Washington Capitals Acquire Daniel Sprong
There had been chatter leading up to the deadline that the Washington Capitals may trade a defenseman, and indeed they have. It just wasn’t one of their NHL players. Frank Seravalli of TSN reports the team has sent Christian Djoos to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Daniel Sprong, a swap of two players once considered top prospects.
Brandon Davidson Sent To San Jose
After acquiring both Derek Forbort and Erik Gustafsson, the Calgary Flames have decided to move on from one of their other depth defenders. Brandon Davidson has been traded to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations according to Ryan Leslie of Sportsnet. Davidson is on an expiring contract and has played just seven games for the Flames this season.
Louis Domingue Traded To Vancouver Canucks
After clearing waivers recently it was clear that Louis Domingue would be on the move if the New Jersey Devils could find a taker, and today they have. The Vancouver Canucks have acquired Domingue according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. Domingue can report directly to the Utica Comets to serve as depth for the Canucks in net. Zane McIntyre will go back to New Jersey in the deal.
It’s an important move for the Canucks, as Jakob Markstrom is expected to miss some time with an injury he sustained against the Boston Bruins. The star goaltender has flown back to Vancouver to have an MRI done, meaning Thatcher Demko and Domingue are the tandem for the time being.
There is no telling what kind of a performance they would get from Domingue if he was forced into the net, but at least he has plenty of NHL experience. For a team like the Canucks who have their eyes set on a long playoff run, a third goaltender was a necessity.
Barclay Goodrow Headed To Tampa Bay
Even though the trade deadline has officially passed, the backlog of deals is still slowly leaking out. This time it’s a trade between the San Jose Sharks and Tampa Bay Lightning which will see Barclay Goodrow switch coasts. The Lightning will receive Goodrow and a 2020 third-round selection in exchange for a 2020 first-round pick and Anthony Greco.
Goodrow, 26, is a great story of hard work and dedication paying off, after going undrafted out of the OHL. After signing with the Sharks as a free agent in 2014, he quickly showed that he could compete at the NHL level even without much AHL seasoning. By the time he did spend some real time in the minor leagues he was ready to dominate, scoring 90 points in 125 games for San Jose’s affiliate. The last three seasons have been spent entirely in the NHL, where he has posted a career-high 24 points in 2019-20.
Perhaps best remembered for his overtime goal against the Vegas Golden Knights after the infamous major penalty comeback, Goodrow will give the Lightning another bottom-six center option and is signed through next season at an incredibly low number. Tampa Bay will owe him just $850K for the 2020-21 season, though his cap hit comes in slightly higher at $950K.
That inexpensive contract is the crux of this deal for the Lightning, who are about to face another cap crunch when they try to negotiate new deals with Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev and Erik Cernak. The team wasn’t able to bring in high priced talent with any term, but landed another player they feel will be a contributor towards a Stanley Cup.
Jake Muzzin Signs Four-Year Extension
Now that the trade deadline is over without much movement, the Toronto Maple Leafs can announced Jake Muzzin‘s four-year extension. The veteran defenseman has inked a deal that keeps him in Toronto through 2023-24, and will carry an average annual value of $5.625MM.
The deal will be of little comfort for Maple Leafs fans that saw their team do almost nothing on deadline day, but does keep a solid contributor in the mix for the next several years. Muzzin has fit in well in Toronto as a two-way star that can log huge minutes in a shutdown role while also moving the puck quickly to the team’s talented forwards. In Morgan Rielly‘s absence he has been the only real reliable option on the back end, part of the reason why so many were expecting a change to occur today.
Like many of their previously extensions, Muzzin’s deal is front-loaded with huge signing bonuses. That makes it easier to get rid of down the line, and leans on the financial might of the organization to give them a slight advantage.
Still, signing any 31-year old defenseman comes with substantial risk. Muzzin has deal with injuries this season and has a lot of miles on his body after playing a physical style for parts of nine seasons. If he takes a step backwards as his thirties roll along the Maple Leafs could be in real trouble given how much money they already have committed to their star forwards.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Columbus Blue Jackets Acquire Devin Shore, Move Markus Hannikainen
Though he certainly isn’t at the same level of Andreas Athanasiou, Devin Shore will be the new forward headed to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Anaheim Ducks have traded Shore at the deadline according to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest. The Ducks will receive Sonny Milano in return.
Selling on Milano seemed inevitable after his struggles this season, even despite his obvious high-end skill. The 23-year old winger has just five goals and 18 points this season and will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in the summer. It simply hasn’t worked for Milano in Columbus since the Blue Jackets selected him 16th overall in 2014, so they cashed him in to bring over a reliable bottom-six option for playoff run.
Shore, 25, has never really shown the offensive upside that Milano may bring one day, but is a legitimate NHL talent that you can roll out on the third or fourth line. The former Dallas Stars draft pick has played 282 games in the NHL, scoring 104 points including a career-high of 33 in 2016-17.
Shore might not have been the player that GM Jarmo Kekalainen had targeted at the deadline, but with the impending return of Alexander Wennberg and Cam Atkinson the group is already going to get a dose of offense.
The team has also traded Markus Hannikainen to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a conditional 2020 seventh-round pick. If Hannikainen plays ten games for Arizona, the Blue Jackets will receive the pick.
Vegas Golden Knights To Acquire Robin Lehner, Nick Cousins
3:55pm: The Toronto Maple Leafs were actually involved in the Lehner deal as well, part of a complicated three-way salary-retaining trade that makes the deal quite affordable for the Golden Knights. The Maple Leafs will sent Martins Dzierkals to the Golden Knights as well, and receive a 2020 fifth-round pick for picking up part of Lehner’s remaining salary.
1:50pm: The Vegas Golden Knights have swooped in at the last moment to land the best goaltender on the market, snatching Robin Lehner from the Chicago Blackhawks according to multiple reports including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the Blackhawks will receive Malcolm Subban, Slava Demin and a second-round pick for Lehner. The Golden Knights have also acquired Nick Cousins from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2021 fourth-round pick.
Lehner’s arrival in Vegas comes as the team is playing their best hockey of the season, on a six-game winning streak and in first place in the Pacific Division. The big goaltender is having another excellent campaign, registering a .918 save percentage in 33 appearances for the Blackhawks. Lehner is on just a one-year $5MM deal that he signed in the summer to prove his worth once again, but just a small portion of that will have to be covered by the Golden Knights at this point in the season.
The fact that they’ve now brought in another legitimate starter only strengthens Vegas’ position in the Western Conference, and makes them a contender once again for the Stanley Cup. Marc-Andre Fleury‘s struggles had been the only thing really holding the group back, but with Lehner added they should be hard to beat.
The question now is what happens in the offseason, if Fleury doesn’t bounce back down the stretch. His contract carries a $7MM cap hit for each of the next two seasons, but the team now has an opportunity to convince Lehner to stay if they choose. Mark Lazerus of The Athletic (subscription required) reported today that the goaltender offered to sign below market value three-year deal in Chicago but “never got an offer.”
Cousins is also not to be overlooked. The 26-year old is also on an expiring contract but will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. In 317 career games he has just 95 points, but Cousins can offer some secondary scoring and defensively reliable minutes in the bottom-six. He represents some extra depth for a team that is loaded at this point.
Carolina Hurricanes Acquire Sami Vatanen, Brady Skjei
It’s a busy last few minutes for the Carolina Hurricanes, as they are set to acquire both Sami Vatanen and Brady Skjei. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that the Devils will receive Janne Kuokkanen, Fredrik Claesson and a conditional fourth-round pick for Vatanen, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Skjei will be had for a first-round pick.
These two defensemen will come into an organization that already acquired Vincent Trocheck earlier in the day, making the Hurricanes one of the obvious winners from today’s festivities. Adding two potential top-four options and a second-line center in the matter of a few hours will change the look of the team as they head into a playoff chase.
Vatanen, 28, is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is actually currently injured, but will rejoin the lineup soon in Carolina and offers a right-handed puck-mover to help replace the losses of Dougie Hamilton and Brett Pesce. Vatanen has played both sides of the ice and can do a little bit of everything, including help on the powerplay and penalty kill.
Skjei meanwhile represents a more long-term addition for the Hurricanes. The 25-year old defenseman is signed through the 2023-24 season at a $5.25MM cap hit, but has also been quite inconsistent this year for the Rangers. Perhaps asked to fill a smaller role in Carolina will allow him to flourish once again, given how deep the team is on the blue line.
When all is said and done the Hurricanes will sit with a group including Jaccob Slavin, Jake Gardiner, Joel Edmundson, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Haydn Fleury, Vatanen and Skjei, with Pesce and Hamilton working their way back at some point (though when that will be still isn’t clear). That’s just about the deepest defense corps in the entire league, not to mention the fact that Carolina still has Gustav Forsling, Jake Beane, Joey Keane and Roland McKeown in the minor leagues.
Kuokkanen becomes one of the most interesting prospects for the Devils immediately, after posting strong results in the minor leagues but getting little opportunity in Carolina. He’ll surely get a bigger chance on the Devils as they rebuild, and when added to a mid-round pick is nice work by interim GM Tom Fitzgerald.
For the Rangers, clearing Skjei’s contract was the clear goal, even though the defenseman still obviously has value. The team has work to do on their cap moving forward, and nabbing a first-round pick will only help fill their prospect cupboards even more.
Florida Panthers Acquire Emil Djuse
The Florida Panthers have bought a minor league defenseman off the Dallas Stars, sending a sixth-round pick for Emil Djuse. The pick is actually Buffalo’s 2020 selection, which the Panthers had previously acquired.
Djuse, 26, is in his first season in North America after a strong career in the SHL, but has yet to suit up at the NHL level. In 48 games with the Texas Stars the offensive defenseman has 29 points, but perhaps will get a chance to climb the ranks in Florida.
Scheduled to be a restricted free agent at the end of the year, there’s obviously no guarantee that Djuse even sticks around down the road. He’ll report to AHL Springfield for now.
Calgary Flames Acquire Derek Forbort, Erik Gustafsson
You could bet when Mark Giordano and Travis Hamonic went down for the Calgary Flames that the team called around on every available defenseman. Well, even though Giordano is set to return soon after being a full participant in practice again today, they’ve added some depth on the blueline. The team has acquired Derek Forbort from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a 2021 conditional fourth-round pick, and Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2020 third-round pick. The Kings also retained 25% of Forbort’s contract.
The Flames have made moves like this in the past. Last year they added Oscar Fantenberg at the deadline to give them a little more depth on defense, and in 2017 it was Michael Stone coming in. Forbort and Gustafsson may come with even more excitement than those two, given their recent history. Forbort has been a partner of Drew Doughty, logging more than 20 minutes a night for the Kings in each of the previous three seasons. Injury stole most of this year, but he can be a reliable addition to a third pairing while the Flames work through injury.
It’s Gustafsson that brings the real intrigue however. Quietly the Blackhawks defender put up 17 goals and 60 points a season ago, and has established himself as a legitimate offensive threat. While his defensive work leaves something to be desired, the 27-year old could add a new dimension to the Flames.
Both players are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the year, explaining the relatively low costs. Some mid-round picks for the Kings and Blackhawks are just pieces to add to the cupboard as they both try to climb their way back to the top of the Western Conference.