Gavin White

The Dallas Stars announced today that they have acquired defenseman Jeremie Poirier from the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Gavin White.

At face value, this appears to be a transaction more focused on each club’s AHL affiliate, with limited immediate NHL implications. Neither player involved in this deal has made his NHL debut.

While this trade has limited relevance to the NHL depth charts of each involved team, the transaction is a significant one for each of the two involved prospects. Both Poirier and White are pending RFAs, and by landing in new organizations, they each get a clean slate to prove themselves in front of a new set of hockey decision-makers.

Poirier is the bigger name involved in the trade, just based on his pedigree as a prospect. The Flames selected Poirier in the third round of the 2020 draft, 72nd overall out of the QMJHL’s Saint John Sea Dogs. The Flames’ selection of Poirier was lauded at the time, as the public sphere ranked Poirier far higher than where he was ultimately picked. The No. 8 pick in the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft, Poirier was the No. 26 prospect in the 2020 draft class according to Elite Prospects, No. 22 according to TSN’s Craig Button, and No. 33 on Bob McKenzie’s list for TSN.

Early in his pro career, it looked as though the media’s higher ranking of Poirier was entirely justified. He scored 41 points in 69 games in his debut AHL campaign, was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie team, and looked to be on the cusp of making a real push for an NHL call-up. After that season, he was ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the Flames’ system by Corey Pronman of The Athletic, who called his debut pro campaign “very successful,” but added that Poirier’s “big issue” was his defensive play.

That was the prevailing narrative surrounding Poirier’s development as a prospect. While his offensive talents were never in question, some scouts had reservations as to whether he’d develop enough defensively in order to be trusted enough to play in the NHL. In his draft year, scouts in the public sphere appeared more optimistic than scouts within the NHL on Poirier’s future as a player, and while his pro debut was strong, Poirier never was able to fully silence his doubters and land an NHL role with the Flames. Poirier’s offensive game remained steady, but questions surrounding his defensive game persisted.

Since Poirier’s value proposition as a player is entirely concentrated in his ability to generate offense from the back end, his status on a depth chart was always going to be highly vulnerable in the case his offense ever dried up. Consequently, the fact that Poirier has only managed six points in 35 AHL games this season is likely what spelled the end for of his tenure in Calgary.

Poirier was the Wranglers’ top power play quarterback in prior years, but other prospects have entered the picture, such as Hunter Brzustewicz and more recently Zayne Parekh, which has cost him that spot. Poirier is no longer considered one of the Flames’ top prospects, and this season, it has looked like he is drifting further from an NHL opportunity, not closer. It’s understandable that the team elected a change-of-scenery trade for a 23-year-old soon-to-be RFA in that kind of developmental position.

By trading him now instead of simply non-tendering him this summer, they get the chance to add a defenseman from outside the organization and evaluate whether he’s a fit to retain beyond this season. They also do a favor to Poirier, who thanks to landing in a new organization, gets a fresh opportunity that could help his development and renew his push for an NHL role. The move is also a worthwhile gamble for the Stars, who lack a true offensive defenseman in their regular AHL lineup. He’s likely to be Texas’ top power play quarterback, a role he lost with the Wranglers.

White, the defenseman headed to Calgary in this trade, is unlike Poirier in several notable ways, including in that he does not have a past as a top-rated prospect. The Stars selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, and he’s spent the entirety of his pro career with AHL Texas, outside of a handful of games in the ECHL.

Although White played a limited role in each of his first two AHL seasons, his development trajectory looks positive. Through 23 games this season, he’s averaging a greater dosage of minutes than he received last season, and is even appearing regularly on the Stars’ penalty kill.

As a right-shot defensive defenseman, White holds almost the exact opposite kind of profile as Poirier, meaning his addition better fits the current construction of the Wranglers’ defense. Ryan Pike of Flames Nation wrote that the Wranglers have “regularly been playing left-shot D on the right side out of necessity,” meaning White will likely get the chance to play a greater role in Calgary than he did in Cedar Park.