The Vegas Golden Knights have made their big deadline splash, acquiring Mark Stone from the Ottawa Senators according to several reports including Bob McKenzie of TSN. The Senators will receive prospect Erik Brannstrom, forward Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round selection (DAL). Tobias Lindberg will also go to Vegas in order to even out the contract slots. Stone himself told TSN that he is close to an extension with the Golden Knights. The deal is expected to be an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $9.5MM. The extension will not be officially signed until March 1st due to the tagging rule.
Stone, 26, is one of the most dynamic two-way wingers in the entire league and is having another excellent season. With 62 points in 59 games he is on track to blow by his previous career-high of 64, and will pass the 30-goal threshold for the first time in his career. Not only is he an effective offensive player, but Stone has repeatedly proven to be an elite defensive winger and routinely creates turnovers by stripping opposing players of the puck. He has received Selke Trophy votes for the last four seasons, even finishing sixth in 2017 despite the award usually going to centers.
That kind of all-around talent is why Stone was so coveted at the deadline, and why the Senators tried desperately to sign him to an extension. Apparently that couldn’t be worked out for whatever reason so the team cashed in for the best package available. Brannstrom, the 15th-overall pick from 2017, is having an excellent season as a 19-year old in the AHL and has impressed every step of the way. With 28 points in 41 games for the Chicago Wolves there are few defensemen in the minor leagues that can carry the puck as well as the new Senators prospect, and he has been repeatedly compared to Erik Karlsson over the last few years. Obviously that will put huge expectations on the young defenseman, but Ottawa did well to land a prospect of his stature.
Still, it is surprising that the team did not secure a first-round pick along with Brannstrom given the reported ask in recent days. The Senators do now have a huge number of picks in the next few drafts but watched their top three scorers walk out the door in the last few days. They’ll have to build quickly as the 2021 timeline that owner Eugene Melnyk suggested for contention is coming fast.
This is a fricking joke, right??
Sens just got smoked
Wow. Vegas might have pulled one on Ottawa there. Brannstrom is a legit prospect, but I thought it was going to cost a lot more than what the final package is being reported.
Brannstrom is the real deal you have to look at this as a first rounder and a second rounder for Stone, which is good.
Dorion gets punked again.
not when there is less than an hour to go. I said in the other post they would wait too long. bingo. let’s rebuild without a first rounder from Vegas for our best player.
No 1st round picks?!?
I mean this kind of makes the Hayes deal look better. Hayes is half the player Stone is and brought back a guaranteed first round pick. Ottawa is getting a 2nd and a good prospect.
Who would have thought in June of 2017 that in just 2 years Bannstrom, Suzuki, a first and three seconds would have been traded by the Knights. And basically all their cap room if Stone signs an extension.
Brannstrom is literally the same thing as a 1st rounder but he can help the team next year… also hearing something about Kovalchuk to Boston potentially? Apparently no prospects involved so it’s either a dump, there’s money going back, or they sent a pick.
8 years, $9m AAV. Either Stone really didn’t want to sign in Ottawa or Melnyk is really cheap (which is true regardless).
Also look at the deal this way. A first round pick from Vegas would’ve likely been in the back half of the first round. Brannstrom is essentially a first round pick who is a year or two closer to the NHL than the first round pick would’ve been.
Very nice getting an A plus prospect in Brannstrom back but again, this all circles back to Melnyk. Once the next wave of stars hits and Chabot, Tkachuk, Brannstrom need to be paid, just do this over again. Step in NHL, this guy is broke.
Maybe a condition, based on him signing this extension, hasn’t been reported. If not, Vegas played and won the deadline.
Ottawa is betting that Brannstrom is going to be better that whomever they could get in this draft – which makes complete sense since its likely going to be higher than where Brannstrom was selected at 15 and this isn’t a deep draft.
no condition jays
You guys value first rounders outside of the top 10 way too much.
Too little. Period. I can’t believe that was the best offer.
JD karlsson, stone, duchene, dzingel all gone in a year and what do they really have to show apart from one top prospect defenceman?
sure they have some 1sts and some conditional but you just pointed out 1sts can mean nothing.
they moved out all that talent and really have very little to show for it.
I think the Senators slightly overplayed their hand expecting a team to hand over multiple first round picks/top prospects in return. Imo teams seemed to have slightly smartened up at this deadline compared to previous ones where they gave up high valued assets for mid level reinforcements (or grossly overpaying for better players).
^^^
Brannstrom is like getting a top 10 pick. He is a legit top-prospect.
Senators must be getting comped by Vegas. No other way this happens.
Vegas is tight to next years cap already. Looks like someone like Colin Miller and/or Eakin could get dealt in offseason.
Brannstrom is a stud. It’s likely that Vegas would have brought him up next season. He’s going to be as good as or better than Chabot. Ottawa’s getting a better deal than it would appear.
what I’d like to know is who else truly was in the discussion for stone. I’ve heard a number of teams but honestly once Winnipeg and Nashville had made their original moves, and Calgary was known to be out, I think Vegas knew they had the upper hand.
March 5th… and this so-called extension has not been signed.