RALEIGH, N.C. — Roughly one week after Brett Sutter was jailed following a bar fight, his father traded him away.
Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter sent his son Brett and defenseman Ian White to the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday in exchange for defenseman Anton Babchuk and forward Tom Kostopoulos.
The Hurricanes announced the trade about three hours before their game against Ottawa.
“Ian is a complete defenseman who can play in our top four, and in all situations,” Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford said. “Brett is a young forward who is in the development stages of his professional career and gives us depth at the forward positions.”
The trade came roughly a week after Sutter, 23, got into a fight outside an Arizona bar and was jailed briefly on suspicion of assault.
He’s also the nephew of Calgary coach Brent Sutter and the older cousin of Carolina alternate captain Brandon Sutter – Brent’s son.
Brett Sutter had been sent to the Flames’ AHL affiliate in Abbottsford earlier this week for a conditioning assignment, and the Hurricanes said he will report to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte.
Sutter had one assist in four games with the Flames this season, averaging roughly 10 minutes of ice time in his fourth professional season.
White, 26, had two goals and four assists in 16 games with Calgary this season, and had career highs of 13 goals, 25 assists and 83 games played while splitting the 2009-10 season between Toronto and the Flames, who picked him up in January in the Dion Phaneuf trade.
The deal also ends Babchuk’s latest stint with the Hurricanes. The defenseman with a hard slap shot scored four game-winning goals during Carolina’s run to the Eastern Conference final in 2009.
He played last season in Russia but agreed to a one-year deal with Carolina in July, and had three goals and five assists this season.
Kostopoulos had one goal and three assists in 17 games with the Hurricanes this season.
To help fill the holes in the roster, Carolina also recalled defenseman Brett Carson from Charlotte and said he would be eligible to skate later that night against the Senators. It marks Carson’s fourth stint with the Hurricanes this season.