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Predators pick up Boyle from Devils to aid in push for Central title

The Nashville Predators on Wednesday acquired veteran forward Brian Boyle from the New Jersey Devils for a second-round pick in the June NHL draft. The 34-year-old has 13 goals and 19 points in his 12th NHL season.

Veteran NHLer adds size, leadership with Austin Watson suspended

The Associated Press ·
Former Devils forward Brian Boyle, right, is the newest Predator, joining defenceman P.K. Subban, left, in a trade on Wednesday. Nashville dealt a second-round pick in June’s draft for the six-foot-six, 245-pound Boyle. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Nashville Predators on Wednesday acquired veteran forward Brian Boyle from the New Jersey Devils for a second-round pick in the June NHL draft.

Boyle, 34, has 13 goals and 19 points in his 12th NHL season, and he also has 88 hits in 47 games with New Jersey this season. Boyle won the 2017 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy after battling chronic myeloid leukemia.

The deal gives the Predators both size and experience with forward Austin Watson currently suspended indefinitely as part of the NHL's substance abuse program.

Boyle is a six-foot-six, 245-pound centre originally was drafted 26th overall in the 2003 draft held in Nashville by Los Angeles, and he has played 740 career NHL games with 211 points.

He also has blocked 513 shots and 1,498 hits and played in the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 with the New York Rangers and 2015 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Boyle has 28 points in 111 career post-season games.

Through Tuesday, Nashville was second in the Central Division with a 32-19-4 record for 66 points, three behind Winnipeg, which has played two fewer games.

Also Wednesday, the Predators dealt a seventh-rounder in the 2020 draft to the Rangers for tough forward Cody McLeod, who had three points and 99 penalty minutes in 56 games over parts of two seasons with New York.

With files from CBC Sports

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