Deadline Primer: St. Louis Blues
With the trade deadline now just weeks away, we’re going to start taking 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?
After earning a berth in the 2015-16 Western Conference Final, the St. Louis Blues were again expected to be among the top teams in the conference and to perhaps make it as far as the Stanley Cup Final. Unfortunately the Blues have underachieved on the season, ultimatley leading management to dismiss veteran bench boss Ken Hitchcock. More changes could be on the horizon as the team currently finds itself fighting for their playoff lives.
Record
27-22-5, 54 points, fourth in Central Division
Deadline Status
Buyer and perhaps seller
Draft Picks
2017: STL 1st, STL 2nd, STL 4th, BUF 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th
2018: STL 1st, STL 2nd, STL 3rd, CGY 3rd*, STL 4th, STL 5th, STL 6th, STL 7th
*Pick is conditional on whether Brian Elliot re-signs with Calgary
Trade Chips
It would be understandable if Blues GM Doug Armstrong doesn’t view this year’s edition of the team as a viable Stanley Cup contender and was therefore reluctant to part with either prospect or draft pick capital for rental players at the deadline. St. Louis boasts a shallow prospect pool after years of earning draft selections outside of the top-10. The team does possess their own first and second-round picks in each of the next two seasons and perhaps in the right deal they would be willing to include those assets but it would have to be a trade the brought back a young, controllable top-six forward.
Kevin Shattenkirk might represent both the team’s most valuable asset as well as the one most likely to be dealt. Stung by losing veterans David Backes and Troy Brouwer for nothing as free agents last summer, Armstrong might be motivated to cash in the puck-moving defenseman in order to avoid a similar fate in July. As a skilled, right-shot defenseman, Shattenkirk is a tremendously valuable commodity on the open market, especially if he agrees to an extension with an interested club prior to the deal being made, and could return multiple pieces to improve the team moving forward.
Team Needs
- A Starting Goaltender – The Blues took a risk in the offseason by splitting up the effective netminding duo of Brian Elliot and Jake Allen, moving the former to Calgary at the draft in exchange for picks. Allen was viewed as the goalie of the future but has struggled to stop the puck with any consistency this season. His backup, Carter Hutton, simply isn’t a starting-caliber backstop in this league. If the Blues decide to go for it this year, it would behoove them to look at the starting goalie market where one of Marc-Andre Fleury or Ben Bishop would easily solve their need.
- A Top-Line Center – Paul Stastny is a nice, #2 pivot but he’s miscast in St. Louis as their top option due to the absence of any other competent scoring line options. Patrik Berglund (20 points in 54 games) and Jori Lehtera (16 points in 49 games) simply haven’t gotten the job done. The team chose to let Backes go in free agency and it’s looking more and more like a mistake that they didn’t either bite the bullet and re-sign him or replace him in the offseason. If the Blues could find a top-line center under long-term control, they’d have to take a look at it.
Robby Fabbri Suffers Lower-Body Injury
With the St. Louis Blues trying to build on their 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, they have lost a key forward. Robby Fabbri suffered an injury on a hit from Carter Rowney against the Penguins tonight and will not return. He left the ice in considerable pain, and needed assistance from the training staff.
Fabbri let out some cries of agony you could even hear on the broadcast, as he put no weight on his left leg. This is not the same leg that he injured two years ago at the World Juniors, when he suffered a high ankle sprain in his right leg.
For the Blues, losing another forward will test their depth even more. The team already watched David Backes and Troy Brouwer leave in free agency, and have struggled through the first 50 games. Finding themselves just a few points out of a playoff spot, some wonder whether they will go ahead and deal upcoming free agents Kevin Shattenkirk and Patrik Berglund or hold on and try to make another run with the newly promoted head coach Mike Yeo.
Fabbri has taken another step forward this season after an exceptional rookie season that saw him score 18 goals. He has 29 points in 50 games this year and has been logging close to 16 minutes a night as he builds the trust of the coaching staff. If the injury is as bad as it looked, it will be interesting to see who the Blues move up the lineup. Perhaps Nail Yakupov, the former first-overall pick the Blues acquired earlier this year will get another chance to show he’s deserved of an increased role on this team.
Trade Candidates: Cody Franson
If the summer of 2015 taught hockey fans anything, it was that there is no league-wide consensus about Cody Franson. The defenseman was expected to be one of the top blue liners on the market, but instead of jumping on a big offer early in free agency, his negotiations dragged on into September before he finally agreed to a deal with the Buffalo Sabres.
Two years later, Franson’s production has fallen off at both ends of the ice and his value is even more unpredictable. In need of a change of scenery, Franson is not re-signing with Buffalo this summer, so if the Sabres’ playoff hopes continue slip out of reach, they should be more than willing to move the big defenseman.
Contract
Franson is in the final year of a two-year, $6.65MM deal and will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. At the trade deadline, Franson’s $3.325MM cap hit will be down to just over $1MM.
2016-17
Franson’s time in Buffalo has not gone according to plan. Reports in the summer of 2015 were that Franson was weighing offers between affordable, short-term deals with contenders or more money and more term from rebuilding teams. What he ended up with was a short-term deal, likely for the most money on the table though, with a rebuild. The lack of talent around him in Buffalo has certainly stifled Franson’s output, but most of the blame lies with him and not making the most of his situation. The 2015-16 season was the worst of Franson’s career. Although injuries limited him to just 59 games, Franson still scored less than half of the 36 points he had registered in 78 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators the year before. He also saw a massive drop-off in his defensive stats like hits and blocks. Buffalo fans were hoping for a rebound year when Franson returned to full health in 2016-17, but so far it has not come. Franson is on pace for just 25 points, which would be the lowest full-season total of his career. It would even be less than the 29 points he scored in 45 games in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. He’s also way off pace from matching the dominant defensive numbers he put up in Toronto. Add in that these shortcoming are also going along with almost 19 minutes of ice time per game, the third highest average of his career, and clearly something is off with Franson.
Season Stats
47 games: 3 goals, 12 assists, 15 points, -1, 62 hits, 43 blocks, 18:46 ATOI
Potential Suitors
The first team that should jump out as a prime candidate is the Toronto Maple Leafs. A return to Toronto, where Franson had the best years of his career, could be exactly what he needs. When the Leafs dealt him away at the 2015 trade deadline, they were in full rebuild mode. However, they’ve turned it around faster than anyone could have imagined and are now looking for affordable help in trying to reach the playoffs. At a bargain price, Franson would be great value for Toronto as a player comfortable with the city and with several former teammates. Even in the midst of a down year, Franson would present an upgrade over any of Matt Hunwick, Roman Polak, Connor Carrick or the recently-claimed Alexey Marchenko.
The Los Angeles Kings are another club that could really use Franson’s services. The team has had to make due with the likes of Kevin Gravel and the recently-waived Tom Gilbert all season long on their bottom pair, but they are not a lock to make the playoffs and an upgrade on defense would go along way. As of now, Drew Doughty is the only right-handed defenseman on the roster. The Kings would gladly take Franson to add some depth and balance on the back end.
Other contenders that could be interested in Franson for the right price and purely as some added depth include Eastern Conference powerhouses like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers, but they might have to match the offers of teams in more dire need. The Sabres’ playoff chances are slim at this point, and they won’t be afraid to trade Franson to the division-rival Maple Leafs if that is who makes the best offer.
Likelihood Of A Trade
If a market develops, which it likely will, Franson will almost definitely be moved. He has been a disappointment with the Sabres and a rebuilding team will take any help they can get by moving out veterans with expiring contracts. It’s possible that Franson’s struggles will cause teams to shy away from acquiring him, but at just 29-years-old and with very good numbers in his past, the big blue liner has potential. Buffalo will not ask for much, but some team will pay to bring in what amounts to a very good depth defenseman for the stretch run. Still capable of solid two-way play with offensive upside in the right system, Franson is more valuable than his numbers indicate.
Pacific Division Snapshots: Marleau, Miller, Oilers D
Prior to the start of the season, it seemed to be virtually a foregone conclusion that it would be Patrick Marleau‘s last in San Jose. After all, the veteran of 19 NHL campaigns will turn 38 before opening night in 2017-18 and will reportedly be seeking a multiyear pact this summer as a free agent. However, a recent hot streak that has seen Marleau record seven goals in his last five games may have moved the needle some on the likelihood he remains in Northern California. According to Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area, his return may ultimately hinge entirely on his willingness to accept a one-year deal worth something in the neighborhood of $3MM to $4MM.
Kurz compares the current situation with Marleau to that of Dan Boyle, who hit free agency at the age of 37 in the summer of 2014 and left the Sharks because the two sides couldn’t agree on the length of a new deal. Boyle would ink a two-year deal with the New York Rangers and as Kurz writes, the longtime Sharks blue liner was “devastated” to leave the Bay Area. Marleau has tallied 19 goals in 52 games this season and could attract multiyear offers on the open market this summer based on that strong production, in which case it’s probable he won’t be donning a Sharks jersey in 2017-18.
Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:
- Like Marleau, it seemed likely that Vancouver goalie Ryan Miller would have a new home by the time the 2017-18 season started. The Canucks were expected by many to be a lottery team in 2016-17 and with Miller in the final year of his deal he would have represented an interesting rental asset the team could have cashed in to advance their rebuild. However, with Vancouver surprisingly still in the playoff hunt and with Miller turning in a solid performance between the pipes, the chances of the 36-year-old sticking around for another year or two have increased, as Ben Kuzma writes in a piece for the Vancouver Sun. Kuzma notes that good teams need quality play in net, pointing out the difference between former Canucks bench boss Alain Vigneault and the recently fired Ken Hitchcock of St. Louis. Vigneault, who has been fortunate to have Henrik Lundqvist, Cory Schneider and Roberto Luongo man the pipes during his coaching career, just inked a two-year extension and received a raise to $4MM annually. The Blues have received lackluster play in goal this season and that fact played a role in Hitch’s termination. If Miller is willing to take a short-term deal to stay with Vancouver, he could provide a solid bridge to top prospect Thatcher Demko.
- While the Oilers have received better play from their blue line in 2016-17, the team’s top-four has struggled of late, leading David Staples of the Edmonton Journal to suggest shuffling not just the defense corps but also the club’s forward lines. Staples tracks contributions that lead to scoring chances for and mistakes which lead to scoring chances against, and of late too many of the team’s key players are responsible for more of the latter than the former. The scribe feels the team could elevate Matt Benning and/or Brandon Davidson into the top-four, spreading the defensive responsibilities around some. Up front Staples thinks it’s time to split up Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, perhaps putting the struggling Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on McDavid’s wing. Ultimately, if the team continues to struggle, it’s possible Edmonton will circle back to the trade market to seek additional depth.
Friedman’s Latest: Bishop, Kulikov, Dadonov, Shipachev
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman posted the latest installment of his “30 Thoughts” feature and as usual, it’s replete with interesting tidbits. The whole piece is well worth a read in full but here are a few of the highlights:
- With Ben Bishop nearing free agency and with the presence of Andrei Vasilevskiy as the team’s future in goal, rumors have circulated since this past summer that the Tampa Bay Lightning might attempt to deal the former rather than losing him for nothing in July. Friedman indicates that word is the Lightning are willing to move the 30-year-old netminder but that the offers Tampa GM Steve Yzerman have so far received are not good enough for serious consideration. Yzerman is in a tough spot. His team has underachieved and may well miss the playoffs altogether unless they go on a run soon. Barring a surprising Stanley Cup run fueled by strong play in goal from Bishop, there is essentially no chance the team re-signs the veteran goalie. With three key RFA’s – Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat – to extend this summer the cap savings the Lightning will receive with Bishop leaving is simply too valuable. At some point Yzerman will have to make a decision and the best bet might be to deal Bishop now and try to add assets in return. Those assets can either turn into young NHL-ready talent to help the Lightning on the ice next year or can be used to help entice other clubs to take a burdensome contract off their hands to improve their cap situation.
- Another pending UFA, Buffalo Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, is also said to be available via trade and Friedman considers the 26-year-old blue liner a player “worth watching.” Kulikov was acquired from Florida along with a second-round pick just prior to the draft in exchange for Mark Pysyk, and second and third-rounders in 2016. The Sabres were hoping Kulikov would fill a need in the team’s top-four but injuries have derailed his season so far. All told, the Russian defender has played in just 23 games this season, compiling two points along the way. However, Kulikov seems to be getting his game back in order just in time for the trade deadline. Over the past three games, he has averaged around 24 1/2 minutes of ice time and has netted both of his points in the last four appearances. Defensemen are always in demand at the deadline and Kulikov should be no different. Unless Buffalo puts on a full court press to ink him to an extension, it seems likely the Sabres will move Kulikov in the coming weeks.
- Friedman notes that NHL clubs have been scouting the KHL more than usual and adds that the league is considering contraction, meaning there will be fewer jobs overseas next season. This could prompt some KHL stars to consider plying their trade in North America in 2017-18. Friedman specifically mentions Evgeni Dadonov and Vadim Shipachev, both of whom play for St. Petersburg SKA, as two of the bigger names who could draw a lot of attention if teams believe there is a chance they will come over. Front offices are always looking for talent and expect clubs to look to exploit the opportunity if the KHL does scale back on the number of teams in the league.
5 Key Stories: 1/23/17 – 1/29/17
Congratulations to the members of the Metro Division All-Star team, who capped off an entertaining three-on-three tournament by defeating the Pacific Division 4 – 3. It’s time for PHR’s weekly roundup of the five key stories from the week of 1/23/17 through 1/29/17.
Colorado center Matt Duchene, the subject of trade rumors for much of the season, expressed a willingness to being dealt to another club in comments made to The Denver Post this week. The talented pivot has two years remaining on a contract that comes with an AAV of $6MM and is sure to attract plenty of trade interest. The team is reportedly hoping to land at least a young, top-four defenseman and a high draft pick in return.
The Ottawa Senators added some bottom-six depth by acquiring veteran winger Tommy Wingels from the San Jose Sharks for minor leaguers Zack Stortini and Buddy Robinson along with a seventh-round draft pick. Still just 28, Wingels could prove to be a solid pickup for the Senators. During the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns, the seven-year veteran combined for 31 goals and that’s the kind of production the Senators are hoping for. From the Sharks perspective, the trade cleared needed cap space with Tomas Hertl poised to come off of IR.
Looking for additional defensive depth, the Montreal Canadiens picked up Nikita Nesterov from Tampa Bay in exchange for minor league prospect Jonathan Racine and a sixth-round draft choice. Nesterov has tallied 12 points in 35 games this season and could provide solid value for the Habs as a long-term fit on their blue line. He carries a cap hit of $725K and will be a RFA this summer.
As he draws nearer unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2018, New York Islanders franchise center John Tavares indicated he is open to inking a long-term extension to remain on Long Island despite the team’s struggles this season. It’s not a surprising position for the #1 overall selection in the 2009 draft to take. There’s no point in limiting any option this far from free agency and a lot can change between now and July 1, 2018. Any way you look at it, Tavares is going to land a lucrative long-term deal, whether it’s with the Islanders or another franchise.
Semyon Varlamov, Colorado’s starting goaltender, will miss the rest of the season following surgery to repair a groin injury. Like many of his teammates, the 2016-17 campaign has not been a good one for the Russian netminder and now his season is going to be cut short. Varlamov will have two years remaining on a deal that comes with a $5.9MM cap hit and it will be interesting to see what the Avalanche, already rumored to be considering significant roster changes, do with their goaltending situation.
Projecting John Tavares’ Next Contract
True superstars don’t hit the open market very often. When Steven Stamkos got close enough to talk to other teams in the negotiating window last summer, it was as close as you’d ever expect a player of that caliber in his prime to get to unrestricted free agency. Stamkos eventually signed on June 29th, a day that will live in hockey infamy (due to the massive trades that also happened within minutes of the Lightning re-signing). Thus, it was technically an extension that Stamkos signed, as he’d not yet become a free agent.
This weekend at the all-star game, a player who has been linked to Stamkos for a long time made his feelings clear about a possible extension. John Tavares, the superstar center that has been mired in New York (and not that New York) for the first part of his career told the media that he’d be open to an extension come July 1st, and that he liked the direction the organization was heading. Now, whether or not you agree with him on liking the direction GM Garth Snow and company are headed in, it’s a big deal that Tavares would come out so publicly in support of at least a negotiation.
So the question now becomes what would an extension look like. Tavares has one more season on his current deal, which will pay him $6MM (with a $5.5MM cap hit) and contains a full no-movement clause. He signed that deal back in 2011, before he’d even turned 21. Now 26, any extension he signs will start when he’s heading into his age-28 season almost two years older than Stamkos was.
It’s with Stamkos that the comparison has to begin. The two were the first overall selections in back to back years, and faced each other countless times in junior. They were even teammates at 17 for Canada at the World Juniors, while battling near the top of the OHL scoring charts (with another future first-overall selection in Taylor Hall). Stamkos’ deal then is a good starting point for projecting what Tavares will get.
It’s that though that poses so much difficulty, because of their distinct situations. As mentioned, Tavares is due to hit free agency later than Stamkos and doesn’t quite have the resume of the Lightning sniper. As surprising as it may be, Tavares lags behind in most categories including individual awards and team success. The Lightning have been players deep into the playoffs, while the Islanders have won just a single playoff round with Tavares. Stamkos has two Maurice Richard trophies for the league’s top goal scorer, while amazingly Tavares has only come relatively close to an award during the lockout-shortened season.
Stamkos received an eight-year deal from the Lightning, with an average annual value of $8.5MM. Many saw this as a steal for Tampa Bay, as there were numbers bandied about as high as $12MM from the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the blue-and-white shadow looming over Tavares as well (another home-town boy) $8.5 is an interesting starting point for an extension. Even if Stamkos did take a bit off to stay in Tampa, there are only seven forwards who earn more on a per-year basis than him in the league, and four of them were just named to the NHL’s top-100 players of all time (and another should have been, but I digress). While Tavares simply doesn’t have the numbers to approach Stamkos – he has scored .92 points per game to Stamkos’ .99 – many believe he is the better defensive player and doesn’t have the injury history that the Lightning forward does.
Anze Kopitar, a center who lags behind Tavares offensively but is considered among the best defensive forwards in the game just got $10MM per season for the next eight years, and it seems like that may actually be closer to what the Islanders will have to dish out. While the real number will likely fall somewhere in between, it’s not out of the question that Tavares could get the largest annual value ever should he wait to hit the open market. Like Stamkos before him a bidding war would likely open, and with the loss of that eighth year possibility (contracts are capped at seven years once a player hits unrestricted free agency), the AAV would likely go up.
For the Islanders, signing Tavares is obviously a huge priority. But after committing long term to Andrew Ladd and having $6MM tied up in an under-performing and rapidly aging Johnny Boychuk it won’t be an easy task. The team has a lot of money tied up in players that aren’t giving them a chance at the Stanley Cup, meaning this superstar may just hold out a little longer to really see what direction the team is headed in for the next eight years.
Unfortunate Extensions: Jake Allen & Petr Mrazek
When the St. Louis Blues went into this offseason, they had a problem. Some may call it a good problem, but it was an issue all the same; what to do with the tandem of Brian Elliott and Jake Allen? The team had gone to the Conference Finals for the first time in 15 years, and did it on the back of two outstanding seasons from their pair of netminders. Allen had a .920 save percentage in 44 starts, while Elliott carried a .930 mark through his 38 starts and continued his dominance into the playoffs, essentially moving Allen to the bench.
But when the summer came, the team decided it was time to move on from one of them and traded Elliott to the Calgary Flames. With just a year left on each goalie’s deal, the Blues wanted to get ahead of the controversy and establish Allen as their true franchise netminder. They signed him to a four-year, $17.4MM extension on the first day of free agency, locking him in long-term as their starter. After all, he was coming off the best season of his career and was still just 25-years old.
That decision hasn’t turned out too well for the Blues, who last week sent Allen away from the team, not even bringing him on a road trip to Winnipeg. Allen is sporting a .897 save percentage through the first half of the season, easily a career low for him. While some of that is a much weaker team in front of him defensively, not all of the blame can removed from his shoulders. He simply hasn’t been good enough for the Blues, and now it comes time to wonder about the decision to extend him in the summer.
With a $4.35MM cap-hit going forward, it’s not like the Blues will be completely hamstrung by his deal. There is room to get a quality veteran to split the season with him like Florida is doing with Roberto Luongo and James Reimer, but it is far from ideal. A team that has pending unrestricted free agents in Kevin Shattenkirk and Patrik Berglund, along with big RFA deals with Robby Fabbri and Colton Parayko looming in the next couple of seasons, needs their cap space used in effective manners. A long-term extension for a struggling goalie is not that.
In Detroit, a similar goaltender situation played out last year when Petr Mrazek and Jimmy Howard split the duties and pushed a underwhelming team into the playoffs. While Howard struggled during parts of the season and in the playoffs, Mrazek looked like a lock as a starting goaltender and perhaps even all-star going forward. The Wings were locked into Howard for another three seasons, but looked like they wanted to give the number one job to Mrazek after his great stretch run.
The team likely shopped the veteran Howard around but found no takers, and eventually decided on just a two-year deal with Mrazek when it came to free agency. Had they been able to find a taker for Howard and his $5.3MM cap hit, they probably would have tried to work out a longer-term deal with the younger netminder. Perhaps their inability to move Howard was a blessing in disguise however, as Mrazek has imploded in the Wings’ net, posting an .894 save percentage behind a reeling team. Howard was actually off to a great start before suffering an injury, making the decision even harder this summer.
Howard is still likely on the move out of town as the Red Wings start a rebuild, but luckily they haven’t committed to Mrazek long-term. If they decide he’s not the goaltender they thought he was, and in a year choose to go in a different direction he’ll be a hefty trade chip on the market. If he rebounds and shows them that this was just a blip on what will be an otherwise excellent career, they can then lock him into a longer deal.
For St. Louis though, they have to hitch their horse to Allen and hope he can pull them out of it. With another four-years after this dedicated to the former second-round pick, they basically don’t have any other choice.
John Tavares Open To Extension With Islanders
Talking to Christ Johnston of Sportsnet at the All-Star Game in Los Angeles, New York Islanders superstar John Tavares revealed that he would be open to an extension with the team this summer. The centerman has just one year remaining on his current deal, which pays him $5.5MM per season.
Since he entered the league there has been unsubstantiated rumors that Tavares would welcome a return to him hometown of Toronto, but just like a long list of players before him it doesn’t seem like there is any truth to the matter. Tavares has made it clear that he’s open to returning to the Islanders, saying he is “excited about where the organization is headed.”
The Islanders are an interesting case. After making it to the playoffs the past two seasons and even winning a round last year, the team let two of their top names leave in the latest round of free agency. Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen both signed big deals elsewhere (Buffalo and Detroit respectively) and join Tavares at the All-Star game festivities. In their wake, the team signed Andrew Ladd to a seven-year contract but has seen the winger put up the worst year of his career and be unable to find any chemistry with Tavares early on.
While they’ll be paying Ladd until 2023, the team needs to lock up Tavares to have any chance at staying relevant long-term. The 26-year old is having another excellent season, with 19 goals and 40 points through his first 47 games. Skating most with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey, Tavares just hasn’t been able to find the elite talent that could project him and the Islanders to the next level.
The team will have plenty of cap-room for an extension, with Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Jason Chimera, Thomas Hickey and Jaroslav Halak all coming off the books that summer. Whether any of them are re-signed is still up for debate, but none of their play warrants a substantial amount of money going forward. Johnny Boychuk, signed for another five seasons after this with a cap hit of $6MM per, poses the biggest problem contract-wise for the Islanders, though they also will have a handful of restricted free agents to sign in the 2018 offseason.
Remembering The Early Trades From 2015-16
The month between the All-Star game and the NHL trade deadline is an interesting one. While most of the action happens right at the end, even sometimes extending past the official deadline due to trade calls, sometimes big moves happen early in February.
Last season, 33 trades happened in the last few days (from February 26-29) before the deadline, but there were also seven deals that happened in the weeks immediately after the All-Star break. Those deals were just as important to the futures of their teams as any made on the day itself. Let’s look back at the seven deals made between February 9th and 25th last season.
February 9th: Toronto trades Dion Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and Cody Donaghey to Ottawa for Jared Cowen, Colin Greening, Milan Michalek, Tobias Lindberg and a 2017 2nd-round pick.
Starting with a whopper, the Maple Leafs continued their drastic tear-down by trading their current captain and highest paid player to a cross-province and divisional rival. The Senators had been looking for another big-minute defenseman and thought Phaneuf could become that player for them.
While it hasn’t worked out perfectly for the Senators, Phaneuf has logged over 23 minutes a night since coming over and is having a fine if unspectacular season offensively this year. While his massive looks like an albatross on their books – he’ll have a cap-hit of $7MM (more than Erik Karlsson) until 2020-21 – the actual salary is much lower. The team also rid themselves of dead money in Cowen, Greening and Michalek and only had to pay the price of a middling prospect in Lindberg and what looks like a fairly late second-round pick.
Lou Lamoriello and the Maple Leafs worked some accounting magic, and have effectively rid themselves of the cap-hits for all three players, burying Greening and Michalek in the AHL and buying out Cowen after a lengthy dispute. Moving Phaneuf was an integral part of the plan going forward, and both teams are fighting for playoff spots a year later.