The Arizona Coyotes acquired forward Giovanni Fiore from the Anaheim Ducks Friday, sending defenseman Trevor Murphy to their National Hockey League Pacific Division rival in a two-player deal.
Murphy, 23, has five goals and 8 assists for the Tucson Roadrunners this season. He has yet to make an appearance with the Coyotes in 2018-19 after playing 8 NHL games with the club a year ago. The Star wrote about Murphy's resurgence in Friday morning's paper.
Fiore, 22, comes to the Coyotes organization — and likely the Roadrunners’ roster — after tallying six goals and five points in 11 games with the San Diego Gulls, the Ducks’ American Hockey League affiliate.
In five games against the Roadrunners this season, Fiore has a goal and an assist — both coming during Tucson’s 6-3 win over San Diego Nov. 7 at Tucson Arena.
In 88 career games with the Gulls, Fiore has scored 24 goals to go along with 17 assists.
The 6-foot-1, 188-pound left-handed Fiore has one NHL appearance to his credit: Oct. 7, 2017 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Murphy has played in eight NHL games — all last season for the Coyotes after he was acquired in February from the Nashville Predators. Murphy, a 5-foot-11, 186-pound left-hander, spent the majority of 2017-18 with the Milwaukee Admirals, before splitting the remainder of the season with the Coyotes and Roadrunners.
A defenseman by trade, Murphy played a series of games this season at forward for the Roadrunners while Tucson adapted its roster due to a number of NHL call-ups.
Should Murphy be assigned to, and stick with, San Diego for the remainder of the 2018-19 season, the Gulls return to Tucson for the Roadrunners’ final home series of the season, April 12-13.
