows the Wild with $5,738,079 in cap space based on a projected roster of 20 players (12F-6D-2G).

As for Kulikov, he is 31 years old and has appeared in 805 career NHL games with Minnesota, Edmonton, New Jersey, Winnipeg, Buffalo and Florida, recording 198 points with 494 penalty minutes. He set single-season career highs in points (4 goals, 24 assists for 28 points) and assists with the Panthers in 2011-12, and recorded career bests in games played (81), goals (8), shots on goal (127) and hits (125) in 2013-14.

The defenseman put up seven goals and 24 points with a career-high +23 rating and 39 PIM in 80 games with Minnesota in 2021-22.

Originally selected by Florida in the first round (14th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Kulikov led all Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) defensemen in scoring with 12 goals, 50 assists for 62 points with a +34 rating in 57 games with Drummondville in 2008-09. 

Born in Lipetsk, Russia, Kulikov has represented Russia at three World Championships, earning silver medals in 2010 and 2015. He also appeared at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, 2009 World Junior Championship and earned medals in back-to-back U-18 World Championships (gold in 2007 and silver in 2008).

A new chapter starts for him in Anaheim!