A YEAR LATER, THEY’RE ALL IN
Last season’s deadline day saw all seven of Canada’s NHL teams in selling mode. This time, five teams are in playoff position and a few look ready to load up for the Cup, Michael Traikos writes.
The Ottawa Senators picked up a pest and the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired a babysitter. The Calgary Flames got someone who blocks more shots than he takes and the Montreal Canadiens traded a depth defenceman for a slightly better depth defenceman.
Please, hold your applause until the end.
And who knows — maybe by 3 p.m. ET, there will be plenty more to cheer about. But even if this is it — if Alex Burrows, Brian Boyle, Michael Stone and Jordie Benn are the biggest names headed to Canada before the trade deadline — it beats the alternative.
Canadian teams might not be going all in (yet), like the Washington Capitals did by acquiring defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk on Monday. They might not even be upping the ante — but at least they are not folding.
At this time a year ago, the Maple Leafs were in the midst of a massive fire sale that saw Dion Phaneuf, James Reimer, Daniel Winnik, Shawn Matthias, Nick Spaling and Roman Polak moved for picks, prospects or the equivalent of a bucket of pucks.
They were far from the only team that cleaned out the cellar and put its junk on the lawn. From Montreal trading Tomas Fleischmann and Dale Weise to Calgary trading Kris Russell and Jiri Hudler, all seven teams were sellers. The Edmonton Oilers traded Justin Schultz, Teddy Purcell and Anders Nilsson, while the Winnipeg Jets dealt away captain Andrew Ladd. Even Ottawa, which was three points above .500 at last year’s deadline, exchanged Shane Prince for a third-round pick. Those were dark days for Canadian franchises, which all missed the playoffs. But one year later, even with Winnipeg and the Vancouver Canucks likely back in sell mode, it’s a much brighter view from the north.
Montreal, which fired its head coach and replaced him with Claude Julien, is leading the Atlantic Division. Benn, who had two goals and 15 points with the Dallas Stars this season, might not spark the Canadiens’ offence, but he should bolster a blue-line that was in the middle of the pack in terms of shots allowed. The same is true of Stone, who gives the red-hot Flames — with seven games without a regulation loss after Tuesday’s OT win — depth on defence.
Ottawa, which is six points back of Montreal with three games in hand, paid a steep price in moving prospect Jonathan Dahlen to the Canucks in exchange for Burrows. But with so many players banged up, the Senators need all the help they can get — including depth winger Viktor Stalberg, who was acquired Tuesday from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2017 third-round pick.
Toronto, which is on the playoff bubble, increased the average age of its roster with the acquisition of Boyle. The 32-year-old is on pace for 20 goals this season, but it’s his experience — he’s played in more post-season games (100) than Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner or William Nylander has played in the regular season — that the Leafs coveted. And Edmonton finally got into the action Tuesday night, grabbing forward David Desharnais from the Habs in exchange for defenceman Brandon Davidson.
With the deadline approaching, here are five questions on everyone’s mind:
WILL A CANADIAN TEAM GET INTO A BIDDING WAR?
When Washington picked up Shattenkirk, it was a message to the rest of the NHL that the firstplace Capitals were the team to beat. The question now is whether Montreal, Ottawa or Edmonton tries to keep up with the Ovechkins. The Canadiens could use a goal-scorer such as Colorado’s Matt Duchene, the Oilers could use depth on defence and up front, while the Senators need offensive help after losing Bobby Ryan to injury.
WILL MATT DUCHENE GET TRADED?
The trade deadline is for rental players. It’s rare to see a player with remaining years on his contract moved at the deadline, because those kinds of trades typically happen in the off-season, when playoff-bound teams are more willing to add salary or give up a roster player. So chances are the Avalanche will wait until the summer to move Duchene, who has two more years remaining on a contract with a US$6-million cap hit. Then again, with so many teams — think the New York Islanders, Columbus Blue Jackets and Canadiens — coveting the 30-goal scorer, don’t be surprised if Duchene moves.
WILL LLAMAS AND DEAD AIR RULE THE DAY?
If the NHL wanted to make trade deadline more frenzied, it would ban trades for the month leading up to deadline day. After all, that’s when the biggest names tend to get moved. Last year, there were 19 trades made on the day itself and 20 deals made in the 20 days leading up to it. This year is similar, with Shattenkirk, Ben Bishop, Martin Hanzal and others already off the board. In other words, TSN and Sportsnet might want to rent another llama to keep viewers interested.
WILL A TEAM OVERPAY FOR A THIRD-LINER?
This is the silly season, when teams empty the cupboards for a chance at the Cup — or in some cases a playoff berth. When the Capitals gave up a first-round pick and more to the St. Louis Blues for Shattenkirk, it was a steep price for a power-play specialist who ranks in the top five among defencemen in scoring this season. The Minnesota Wild scored no such coup when they spent a first-round pick on faceoff specialist Hanzal. Even more head-scratching was the Anaheim Ducks sending a potential first-round pick to Dallas for 32-year-old Patrick Eaves, who before this year had never scored more than 20 goals.
WILL THE BEST ADDITION COME FROM THE AHL OR IR?
The Leafs traded for Brian Boyle on Monday, but getting injured forward Mitch Marner back in the lineup after missing the last two weeks might make more of an impact. Indeed, sometimes it’s the internal moves that help teams the most at the deadline. Two years ago, Patrick Kane returned to the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineup just in time for the playoffs and helped the team win the Stanley Cup. A year ago, the Penguins’ best move wasn’t a trade, but calling up goalie Matt Murray and forwards Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust from the minors.