LAS VEGAS -- The Penguins on Sunday traded minor-league forward Lukas Svejkovsky to the Lightning in exchange for minor-league forward Bennett MacArthur.
Svejkovsky, was the Penguins' fourth-round pick in 2020. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound winger turned pro in 2022-23 and spent the entire season on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's roster, but only played in 47 games, scoring three goals and 15 assists. This year Svejkovsky spent much of the year in the ECHL with the Nailers, scoring 16 goals and 21 assists in 30 games. He had two goals and two assists in 19 AHL games.
Nailers coach Derek Army told me last month that the first season in Wilkes-Barre was "unfortunately a little too much right away" for Svejkovsky, and that it was best for his development to be in the ECHL "just playing big minutes in big situations."
Svejkovsky was born in Tampa, Fla. during his father Yogi's time playing for the Lightning.
MacArthur, 23, is a 6-foot-1, 196-pound left-handed winger. He was an undrafted free agent signing by the Lightning out of the QMJHL's Acadie-Bathurst Titan in 2022, and his entry-level contract runs through this coming season.
Like Svejkovsky, MacArthur has struggled to become a regular at the AHL level. This past season he played 12 games with the Lightning's ECHL affiliate Orlando Solar Bears and scored one goal and two assists. He was loaned to a weaker ECHL team -- the Senators' Allen Americans -- and flourished with 10 goals and 19 assists in 43 games. He was scoreless in two AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch.
MacArthur spent most of the 2022-23 season in the ECHL with Orlando and scored 10 goals and 18 assists in 53 games. He was scoreless in four AHL games with Syracuse.
Obviously, it's a minor trade. Both players involved are wingers who were struggling to find sustained success at the AHL level and could maybe benefit from the fresh start in a new organization. With this trade, both players get that, and the Penguins replace an undersized winger with one with some decent size.
