Calgary Flames Acquire Oscar Fantenberg
The Calgary Flames have been involved on some of the biggest names of trade deadline day, but the first deal to come together is for a depth defenseman. The Flames have acquired Oscar Fantenberg from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick.
Fantenberg, 27, is only in his sophomore season in the NHL after a long career overseas. Playing in the SHL and KHL he was a useful two-way player, but has settled into a more defensive role since joining the Kings. In 73 games across two seasons he has just 13 points, but is an effective player at shutting down rushes and will give the Flames a bit more depth on the left side.
Calgary is preparing for a long playoff run given their place in the standings and will need as many defensemen as possible. Fantenberg may not play a ton for them, but given how right-heavy their blue line is at the moment he’ll be a worthwhile addition. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and is earning the league minimum this year.
Adam McQuaid Traded To Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus Blue Jackets have already pushed quite a few chips to the middle of the table, and now will throw a tip to the dealer. Adam McQuaid is the latest player to be acquired by the Blue Jackets according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, while Darren Dreger of TSN adds that the New York Rangers will receive a 2019 fourth-round pick and a 2019 seventh-round pick. The Rangers’ confirmation of the deal adds that minor league defenseman Julius Bergman was also included in the return.
With this trade, the Rangers recoup the same picks they traded to the Boston Bruins to get McQuaid this off-season, essentially renting the physical blue liner for five months at the cost of depth defender Steven Kampfer. The asking price for McQuaid was rumored to be at least a third-round pick. Following the Dallas Stars’ acquisition of a similar veteran defenseman in Ben Lovejoy from the New Jersey Devils yesterday for a third-rounder and young defenseman Connor Carrick, that price was expected to go up. However, it seems the market never really developed for McQuaid despite the lack of quality rental defenders on the trade block.
The Blue Jackets made their two big trades before deadline day, adding former Ottawa Senators forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel, but continue to address their depth in other areas with a second value addition today. After adding former New Jersey Devils goaltender Keith Kinkaid as a solid third-string option in net for just a future fifth-round pick, they add a nice complementary piece on the blue line in McQuaid. Solidifying their defensive depth has been a need for the Blue Jackets and McQuaid fits the bill. The 6’4″, 210-lb. defender is an experienced pro with a Stanley Cup title to his name – the only Blue Jacket with that claim – and brings a strong, physical presence to the right side. McQuaid is likely to slot in as an everyday bottom-pair defenseman for Columbus down the stretch and in the postseason.
Columbus is likely done for the day and for good reason. Although they have addressed many needs and have found good value in several trades, the McQuaid acquisition leaves the Blue Jackets with just their own third-round pick and the Calgary Flames’ seventh-round pick to represent their entire 2019 draft class. GM Jarmo Kekalainen has undoubtedly decided to go all in this season to get Columbus deep into the postseason for the first time in franchise history, but has done so at the cost of the pipeline. The question now is whether it was all worth it.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Derick Brassard
The Florida Panthers have found a buyer for Derick Brassard, sending the forward to the Colorado Avalanche along with a sixth-round pick according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The Panthers will receive a 2020 third-round pick. If the Avalanche re-sign Brassard, they will not receive the sixth-round pick. At least he won’t need to get on a plane, as the Panthers are in Colorado to face the Avalanche tonight.
It has been a year of extremes for both Brassard and the Avalanche, who will now come together in an attempt to make the playoffs in the Western Conference. For Brassard this is the second time he has been traded this season and the third time in a calendar year. His stock has dropped incredibly over that year following a disappointing performance with the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 66 games for the Penguins including the playoffs, Brassard recorded just 27 points and was never a fit. In Florida, he put up four points in ten games and still didn’t look like the borderline first-line center he was a few years ago.
Still, for an Avalanche team that was considered a Stanley Cup contender through the first two months of the year this is another step in the right direction. After falling almost completely out of the playoff race the team has won four games in a row and climbed back into contention for a wild card spot. Brassard should give the team a real boost to secondary scoring and could anchor a second line that has given them trouble all year. All that for a third-round pick is a worthwhile gamble, especially given Brassard is relatively inexpensive.
After seeing part of his contract retained, Brassard carries just a $3MM full-season cap hit and is almost free in terms of actual salary. Brassard’s deal was heavily front loaded and he is earning just $1MM total salary this season.
Carolina Hurricanes Trade Cliff Pu
The Carolina Hurricanes have traded a big part of the return for Jeff Skinner, sending prospect Cliff Pu to the Florida Panthers. While technically not the same trade, the Hurricanes have received Tomas Jurco in return. Jurco is on an AHL contract and had to be involved as a separate transaction.
Pu, 20, had recently been assigned to the ECHL after struggling in his first professional season. The former Buffalo Sabres prospect has just six points in 44 games with the Charlotte Checkers, and will now try to turn his young career around in his third organization. Pu along with three draft picks was the package the Hurricanes acquired for Skinner in the offseason, in a deal that now looks even worse for Carolina.
There’s still plenty of time for Pu to turn things around and develop into the big offensive threat he showed in junior, but the Checkers needed help now for a potential Calder Cup run this season. Carolina apparently believed Jurco’s addition was more valuable, and he will certainly bring a lot of experience to the table. The 26-year old forward has 10 points in 14 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, and won a Calder Cup with the Grand Rapids Griffins in 2013.
Under an AHL contract, Jurco cannot be recalled to the NHL.
New York Rangers Sign Boo Nieves, Steven Forgarty To One-Year Extensions
After trading Kevin Hayes to the Winnipeg Jets, the New York Rangers have made another transaction. This time it’s a one-year one-way contract extension for Boo Nieves worth $700K according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Nieves was heading towards Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer since he has played only 58 games in his relatively short professional career.
Nieves, 25, hasn’t developed quite as quickly as the Rangers hoped when they made him the 59th overall pick in 2012. After four successful seasons at the University of Michigan, he has struggled to put up much offense in the minor leagues and has just 17 points in 58 career NHL games. With just 20 contests remaining this season for the Rangers, Nieves was not going to be able to cross the 80-game Group VI threshold. That threshold is still in play for next summer as well when Nieves will still be just 26. If he does play 80, he’ll become a restricted free agent in 2020.
The team has also signed a one-year extension with Steven Fogarty, who was another pending Group VI UFA. Fogarty has even less NHL experience with just 11 games under his belt, but is having an excellent season in the minor leagues. The 25-year old has 39 points in 47 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack but is waiting for his first NHL point. Both players will serve as inexpensive depth for the Rangers going forward.
Montreal Canadiens Trade Michael Chaput
The Montreal Canadiens have traded Michael Chaput to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for Jordan Weal. The deal is straight up, giving both forwards a fresh start with a new organization. Chaput will report to the Tucson Roadrunners, while Weal will join the Canadiens directly.
After the news that Christian Dvorak‘s return is imminent, there wasn’t much room left for Weal on the Coyotes’ roster. The team would have had to waive him to send him to the minor leagues which may have risked him for nothing, though his $1.75MM contract might have been tough to swallow for another team around the league. Weal has shown some real upside over the years, but has just 11 points this season and has now been traded twice. The 26-year old is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but will try to add his speed to a Montreal team heading to the playoffs and make enough of an impact to draw an extension offer.
Chaput meanwhile has just five points in 32 games for the Canadiens this year and already cleared waivers to go to the minor leagues. The 26-year old will provide some excellent scoring depth for the Roadrunners, but is also signed through the 2019-20 season at league minimum. If the Coyotes did not intend on retaining Weal, they likely swapped him out for whatever they could get.
Calgary Flames Came Close To Mark Stone Deal
The Calgary Flames have been checking in on several players around the league, and according to Hockey Operations VP Don Maloney were close to “something big” last night. That’s what Maloney told Ryan Leslie of Sportsnet, which immediately sparked speculation about who that deal could have been for. Sportsnet colleague Chris Johnston tweets that Maloney was talking about Mark Stone, meaning the market for the Ottawa Senators winger has gotten even smaller.
That market likely already took a hit when the Jets struck a deal earlier today for Kevin Hayes, using their first-round pick and Brendan Lemieux to get it done. The Senators are expected to want several high end assets for Stone and Calgary apparently balked at that ask. If that’s true the Flames may turn their attention somewhere else, though several big names are already off the board.
Calgary is in prime position to compete for the Stanley Cup this season, and should be considered a contender on any forward left on the market. The fact that they were close on Stone means they are willing to at least entertain deals surrounding rentals, though will hold strong on the idea that they’re not going to sell the whole farm. Eric Francis of Sportsnet believes the prices might even be too high all around, leading the Flames to miss out on the “impact forward” they’ve been trying to acquire.
PHR 2019 Trade Deadline Live Chat Transcript
Click here to read a transcript of this year’s special trade deadline live chat with PHR’s Gavin Lee.
Ottawa Senators Acquire Brian Gibbons
After sending out several forwards over the last few days, the Ottawa Senators have brought another back in. The team has acquired Brian Gibbons from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for minor league defenseman Patrick Sieloff. Gibbons is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and carries a $1MM full-season cap hit.
Gibbons, 30, experienced some unprecedented success with the New Jersey Devils last season, recorded 12 goals and 26 points in just 59 games. That kind of offensive production wasn’t expected given that he had just 22 NHL points to his name previously, and he hasn’t been able to replicate it this year. In 44 games for the Ducks, Gibbons has recorded just five points while averaging just over ten minutes of ice time per game. He cleared waivers earlier this month and was assigned to the minor leagues just a few days ago, though the Senators have already announced he will be joining their NHL squad in time for Tuesday’s game against the Washington Capitals.
With Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel already gone, the Senators are also expected to move Mark Stone and Mikkel Boedker before tomorrow’s deadline and will need some bodies to fill the roster card for the rest of the year. Gibbons is a versatile forward, though he isn’t expected to make a huge impact down the stretch.
Sieloff meanwhile is a 24-year old defenseman just waiting for a chance at the NHL level. Originally selected in the second round by the Calgary Flames in 2014, the physical defender has suited up just twice at the highest level. Amazingly he scored in each of those games for the Flames and Senators respectively, leading to an interesting stat that he alone holds. There is little reason to believe that he will be an impact player at the NHL level for the Ducks. Sieloff is under contract through next season, after which he would become a Group VI unrestricted free agent if he does not play in 78 more NHL games.
San Jose Sharks Acquire Gustav Nyquist
The San Jose Sharks must have liked what they saw today in Gustav Nyquist‘s game. The team has acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings after seeing him in person today in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and 2020 conditional third-round pick. Nyquist scored one goal and recorded eight shots in more than 20 minutes of ice time in a 5-3 loss against the Sharks. In order to complete the trade, Nyquist was required to waive his full no-trade clause. If the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup Final this season or re-sign Nyquist, the 2020 pick will become a second-round selection.
Nyquist, 29, now has 16 goals and 49 points on the season and is closing in on his career-high of 54 set back in 2014-15. The talented winger was perhaps the best expiring contract the Red Wings have left after already sending Nick Jensen to Washington, and they will gather even more assets for their rebuild with this trade. The veteran forward comes with a $4.75MM full season cap hit, though his actual salary is even more. This season Nyquist is earning $5.5MM of the $19MM he signed for in 2015, though Detroit will be retaining 30% of his remaining contract.
Over the last few seasons the Red Wings have consistently turned their former core players into younger or future assets as they look towards Dylan Larkin to lead the next wave of talent. Nyquist, Jensen, Tomas Tatar, Petr Mrazek, Riley Sheahan, Brendan Smith, and Thomas Vanek (who eventually re-signed in Detroit) have all been shipped out since the beginning of 2017 for a total of eleven draft picks all in the first three rounds. That kind of turnover is allowing the team to rebuild through their own development system, though they so far have not experienced much on-ice success in terms of the NHL standings. Detroit once again is expected to finish near the bottom of the league and should be selecting in the first half of the round in June’s draft.
For the Sharks, adding another offensive talent like Nyquist is just another sign that they believe they can compete for the Stanley Cup this season. The team had already spent big on Erik Karlsson in the offseason but had been open about the fact that they were willing to shop in the rental market. Remember though, GM Doug Wilson often extends the players he goes after through trade, most recently with Evander Kane. Nyquist ended up at #14 on our Midseason UFA Power Rankings, and with a career year and potential long playoff experience is setting himself up for a big pay day.
With the win today, San Jose will wake up tomorrow with the third-best record in the entire NHL at 37-18-8 and armed with another talented player to insert into the lineup. Nyquist has experience on both wings and has previous success on the powerplay. Unfortunately there is still a question mark about his playoff performance to date. In 35 games Nyquist has recorded just eight points, though obviously that could change with the new uniform. That’s what the Sharks are hoping for, as they push all of their chips to the middle of the table.
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