The NHL Trade Deadline has passed, and now it’s time to debate winners & losers and judge the key teams. I will pick 11 teams to analyze. I will award them a grade. In the end, I will select six franchises for my winners category; three in the neutral category and two in the losers. Enjoy!
Losers:
Buffalo Sabres: F
The Buffalo Sabres had one key player to move, Taylor Hall, yet they failed to get anything of significant value for him! Hall, a pending UFA, is a former Hart Trophy winner, yet they could only muster Boston’s second-rounder and prospect Anders Bjork despite retaining 50%. With respect to the two assets, that is not nearly enough for Hall. Supposedly, they had the New York Islanders interested. If the Islanders surrendered a first-round pick for Kyle Palmeri from the New Jersey Devils, could the Sabres not have demanded a first and a third or a b-grade prospect similar to Bjork? (Not to mention giving up Brandon Montour for a third)
Calgary Flames: C+
Calgary should have traded Winger Johnny Gaudreau, and they got nothing for Goalie David Rittich. after a medicore playoff run last season, the Flames took a step back, and now they need a miracle to make the playoffs. They knew it probably was not coming, so they moved Rittich to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third, essentially nothing. However, the more important meaning is Calgary’s direction. Since they trade Rittich, they are probably retooling or rebuilding, so why not move Gaudreau? He is a former all-star and former 99-point scorer, but he’s been struggling for two years, and they will no doubt receive more today when a team trades for two playoff runs as opposed to the summer since Gaudreau will have just one year left on his contract. Could they not sell him off to a team like the Colorado Avalanche and take back a top prospect like Center Alex Newhook or maybe even Canada World Juniors Captain Bowen Byram? I’m giving the Flames a C- for a missed opportunity to trade Gaudreau, though they found a great return for disgruntled forward Sam Bennett.
Neutral:
Tampa Bay Lightning: B
Tampa Bay certainly filled a need, but at a high price, so they missed another opportunity. David Savard is a solid Defenseman, but I don’t think they should have included a third with their first. Columbus probably wanted a second and a third for Savard, so I believe a first alone would be fine. With the third, they could have added Goalie David Rittich from Calgary (with retained salary) or Defenseman Brandon Montour (also with retained salary) if they sent some minor league cap the other way. However, the Savard trade is ok, so I think the Lightning are neutral at this deadline, despite the missed opportunity.
New York Islanders: B
Long Island is loading up for the playoffs, no matter the cost. After a surprising Eastern Conference Finals run last playoffs, they are battling to finish first in the East division. Thus, they decided to take Right Winger Kyle Palmeri from the New Jersey Devils with Center Travis Zajac in exchange for their first this year and extra pieces. Then, they opted to add Brayden Coburn from the Ottawa Senators for a seventh-rounder. While Coburn is a great bang for a seventh-round buck, it should not move the needle. Therefore, we will focus on the Palmeri trade. A first-rounder is about the right price, but I feel Travis Zajac was unnecessary as his contract, even with 50% retained, is still quite hefty at over 2.5 million dollars, which New York could have used to trade for another depth piece. Thus, New York is neutral for me in my deadline rankings.
Florida Panthers: B
This season, the Panthers have finally broken out, and now they will make the playoffs pending a catastrophic collapse. So, they decided to try to load up. They surrendered former tenth overall pick Henrik Börgstrom for Lucas Wallmark, which I don’t like, but they redeemed themselves by adding Brandon Montour for a third. I would grade the Börgstrom trade as a C+; the Montour trade a B+ and the Sam Bennett trade a B because he’s still a former top five pick and he showed strides in last year’s playoffs. If you average it out, you would have a B-, but I decided to round it up to B because I was debating about putting Montour as an A- acquisition.
Winners:
Detroit Red Wings: A
General Manager Steve Yzerman is a genius. After an embarrassing season the previous year, the Detroit Red Wings signed some veterans and re-signed Winger Anthony Mantha. However, Mantha has not been producing, and his name appeared in trade talks. After the deadline, we found out he was going to the Washington Capitals, and the Red Wings were receiving Winger Jakub Vrána, Winger Richard Pánik, Washington’s 2021 first-rounder, and their 2022 second-round pick. It is a haul I would only surrender for a game-breaking superstar. However, I won’t give an A+ because they didn’t move Bobby Ryan or Luke Gleedning, who might have fetched them a second-rounder, a valuable asset. Detroit probably accelerated their rebuild by a year or two with this trade, and they should be giving themselves pats on their backs.
Columbus Blue Jackets: A-
Columbus needed a retool, if not a rebuild. The Blue Jackets were struggling at seventh in the Central division, but they had arguably two of the top three deadline pieces. They executed well to acquire two firsts for Nick Foligno and David Savard, with the extra third and fourth-rounders also coming back to the Biggest Small Town in America. I would have given Columbus a B if they received a second-rounder plus a third, but they two-upped it to a first-rounder and a third, another first and a fourth. Upgrading the picks are most beneficial in the higher rounds, and Columbus moved up from my expected second to a prized first.
Boston Bruins: A
Boston fleeced Buffalo, and that is not debatable. After many years of their second line Right Wing position limiting their offense, they’ve finally addressed the issue by adding arguably the top player on the trade market: Taylor Hall. Hall, without a doubt, will boost their second line production this season and in the playoffs if they hang onto fourth place in the East division. The best part is the cost. They only had to surrender Anders Bjork, a fourth-liner at best, and a second, which probably won’t generate a player as great as Hall. However, Mike Rielly for a third-rounder doesn’t sound so great considering what another team obtained for a third, so I did not award an A+. Now, Boston is arguably a top-five contender in the league, and they paid nothing for a substantially increased shot at the cup.
Washington Capitals: B+
Sure, the Washington Capitals overpaid for Anthony Mantha, but they needed it. As I said, it would be ok to overpay because they might never have another chance. If Mantha plays on the top line with franchise superstar Left Winger Alex Ovechkin, what’s to say he can’t score at a point-per-game rate feeding Ovi and tipping in his shots or jamming home the rebounds? Also, they dumped Richard Pánik’s 2.75 million dollar deal, though they didn’t use the extra cap space. Unfortunately for the Nation’s Capital, this will likely haunt them if they don’t win a cup, but it’s always worth a try.
Toronto Maple Leafs: B+
At the deadline, the Maple Leafs had a few needs, and General Manager Kyle Dubas splendidly filled them. First, they needed a Left Winger for the John Tavares – William Nylander line, so they went out and snapped up Nick Foligno from the Blue Jackets. Paying a first is a decent move, but not an A+. However, it still filled the hole, so it’s a win. Then, he needed a depth goalie if Frederik Andersen was not healthy, and Jack Campbell wore down to a busy schedule. Thus, he stole David Rittich from the struggling Calgary Flames for a third. I award Toronto a B+ for filling needs at a cheap cost.
Chicago Blackhawks: A+
I believe the Chicago Blackhawks might be the biggest winners of the NHL Trade Deadline. After an upstart bubble experience and regular-season start, the Blackhawks can play with house money while developing their young players. This week, they added Centers Adam Gaudette and Henrik Borgström. Better, they only surrendered Lucas Wallmark and others. With about 20 minutes left in the deadline, they sent Carl Soderberg to the Colorado Avalanche, which I believe is ok because their young players can play more now. However, they stole picks from the Vegas Golden Kngihts for Mattias Janmark. With their new acquisitions, Chicago has a four-headed center core of Kirby Dach, Dylan Strome, Borgström, and Gaudette.
Essentially, I graded nine teams and placed them in one of three categories: Losers, Neutral and Winners. The losers, Buffalo and Calgary, could have received more for their star players. (I still count Hall as a star) In Calgary, they could have dealt Gaudreau and began a rebuilding process, but now they will wait a few more months and receive less for their star. The Neutral teams, the Lightning, Islanders, and Panthers, all made decent moves with either a missed opportunity or a bad trade to offset their main one. The winners, Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and Columbus, executed well and acquired a star for cheap, added a solid player for a mediocre pick, began a rebuild (or at least a retool) by selling players for extra value or acquired prospects for cheap, or filled a gaping hole. Boston scored Hall, the Leafs added Rittich for next to nothing, and the Blue Jackets, Wings, and Blackhawks all acquired picks or promising prospects, while the Capitals added a top-line forward.
