2018 has been quite a busy year in the hockey world. There have been several big trades and free agent signings, plenty of changes behind the bench, and much more. Over the coming days, PHR will take a look back at the top stories from around the game on a month-by-month basis. Next up is a look back at February, a very busy month on the trade front.
Five Years For Eller: $3.5MM seems to be a good cap hit for the Capitals and center Lars Eller. After spending four seasons with that AAV, Eller signed a five-year extension at that same rate. While the 29-year-old didn’t quite make it as a top-six forward as St. Louis and Montreal had once hoped he’d become, he has carved out a strong role as their third line pivot and played a very important role in their run to the Stanley Cup.
Nash To Boston: One day before the trade deadline, the Bruins made their big splash, acquiring winger Rick Nash from the Rangers in exchange for center Ryan Spooner, winger Matt Beleskey, defense prospect Ryan Lindgren, a 2018 first-round pick, and a 2019 seventh-round selection. Nash was relatively productive in his limited time with the Bruins with six points in 11 games but concussion issues prevented him from having the type of impact he and the team would have liked. Those same concussion problems have played a role in his decision not to play so far this season. Meanwhile, for the Rangers, Spooner has already been flipped to Edmonton for Ryan Strome while Beleskey has spent most of the year in the AHL. Lindgren is holding his own in his first full professional season while the Rangers ultimately traded up from that first rounder to pick up K’Andre Miller.
Senators/Kings Swap: Los Angeles and Ottawa made an intriguing deal of underachieving veterans with the Kings sending winger Marian Gaborik and center Nick Shore to the Sens for defenseman Dion Phaneuf (who retained 25% of his salary and cap hit) and center Nate Thompson. Gaborik played a handful of games in Ottawa and is now on injured reserve with no return in sight while Shore lasted less than two weeks with Ottawa before being flipped to Calgary. As for Phaneuf, he was decent after being acquired but has struggled considerably so far this season and now currently finds himself on IR as well while Thompson is in his usual fourth line center role.
Backlund Signs For Six: Calgary center Mikael Backlund decided to forego testing the UFA market and instead agreed to a six-year, $32.1MM contract extension. The 29-year-old has spent his entire career with the Flames who picked him in the first round (24th overall) back in 2007. For a while, it looked as if Backlund was going to be a third liner but over the last few years, his offensive game progressed nicely, allowing him to slide onto their second unit and helping him earn a raise of nearly $1.8MM on his previous AAV.
Brassard To Pittsburgh: Looking to shore up their center position without taking on too much salary, the Penguins used the Golden Knights to help facilitate a trade with Ottawa. The Sens flipped center Derick Brassard to Vegas who then retained $2MM of his contract before flipping him to Pittsburgh. Overall, the Pens paid a sizable price for his services, sending defenseman Ian Cole, goalie prospect Filip Gustavsson, and a 2018 first rounder to Ottawa plus winger Ryan Reaves and a fourth rounder to Vegas as compensation for holding back some of Brassard’s deal. The Penguins haven’t got a great return from Brassard just yet as he has struggled to adjust to playing a lesser role and is on pace for his lowest point total in any of his full NHL seasons.
And of course, we can’t forget the frenzy at the end of the month which gets a bonus mention:
Deadline Day Highlights: There have been some quiet trade deadlines in recent years with not many big names being on the move. This wasn’t one of those. Winger Evander Kane was dealt to San Jose, the Jets jumped into the rental market by acquiring center Paul Stastny, and after failing to land Erik Karlsson, the Golden Knights turned to Plan B and brought in winger Tomas Tatar from Detroit for first, second, and third-round picks. That move didn’t pan out as he found himself a healthy scratch at times in the postseason. The biggest move came from the Rangers and Lightning as Tampa Bay acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh and winger J.T. Miller in exchange for winger Vladislav Namestnikov, two quality prospects in center Brett Howden and defenseman Libor Hajek, a first rounder in 2018, and a conditional second rounder in 2019 that will become a first rounder if the Lightning win the Stanley Cup this year. In the hours following the deadline, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford announced that winger Patric Hornqvist had agreed to a five-year, $26.5MM extension, capping off a very eventful day.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.