The Good and Bad of Trade Deadline Week: Metropolitan Division
By Cam Lewis
7 years ago
This is a four-part division by division look at what each team did at Wednesday’s trade deadline. Who did good and who did bad?
The Capitals are going all in on their closing window of opportunity, but they’ll have to get past the Penguins, who made nice, low-key additions to their depleted blue line. The Islanders yet again did nothing at the deadline, the Rangers and Blue Jackets both made minor additions, the Flyers made an odd move taking a big cap hit off Tampa Bay’s hands, and the Devils and Hurricanes sold what they could.
- Ron Hainsey to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Danny Kristo and a 2017 second round pick.
- Viktor Stalberg to the Ottawa Senators for a 2017 third round pick.
- IN: Danny Kristo, and a 2017 second and third.
- OUT: Ron Hainsey and Viktor Stalberg.
After dropping out of playoff contention in early-February (were they ever really in contention, though), the Hurricanes sold what they could at the trade deadline. They sent Ron Hainsey, a reliable defenceman who can produce offence, to the Penguins for a second round pick and a roster filler, and Viktor Stalberg to the Ottawa Senators for a third round pick. As a result, the Canes will have seven draft picks in the first three rounds of the 2017 NHL Draft. For a team that’s already completely loaded with young talent, this could gave the Canes an opportunity to package some of those picks with a blue liner to acquire a player who can help them now. Matt Duchene, anybody?
Columbus Blue Jackets
- Dalton Prout to the New Jersey Devils for Kyle Quincey.
- Dillon Heatherington to the Dallas Stars for Lauri Korpikoski.
- IN: Kyle Quincey and Lauri Korpikoski.
- OUT: Dillon Heatherington and Dalton Prout.
The Blue Jackets are a playoff team. It isn’t too often you can say that. They already have a solid, deep roster, but at the deadline, the Jackets added where they could, swapping Dalton Prout for the superior Kyle Quincey, and adding Lauri Korpikoski for a throwaway prospect. Neither Quincey or Korpikoski is particularly good, but both have playoff experience, came at a cheap cost, and depth is always a good thing to have.
New Jersey Devils
- Kyle Quincey to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Dalton Prout.
- P.A. Parenteau to the Nashville Predators for a 2017 sixth round pick.
- IN: Dalton Prout and a 2017 sixth.
- OUT: P.A. Parenteau and Kyle Quincey.
When talking about the Predators in the Central Division deadline wrap-up, I alluded to how absurd it is that P.A. Parenteau was only able to fetch a sixth round pick. But that’s where we’re at. Parenteau, who’s had a very solid season on this very, very bad Devils club, was sent to Nashville for essentially a throwaway draft pick, which furthers the question as to how much wingers are valued around the league. The Devils also swapped Kyle Quincey, as I mentioned above, to Columbus for Dalton Prout, who’s signed for another season beyond this one. It’s a somewhat curious move, but the Devils must value Prout as more of a long-term solution than whatever mid-to-late round pick than Quincey could have been worth.
New York Islanders
The Islanders did nothing at the trade deadline, which has been the case for years. The last time Garth Snow pulled the trigger on a major deal was all the way back in 2007 when he acquired Ryan Smyth from the Oilers, but since then, the Islanders have avoided doing anything substantial during silly season. Last year, they rolled through the deadline without either buying to make a run with a good-but-expiring group or selling to get something of value from key UFAs Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. But this year, with fan support dwindling and a new ownership group keen for success, it’s somewhat surprising that Snow wasn’t pushed harder to make an addition that could help the Islanders climb into a playoff position.
New York Rangers
- A 2017 second and third round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Brendan Smith.
- Justin Fontaine to the Edmonton Oilers for Taylor Beck.
- Mat Bodie to the Buffalo Sabres for Daniel Catenacci.
- IN: Daniel Catenacci, Justin Fontaine, and a 2017 second.
- OUT: Brendan Smith, Taylor Beck, and Mat Bodie.
The Rangers will have a first round pick at the NHL Draft for the first time since 2012 when they selected Brady Skjei 28th overall. They probably aren’t Stanley Cup contenders, but the Rangers are good enough to be in buy mode, and they added Brendan Smith from the Red Wings in exchange for a second round pick, which is much, much less than they’ve been giving up at the deadline in the past. Smith has been solid for Detroit in the past, and is a needed addition on a very-injured Rangers blue line. It isn’t going to be a game changing addition, but Smith is solid depth, and, like I said, they didn’t give away their first round pick for the first time in half a decade, which is a plus.
Philadelphia Flyers
- Mark Streit to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Valtteri Filppula and a 2017 fourth and conditional seventh round pick.
- IN: Valtteri Filppula and a 2017 conditional fourth.
- OUT: Mark Streit.
In one of the more interesting moves of deadline day/week, the Flyers took Valtteri Filppula’s contract off Tampa Bay’s hands in exchange for soon-to-be free agent Mark Streit. Most figured Streit would be a welcomed addition to a contending team, as the 39-year-old can still provide offence from the blue line at a decent clip. But Streit was swapped for Filppula, who has a cap hit of $5 million for one more season on his contract. Filppula hasn’t been very good for a couple of years, so this is a curious move, but Ron Hextall claimed that having a player of his quality on a one-year deal was valuable to the team, as you usually wouldn’t be able to make such a signing in free agency.
Pittsburgh Penguins
- Danny Kristo and a 2017 second round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for Ron Hainsey.
- Eric Fehr, Steve Olesky, and a 2017 fourth round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Frank Corrado.
- A 2018 fourth round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Mark Streit.
- IN: Mark Streit, Frank Corrado, and Ron Hainsey.
- OUT: Danny Kristo, Eric Fehr, Steve Olesky, a 2017 second and fourth, and a 2018 fourth.
The aforementioned Mark Streit wasn’t in Tampa Bay for very long, as the Lightning immediately shipped him to Pittsburgh for a 2018 fourth round pick. This fit makes a lot more sense for Streit, as, like I said earlier, he provides a nice veteran, offence-producing blue liner for a team who’s struggled mightily with injuries on defence. The Pens also dumped some salary on the Leafs and acquired Frank Corrado in return, who could, if all things go perfectly, be their next Justin Schultz, and they added the reliable Ron Hainsey, who’s never played in the playoffs over his 15-season career (!!!) for a second round pick. So within a matter of a few days, the Pens went from having a paper thin blue line to one with quite a a but of depth, and they didn’t have to give up a hell of a lot, either.
Washington Capitals
- Zach Sanford, Brad Malone, a 2017 first round pick, and a conditional pick to the St. Louis Blues for Kevin Shattenkirk for Phoenix Copley.
- Joe Cannata to the Colorado Avalanche for Cody Corbett.
- IN: Kevin Shattenkirk, Phoenix Copley, and Cody Corbett.
- OUT: Zach Sanford, Brad Malone, Joe Cannata, a 2017 first, and conditional picks.
The Capitals were the big winners of this year’s trade deadline. They’re already the best team in the league, and with their window of opportunity closing, as T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams and Karl Alzner head to free agency this summer, the Caps are going all-in, acquiring prized defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk from the Blues. Shattenkirk immediately makes an already-very-good Caps team better, as their blue line lacked a high-level offence producer. Shattenkirk is just that, as he sits 11th in the league among defencemen in points over the past three seasons, with most of that production coming on the power play. This is easily the Caps’ best chance at winning the Stanley Cup, and with the window closing, you can’t say they aren’t going everything they can to make it happen.
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