The St. Louis Blues have completed an AHL [http://thn.com/ahl] deal, sending forward Matt Luff to the New York Islanders [http://thn.com/nyislanders] in exchange for winger Julien Gauthier. Luff is participating in his second season in the Blues organization, as he played 50 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds last year. In the off-season, he signed a two-way contract with the Blues and spent time in both the NHL and the AHL during the 2025-26 season. In the NHL, he’s notched one goal in five games. In the AHL, he scored 14 goals and 39 points in 42 games. The 28-year-old has played for many teams in his NHL career, but this will be his first stint with the Islanders. Coming over to St. Louis is a former first-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft. The Carolina Hurricanes [http://thn.com/carolina] had selected Gautier with the 21st overall pick in 2016, but he was dealt to the New York Rangers [http://thn.com/nyrangers] in the 2019-20 season. Gauthier has played 181 NHL games in his career, scoring 19 goals and 41 points. The 28-year-old has also accumulated 86 goals and 130 points in 228 AHL games in his career, including five goals and seven points he’s scored in 14 AHL games this year. Luff and Gauthier are built fairly similarly, with Luff standing 6-foot-3, 219 pounds and Gauthier standing 6-foot-4, 230 pounds. But their play styles differentiate. Gauthier attempts to be involved physically far more frequently than Luff does, and Gauthier is more of a sniper, looking to get into high-danger areas to shoot the puck. According to the Blues, Gauthier will report to the Thunderbirds in the AHL. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/981740e7-39c2-49b9-89eb-25e6b2c79edb.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
