Trade Deadline Summary: Winners & Losers Of The Atlantic Division
The NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and while it wasn’t the most exciting deadline day in recent memory, there were quite a few notable moves. Here are the winners and losers of the neck-and-neck Atlantic Division:
Winners
Boston Bruins:
- Acquired Drew Stafford from Winnipeg Jets for conditional 2017 sixth-round pick
GM Don Sweeney did not want a repeat of 2016, when he gave up second, third, fourth, and fifth-round picks for Lee Stempniak and John-Michael Liles, only for the team to miss the playoffs. In 2017, he succeeded in bringing in a reliable depth player and goal-scorer, Stafford, without having to pay the price of a top pick or any of Boston’s numerous high-end prospects. Sweeney deserves credit for not panicking when his divisional rivals all began making multiple moves, holding to his word of not overpaying and eventually getting a last-minute deal done at a bargain price for a good player.
Detroit Red Wings:
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick from Chicago Blackhawks for Tomas Jurco
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and 2018 second-round pick from New York Rangers for Brendan Smith
- Acquired 2018 sixth-round pick from Montreal Canadiens for Steve Ott
- Acquired 2017 third-round pick and Dylan McIlrath from Florida Panthers for Thomas Vanek
As hard as it is to imagine, the Red Wings are going to miss the playoffs and were in a complete fire sale at the deadline. For as long as it has been since they were in such a position, the team did pretty well. GM Ken Holland may have been able to get a better deal for Vanek earlier in the season, but getting two high picks for Smith and anything at all for Ott was nice maneuvering. The Red Wings in essence added five picks for four players that were unlikely to be on the team in 2017-18 anyway. Could they have dealt Riley Sheahan and Drew Miller too? Possibly, but they did enough as is.
Atlantic Notes: Gionta, Sabres, Gauthier
The captain wants to stay. That’s what Brian Gionta is telling the Buffalo Sabres and their fans, as he plays through the final year of his current contract. Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Hockey Beat published a piece today that quotes Gionta reiterating his hope to stay a Sabre through the end of the season and beyond if they’ll have him.
I’ve made my position pretty clear. I’d like to stay here. I’d like to be here going on in the future. I want to see this thing through.
Gionta isn’t the player that scored 48 goals and 89 points in 2005-06, but he is still a reliable winger and huge leadership presence among a young team building for the future. As the reins are handed over to teenage phenoms and 20-something stars, Gionta could still be a positive influence even at the age of 38. As his $4.25MM contract expires this season, perhaps the Sabres will look to bring him back on a shorter, much less expensive deal in the summer.
- The Sabres in general will be involved in rumors right up to the deadline tomorrow, as Dmitry Kulikov and Cody Franson are two of the most talked about names left among defensemen. Joe Yerdon of NHL.com reports that the entire lineup including goaltenders is a game-time decision for the Sabres tonight. With the team struggling to find the success of their contemporaries, it’s very likely that they sell off some expiring assets in order to help facilitate the ongoing rebuild. Though the team thought it may be coming out of it this summer, it looks like another bottom-ten finish for the Sabres is on the horizon.
- Brian Boyle will make his debut in the Maple Leafs lineup tonight and he’s bringing help with him. Both Mitch Marner and Tyler Bozak are expected to play, meaning that there was no longer room for Frederik Gauthier on the roster. The big centerman was sent to the Marlies when the Leafs activated Marner off injured reserve.
New York Rangers And Buffalo Sabres Swap AHL Players
The New York Rangers have made another deal today following their acquisition of Brendan Smith, trading Mat Bodie to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Daniel Catenacci.
Bodie had been the captain of the Hartford Wolf Pack this season and is a 26-year old defenseman. Signed out of Union College in 2014 after going undrafted and made an immediate impact at the AHL level. His offensive ability and puck-moving instincts have made him an integral part of the Wolf Pack’s back end the past three seasons, but will now head to the Rochester Americans to try and help them climb out of the bottom of the standings.
In return, the Rangers will welcome Catenacci to the fold, a 23-year old former third-round pick that made his NHL debut this season. In four years in the AHL, the undersized centerman has yet to reach his high offensive potential but has elite speed and skating ability.
This is likely just one of several minor moves teams will make before tomorrow’s deadline, as assistant GMs sort out their AHL rosters as well. Unfortunately for both of these teams, they find themselves well out of a playoff position for the Calder Cup this season.
Atlantic Notes: Playoff Push, Carrick, Panthers
The Atlantic is the most exciting division in hockey right now, and not necessarily for the product on the ice. Often thought of as the weakest in the league this season due to the low point totals, three teams made deals today to strengthen their squads, while another continued their sell off of expiring assets. The Maple Leafs acquired Brian Boyle from Tampa Bay, Ottawa brought in Alex Burrows from Vancouver, and Montreal swapped defenseman to get Jordie Benn into the fold.
With just five points separating first and fourth place in the division, the last 20 games are sure to be full of fireworks. With Boston the only squad of the four yet to make an acquisition, time will tell if they feel the pressure of the other three and move to improve their team in the coming hours. We’re now less 46 hours away from the deadline, and things are heating up in the Atlantic.
- The Maple Leafs received some further good news today when they had Tyler Bozak and Mitch Marner back as full participants at practice. Both players are expected to suit up tomorrow against the San Jose Sharks alongside the newly acquired Boyle. To make room for Marner coming back off injured reserve, defenseman Connor Carrick has replaced him there according to Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun. If Boyle makes it in time, the team will have to send down another player—likely Frederik Gauthier—before the game.
- Craig Custance of ESPN reported earlier that phones have been ringing in Buffalo after their terrible weekend. Whether anything gets done is still yet to be decided, but Custance assures fretting Sabres fans that at least no Evander Kane conversations were taking place.
- Custance also says that though Radim Vrbata looks like a great fit for the Bruins, “as many as ten teams” are in on the Arizona winger, making it a tough call to project where he’ll end up. After the deals today, perhaps Boston is a little more pressured to acquire a scoring winger like Vrbata.
- The Florida Panthers shouldn’t be ruled out of the playoff picture either, as they’re only three points back of the Maple Leafs for the final wildcard spot. Executive Dale Tallon had a Q&A with NHL.com today, admitting that he is a buyer this year (as is his hope every year). Tallon recently told the media that he wanted to address his powerplay if they were to do something, a unit that has fallen to 25th in the league at just 16%.
When Will The Buffalo Sabres Have Their Renaissance?
For Buffalo Sabres fans this season must be hell. They have seen their team rocked by injuries all season long, taking what is a talented squad and sapping them of their playoff potential. The consecutive losses over the weekend to bottom-dwelling Arizona and Colorado has all but assured that they are sellers at this week’s trade deadline instead of buyers.
The Sabres weren’t sellers last summer, when they went out and gave a big contract to Kyle Okposo and traded for Dmitry Kulikov to help their back end. They were a young team with a ton of potential, and decided to augment it with talented veterans. While Okposo was the team’s all-star representative, his scoring touch hasn’t been enough to help them out of the bottom of the Eastern conference. 
Meanwhile, they have to watch the Edmonton Oilers and (even more painfully) Toronto Maple Leafs experience huge gains from teenagers, turning into legitimate playoff contenders overnight. The teams that they’ve battled with for first overall picks are now surging to the top of the standings. Edmonton won a lottery that Buffalo had worked so hard for to get Connor McDavid, and Toronto tanked for Auston Matthews while the Sabres tried to compete a year ago.
But it’s not just the past two years that should have been building blocks for the Sabres. Like the Oilers, they’ve long had picks to help build a system—that just haven’t seemed to come together as a team. Since 2011 the Sabres have had eight picks in the top-16 of the draft, including four top-eights (Alex Nylander, Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Rasmus Ristolainen).
If you look at their track record, it’s actually quite good in these spots with all of them looking like solid if not excellent NHL players. So why hasn’t it come together for them yet? Is it just the injuries? Perhaps, but even the players who have been relatively healthy haven’t performed up to standards.
Ryan O’Reilly, he of the highest cap-hit on the team, has just 38 points in 52 games and hasn’t yet turned into the dominating elite centerman the Sabres had hoped for. Okposo has 39 and looks like he’ll end with his lowest total since the last lockout. Matt Moulson and Brian Gionta have shown their age and turned in a bottom-six production, and Marcus Foligno might not hit double-digits in goals this season.
So when will they experience their renaissance, like the Oilers and Leafs? Will it happen next season, when Eichel is healthy enough to lead their team all season, or are they doomed to sit in mediocrity while they pay off the long-term deals they’ve given to some of these veteran players. Fans should be wary of asking for any other high-priced additions this summer, and instead just rely on the internal development of all these highly drafted players. It looks like the Sabres will add another top pick to the stable this offseason, as long as they don’t do anything too crazy at the deadline.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Atlantic Division Notes: Sens, Franson, Panthers
The Ottawa Senators have been in the market for a top-six forward for much of the season and that need has only grown with the recent news that Bobby Ryan would be on the shelf for three to six weeks due. Ryan, with just 24 points in 50 games, hasn’t been as effective this season as in years past but still brings the track record of a proven scoring forward. However, despite the team’s need, Senators GM Pierre Dorion is not willing to give up too much in any deal, as Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun writes.
As the scribe notes, the Senators are one of several clubs that have been linked to Colorado center Matt Duchene at various times this season but the asking price, a young NHL defenseman, a prospect and a first-round pick, is too rich for Dorion’s blood. Cody Ceci, Thomas Chabot and Colin White, players Colorado would certainly demand as part of a package in any trade talks, are considered off limits according to Garrioch. That leaves Ottawa shopping in the second tier rental market in all likelihood, with Garrioch suggesting the team has or may have interest in pending free agents Jiri Hudler, Thomas Vanek and/or Drew Stafford. While those names may not be particularly awe-inspiring to Sens fans, as long as Dorion chooses to hoard the team’s best young assets then that’s more than likely the best they can do ahead of the trade deadline.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:
- There has been no shortage of teams with reported interest in St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, the top offensive defenseman believed to be on the trade market. Every year contenders burn up the phone lines looking for quality blue line depth ahead of the deadline to bolster their chances of making a deep postseason run. Of course only one team will end up with Shattenkirk, which will leave plenty of disappointed teams looking for alternatives. One option for some of those clubs may well be Cody Franson, according to Bill Hoppe in a piece on Buffalo Hockey Beat. Earlier in his career, the right-shot blue liner was a solid point producer capable of playing in all situations. Since signing with the Sabres ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, the 29-year-old’s offensive game has regressed with Franson posting just 16 points in 53 games this season. However, given the high demand for defensemen capable of playing the right side, it’s likely the Sabres could flip Franson for a solid return to one of the teams either unwilling or unable to meet the high price tag the Blues have set for Shattenkirk.
- Since Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau returned from injury nine games ago, the Florida Panthers more closely resemble a viable playoff contender even if they’ve actually drawn no closer to a postseason spot. The recent surge has possibly shifted GM Dale Tallon’s deadline position from potential seller to potential buyer. In the event they go the latter route, the Panthers could be in the market for a depth winger, as Tallon tells TSN’s Frank Seravalli in a recent interview. The longtime NHL executive tells Seravalli that he feels the team is “strong up the middle,” and that “either wing some place would work.” He also says that while the team has a couple of talented young wingers in the system, he doesn’t feel that “they’re ready to take the next step yet.” Tallon was extremely aggressive at last year’s trade deadline, adding forwards Teddy Purcell and Jiri Hudler to improve the club’s scoring depth. With plenty of veteran wingers reportedly available, there’s little reason to believe he won’t be just as aggressive this year, assuming he can find a deal or two to his liking.
Deadline Primer: Philadelphia Flyers
With the trade deadline less than a week away, we continue to take a closer look at each team. Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs?
The Philadelphia Flyers are one of the most depressing stories of the season so far (sorry Flyers fans) after their hot start has crumbled in front of their eyes. Once winners of ten straight, the Flyers have gone 9-15-4 since then and have almost seen their playoff hopes vanish entirely. They are currently five points out of a playoff spot with two teams between them, and are in danger of being overtaken by the surging Tampa Bay Lightning and perhaps even the Buffalo Sabres.
It’s not all bad for the Flyers though, who have seen Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny have solid debuts as teenagers, and Wayne Simmonds continue to make his deal look like one of the best in the NHL. They have two games remaining before the deadline, one against their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins, and one against the lowly Colorado Avalanche. Perhaps they will decide the fate of the Flyers come the deadline.
Record
28-25-7, 6th in Metropolitan Division
Deadline Status
Likely Seller, but with eyes on a quick reload.
Deadline Cap Space
$740K – full-season cap hit, 46/50 contracts per CapFriendly.
Draft Picks
2017: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, BOS 3rd, PHI 4th, NYI 4th, PHI 5th, PHI 6th, PHI 7th
2018: PHI 1st, PHI 2nd, PHI 3rd, PHI 4th, PHI 5th, PHI 6th, PHI 7th
Trade Chips
It’s all about the rental defensemen for the Flyers, who have a few options to sell at the deadline. If they want to move on from both Mark Streit and Michael Del Zotto, there will be takers for both. While neither is a defensive dynamo, both provide offensive ability and can be used to boost a powerplay. Their value is fairly low, as both have been healthy scratches at times this season and aren’t reliable enough in their own end to warrant a high draft pick or top prospect.
Both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are free agents at the end of the year, but neither has played well enough for a team to think they could help them win games down the stretch. Philadelphia is likely stuck with them for the rest of the year, unless they can convince someone to take Mason’s hit in a salary-swapping deal.
It will be interesting to see if the Flyers push any of their other assets into the fray, and try a little rebuild on the fly. They’ve benched Shayne Gostisbehere at times this season to try and help his development defensively, and could get a ransom for him if they made him available. Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier would both be considered among the best available names if they listened on them, and could bring back packages close to the ones Joe Sakic is looking for in Colorado.
Likely though the deadline will come down to shopping defenders for Philadelphia, who would listen on Radko Gudas and Andrew MacDonald if anyone called. Both players (especially MacDonald) likely have too big of a contract to deal in-season though.
Five Players To Watch: D Michael Del Zotto, D Mark Streit, D Radko Gudas, C Nick Cousins, F Chris VandeVelde
Team Needs
1) Expansion Draft Goaltending: The Flyers have a decision to make at the expansion draft, as currently the only goaltender that fills the requirement is Anthony Stolarz, a prospect they likely wouldn’t want to lose—though they do also have Carter Hart and Alex Lyon in the pipeline. They’ll either have to re-sign one of the two pending free agents, or bring in another goaltender to expose. It doesn’t have to be anyone who will play for the team next season, but look for them to at least address that situation by the deadline.
2) Young Roster-Ready Players – The Flyers won’t want to undergo a complete rebuild, with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek right in their prime and signed long-term. Mid-round draft picks are nice to keep a pipeline full of talent, but the Flyers need to get better now. Look for them to go after any pre-prime player that is available, though those are few and far between this season. The crunch up front in Tampa Bay, or the crop of good young defenders in Carolina and Anaheim could be targets but will likely have to wait until the summer to get anything done.
Sabres Notes: Playoffs, Reinhart, Kane
After defeating the St. Louis Blues today 3-2, the Buffalo Sabres have now won three in a row and four out of five games. After struggling with injuries all season long, the team is getting healthy and starting to show that they shouldn’t be considered straight sellers at the deadline. Now just one point out of a playoff spot—though further by point percentage—the Sabres are legitimately in the race down the stretch. A month ago, you might not have been able to say that about a team that has floundered at the bottom of the league standings for years now.
While the playoffs will still be a tough goal, the Jack Eichel-led Sabres don’t look like they’ll be hard sellers at the deadline. While they might not buy, the team showed it was ready to call the rebuild finished when they signed Kyle Okposo this summer. Now they try to improve incrementally each season and get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports that Sam Reinhart will still be a game time decision tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks. The team is hoping his flu will subside in time to try and make if four in a row.
- Vogl also has a quote from Evander Kane, speaking about getting his 20th goal this season. “I’m not interested in the 20-goal mark, to be honest. I’d like to go past that,” Kane said, after his two point game. He now has his third 20-goal season and is on a better points pace than we’ve seen in years from the big forward. At just 25-years old and after a summer filled with off-ice incidents, Kane was considered on his way out from Buffalo, with many believing his hometown Vancouver Canucks would be interested. The rumors are quieting though, as he continues to play well for the surging Sabres. If they did put him into play, he would likely cost considerably more than six months ago.
- Joe Yerdon of NHL.com adds that the team will not skate tomorrow before they take on the Blackhawks. After the game the Sabres will go into their mandated bye-week, and will get a chance to recharge for the final stretch run. They’ll come out of the break against some weak competition, facing the Arizona Coyotes (twice) and Colorado Avalanche in their first four games after the break.
Ty Rattie And Taylor Fedun Placed On Waivers
Right winger Ty Rattie finds himself back on the wire as the Hurricanes announced Saturday that they have placed him on waivers. It’s the second time he has been waived in 2017 as Carolina picked him up via waivers from St. Louis back in early January.
Since being claimed on January 4th, the 24 year old played in just five games with Carolina, picking up two assists while averaging 13:28 per game. However, he was also a healthy scratch 12 times in that span. On the season between the Blues and Hurricanes, he has two assists in nine games while logging 10:44 per game in ice time. In his career, he has five goals and five assists in 35 games. Rattie is making $650K this season and will be a restricted free agent this summer with arbitration eligibility.
Rattie wasn’t the only player put on waivers on Saturday as the Sabres placed blueliner Taylor Fedun on the wire per Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). The defenseman has played in 25 games with Buffalo this season, picking up seven assists while playing a little under 14 minutes per night. He has been a much bigger offensive threat at the minor league level, recording 17 points (4-13-17) in just 20 games with Buffalo’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Buffalo activated fellow rearguard Cody Franson off of injured reserve earlier today, leaving Buffalo with eight defensemen in the active roster. Fedun carries a cap hit of just $600K and is slated to be an unrestricted free agent in July.
Still with the waiver wire, Devils center Sergey Kalinin cleared, reports Andrew Gross of the North Jersey Record (Twitter link). He has been assigned to their AHL affiliate in Albany.
Snapshots: Scouts, Blackhawks, Yakupov
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, but not many teams finding themselves out of the playoff race a team like Colorado is becoming the scouting capital for the NHL. Tonight as they take on the Buffalo Sabres in a rare trip to the North East, teams have come out in full force to watch players like Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. Terry Frei of the Denver Post tweeted out the list of scouts in attendance, and it includes 24 names including three from the Maple Leafs and two each from Montreal, Los Angeles, Columbus, Winnipeg and Calgary.
The Maple Leafs in particular have a strong contingent, sending assistant GM Kyle Dubas down in person. The Maple Leafs are being tight-lipped on the status of Mitch Marner after leaving the game last night, though there have been reports of the amount of cap space the team has opened up prior to the deadline. Don’t forget that Buffalo has struggled this year as well, and have multiple players (like Evander Kane) that would be interesting to teams around the league.
- The Chicago Blackhawks have gotten some reinforcements today, bringing Nick Schmaltz and Tanner Kero up from the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL according to Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. The Hawks have been off since February 11th on their mandatory bye-week, but get back into the swing of things with three games in four nights (and four in six) starting Saturday.
- Former first-overall pick Nail Yakupov is back in the St. Louis Blues lineup tonight for the first time in nearly two weeks. With a career almost completely off the rails it will be interesting to see what happens to him at the deadline, and whether a team makes a play for his upside. Still just 23-years old, Yakupov only has six points in 31 games this season and is barely playing over 10 minutes a night whenever he does crack the lineup. He’s arbitration eligible this offseason, and is a clear candidate to not even be tendered a qualifying offer. His $2.5MM salary is currently way more than he is producing, and the QO would need to be the same.