The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Matthias Plachta and a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Sergei Plotnikov, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Jim Rutherford.
Plachta is currently on a two-way contract that carries an average annual value of $743,000 at the NHL level. He will be a restricted free agent after this season.
Plachta, 24, has spent his entire first year in North America skating for the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League, totaling seven points (2G-5A) in 46 games.
The 6-foot-2, 218-pound Plachta played the previous four seasons with Adler Manheim in the top German league. He helped his club win the league championship last year, scoring five goals and nine points in 15 playoff games after amassing 35 points (14G-21A) in 47 regular-season contests.
Plachta, who hails from Freiburg, Germany, has represented the Germans at each of the last two World Championships. He scored twice in seven games in ’15 and once in six games in ’14.
An undrafted free agent, Plachta has skated in 231 career games in the top German league, tallying 41 goals, 49 assists, 90 points and 165 penalty minutes.
Plachta will join the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
