Trade Deadline Moves
Columbus receives Matt Duchene from Ottawa for Prospects and First round draft picks
Columbus receives Ryan Dzingel from Columbus for Duclair and 2 Second round draft picks
Columbus receives Adam McQuaid from New York Rangers for 2 picks and a prospect.
Washington Received Carl Hamelin from Kings for Third round pick
Buffalo received Brandon Montoya from Anaheim Ducks
Nashville receives Wayne Simmonds from Philadelphia for Ryan Hartman and a conditional Fourth round pick
Nashville receives Mikael Granlund from Minnesota for Kevin Kiala
Vegas receives Mark Stone and Tobias Lindberg from Ottawa for a Second round pick.
Winnipeg receives Kevin Hayes from New York for picks and prospects.
San Jose receives Gustav Nyquist for 2 picks from Detroit
Now these were not all the moves, but to me these are some of the moves that really made a difference in the league. Let’s start off the bat and address the elephant in the room. In an ideal world, all these guys will move to a new team and play lights out for the rest of the year. But things happen, these players are human beings. Matt Zuccarello, acquired by the Dallas Stars from the New York Rangers, was injured in his first game for the Stars, after tallying a goal and an assist. It is doubtful that Zuccarello even returns this season. Now in this article we will assume that these trades yield NHL ready players right from the first puck drop.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were not quiet on trade deadline day. We did not expect that from the Jackets. However, we did expect them to be on the other end of the trade spectrum though. Panarin and Bobrovsky, two of the brightest stars on the Jackets, are both expected to walk away from the team in free agency. Many were expecting the team to trade away these players in hopes of getting something rather than nothing. Well, it appears that the Jackets are hoping to win a Stanley Cup for these guys instead. The Jackets upgraded their team by adding Matt Duchene and then followed that move up by adding Ryan Dzingel, both from the Senators. The moves costed the team their first and second round draft picks, and with both players on expiring contracts. This is questionable because if they will be in Blue Jackets jerseys next season. Columbus is going all in on this year the same way I would on NHL 19’s “Be a GM” mode. Later on they added defenseman Adam McQuaid from the New York Rangers. The trade costed them more prospects, and draft picks. Columbus’s team improved a lot, but with the team sitting in the final wild card spot after a tough loss to their rivals the Penguins last night, there is no guarantee they make the playoffs. It would be horrible if the Blue Jackets can not even make the playoffs with all the talent they added. It should be noted that talent added at the deadline often takes some time to adjust to a new team.
San Jose was always a team that was considered great on the blue line. They lost Erik Karlsson last night to injury but he should return ready to go in a few games. San Jose to me needed help on the front end of the team, looking to add maybe a top 9 forward. San Jose added Gustav Nyquist from the Detroit Red Wings for 2 picks, and the move honestly is a steal for the Sharks. San Jose gets some more firepower up front, and with a spot in the playoffs almost guaranteed San Jose has time to build Nyquist into the lineup and allow him to adjust to a new team. Nyquist is coming from Detroit, a team that sits at the bottom of the standings, and could use a bit of time to learn the ropes in a new team. This is the first time Nyquist has been traded in his NHL career, and sometimes it takes time to get adjusted to a new city.
Speaking of adjustment, imagine being traded from a team sitting at the bottom of the NHL, going out and single handedly driving the offense every night, and getting little praise for your efforts. Now imagine being traded from that organization to one of the most fun teams in the NHL with a new loyal fan base. Mark Stone has been trying to wrap his head around this for the last few days. Stone was traded from the Ottawa Senators for a second round pick and some prospects. Honestly this trade was a steal for Vegas who then locked up Stone for years to come with a nice contract. Vegas only gave up a few players, and a second round pick, managing to not need to give up a first round pick for a player that was honestly worth more. This trade instantly improves the Vegas Golden Knights, who are a step behind where they were last year in the standings. Vegas has had some question marks this season, but is finding a way to win big games this year. With the teams around them improving their teams there was no doubt Vegas would add some talent.
The central division royal brothers improved their teams as well. Nashville acquired Mikael Granlund and Wayne Simmonds, two players that will instantly improve the team's offense. Nashville held onto all of their defensive stars, who push the team to success year in and year out. Nashville has been a one line offense all year, and these trades instantly flip the script for the Preds. Winnipeg on the other hand brought in a lot of assets, most notably Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers. A lot of people are picking Winnipeg to be the most improved team after the deadline, and with a lot of cap space issues to come in the next few years, it is now or never for this team.
The last trade I want to mention happened a few days ago but I think really is a difference maker. The Washington Capitals traded a third round pick to the LA Kings for forward Carl Hagelin. Hagelin, most notably remembered for the playoff runs he had with the Penguins is having a bad year. Hagelin has 2 goals and 6 assists in 41 games this season, but he really is a playoff player, and could be a great guy come May and June for the Capitals who are chasing a second cup. Hagelin has been apart of back to back cups, and could bring experience to the Capitals who are chasing a second cup run in as many years. Also Hagelin knows how the Penguins play, it is no secret the Pens have always been the Capitals kryptonite, and the Pens moved Hagelin to the other conference for a reason, they did not want to see him in the playoffs yet here he is. This could be a stretch but I believe Hagelin was the biggest move around the trade deadline.
We will not know till June what the best move was, more to come as the NHL season comes to a close later. Thanks for reading!
Comments