The Nashville Predators have acquired goaltender Devan Dubnyk from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for winger Matt Hendricks, both teams announced Wednesday.
Starting goalie Pekka Rinne has been out most of the season recovering from a bacterial infection in his hip, and his return to the Predators remains unclear.
The Oilers also acquired backup goaltender Ben Scrivens from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a third-round pick in June's NHL draft.
Nashville general manager David Poile said he wanted to make it clear the trades had nothing to do with Rinne's status and said the Predators still have no timetable for when the two-time Vezina Trophy finalist will come back. The Predators have used Carter Hutton and rookie Marek Mazanec since Rinne had surgery Oct. 24 for the infection in his hip.
"Dubnyk gives us a chance to be a little bit better, going with the guy that's clearly had a lot more experience, clearly been a number one, has won a lot of big games in his career," Poile said. "It's a chance if you will, it's an opportunity if you will, to try to improve our hockey club at this time."
The Predators currently are 20-21-7 and eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Dubnyk is slated for unrestricted free agency July 1, and the Oilers will retain half his salary, a source confirmed to ESPN New York's Katie Strang.
The 6-foot-6 Dubnyk is 11-17-2 this season for the Oilers, and he ranks fourth in the NHL in goals allowed with 94 in 32 games. Dubnyk, 27, has a .894 save percentage and a 3.66 goals-against average. Dubnyk was the 14th draft selection overall in 2004, and has played in 171 career NHL games with a 2.88 GAA and eight shutouts.
Poile said he really believes Rinne is coming back and working hard right now. But the Predators do not have a date for his return, having played 48 games already this season, and Rinne was cleared to start weight-bearing exercises only late last week.
"If there is any setback in any way, shape or form, I think we've clearly got ourselves an insurance policy for someone that could be here next year," Poile said of Dubnyk. "If you want to think worst-case scenario, he is a number one. If you want to think he could be part of the package for a one-two combination next year, maybe we are getting a head start on that."
Hendricks, 32, signed a four-year, $7.4 million free-agent deal with the Predators last summer. His yearly cap hit is $1.85 million. He played in 44 games for Nashville this season but had only four points.
Scrivens, who is also scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, went 7-5-4 over 19 appearances in his only season with the Kings, who recalled goalie Martin Jones from the AHL on Wednesday.
Scrivens had a 1.97 GAA, a .931 save percentage and three shutouts with the Kings.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.