Jets trade Ponikarovsky to Devils, acquire Tangradi from Pittsburgh

The Winnipeg Jets made a pair of trades on Wednesday, sending Alexei Ponikarovsky to New Jersey and acquiring Eric Tangradi from Pittsburgh.

By Adam Gretz

Feb 13, 2013 at 3:32 pm ET • 1 min read

Alexeo Ponikarovsky is going back to New Jersey. (Getty Images)

The New Jersey Devils announced on Wednesday evening that they have acquired forward Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Winnipeg Jets for a 2013 seventh-round pick and a 2014 fourth-round pick.

It will be Ponikarovsky's second stint with the Devils as he spent part of last season, including the playoffs, with the team. In 33 regular-season games he scored seven goals with the Devils and had nine points in their 24 playoff games on their run to the Stanley Cup Final.

He was an unrestricted free agent this past summer and signed a one-year, $1.8-million contract with Winnipeg.

He's been off to a slow start, with just two goals in 12 games, but he's a solid low-risk pickup for the Devils.

For the Jets, it's their second transaction of the day as they also acquired disappointing forward Eric Tangradi from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a seventh-round pick. Ponikarovsky is having a down year but when you consider the Jets essentially swapped his roster spot for Tangradi -- who failed to produce playing alongside Evgeni Malkin and James Neal -- it's hard to see how they're a better team at this point.

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