Confirmed Trade: [NYR/OTT] Mika Zibanejad & 2018 2nd round pick for Derick Brassard & 2018 7th rounder

[Benjamin]

People are looking at this as a hockey trade when it clearly is not. Ottawa clearly has no interest in building a real contender, as a contender costs money. Melnyk doesn't want to and won't pay for a contender. He, like Jeremy Jacobs in Boston unfortunately, is more worried about playoff gates than a Stanley Cup. A squeak in at the lowest possible cost is the real goal here. Brassard for ZB accomplishes that.

This wasn't Melnyk cheaping out. This was Ottawa spending smartly. We get Brassard now instead of trading Zibanejad next season for a pick and prospect when we don't want to commit to him longterm. The money that would be needed to go towards Zibanejad is better spent elsewhere. Zibanejad isn't a core player for the Sens but would be paid as one.

 

[NateB19]

So for the Rangers this means Stepan is staying and one of their young RFAs is moving, right?

How does this make any sense?

 

[Daffy]

Either this is sarcasm or a complete lack of ability to judge trades.

Apparantley you don't. Have you watched Zibanejad play? He is infuriating. Incredibly inconsistent and looks lazy a lot of the time. He has skills but doesn't have great hockey sense. That probably won't improve. I don't see him becoming much more than what he is now, unfortunately.

 

[Uchiha]

People are looking at this as a hockey trade when it clearly is not. Ottawa clearly has no interest in building a real contender, as a contender costs money. Melnyk doesn't want to and won't pay for a contender. He, like Jeremy Jacobs in Boston unfortunately, is more worried about playoff gates than a Stanley Cup. A squeak in at the lowest possible cost is the real goal here. Brassard for ZB accomplishes that.

Agreed 100%

Melnyk will forever be content with one round of playoff $$

 

[periferal]

Apparantley you don't. Have you watched Zibanejad play? He is infuriating. Incredibly inconsistent and looks lazy a lot of the time. He has skills but doesn't have great hockey sense. That probably won't improve. I don't see him becoming much more than what he is now, unfortunately.

Well we'll see won't we? 50 points is nothing to sneeze at especially from a young player. But beyond that I still need an explanation from Dorion as to how he sees Brassard taking this team to the next level in the next 2-3 years. Surely this cannot be the last move from the Sens if they want to be a Cup contender while Brassard is on the team.

 

[The Thin White Duke]

People are looking at this as a hockey trade when it clearly is not. Ottawa clearly has no interest in building a real contender, as a contender costs money. Melnyk doesn't want to and won't pay for a contender. He, like Jeremy Jacobs in Boston unfortunately, is more worried about playoff gates than a Stanley Cup. A squeak in at the lowest possible cost is the real goal here. Brassard for ZB accomplishes that.

Agree with this. At least until they get the new arena in LeBreton anyway. I'd be interested to see what management has drawn up as the cheapest way to build a playoff team blueprint-wise. I wonder if all budget teams have roughly the same shopping list of bang-for-your-buck regular season guys.

 

[caymanmew]

Well we'll see won't we? 50 points is nothing to sneeze at especially from a young player. But beyond that I still need an explanation from Dorion as to how he sees Brassard taking this team to the next level in the next 2-3 years. Surely this cannot be the last move from the Sens if they want to be a Cup contender while Brassard is on the team.

Sens have no interest in becoming a cup contender.

 

[Benttheknee]

I was actually referring to your comment that Ottawa only wins this trade for the next 2 years. Because for that to happen either Zibanejad would have to improve significantly (possible but with his work ethic I'm betting against it) or Brassard retires.

Why would Brassard have to retire? He just ages like all players do. At a point in time, Brassard will be a lesser player than Zibanejad. 2 years seems reasonable, might be 3 might be 1, heck it could even be next year.

NHL players high end shelf life is how long? 7-10 years for these types of players. Zibanejad has 2 decent year, with 6-8 left. Brassard is now into the latter part of that window, and in not too long, he will be replaced by White or perhaps Brown and he slides into the end of his career.

From what I have read, Brassard is not a defensively reliable guy. So if you are looking at Brassard as being a better 200ft player, he isn't. He is a bit more offensively gifted and that gap will decrease over time.

 

[SpezDispenser]

Well we'll see won't we? 50 points is nothing to sneeze at especially from a young player. But beyond that I still need an explanation from Dorion as to how he sees Brassard taking this team to the next level in the next 2-3 years. Surely this cannot be the last move from the Sens if they want to be a Cup contender while Brassard is on the team.

This trade was about turning zibanejad into a better player. Zibanejad had time and chances to come in and prove he's a guy who can bolster a line, but he came to camp out of shape and screwed that chance up. You seem way more concerned about losing zibanejad than most Sens fans and you should find out why. Maybe this is the wakeup call he needs, who knows, but Brassard fits ottawa like a glove now and in the future.

 

[SixthSens]

Love this trade for Ottawa.

Zib was too inconsistent for my liking, and his slow starts were a huge piss off. I also doubt he has another level offensively.

 

[SpezDispenser]

Why would Brassard have to retire? He just ages like all players do. At a point in time, Brassard will be a lesser player than Zibanejad. 2 years seems reasonable, might be 3 might be 1, heck it could even be next year.

NHL players high end shelf life is how long? 7-10 years for these types of players. Zibanejad has 2 decent year, with 6-8 left. Brassard is now into the latter part of that window, and in not too long, he will be replaced by White or perhaps Brown and he slides into the end of his career.

From what I have read, Brassard is not a defensively reliable guy. So if you are looking at Brassard as being a better 200ft player, he isn't. He is a bit more offensively gifted and that gap will decrease over time.

They clearly like brassard more than zibanejad, and they know they have two stud center prospects in the system, so they made the trade.

It helps being great drafters.

 

[The Expert]

Why would Brassard have to retire? He just ages like all players do. At a point in time, Brassard will be a lesser player than Zibanejad. 2 years seems reasonable, might be 3 might be 1, heck it could even be next year.

He wouldn't. Brassard will not be a lesser player than Zibanejad in the next 3 years. If you think it could be next year even, you're expecting one hell of a jump from Zibanejad because the difference between them right now is more significant than you think.

Love this trade for Ottawa.

Zib was too inconsistent for my liking, and his slow starts were a huge piss off. I also doubt he has another level offensively.

It's not even about the numbers with Zibanejad, he was just invisible for such long stretches. A guy with his physical ability should not be so hard to pick out on the ice. Hard to say how much is effort, work ethic related or just mentality.

 

[SawyerFord]

Zibby is way too inconsistent. For 4 games he will be really good then Disappear for another 4 games. Was frustrating to watch him play

 

[Benttheknee]

They clearly like brassard more than zibanejad, and they know they have two stud center prospects in the system, so they made the trade.

It helps being great drafters.

Is Brassard the better players? Yes he is. But how much better? Not enough to make up the difference in age and the draft picks.

(He is left handed, but less speedy than Zib and not reliable defensively
http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Jan-...or-Zibanejad--18-2nd-Rounder-My-Take/89/78229 )

So why did Ottawa overpay? it was because of the money. Over the long haul, the Sens will pay out less for Brassard than they would have Zibanejad, and when Brassard is ready to step aside, White will be ready.

It was optically sound, good for the pocket books, but poor asset management.

 

[Benttheknee]

He wouldn't. Brassard will not be a lesser player than Zibanejad in the next 3 years. If you think it could be next year even, you're expecting one hell of a jump from Zibanejad because the difference between them right now is more significant than you think.

How so. 58pts to 51pts. A decent difference, but Zibanejad could close that gap in 3 years as Brassard regresses due to age.

Brassard is slower and not great defensively. Being an average skater will hurt him as he ages.

It's not even about the numbers with Zibanejad, he was just invisible for such long stretches. A guy with his physical ability should not be so hard to pick out on the ice. Hard to say how much is effort, work ethic related or just mentality.

That is one of the things that I don't buy into. If you understand the random nature of hockey and stats, all players are streaky as is the nature of stats. Both players have been consistent over the last 2 seasons but inconsistent within the season itself.

Zibanejad's conditioning is the only factor to tilt this in Ottawa's favour.

 

[The Expert]

That is one of the things that I don't buy into. If you understand the random nature of hockey and stats, all players are streaky as is the nature of stats. Both players have been consistent over the last 2 seasons but inconsistent within the season itself.

Did you even read my post? That's exactly what I said I was not referring to (stats). Because that's all common sense.

 

[Boud]

How so. 58pts to 51pts. A decent difference, but Zibanejad could close that gap in 3 years as Brassard regresses due to age.

That's all fun in theory but reality is nobody can tell and besides in 3 years from today Brassard will be 31, at 31 players don't typically regress much if at all.

Zibanejad could close that gap, but it's also possible that he doesn't. Look at guys like Lars Eller, Patrick Berglund, Jakub Silfverberg. Still waiting for these guys to hit their ''potential'', hasn't happened yet. (Those players are good players, just never reached their potential).

One could look at Alex Steen also. Broke out at 28-29 and has been a consistent great player ever since, now at 32 and playing better than ever.

 

[Sensinitis]

Where do Sens fans feel your team is realistically at? Legit question, it seems like a futures for immediate help kind of trade. Are you closer to competing or closer to rebuilding/retooling?

Realistically?

I think the Sens have a very good 1-2-3 punch of centers. Turris (60-65 points), Brassard (60-65 points) and Pageau (35-40 points). I think they have great winger depth (Hoffman, Ryan, Stone, MacArthur, Lazar, Smith). I also think they have a very solid top-4 of defensemen (Karlsson, Phaneuf, Methot, Ceci), as well as a legit #1G.

I feel this is an easy playoff team if healthy and if the coaches don't turd it out. Everything is there.

Exactly. Pierre Dorion needs to explain his thinking in great detail, because forgetting the fairness of the trade, how does this trade get the Sens closer to true Cup contention? Especially at the expense of a good young player who hasn't fulfilled his potential yet. Players like Mika should either be kept, or only be dealt as part of a package for legit impact/core players. Bassard is nice, but true difference maker? Come on...

Bad job here.

That's just your opinion.

His thinking is very simple. Zbad hasn't broken out yet. The Sens have been waiting for that for 3 years now.

So instead of betting on him, again, they get a SURE THING. A player that's been playing great the past 2 seasons and who by all accounts is a late bloomer and still has lots to offer.

Also, Brass is a left handed center, which we badly needed (our top 3 Cs were Turris Zbad Pageau before the trade). Many needs are filled. The last one is getting a playmaking C who can feed Hoffman and/or Ryan. Zibanejad lacks vision sometimes and wasn't the best fit for those two.

Any informed fan sees the reasoning... You want another argument? Brassard makes 3M, 3.5M and 3.5M the next 3 years. Zbad has an expiring contract and will be demanding in the 5M territory long term. The Sens save money on top of it all.

The Sens had a very young team and they've added lots of vets. Karlsson, Turris and Hoffman are 26 now. Stone is 24. Brassard is turning 29. Ryan is 29. Anderson is 35. We've added Phaneuf and Kelly... The team is starting to grow out of its shell and is maturing and these additions over the past few months have been key IMO.

 

[HSF]

Zibanejad is not a number 2 center on a playoff team.

Him being so inconsistent was a big problem for the senators. Will be he a 2nd line center? probably but the sens can't wait and therefore got an established vet and paid a 2nd for the difference in development rn

I still think Zibby was made to be power goal scoring winger in the NHL. unless he becomes a stamkos type center with a good play making winger like St Louis or i guess Zuc

 

[Lindberg Cheese]

We needed a lazy RH shot for the 2nd PP unit.....you needed a home town boy who can't skate backwards

 

[A1LeafNation]

Sens desperate attempt at having two #2 centers instead of a true #1

 

[periferal]

Sens have no interest in becoming a cup contender.

Well then...Great trade.

 

[periferal]

This trade was about turning zibanejad into a better player. Zibanejad had time and chances to come in and prove he's a guy who can bolster a line, but he came to camp out of shape and screwed that chance up. You seem way more concerned about losing zibanejad than most Sens fans and you should find out why. Maybe this is the wakeup call he needs, who knows, but Brassard fits ottawa like a glove now and in the future.

OK well then for Sens' fans sake they make other significant moves in the next 2-3 years while they still have Brassard.

 

[albator71]

Sens desperate attempt at having two #2 centers instead of a true #1

And you know everything about having #2 centers in Toronto

 

[OttawaSenators11]

Probably had to give the 2nd round pick to have the Rangers pick up the $2M bonus, lmao

Seriously, Melnyk could be the worst owner in the NHL.

Have had one of the best in Karlsson for 7 years and the organization has accomplished absolutely nothing during that time frame.

Shameful.