The Good and Bad of Trade Deadline Week: Pacific Division
By Cam Lewis
7 years ago
This is a four-part division by division look at what each team did at Wednesday’s trade deadline. Who did good and who did bad?
The Canucks finally bit the bullet and began to sell off their aging assets, the Sharks and Ducks both made slight upgrades to their forward depth, the Flames took a gamble on a player who could help them long-term, the Coyotes went half-in on their fire sale, and the Oilers curiously stood still with their first playoff berth in a decade potentially on the horizon. At the end of it? Things probably aren’t much different than they were before.
Anaheim Ducks
- A 2017 conditional second round pick to the Dallas Stars for Patrick Eaves.
- Kenton Helgesen and a 2019 seventh round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for Sam Carrick and Spencer Abbott.
- IN: Patrick Eaves, Sam Carrick, and Spencer Abbott.
- OUT: A 2017 second, a 2019 seventh, and Kenton Helgesen.
The Ducks did their business well before the deadline, and then made a minor-league deal the day of to cap it off. The pick they sent to Dallas is a second rounder but can become a first if they reach the Western Conference Final and Eaves plays at least half the games. That isn’t a very high price to pay for a winger who’s gritty, skilled enough to be effective, and can play up and down the lineup. I’m guessing his already-career-high of 21 goals this season is largely due to playing with Jamie Benn, but even before his inexplicable breakout, he was a solid depth player. The Ducks didn’t deal any of their expansion-eligible defencemen, though, meaning they’re going to have to make something happen in the window before the expansion draft or risk losing somebody for nothing.
Arizona Coyotes
- Michael Stone to the Calgary Flames for a 2017 third round pick and a 2018 conditional fifth round pick.
- Martin Hanzal, Ryan White, and 2017 fourth round pick to the Minnesota Wild for Grayson Downing, a 2017 first round pick, a 2018 second round pick, and a 2019 conditional fourth round pick.
- Future Considerations to the Minnesota Wild for Teemu Pulkkinen.
- Brendan Ranford to the Colorado Avalanche for Joe Whitney.
- Stefan Fournier to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Jeremy Morin.
- IN: Jeremy Morin, Joe Whitney, Teemu Pulkkinen, Grayson Downing, a 2017 first, second, and third, a 2018 conditional fifth, and a 2019 conditional fourth.
- OUT: Michael Stone, Martin Hanzal, Ryan White, Brendan Ranford, Stefan Fournier, a 2017 fourth, and future considerations.
Being one of two teams completely out of playoff contention made the Coyotes an obvious deadline seller. And while they did manage to get a massive package in return for Martin Hanzal and a solid return for Michael Stone, the Coyotes allowed Radim Vrbata, perhaps their best rental asset, to slide through the deadline without getting anything of value for him. It’s not the end of the world, or anything, but a good deadline could have been a great one had John Chayka pulled in a second or first round pick for the skilled winger. It also would have gone a long way in the tanking effort, but at this point, it might be impossible to catch the Avalanche.
Calgary Flames
- A 2017 third round pick and a 2018 conditional fifth round pick for Michael Stone.
- Jyrki Jokipakka and a 2017 second round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Curtis Lazar and Michael Kostka.
- IN: Michael Stone, Curtis Lazar, Michael Kostka.
- OUT: Jyrki Jokipakka, 2017 second and third, and a 2018 conditional fourth.
A week before the deadline, the Flames shored up their blue line by acquiring Michael Stone from the Coyotes for a pair of mid-round picks. Stone isn’t a world-beater by any stretch of the imagination, but he’s certainly an upgrade on Dennis Wideman on the team’s second pair. Then, on deadline day, the Flames acquired former top prospect Curtis Lazar from the Ottawa Senators. It’s easy to dislike the trade because Lazar has become the pit of everybody’s joke this year due to his lack of production (zero goals in 33 games, yikes!), but still, Lazar probably has more of a likelihood of being an actual NHL player than the guy they would have chosen with the second rounder. He’s only 22 years old, so it’s effectively speeding up that draft pick to a prospect that’s closer to contributing, even if it’s only ever in a bottom-six role.
Edmonton Oilers
- Brandon Davidson to the Montreal Canadiens for David Desharnais.
- Taylor Back to the New York Rangers for Justin Fontaine.
- IN: David Desharnais and Justin Fontaine.
- OUT: Brandon Davidson and Taylor Beck.
Even though they were expected to be buyers for the first time in a decade, Peter Chiarelli remained quiet at the deadline. He made a minor-league swap of a dominant AHL scorer for somebody with actual NHL experience, and sent the likely-to-be-chosen-in-the-expansion-draft Brandon Davidson to Montreal for David Desharnais who, uh, doesn’t really fit what the team was looking for. He’s obviously an upgrade over Drake Caggiula or Anton Lander in that role, but a 5″7′ centre who doesn’t kill penalties or win face-offs isn’t exactly an ideal pickup for the club. Chiarelli suggested after the deadline that he wanted to give the group a chance to go for it and didn’t want to disrupt the chemistry, but with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both soon to cost much more than they currently do, you have to wonder if Edmonton is letting an opportunity slide by here.
Los Angeles Kings
- Peter Budaj, Erik Cernak, a 2017 seventh round pick, and a 2017 conditional pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Ben Bishop and a 2017 fifth round pick.
- Dwight King to the Montreal Canadiens for a 2018 conditional fourth round pick.
- A 2018 conditional fourth round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Jarome Iginla.
- IN: Ben Bishop, Jarome Iginla, a 2017 conditional pick, and a 2018 conditional fourth.
- OUT: Peter Budaj, Erik Cernak, Dwight King, and a 2018 conditional fourth.
Currently sitting in ninth place, the Kings added Jarome Iginla and Ben Bishop in the pursuit of spring hockey. The Iginla trade essentially cost them nothing, as they don’t have to give Colorado a pick if they don’t make the playoffs or sign Iginla, and while the Bishop trade was very random, it didn’t come at a very high price. They basically spent a mid-round pick to upgrade on Peter Budaj, which is probably a good idea considering Jonathan Quick’s health. Still, though, goaltending isn’t this team’s issue. Scoring is, and it’s hard to say if Iginla can be the answer.
San Jose Sharks
- Nikolay Goldobin and a 2017 conditional fourth round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for Jannik Hansen.
- IN: Jannik Hansen.
- OUT: Nikolay Goldobin, and a 2017 conditional fourth.
With another trip to the Stanley Cup Final in sight, the San Jose Sharks loaded up at the trade deadline much like they did last season. Except, this year, they grabbed a player who can, uh, actually help them in their pursuit of their first championship in franchise history. Nick Spaling and Roman Polak came at a high price last February, and neither made much of an impact during the playoffs. This time around, they added the speedy, gritty Jannik Hansen, who can fill just about any role you put him in. He’s played alongside the Sedins before, so meshing with the likes of Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski shouldn’t be an issue. It wasn’t a cheap acquisition, though, as the Sharks gave up top prospect Nikolay Goldobin, who we’ll talk about in a moment.
Vancouver Canucks
- Alexandre Burrows to the Ottawa Senators for Jonathan Dahlen.
- Jannik Hansen to the San Jose Sharks for Nikolay Goldobin and a 2017 conditional fourth round pick.
- IN: Jonathan Dahlen, Nikolay Goldobin, and a 2017 conditional fourth.
- OUT: Jannik Hansen, and Alex Burrows.
After a disastrous deadline last year in which they allowed two coveted rental assets, Dan Hamhuis and Radim Vrbata, to clear through the deadline without getting anything of value for them — effectively stunting an inevitable rebuild — Jim Benning finally caved. Benning moved veteran wingers Jannik Hansen and Alex Burrows in a pair of deals that netted them two very solid prospects that suddenly have Canucks fans excited about the future. It’s amazing what you can do when you pick a direction and roll with it. Now imagine how nice this prospect core would look had they started selling a year or two earlier.
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