The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward Maxim Cajkovic from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Will Butcher, it was announced today by President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas.
Cajkovic is signed through the end of the 2023-24 season and his contract carries an average annual value of $925,000 at the NHL level.
The 23-year old forward has split the 2023-24 season between the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League and the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL. In five games with the Wild, Cajkovic has tallied one goal, two assists and three points. With the Heartlanders this season, he has registered 12 goals, six assists and 18 points in 20 games.
Cajkovic split his first two seasons of professional hockey between the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL and Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL from 2021-23. In total, the 6-foot, 201-pound forward has compiled nine points (4G-5A) in 27 career AHL games, as well as 57 points (30G-27A) in 86 games at the ECHL level.
Prior to turning professional, the forward played parts of three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Saint John Sea Dogs (2018-20) and Val-d’Or Foreurs (2020-21). In 108 career junior games, he tallied 46 goals, 56 assists and 102 points.
The Bratislava, Slovakia native has represented his home country at the 2020 World Junior Championship, as well as two World Under-18 Championships in 2018 and ’19.
Cajkovic was originally drafted in the third round (89th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
