2018 NHL TRADE DEADLINE
MINOR TRADES
Confirmed Trade [OTT/MIN] Chris Driedger G for A.Stezka G, MIN 2018 4th, MIN 2018 5th
As rumoured, the Senators move on from Chris Driedger who with the addition of Hogberg and Taylor in net for Belleville has been the odd man out this season. The Senators acquire the rights to goalie A.Stezka along with a few late round picks. Driedger is expected to start for Minnesota’s AHL team and potentially take the backup job from Alex Stalock over the next two seasons.
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Confirmed Trade [OTT/PHI] Patrick Sieloff for PHI 2018 4th
The Senators do some more house cleaning and move former 2nd round pick Patrick Sieloff for a Flyers fourth. The rumour was that the Senators were looking to add an AHL scoring winger in exchange for Sieloff, but clearly that didn’t materialize. They may have had their eyes on Jakob Vrana from WSH.
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Confirmed Trade [VAN/CBJ] Alex Burmistrov for Sam Vigneault and Veeti Vainio
Burmistrov is a 26 year old pending UFA. The 3rd line center should add depth to the Bluejackets as they make a playoff push. Veeti Vainio is of little value as a late round defensive prospect who if everything goes right might top out as a bottom pairing or depth defender. Sam Vigneault is an intriguing center prospect who may only be a 3rd liner but at 6’5” and 200+ lbs could be a very good complimentary physical player down the line.
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Confirmed Trade [NYR/NSH] Michael Grabner for Justin Kirkland and Jacob Pacquette
Grabner only has 17 points this season and both Kirkland and Pacquette are long shots at making it to the NHL. The Predators add a third liner for cheap, while the Rangers who are near the bottom of the NHL add two low end prospects to their system.
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RICK NASH TRADED
Confirmed Trade [NYR/LA] Rick Nash and David Desharnais for LA’s 2018 1st Round Pick, Spencer Watson, and C.Reddekopp
This deal might help set the market for the Senators who are trying to move UFA Kyle Turris. Despite being a 7th round pick, Spencer Watson is considered to be one of LA’s top prospects and is seen as having top 6 potential. Reddekopp is simply a warm body in this deal. With 20 goals already on the season, Nash should be a big addition to LA down the stretch as they push for a playoff spot. At 33 years old, the Kings might opt not to re-sign Nash, but only time will tell. Desarnais is having a fairly successful season with 31 points and is a nice depth throw in for the Kings.
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James Duthie
We have a major trade breaking, so I’ll throw it to our trade breakers.
Bob McKenzie
The Tavares derby is over….Tavares has been dealt, and don’t adjust your sets, it’s to the Dallas Stars. Yes, you heard that right; Dallas who sit last in the central division have acquired John Tavares. We’re hearing that in exchange for John Tavares the Stars have sent over last year’s 3rd overall pick defenseman Mikko Heiskanen and a 1st round pick.
Gord Miller
Worth noting, that 1st round pick is not for the upcoming 2018 draft. We’re hearing that Dallas has instead opted to send the Islanders their 2019 1st. If true, this would be a major consolation as Dallas is currently sitting last in their division and might draft somewhere in the top 10 of the deep 2018 draft.
Pierre Lebrun
We’re lead to believe that John Tavares has not budged on his unwillingness to negotiate a contract in season. That makes this trade a huge gamble for Dallas’ management group. Especially if the Stars fail to climb back in the playoff race, they might have just given up a 1st round pick and a blue chip high end young player in exchange for two inconsequential months of John Tavares.
Bob McKenzie
If they do manage to get an extension done, and we’re hearing Tavares may want something in the 10.5M range, Dallas could set themselves up long term to have a Crosby/Malkin type dynamic down the middle. Not to mention Jamie Benn on the wing. This is a big risk for the Stars, but if this trade pays off ,the upside for their organisation could be tremendous.
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James Duthie
John Tavares, finally moved. Traded for the first time in his career, arguably one of the best centers in the league. We’re going to hear from our guest analyst, former NHL GM, current manager of the Orleans location of Gabriel Pizza, Pierre Dorion, how’s it going today.
Pierre Dorion
It’s going great guys, thanks for having me.
James Duthie
Pierre, we wanted to get an inside perspective from a former general manger on this deal. Obviously, the hockey world is shocked. We all knew Tavares would be traded, and nothing against the Dallas stars, but to see him go to a team that may not even make the playoffs without a contract in place, is that something that comes as a surprise to you?
Pierre Dorion
Certainly you know, it’s uh one of those things like franchise centers….they are so hard to get. Everybody wants one and uh nobody ever gives them up. Like the last slice of pizza. If it’s on the table, you’ve just gotta take it and worry about the consequences later on.
James Duthie
Despite Senators owner Eugene Melnyk initially claiming he fired you, we know you and the Sens actually left on good terms. You seemed to want to go a different direction, chase your other passion in life, local Ottawa pizza by managing your favourite pizza joint, so with that in mind, knowing Kyle Turris is likely to be traded by the end of the day, were you cheering for the Senators to make a play for Tavares?
Pierre Dorion
Sure, but come on, we know how that goes. Eugene has got them on a budget, Karlsson’s contract is coming up, and Thomas Chabot is going to be a great hockey player and isn't that who the Islanders would have wanted? I don’t think there was a deal to be made for Ottawa there. They have Pageau anyways, he’s gotta be considered a franchise center right?
James Duthie
Not quite yet, but maybe he'll get there. Thank you for your time Pierre, good luck with the pizzas.
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James Duthie
As the clock ticks down on trade deadline, it sounds like we’ve got another deal for our trade breakers to tell you guys about. Bob, who was just moved?
Bob McKenzie
In what might be the most predictable deal of the day, the Senators have finally dealt pending UFA Kyle Turris and he’s heading to the Nashville Predators. There are a few moving parts in the deal but it looks like the primary pieces going back to Ottawa are the Predators 2019 1st Round pick and prospect Eeli Tolvanen.
Pierre Lebrun
It’s been no secret that the Senators and Turris’ agent Kurt Overhardt didn’t see eye to eye during contract discussions. The Senators held out until the deadline to move Turris, and they had a bit of a scare earlier last week when Turris had to leave a game injured, but as it turns out he isn’t expected to be out for very long. We’re hearing that Turris has already been in contact with the Predators and although he won’t play their upcoming game, he’s expected to fly to Nashville this evening. There’s been no discussion of an extension between Turris and the Predators, but Nashville should have the cap space next year to lock Turris down if both sides want to go in that direction.
Bob McKenzie
Predators brass feel that their window to win is open now. The pick in this trade is the Predators 2019 pick, the reason being is that they already moved their 2018 pick to the Sabres in a deal that saw Nashville acquire winger Jason Pominville. Expect Turris to slot in as Nashville’s 2nd line center behind Ryan Johansen. That should push Nick Bonino who some have seen as being a bit overplayed this season into a much more comfortable spot as the Predators 3C.
Darren Dreger
Now I’m also hearing there are some other parts to this deal. The Senators have apparently sent over forward Michael Blunden who has floated between the NHL and the Senators’ affiliate in Belleville and in turn have acquired winger Austin Watson as part of the return from the Predators. Watson is signed to a 1 way contract for a few more seasons at 1.1M.
Gord Miller
It’s a surprise to see the Predators give up Tolvanen. Despite being picked 30th in the 2017 draft by Nashville, a strong season in the KHL has significantly upped Tolvanen’s perception around the NHL. Tolvanen wasn’t considered a high end enough prospect by the Islanders to get the Predators seriously in on Tavares, but the Senators may have just acquired a player who a few years down the line might be a top 6 forward for them.
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James Duthie
That might be our last major trade to go through the wire, but while we wait for confirmation we’ll be joined by Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Bruce, are you surprised that the Senators didn’t opt to hold on to Turris for a playoff run?
Bruce Garrioch
No, not at all James. In fact, the writing seemed to be on the wall here since the summer when talks weren’t going well at all. Although the Senators may have wanted to give the impression that if teams didn’t up their offers they’d be okay with holding on to Turris, I don’t think for a second that they thought it’d be appropriate for them to forgo the return Turris could bring to their team and lose him for nothing.
James Duthie
Were there any late season talks, maybe last ditch attempts to revive contract talks between both parties before fully committing to a Turris trade?
Bruce Garrioch
There were a few kicks at the can, but nothing serious. I think ultimately what made this deal take so long was the fact that most teams in on Turris were waiting to see how the Tavares situation played out before they gave up major assets to bring in a different center in Kyle Turris. I think early in the season Senators brass were resigned to the fact that an extension with Turris wasn’t going to work and they were going to have to explore their other options.
James Duthie
Do you think the Senators are comfortable with Brassard and Pageau as their top two centers going forward? Would you expect them to go out and attempt to acquire somebody else in the off season?
Bruce Garrioch
I think it’s one step at a time for Ottawa. They have Brown and White coming up, but both are a few years away. We know they liked Duchene, but he’s apparently not on the table anymore with how things have played out in COL this season.
James Duthie
We’ve heard rumours that with McDavid’s major raise kicking in next season, the Oilers are preparing to possibly deal Ryan Nugent-Hopkins at the draft. Would you be surprised to see the Senators attempt to acquire him?
Bruce Garrioch
Anything is possible. I don’t think the Senators really have a long term plan to fill in Turris’ spot. These playoffs will go a long way in determining how comfortable they are with what they have.
James Duthie
In other Senators news, as we now know Craig Anderson has remained with the Senators despite the prevailing rumour being that he is not willing to re-sign with the team at the end of the season. Did you expect Anderson to be dealt?
Bruce Garrioch
I think the Senators would have been open to it if there was the right offer on the table, but with the goalie market being as soft as it is, it seems like the Senators feel Anderson down the stretch is more valuable to them than say a 2nd round pick might end up being. I know that with Anderson walking at the end of the season, the Senators would be open to moving a major asset in order to acquire a goalie who they feel can be a major player for them 2 or 3 years down the line.
James Duthie
We’re just about out of time. Always a pleasure, thanks for your insight Bruce.
