The New York Islanders have acquired goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Carter Verhaeghe.
Gudlevskis, 24, posted a 15-10-7-4 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record last season with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .897 save percentage in 37 games with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. The Aizkraukle, Latvia, native also appeared in one National Hockey League game last season with the Lightning.
Tampa Bay selected Gudlevskis in the fifth round (124th overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. In 158 career AHL games with Syracuse, he’s posted a 74-47-19-10 record with a 2.75 GAA and .902 SV%. He was selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game in the 2015-16 season. Gudlevskis has also appeared in three NHL games with the Lightning, posting a 1-0-1 record with a 1.37 GAA and .959 SV%.
On the International stage, Gudlevskis represented Latvia at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, the 2013 and 2014 World Championships, the 2012 and 2011 World Junior Championships and the 2010 Under-18 World Championships. He won a gold medal in 2011 (Division 1) and was named a Top Three Player on the Team in 2012 and 2013.
Verhaeghe, 21, split his second professional season between the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL and the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL, totaling 61 points (28 goals, 33 assists) in 61 games. Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the third round (82nd overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Verhaeghe was traded to the Islanders as a part of a deal for Michael Grabner on September 17, 2015.
(NHL.com photo)
