Nick Leddy was traded to the St. Louis Blues by the Detroit Red Wings on Monday.
Detroit received forward Oskar Sundqvist, defenseman Jake Walman and a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft for the defenseman.
St. Louis also received defenseman Luke Witkowski.
Leddy is in the final season of a seven-year contract he signed with the New York Islanders on Feb. 24, 2015.
"It's the best time of the year," Leddy said Tuesday. "Nothing better and there's nothing like playoff hockey. Definitely very excited for the push."
"I think you look at this team and a lot of those guys were there for the Cup run (in 2019) and winning the Cup, and the core group of guys. It's nothing that they haven't seen before but I think just for me, just going out and playing my game and trying to add whatever I can."
The 31-year-old defenseman has scored 16 points (one goal, 15 assists) in 55 games this season.
Leddy was acquired by the Red Wings in a trade with the Islanders on July 16, 2021.
"I think Nick brings experience," Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. "If you look at the last couple playoff years, his team has played into the semifinals. … He's a guy that can log big minutes in important times of the year for teams that play deep. He's a skater, he's a puck mover."
Selected by the Minnesota Wild in the first round (No. 16) of the 2009 NHL Draft, Leddy has scored 352 points (66 goals, 286 assists) in 831 regular-season games for the Red Wings, Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks and 33 points (seven goals, 26 assists) in 121 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Leddy will be paired with Colton Parayko against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, BSMW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
"Obviously a very big guy (6-foot-6, 228 pounds), a very good skater," Leddy said. "Big shot and sees the play really well. I'm looking forward to starting off good tonight and I know we'll be probably talking more than he might like to tonight on the bench just kind of getting used to each other."
Leddy won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013.
"Great pickup," Blues coach Craig Berube said. "A guy that's been around, got a lot of playoff experience. You're getting a good, experienced defenseman that can skate and move a puck. We're going to move him around but we got him with Parayko right now and got him [on the power play]. We'll go from there."
Witkowksi, a 31-year-old defenseman, has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 44 games with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League, and has played in one game with the Red Wings this season. He has one season remaining on a two-year contract he signed with the Red Wings on July 29, 2021, and can become an unrestricted free agent after next season.
Selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the sixth round (No. 160) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Witkowski has scored 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in 132 regular-season games with the Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning and no points in two Stanley Cup Playoff games.
The Blues (34-18-9) hold the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. They trail the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators by one point for second place in the Central Division.
Sundqvist has scored 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 41 games this season. The 27-year-old has 87 points (36 goals, 51 assists) in 270 regular-season games with the Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins since he was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (No. 81) of the 2012 NHL Draft.
He is in the third season of a four-year contract he signed with the Blues on July 21, 2019 and can become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
Sundqvist has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 36 playoff games and won the Cup with the Blues in 2019.
"'Sunny' has been one of my favorite players quite honestly," Armstrong said. "He's always got a smile on. I've always enjoyed being around him. A really good player, always going to have a great memory here as a Blue. ... I think he's going to be a good player for a long time and this organization was better having him part of it than before he got here."
Walman has scored six points (three goals, there assists) in 32 games this season. The 26-year-old has scored eight points (four goals, four assists) in 57 regular-season games since he was selected by St. Louis in the third round (No. 82) of the 2014 NHL Draft. He is in the final season of a two-year contract he signed with the Blues on Nov. 19, 2020, and can become a restricted free agent after the season.
The Red Wings (25-30-7) are fifth in the Atlantic Division.
NHL.com independent correspondents Lou Korac and Harvey Valentine contributed to this report
