Pittsburgh acquires Clendening from Canucks

The Pittsburgh Penguins, parent club of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, have acquired defenseman Adam Clendening along with forward Nick Bonino and a 2016 second-round pick from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Brandon Sutter and a 2016 third-round pick.

Clendening, 22, made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 20, 2014, in Calgary and scored his first NHL goal on his first NHL shot against Flames goaltender Jonas Hiller. Clendening skated in four regular-season contests with the Blackhawks before being traded to Vancouver in exchange for Gustav Forsling on Jan. 29, 2015. He appeared in 17 games with the Canucks, registering two assists.

Clendening skated in 49 AHL games between Rockford and Utica in 2014-15, totaling two goals and 16 assists for 18 points. He added three goals and five assists in 23 postseason games, helping the Comets reach the Calder Cup Finals.

The 6-foot, 190-pound defenseman has played 196 career AHL games, recording 23 goals and 100 assists for 123 points along with a plus-23 rating. He was a Second Team AHL All-Star as a rookie in 2012-13 and a First Team All-Star in 2013-14, becoming the first AHL defenseman to make a postseason All-Star Team in each of his first two pro seasons since Dan Boyle in 1999 and 2000.

Clendening was originally drafted by Chicago in the second round (36th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.