Deadline all about bargain shopping
This isn’t the time of year for Stanley Cup contenders to be adding star power
What is the price of winning? That’s the question general managers have to be asking themselves the near Monday’s NHL trade deadline.
Some big names are available — Erik Karlsson, Rick Nash, Evander Kane, Max Pacioretty — but recent history suggests it’s the lesser names that make a bigger difference in the short term.
“The trade deadline should be only (for adding) a supplemental piece,” says former NHL general manager Neil Smith, now an analyst on the NHL Network. “You should supplement what you already have, and not change anything.”
Defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk was the prize player on the market a year ago. Washington paid a hefty price for him — prospects Zach Sanford and Brad Malone and two draft picks, including a 2017 first-rounder — and was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
Ron Hainsey was a less-celebrated name on the blue line. He was 35 and had no playoff experience when Pittsburgh acquired him last season. The price was considerably smaller: a 2017 second-round pick and forward Danny Kristo, who is now in the KHL. Hainsey played 16 regularseason games and 25 in the playoffs, boosting a blue line that had lost Kris Letang to injury. The Penguins won their second Stanley Cup in a row.
“If you change one of the major cogs in a wheel, it’s going to take you more than a few weeks to get it all together and keep going for the (Stanley Cup) tournament,” says Smith. “There’s only one time in my opinion that a star player was traded at the deadline and that team won the Stanley Cup. That was Rob Blake in Colorado (in 2001).”
That said, the Los Angeles Kings added some big names at the deadline in 2012 (forward Jeff Carter) and 2014 (forward Marian Gaborik) that that helped them win Cups. And only the team that wins the Cup can truly say it won any deadline deal.
There is talk the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist is on the market this year, though Smith says trades for goaltenders rarely work. Teams that are true contenders usually have a No. 1 goalie. St. Louis thought they were upgrading to Ryan Miller in 2014 but he couldn’t get the Blues past the first round. He was gone after 25 games, six in the playoffs.
To listen to the bevy of so-called NHL insiders, the asking price for a quality top-six forward or top-four defenceman is a first-round pick, a top prospect and a helpful roster player. So far, none of the buyers have paid that price.
“These price tags, it’s ridiculous,” Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray told the Orange County Register. “And the price tags just seem to keep going up every year. Whatever. Maybe it will get there, maybe it won’t. Time will tell. There’s still enough days left.”
The deadline can be more useful for teams wanting to sell. They can get some value for their unrestricted free agents, rather than see them walk away for nothing on July 1. And they can get a head start on roster planning for the following season.
“It’s a better seller’s tool,” says Smith. “For the non-playoff team, it’s a good way to get yourself started in the other direction. As a GM, you have to trade those UFAs because, if you don’t, you’re going to take all the criticism in the world for letting them walk away.”
GREEN DAY: Red Wings defenceman Mike Green could find himself in high demand. His reputation has taken a hit from his starring days in Washington, but Capitals coach Barry Trotz says Green might now be underrated.
“He’s refined his game to add a defensive side. Now he has a really good balance. He’s an older player who has seen a lot. He’s a top defenceman.”