Lightning-Rangers pull off the biggest deal on NHL trade deadline day
Late blockbuster between Tampa Bay and Rangers highlights busy trade deadline
Paul Stastny, Evander Kane and Thomas Vanek changed teams ahead of the NHL trade deadline Monday.
Erik Karlsson, Mike Green and Jack Johnson all stayed put.
But the blockbuster move of the day came from the New York Rangers, who sent captain Ryan McDonagh and forward J. T. Miller to the already talent-laden Tampa Bay Lightning for scoring winger Vladislav Namestnikov, prospects Brett Howden and Libor Hajek, a 2018 firstround draft pick and also a conditional second-round selection.
The Lightning, who entered Monday’s action with a league-best 87 points, were seeking an experienced left defenceman to play with Victor Hedman and boost their Stanley Cup ambitions.
It cost them Namestnikov, 25, who’s having his best season with 20 goals in 62 games, as well as some of their deep pool of top prospects and picks.
But unlike other well-known players to be traded, McDonagh won’t become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
He’ll have one more year left on a contract that pays US$4.7 million annually.
Rangers management warned fans in a Feb. 8 statement that a rebuild was on the way and they meant it. They had already dealt forwards Rick Nash and Michael Grabner and defenceman Nick Holden.
There was a sense of anticipation regarding Karlsson, the two-time Norris Trophy winner who ended up staying with the Ottawa Senators. Defenceman Green also remained in Detroit, while Johnson, who asked out of Columbus, is still a Blue Jacket.
The Winnipeg Jets sent a 2018 firstround pick, conditional 2020 fourth-round selection and prospect Erik Foley to the St. Louis Blues for 32-year-old Stastny, an impending UFA who reportedly waived a no-movement clause to join a Stanley Cup contender.
Kane brought a smaller haul of assets to the Buffalo Sabres, who received a conditional 2019 first-round pick, 2020 fourthrounder and prospect Dan O’Reagan from the San Jose Sharks.
Vanek, traded for the second straight year and third time overall on deadline day, went from the Vancouver Canucks to Columbus for veteran Jussi Jokinen and 22-year-old centre Tyler Motte.
It will be Jokinen’s fourth team this season after starting in Edmonton, then spending time in Los Angeles and with the Blue Jackets. That’s a lot of travel for a 34-year-old who has one goal and five assists in 46 games.
The Jets were delighted to land to Stastny, a strong playmaker even if his offensive stats have dipped in recent years.
The son of former Quebec Nordiques star Peter Stastny has 12 goals and 40 points in 63 games this season. He has 216 goals and 633 points in 805 career games with Colorado and the Blues, including a 79-point season in 2009-10.
Foley, 20, a forward drafted 78th overall by Winnipeg in 2015, has 34 points in 32 games for Providence College.
The Predators got right-winger Ryan Hartman from the Chicago Blackhawks for a similar price — first- and fourth-round picks plus prospect Victor Ejdsell. The difference is 23-year-old Hartman, who has eight goals and 25 points in 57 games this season, is still a restricted free agent this summer.
Winnipeg also added depth on defence with Joe Morrow, acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for a fourth-round pick.
The Habs, who dealt forward Tomas Plekanec to Toronto on Sunday for a secondround pick and two prospects, replaced Morrow by landing Mike Reilly, 24, from Minnesota for a fifth-round pick.
It was thought Kane, who can also become a UFA this summer, would garner more on the trade market. He has 20 goals and 40 points in 61 games — for his third straight 20-goal campaign.
Vanek, 34, has been bouncing between teams the last five seasons. He had 17 goals and 24 assists in 61 games with Vancouver but has scored 350 goals over his NHL career.
“We pretty much talked to every team in the league,” said Benning, who recently signed a three-year contract extension. “We wanted picks back.
“They weren’t available to us. We had to do the next best thing. It’s just one of those things.”
Vancouver also obtained forward Brendan Leipsic from the Vegas Golden Knights for defenceman Philip Holm. Leipsic, 23, had two goals and 11 assists in 44 games with the Golden Knights, who claimed him in the expansion draft from Toronto last summer.
A Winnipeg native, Leipsic was originally taken in the third round, No. 89 overall, by Nashville in the 2012 NHL draft and played junior under Canucks head coach Travis Green with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. “Going forward, we want to be younger, faster,” said Benning. “We want to be harder to play against. I think both Brendan and Tyler they fit the mould of speed and skill and they are competitive guys.
“They are guys that aren’t maybe the biggest guys, but they are hard in the battle. They are going to add to our competitive group of young players that we have.”
Besides Vanek, the Canucks had little to offer at the deadline. There had been talk teams were interested in defenceman Chris Tanev, but he’s expected to be sidelined at least three more weeks with a broken bone in his leg.
“We had calls on lots of our players,” Benning said. “I would say we didn’t get anywhere close on anything else.”
The Blue Jackets had acquired 33-year-old pending free agent Mark Letestu from Edmonton — via another deal with Nashville — on Sunday. The Oilers had dealt Letestu to the Predators for speedy winger Pontus Aberg, with Nashville then flipping Letestu to Columbus for a fourth-round pick.
The Oilers sent soon-to-be-UFA forward Patrick Maroon to New Jersey for prospect J.D. Dudek and a 2019 third-round pick.
Detroit sent forward Tomas Tatar to Vegas for a 2018 first-round pick, 2019 second-round selection and 2021 third-round pick.