Jets trade forward Copp, defenceman Beaulieu, and Bryan Little's contract

WINNIPEG -

The Winnipeg Jets were sellers at the NHL trade deadline.

Winnipeg traded forward Andrew Copp, defenceman Nathan Beaulieu, and the contract of injured centre Bryan Little in a trio of deals before Monday's 3 p.m. ET deadline.

Copp and a sixth-round selection in the 2023 NHL draft were sent to the New York Rangers.

Winnipeg got forward Morgan Barron, two conditional second round picks, and a fifth-round pick in 2023 in return.

Beaulieu was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL draft.

Little's contract and unsigned prospect Nathan Smith were moved to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2022 fourth-round draft pick.

The 27-year-old Copp has 13 goals and 22 assists this season, on pace for a career-best campaign. He has 74 goals and 110 assists over eight seasons, all in Winnipeg.

The Jets' two conditional second-round picks from New York include the Rangers' own second round pick in 2022 but it will become a first-round pick in 2022 if the New York advances to the Eastern Conference final and Copp plays in at least 50 per cent of the Rangers' playoff games.

Winnipeg also got the St. Louis Blues' second round pick in 2022 or New York's second round pick in 2023.

Barron has split the season between the Rangers and their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, and he has one assist and four penalty minutes in 13 NHL games

Currently on long-term injured reserve with a lower-body injury, the 29-year-old Beaulieu had four assists in 24 games with the Jets in 2021-22.

The Jets made another trade ahead of Monday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, shipping the contract of centre Bryan Little and unsigned prospect Nathan Smith to the

Little, who hasn't played since November 2019 after being hit in the head with a puck that left him with a perforated eardrum and dealing with vertigo, has two years left on a contract that carries an annual average value of just over US$5.29 million.

Beaulieu, meanwhile, is in the final season of a two-year contract with an AAV of $1.25 million.

The pending unrestricted free agent was originally selected 17th overall by the Montreal Canadiens at the 2011 draft.

Beaulieu has 12 goals and 94 points in 419 career games with Winnipeg, Montreal and the Buffalo Sabres. He's added five assists in 21 playoff contests.

The Jets made another move late Sunday, reacquiring Mason Appleton from the Seattle Kraken for a fourth-round pick in 2023.

Winnipeg drafted the centre in the seventh round back in 2015, but lost him to Seattle in last summer's expansion draft.

Appleton has six goals and 17 points in 49 games this season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2022.