Who needs the free agent market anyway? The Colorado Avalanche have added to their forward group through trade, acquiring Brandon Saad from the Chicago Blackhawks. Sadd will come alongside prospect defenseman Dennis Gilbert in exchange for Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm. The Blackhawks will also be retaining $1MM of Saad’s $6MM cap hit. Zadorov subsequently accepted his $3.2MM qualifying offer for 2020-21.
This is now the second time that Saad has been traded by Stan Bowman, who originally sent him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015 only to reacquire him in 2017 (sending Artemi Panarin the other way). This time he’ll exit just a year away from unrestricted free agency as his six-year $36MM contract winds down.
It also comes after three somewhat disappointing seasons in Chicago, even if there’s not really a lot to complain about with the 27-year-old. Saad is an excellent player who racked up 62 goals and 115 points over those three years, but even more was expected of him after he reached the 30-goal and 50-point marks in Columbus.
Still, the other things that Saad brings to the table shouldn’t be overlooked. He is an excellent puck-retrieval option on the forecheck and protects it well once it is under his control. While he may not have the high-end playmaking ability that is required to be a real star in the NHL, he’ll be another weapon for the Avalanche to deploy in what is now one of the deepest attacks in the entire league.
Avalanche GM Joe Sakic touches on another important factor in the deal, telling Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic:
In Brandon we are acquiring a two-time Stanley Cup champion who brings veteran leadership and experience to our team. He is a proven goal scorer and at age 27, is in the prime of his career.
Saad had two Cups under his let by the time he was 23, averaging more than 20 minutes a game in the Blackhawks 2015 championship. That proven playoff experience is important to a team like Colorado that is attempting to get over the hump.
Not to be forgotten for Colorado is Gilbert, who is heading into the final year of his entry-level contract and played 21 games for the Blackhawks this season. The 2015 third-round pick spent three seasons at Notre Dame and though he doesn’t possess much offensive upside, will serve as some important depth for the Avalanche behind their star-studded blue line.
That blue line of course is losing Zadorov, who has been (rightly or wrongly) one of the faces of the Avalanche franchise since his acquisition in 2015. One of the main pieces in the trade that saw Ryan O’Reilly head to Buffalo, his explosive open-ice hits were immediately met with fanfare in Colorado.
Unfortunately, those hits weren’t surrounded by enough other skills to warrant the kind of ice time that he received early on. Zadorov never did put together much of an offensive game, scoring a career-high of 20 points in 2017-18 and was quickly passed by other more dynamic defensemen in the system. While he has remained a viable option, he was made a healthy scratch several times this season and was obviously headed towards a breakup with the organization
After accepting his $3.2MM qualifying off Zadorov will be well paid, and perhaps he can find a new level to his game. He is still only 25 and will certainly receive enough opportunity on a Blackhawks team that suddenly appears to be in something near rebuild-mode.
After letting Corey Crawford walk, Chicago is expected to go with a young tandem of Collin Delia and Malcolm Subban in net, and haven’t made any substantial additions to the roster through free agency. With just a few years left on the hefty contracts for Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith, a new reality is coming in Chicago.
Dan Milstein of Gold Star Hockey, Zadorov’s agent, actually broke the news on Twitter
Strange move by sakic, after watching the avs in the playoffs you would think they would be going after defensive dmen and goaltending help
Maybe a prelude to something bigger
@Sillysundin – Outwardly, Joey is steadfast in his opinion that the situation in net is just fine. I wonder, though, if he’s not showing the first stages of cataracts, since I (and others, no doubt) see a very different scene between the pipes there.
Is zadorov a bigger name than saad, this is a weird headline
The Bowman experience without the puppet master that was hockey operations president. I love this move. I like Saad but not at 6 mil and the defense gets a big boost who is still young. There must be an extension coming as well. Colorado gets a 2 way guy who can move up the line up when/if injuries occur.
Hall I would say avs bound and the team has lots of young d-man to replace Zadorov….
When is the last time a team trotted out a tandem worse than Subban and Delia?
The Pens used Sebastien Caron and J.S. Aubin the year they tanked to get Ovechkin and ended up with Malkin.
@forwhomjoshbelltolls – You just had to remind us of that one, didn’t you? :) I’m not sure the Hall-of-Famer & The Old Two-Niner are over that, either!
We tried to get Ovechkin and failed, but won in the long run. If we had or gotten OV we wouldn’t of been eligible for Sid. We ended up better off with Sid and age o than the Caps did with OV and Sasha Pokoluk. 3 cups > 1 cup. Great comment though. Love when people have a clue.
Great Point
Sakic’s still something like 13, 13.5 under the cap
And some of that 13.2ish is going to Graves. I’m hoping some to Nieto. And I think leaving 5 for trade deadline addition is a reasonable number.
I wouldn’t recommend holding your breath for the nieto deal. Saad has to push someone out, and nieto is UFA. I doubt he will be back.
It’s odd to me that you would trade away zadorov and pay Girard 5×7.
But either way, this means Byram will be in the lineup next year.
I wonder if Timmins will ever get his shot?
I like it for Colorado. This reminds me of the under the radar acquisitions last off-season and how they made the Avalanche a deeper, better team. Saad seems like another one of those deals.
I think this was a smart way of filling the role Taylor Hall might have played, but without tying up cap space when they need it later.
Hall would be insane to hope for bigger money in a year or two when he’s older. He needs to get term.
Not discounting the Jackets or Habs, but I’m looking at Nashville. The timing of the Austin Watson trade smacks of clearing cap space for a bigger deal.
I like your first paragraph. Smart analysis.
Bowman is a dunce. Traded away Panarin to get Saad back. Paying way too much for Toews is the problem. Salary cap killer. Saad will be better on Avs. I’m in Chicago. Sakic did well.
Bowman is a dunce. Traded away Panarin to get Saad back. Paying way too much for Toews is the problem. Salary cap killer. Saad will be better on Avs. I’m in Chicago. Sakic did well.