Boston Bruins Extend David Pastrnak
Tyler Bertuzzi was just the appetizer. The Boston Bruins have provided their fans with quite the morning, following the trade by announcing an eight-year extension for David Pastrnak that will keep him under contract through the 2030-31 season. The deal will carry an average annual value of $11.25MM, making him one of the league’s highest-paid players.
Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the deal has a full no-move clause for the first five years, then a modified no-trade clause for the final three. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has the year-by-year breakdown:
- 2023-24: $8.5MM salary + $4.5MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $8.5MM salary + $4.5MM signing bonus
- 2025-26: $8.5MM salary + $4.0MM signing bonus
- 2026-27: $8.25MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2027-28: $8.25MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2028-29: $7.5MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2029-30: $7.0MM salary + $2.5MM signing bonus
- 2030-31: $7.0MM salary + $2.0MM signing bonus
The $90MM contract is the sixth-largest in NHL history, in terms of total money, and Pastrnak goes into next season with the sixth-highest cap hit in the league, right behind Erik Karlsson‘s $11.5MM.
If there was ever a player that was going to break the bank in Boston, it was Pastrnak, who has been an incredible bargain for them the last six years. Since he started his six-year, $40MM contract in 2017, which carries a $6.67MM cap hit, Pastrnak ranks fifth in goals (223), ninth in points (461), and tenth in points-per-game (1.16).
With the salary cap set to increase in the coming years, this still—unbelievably—is probably a discount for the Bruins’ sniper. While many believed he would become the highest-paid winger in the NHL, that title will continue to belong to Artemi Panarin, whose seven-year, $81.5MM deal carries an average annual value of $11.64MM.
Not only are the Bruins likely paying less than he would have gotten on the open market, the structure of the deal is also in their favor, allowing them to get out of it should Pastrnak’s game decline considerably in the future.
Given his relative youth, though, that seems unlikely. The contract will expire when he is 35, a perfectly reasonable extension to hand out at this point to a franchise icon who is one of the best offensive weapons in the league. Even if his overall game takes a step backward down the line, Pastrnak’s innate goal-scoring ability seems likely to continue through most of his career.
Committing nearly $100MM to one player is a huge risk, but there are few players in the game more deserving than Pastrnak. With him now locked up long-term, the Bruins front office knows exactly where they stand in other negotiations and how much they can spend on his supporting cast.
It’s been quite a year for Boston, who head into the playoffs as the odds-on favorite for the Stanley Cup, and have now secured their franchise player for the majority of his NHL career.
Minnesota Wild Sign Hunter Haight
The Minnesota Wild have inked another prospect, signing Hunter Haight to a three-year, entry-level contract that starts in the 2023-24 season. Haight plays for the Saginaw Spirit of the OHL, where he will remain through the end of the season.
Unlike many of the prospects signed over the last few days, Haight isn’t your mid-round overage draft pick. The 18-year-old forward has been a top prospect in Ontario for years and was selected 47th overall last summer after a solid rookie campaign with the Barrie Colts.
This season, after a slow start with Barrie, a trade brought him to the Spirit where his game has flourished. Through 33 games with Saginaw, the brilliant stick handler has 36 points, and still has plenty of time to round out the rest of his game.
Despite the contract “starting” next season, Haight will almost certainly be returned to junior in 2023-24, meaning it will slide forward another year. While he has shown well at Minnesota development camp, it is extremely unlikely that he makes the jump right to the NHL.
Since he’ll still be only 19, he isn’t eligible for AHL play, meaning it’s back to the OHL where he’ll try to make Canada’s World Junior team and continue his upward trajectory.
Boston Bruins Acquire Tyler Bertuzzi
The Boston Bruins aren’t done yet. After landing Garnet Hathaway, Shane Bowers, and Dmitry Orlov last week, they’re now set to add even more punch to their group. The Bruins have acquired Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings.
In return, they will send their 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-round pick. Detroit retains 50% of Bertuzzi’s remaining salary, and the first-round selection is top-10 protected.
It’s not like the Bruins need any more help, as they can become the fastest team in NHL history to 100 points with a win (or overtime/shootout loss) against the Buffalo Sabres tonight. The 47-8-5 Bruins are the class of the NHL already, and will only get better with the addition of the pending free agent forward.
Bertuzzi, 28, has only played in 29 games this season but is coming off a 30-goal campaign and is exactly the kind of in-your-face player that Boston has coveted for years.
Given the Bruins have recently lost some forwards to injury—Taylor Hall is seeking a second opinion on his lower-body issue, according to Darren Dreger of TSN—Bertuzzi could immediately get elevated into a significant role in the Boston lineup.
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that the last contract negotiations between the Red Wings and Bertuzzi were in December, with no progress on a possible extension. With recent losses turning the Red Wings into sellers, this was one of the biggest chips that general manager Steve Yzerman had available.
Landing another first-round pick means the Red Wings now have four over the next two drafts, to go along with three second-round selections this year. Whether they actually use those for prospects remains to be seen, as this week’s extension of Dylan Larkin signals the team is ready to start competing for the playoffs.
If Bertuzzi wasn’t going to re-sign, though, the Red Wings did well to land a significant asset during a down year. Limited by injury, he has just four goals on the season. Retaining half of his $4.75MM contract makes it worth it for the Bruins, as they load up for a Stanley Cup run with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci on bargain-basement contracts.
In fact, nearly the entire Bruins forward group is on expiring deals. Bergeron, Krejci, Hathaway, David Pastrnak, Nick Foligno, and Tomas Nosek are scheduled for unrestricted free agency this summer. If the unthinkable were to happen, and Pastrnak takes his talents elsewhere (or Bergeron decides to retire), going all-in on this deadline makes perfect sense.
With more than 24 hours left before the deadline, the Eastern Conference (and the Atlantic Division in particular) continues its arms race.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet broke news of the trade on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Colorado Avalanche Place Cale Makar On Injured Reserve
In order to facilitate today’s call-ups from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche placed defenseman Cale Makar on injured reserve, according to CapFriendly.
This move comes as Makar has dealt with concussion issues, something that has kept him out of the lineup since a February 18th contest with the St. Louis Blues. In that game, Makar collided with Blues forward Alexey Toropchenko, and he entered concussion protocol. That game had been his first since February seventh, when he was also sidelined with concussion symptoms.
While this placement on injured reserve is more about clearing a roster spot than anything else, it is an indication that Makar may still be a ways away from returning to the ice. It was not made clear if the IR placement was retroactive to the date of Makar’s last game, as the Dallas Stars did with today’s placement of Luke Glendening on injured reserve, but regardless one has to assume that Makar’s return to the ice isn’t imminent.
While the Avalanche have remained in the playoff hunt despite Makar’s absence for most of this month, this injury means the Avalanche remain without someone who is arguably their best player. The 24-year-old has shouldered an increasingly demanding defensive role this season and has scored 45 points in 46 games.
The reigning Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy winner is widely considered to be the best defenseman in the NHL, and his return to full health would do wonders for the Avalanche’s odds to repeat as Stanley Cup champions. But concussions are an extremely tricky issue, and the best course for Makar’s long-term personal health, as well as the long-term interests of the Avalanche, may be to be as patient with Makar’s timeline as possible.
Now, with Makar on injured reserve and his roster spot opened for another player to occupy, the team is free to give him as much time and space he needs to recover without the pressures of nightly games and roster math playing a major role.
Minor Transactions: 03/01/23
It’s been quite the day for major NHL transactions, with eight completed trades (at the time of writing) and one maximum-term extension for the captain of an original six franchise. With all the craziness that has transpired today, some minor moves have snuck under the radar. We’ll keep track of all of those moves here.
- The Arizona Coyotes have recalled defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He fills the vacated spot on their roster left by today’s trade of Shayne Gostisbehere to the Carolina Hurricanes. The 21-year-old native of Belarus has played in 54 games for the Roadrunners this season, often as a top-four defenseman. He’s a 2019 second-round pick who got his first taste of NHL action last year, when he played in 32 games in Arizona, scoring three points. He’s a quick, aggressive defenseman who will get a chance to put some quality games on tape as he looks to establish himself as a full-time NHLer.
- Forward Ben Meyers and defenseman Brad Hunt have been recalled from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles to their NHL affiliate, the Colorado Avalanche. Hunt will be paired with Jack Johnson on coach Jared Bednar’s bottom-pairing, while Meyers will likely be a healthy scratch, according to a team release relayed by The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Meyers, a top college free agent signing last spring, has scored just one point in 32 NHL games this season (he has nine points in 17 AHL games) while Hunt, 34, has six points in 32 games this season and 21 points in 24 games at the AHL level.
- In the wake of the team’s stunning acquisition of legendary goaltender Jonathan Quick last night, the Blue Jackets have loaned netminder Jet Greaves to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. The 21-year-old departs Columbus’ roster without having yet played in an NHL game. He’s an undrafted OHL product who split last season between AHL Cleveland and the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings and has started 29 games for the Monsters this year.
- The Dallas Stars have placed veteran forward Luke Glendening on injured reserve, retroactive to February 17th. In addition, the Stars called up forwards Frederik Olofsson and Fredrik Karlstrom, as well as netminder Matt Murray. Both Olofsson and Karlstrom have been shuffled from the AHL’s Texas Stars to Dallas quite a few times in recent weeks, while the 25-year-old Murray is still seeking his first NHL game.
- In the shadow of their two parent organizations’ far more major trade, the AHL affiliates of the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks (the Hartford Wolf Pack and Rockford IceHogs, respectively) have made an AHL trade. Hartford has acquired Adam Clendening, who played 31 games for the Rangers in 2016-17, in exchange for Zach Jordan. In 48 games for Rockford this year Clendening has played in a top-four role and scored 24 points. Meanwhile, Jordan, 26, has spent most of the year in the ECHL save for one game spent with the Wolf Pack.
- The Wolf Pack made another trade, sending forward Alex Whelan to AHL Cleveland. The 25-year-old turned pro in 2020-21 after a solid four-year collegiate career at Quinnipiac. He played full-time last season for Hartford, scoring 16 points in 62 games, but has spent time in the ECHL this season. He’ll get a fresh start in Cleveland and help the Monsters deal with the significant injury disruptions they have faced this season.
- Point-per-game SHL defenseman Theodor Lennstrom is leaving Sweden for next season. Per a team announcement, Switzerland’s HC Geneve-Servette has signed Lennstrom to a two-year deal, running through the 2024-25 season. Lennstrom has played the last two seasons for Farjestad BK, scoring 14 points in 19 playoff games last season on their run to an SHL Championship victory. Lennstrom also won the Champions Hockey League with Frolunda in 2019-20 and will hope to add to his trophy cabinet in the Swiss league.
- Ludvig Larsson is set to leave Rogle for Orebro, according to a report from SportExpressen. The former Pennsylvania State Bulldog and Binghamton Devil has scored 15 goals and 26 points this season for Rogle, and has proved himself to be a quality winger in the SHL. Now 27 years old, he’ll head to Orebro, the club of Leo Carlsson, a player projected to go near the top of the 2023 NHL draft.
- With Anaheim Ducks prospect Calle Clang set to cross the Atlantic for next season, Rogle are finalizing negotiations to find a new goaltender. Per a report from SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson, they are set to bring in 2017 Colorado Avalanche fourth-rounder Petr Kvaca, an accomplished three-year starter in the Czech league. Kvaca was named the Czech Extraliga’s best netminder in 2020-21, when he posted a .924 save percentage in 41 games. He has a .925 in 41 games this season, and is a promising investment for a Rogle team looking to return to the top end of the SHL standings.
- Philipp Lindner, an everyday defenseman and alternate captain for Austrian club Villacher SV, has tacked on two years to his contract with the ICEHL team, bringing its expiration date to the end of the 2025-26 season. The 27-year-old is a veteran of nearly 350 games in Austria’s top league, a competition that includes clubs from multiple Central European countries, and has scored 24 points in 42 games this season.
- Now an established regular contributor in the Czech Extraliga, 21-year-old David Vitouch has earned a two-year extension with his club, HC Sparta Praha. Despite his relatively young age he already has over 150 games of experience in Czechia’s top pro league, and has scored 12 points in 50 games this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Mikael Granlund
The Pittsburgh Penguins have made another trade. The team has acquired forward Mikael Granlund from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2023 second-round pick.
Penguins GM Ron Hextall had the following to say about this trade:
Mikael is a versatile forward, able to play either wing or center, and contribute offensively. He has experience on both the power play and penalty kill and can add options to our lineup.
By acquiring Granlund, Pittsburgh has not only added an experienced top-six player to their lineup, but they have also signaled their intention to invest in this season’s Penguins team with the hope of going on a playoff run. While the Penguins remain in playoff position, the team has (recent three-game winning streak aside) stumbled as the calendar shifted to 2023.
Their struggles led to calls from fans and local media members alike for the organization to fire Hextall, but this trade indicates that the organization believes that the team’s underperformance is a bug, not a feature.
This season, Granlund has scored 36 points in 58 games, and averaged over 18 and a half minutes of ice time with some sporadic penalty-killing time. While his offensive production is down from last season, he scored 64 points last season and is under team control for another two seasons after this one at a $5MM cap hit that’s reasonable given his resume.
He’s not the ascending young player anymore that he was on the Minnesota Wild, and some underlying numbers have soured on him this year, it’s easy to see why the Penguins are optimistic about what he could bring to their lineup.
Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has quite a few options for how to approach adding Granlund to his lineup and has to be thrilled to have a new, highly capable forward to work with. The 31-year-old Finn can play both at center and as a winger, and his well-respected two-way game gives him added on-ice versatility.
The Penguins could opt to have him replace Jeff Carter as the team’s third-line center, letting the 38-year-old vacate an everyday role in the midst of what has been a nightmare season. They could also shift Carter down to the fourth line in Blueger’s vacated spot, although one would think that offseason trade acquisition Ryan Poehling would be preferable there.
Sullivan could also keep Carter entrenched as the third-line center and use Granlund to shuffle the team’s top six. Since Evgeni Malkin has had his fair share of injury issues in recent years, Granlund’s ability to play center will be of significant value should Malkin find himself knocked out of the lineup.
At the price of a second-round pick, the Penguins have added a player who figures to make their team better for this season and for a few years to come. Is it the wisest move for a team to make when they’re widely seen as being a cut below the heavyweights of the Eastern Conference? Maybe not, especially seeing as Granlund hasn’t been as productive this season, and at 31 years old that could be a signal of an age-related decline.
But with Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Kris Letang all inching deeper into their thirties, the Penguins are looking to maximize whatever time they have left with their franchise icons. Every passing year could conceivably be the last of that trio as elite players, and this trade shows that the Penguins are serious about trying to make noise this spring.
For Nashville, this deal continues their decision to pivot towards building for the future. With Barry Trotz now back in the fold and set to fully take the reins from GM David Poile in the Summer, the team is charting a new direction in its search for a contender. Mattias Ekholm, Tanner Jeannot, and Nino Niederreiter have all been dealt already, and Granlund adds another draft pick to their growing stockpile.
The Predators give up a player who figured to be a top-six staple for the next few years, but since they don’t seem as intent on short-term Stanley Cup contention, it’s easy to see why the pick is more valuable.
Additionally, in today’s flat-cap environment, it’s extremely difficult to move money without taking dollars back. The value of the Predators clearing Granlund’s $5MM off their books without having to retain or take any contracts back is definitely an important element of this trade.
Nashville now has five second-round picks over the next two drafts and could add more if they choose to trade any more veteran players. While the Predators’ coaching staff can’t be thrilled to lose such a capable veteran, Predators fans that have long hoped the team would pivot towards a more rebuild-like direction seem to be finally getting their wish.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report on Granlund being traded to Pittsburgh.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
San Jose Sharks Acquire Vladislav Namestnikov
The Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks have completed a trade, sending veteran forward Vladislav Namestnikov to the Bay Area in exchange for Mikey Eyssimont. As part of the deal, Tampa Bay will retain 50% of Namestnikov’s $2.5MM cap hit.
Namestnikov, 30, is a pending unrestricted free agent, while Eyssimont, 26, will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in the summer should the Lightning choose to extend him a qualifying offer. Eyssimont spent right around two months in San Jose, arriving there via a waiver claim from the Winnipeg Jets.
This is a deal that’s not the easiest to rationalize from the Sharks’ point of view. Eyssimont was responding well to a bump up in ice time since his arrival from Winnipeg and had scored eight points in 20 games for the Sharks. Coach David Quinn gave him an opportunity next to Logan Couture, and Eyssimont played pretty well, averaging nearly 15 minutes of ice time with some power play time to boot.
He’s an energetic, speedy forward who might not have an easy time cracking the Lightning’s lineup, but should be capable depth for their bottom six should a winger get injured. The Lightning cleared some cap space through this deal by sending away Namestnikov, who has been a healthy scratch, so that’s also a factor working in Tampa Bay’s favor with this deal.
For the Sharks, this trade exchanges a young player with a little bit of team control remaining for an older, more seasoned veteran. Namestnikov has scored 15 points in 57 games this season and impressed last year as a deadline acquisition of the Dallas Stars. What makes this trade odd, then, is the fact that the Sharks are making a short-term upgrade despite sitting 29th in league standings.
Perhaps Sharks general manager Mike Grier has identified Namestnikov as a player he’d like to keep beyond this season via a contract extension, or maybe Quinn, who coached Namestnikov in New York, wants to see what he can get out of the 610-game veteran. Maybe San Jose plans to offer to retain salary on Namestnikov and shop him to teams interested in acquiring some experienced depth at a cheap price. In any case, it’s not a deal that is likely to be hugely consequential unless the salary cap savings pave the way for a bigger deal to take place.
The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman was first to report this swap.
Vegas Golden Knights Acquire Teddy Blueger
The Vegas Golden Knights are adding another versatile forward to their lineup, acquiring Teddy Blueger from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2024 third-round pick and 22-year-old blueliner Peter DiLiberatore.
The Golden Knights made a move to clear room on their roster for this trade earlier today, sending veteran forward Byron Froese to their AHL affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights.
Pittsburgh general manager Ron Hextall issued the following statement regarding this trade:
We are grateful for everything that Teddy has done for this team and the organization over the past 10 years. He was one of our most reliable penalty killers and a consummate professional. We wish him nothing but the best going forward.
Blueger is Vegas’ second addition to their forward corps in this trade deadline season, coming just a few days after the team sent 2021 first-rounder Zach Dean to the St. Louis Blues for Ivan Barbashev.
This move clears a roster spot on the Penguins’ roster at the cost of their fourth-line center. Blueger is playing on an expiring contract at a $2.2MM AAV, meaning the Penguins have also cleared that cap space off their books.
The Penguins have been rumored to be interested in pricer forwards such as Vancouver Canuck J.T. Miller, and this move, alongside Brock McGinn‘s placement on waivers, gives the team some more wiggle room under the cap to make any desired additions.
In this trade, Pittsburgh has also added DiLiberatore, a 2018 sixth-round pick who has split time this season between the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate in Henderson and the ECHL’s Savannah Ghost Pirates. His contract expires at the end of this season.
By subtracting Blueger, the Penguins lose a capable 28-year-old fourth-line center who has been with the organization since he was made a second-round pick at the 2012 draft. After four productive seasons playing college hockey, Blueger put together three productive campaigns in the AHL before earning his first NHL call-up in 2018-19.
While he came too late to taste Stanley Cup glory during the team’s back-to-back championships, he has been a valuable down-the-lineup contributor to some competitive Penguins teams.
Blueger is a responsible two-way center who averages the most short-handed ice time of any Penguins forward this season. Per SinBin.Vegas, Blueger has started 87.2% of his shifts in the defensive zone this season, and he’ll be a reliable defensive specialist for coach Bruce Cassidy as he looks to lead the Golden Knights on a long playoff run.
He could replace Brett Howden in the team’s fourth-line center role, or fill in as the third-line center, allowing Chandler Stephenson to shift back to the wing.
Regardless of where he ultimately factors in on game day, this is a smart, if a tad pricey move for the Golden Knights. Adding Blueger gives the team a strong defensive forward to add to a penalty kill that ranks in the middle of the pack leaguewide.
For the Penguins, this deal lands them a decent draft pick as well as some more cap space to work with as they look for some upgrades on the trade market.
The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman was first to report that Blueger was headed to Vegas, while Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the core compensation headed to Pittsburgh.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Ottawa Senators Acquire Jakob Chychrun
One of the longest-running trade sagas in recent NHL history has finally reached its conclusion. The Ottawa Senators have acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes, per a team announcement. In exchange for the star defenseman, the Coyotes are receiving a 2023 first-round pick, a conditional 2024 second-round pick (originally acquired from the Washington Capitals) and a 2026 second-rounder.
There are some conditions in this deal to untangle. The 2023 first-rounder is top-five protected, meaning if the pick lands inside the top-five of the draft, it becomes an unprotected 2024 first-rounder. Additionally, if the Senators reach the 2023 Eastern Conference Final, the 2024 second-rounder (via WSH) becomes Ottawa’s 2024 first-rounder, top-10 protected. If that first-rounder ends up being inside the top-10 in that scenario, then the pick becomes a 2025 unprotected first-round pick.
Senators general manager Pierre Dorion had the following to say on the deal:
A defenceman we’ve coveted, Jakob is big and plays imposing. He possesses a quality skill set; he defends hard and is highly skilled. He uses his heavy shot with accuracy and is effective at creating offence as a threat at the offensive blue line.
At first glance, this looks like an extremely palatable price for the Senators to pay to acquire a top-pairing defenseman. Mattias Ekholm was recently traded for a first-rounder and a prospect recently drafted in the first round, while the Coyotes only managed to pry away one first-round pick in exchange for Chychrun. But as more and more contending teams interested in acquiring defensemen opted for other options (such as the Los Angeles Kings, who acquired Vladislav Gavrikov last night, or the Oilers, who got Ekholm) the market may have begun to shift into one more favorable to a buyer.
For the Coyotes, it’s a tough pill to swallow after over a year of anticipation for this trade. Chychrun is the team’s best defenseman and a legitimate top-pairing force on a bargain $4.6MM AAV deal through 2024-25.
Getting just one guaranteed first-rounder and two second-rounders, including one all the way in 2026, is a bit underwhelming, especially when one considers the fact that earlier today Filip Hronek returned a first-rounder and a second-rounder for this year’s draft.
The fact that just recently Nashville Predators grinder Tanner Jeannot cost the Tampa Bay Lightning a package of a player and five draft picks, including a first and second-rounder can’t make things easier for Coyotes fans as well.
The main redeeming element of this trade for the Coyotes is the upside this 2023 first-rounder has. With the Senators currently on the outside of the playoff picture in an Eastern Conference loaded with contending teams, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Senators stumble and send Arizona a pick inside the top ten. If that ends up happening, then this price isn’t totally out of line with what the Senators paid for Alex DeBrincat last summer. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also notes that the Coyotes placed value in the fact that Ottawa didn’t require them to take any money back as part of this deal, which is a relatively rare sight in today’s flat-cap world.
While this return might be a bit disappointing for the Coyotes, it remains a valuable contribution to the war chest of draft picks they have stockpiled in recent years. They currently have the rights to four second-round picks in both the 2024 and 2025 drafts, and will have the chance to make two high picks in what is considered an extremely talented 2023 draft. So although after such a long wait this return will undoubtedly feel underwhelming, it does inch the team a little closer to their goal of loading up their organization with an army of talented young players.
For the Senators, this trade accomplishes the team’s long-held goal of upgrading their defense, and at a relatively affordable price to boot. Dorion surrendered the same amount of first-round draft picks to acquire Chychrun (a better defenseman with extra years of affordable team control) as the Panthers surrendered to acquire Ben Chiarot at last year’s deadline. While Chychrun hasn’t played in quite a while, held out for trade-related reasons, he has a healthy 28 points in 36 games this season.
Chychrun scored 18 goals and 41 points in just 56 games during the 2020-21 season, flashing number-one defenseman ability. While his struggles to stay healthy since that point have cost him the chance to truly establish himself among the league’s elite defenseman, he’s a mid-twenties, team-controlled two-way blueliner who can capably handle 23-plus minutes a night. There’s not a team in the NHL that wouldn’t benefit from adding a defenseman like him.
With Chychrun now in the mix alongside Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub, and Jake Sanderson, the Senators now have a formidable group of top-four defensemen. While it definitely hurts to give up a possible top-ten pick, it’s clear that the Senators’ rebuild is meant to be over, and that finally returning to the playoffs is the goal. While it may not happen this season, this addition of Chychrun gives the Senators quite a boost as they look to make noise in a crowded Atlantic Division for next year.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Los Angeles Kings Acquire Erik Portillo
The Buffalo Sabres have traded the rights to University of Michigan netminder Erik Portillo to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick, per a team announcement.
This move comes amid widespread speculation that Portillo would opt to test the college free-agent market rather than sign with the Sabres, who drafted him 67th overall at the 2019 draft. The Sabres have arguably the best goalie prospect in hockey, Northeastern University’s Devon Levi, so it’s possible that the presence of Levi in Buffalo’s pipeline played a role in Portillo looking elsewhere for his NHL future.
Important to note is the fact that this deal does not guarantee that Portillo will end up signing with the Kings. The Buffalo Sabres traded a third-round pick for the rights to Jimmy Vesey in the summer of 2016, only for him to sign with the New York Rangers shortly afterwards.
But while the Sabres already have Levi in their pipeline, The Kings don’t have quite the same big-name goalie prospect already in the mix for Portillo to have to contend with for “goalie of the future” status.
If the Kings do end up signing Portillo, they’ll land a quality prospect who The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler recently ranked as the seventh-best prospect in a talented Sabres system. (subscription link) Portillo is a six-foot-six netminder who has been the starter at Michigan for the past two seasons. Last year, Portillo posted impressive numbers, going 31-10-1 with a .926 save percentage and 2.14 goals-against-average. His numbers have suffered a bit this season, but scouts remain impressed with his imposing size, quality puck-handling ability, and sneaky athleticism.
This is the second trade of the day where the Kings acquired a netminder. While today’s acquisition of Joonas Korpisalo was about helping their organization’s goalie situation in the short-term, today’s deal is designed to give them a potential long-term solution. It’s a worthy investment of a third-round pick assuming they get his signature on an entry-level deal, and a nice refund for the Sabres who likely weren’t signing him anyway and already have Levi, Luukkonen, and others to focus their developmental efforts on.