After a wild night in which the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators, and Vegas Golden Knights put together one of more complex trades in recent memory (here’s a brief summary for those still confused), there are still some questions to be answered. Sportsnet’s John Shannon both asked and answered one of the most prevalent questions: why would the Knights get involved? Rather than simply trading cap space for some minor assets, GM George McPhee’s motivation was a little more devious. Shannon states that McPhee knew Brassard was headed out West, likely to the Winnipeg Jets, unless he could intervene and help him stay in the East. So, not only did Vegas get a player and pick, but they also weakened their playoff competition.
- That player, Ryan Reaves, was likely no coincidence either. The 31-year-old enforcer has hardly inspired any team to pursue him with his production in 2017-18. However, as Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston points out, Reaves played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. His coach while he was there was none other than Kelly McCrimmon, the Assistant GM of the Golden Knights. Some have speculated that the Knights may try to flip Reaves, but given his connection to one of the men in charge, that may not happen.
- The 2018 fourth-round pick bound for Vegas also has a bit more value than initially suspected. The Athletic’s Seth Rorabaugh clarifies that the pick sent by Pittsburgh was the one acquired from the Vancouver Canucks for Derrick Pouliot last summer. Thus, the Knights will be picking at the top of the fourth round rather than the bottom.
- What about the prospect heading to Pittsburgh from Vegas? Tobias Lindberg is just 22 and has just six games on NHL experience, but is already used to being in the middle of major trades. Rorabaugh recalls that Lindberg, an Ottawa fourth-rounder in 2013, was shipped to Toronto in the massive Dion Phaneuf trade. He then ended up in Las Vegas when the Leafs acquired Calvin Pickard earlier this year for Lindberg and a sixth-round pick.
- Finally, the Ottawa Senators are surely happy to have another first-round pick and one of the top goalie prospects in the world now in their grasp, but the stock-up of picks and prospects from this trade won’t end there. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Sens have been receiving calls all day about Ian Cole, the other piece added from Pittsburgh. Ottawa will surely flip the solid rearguard by Monday’s deadline.
I can see Ian Cole getting a second rounder or a third rounder plus some other lower pick/prospect. Holden got a third rounder and Cole should be able to garner more than that.
There goes Vegas helping Pens again. First they take $6M in cap space off their hands in MAF for only a 4th Rd pick and now $2M for Reaves and late Rd pick
It was a 2nd in the Fluery deal. 2020 I believe.
It was a second rounder, and it’s not like Fluery is a bad player, Vegas got a good deal in both trades.
It’s an early 4th rounder and in a deep draft like this that isn’t nothing.
Reaves was a costly mistake and the price here is very steep for 2 years of a 3rd liner.
However one thing about Rutherford is that he values Championships over prospects.
While Sid and Geno are still in their prime why wouldn’t you, but the price paid will come due at some point. What a ride, an amazing team to have and watch.
I questioned the Reaves trade the day it happened. Was not worth what the Pens traded, but although I thought it was a bad trade, I really liked Reaves and his style of hockey. Hopefully he has better luck in Vegas than he did in Pittsburgh.
The Pens gave Vegas a 2020 2nd round pick to select Fleury. They sent Vancouver’s 4th this coming draft in today’s deal.
The breakdown is crazy…it was 3 trades according to CapFriendly…
Vegas traded Tobias Lindberg for Brassard, Vincent Dunn and a 3rd.
Vegas then held 40% of Brassard’s cap hit and traded Brassard, Dunn and that 3rd for Reaves and a 4th.
The Pens then traded a 1st, a 3rd, Cole and Gustavsson for Lindberg.
Unlike baseball, you can’t actually make 3 team trades, they have to be a bunch of two team trades to make it work.
Tobias Lindberg fetched two really impressive packages here, must be a stud.
Uhhhhh, say what? A three, four or twenty team trade is always a group of two team trades. No different here in hockey or any other sport. You can dissect a player and split him between two teams. While there are behind the scenes conditions and assurances involved in these complex transactions, at the core they are all swaps between two team strung together.
What makes it super complex is that Vegas is eating salary here. If Vegas doesn’t and the trade still somehow gets done, then its probably a more simpler swap instead of Lindberg going to Ottawa before he can go to Pittsburgh. I don’t like the precedent being set here that you can pass a guy through a third team for salary retention purposes as long as another player is swapped in the deal (Reaves was probably not in the initial deal and was probably included just to make it seem like Vegas was getting more than just a pick for eating some of Brassard’s salary).
**can’t dissect a player (though some deserve it)