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Buffalo Sabres Acquire Jordan Greenway

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The Buffalo Sabres are expected to acquire forward Jordan Greenway from the Minnesota Wild, as first reported by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. According to Pagnotta, the Wild are receiving a 2023 second-round pick and a 2024 fifth-rounder in return.

Per The Athletic’s Michael Russo, the Wild are not retaining any salary on Greenway’s $3MM AAV deal, a contract that runs for two seasons after this one. TSN’s Darren Dreger notes that the second-rounder sent to Minnesota is the one the team received from the Vegas Golden Knights in the Jack Eichel trade.

Once officially completed, this deal will end Greenway’s at times highly promising, at times highly frustrating time with the Wild, a period that stretches all the way back to the 2015 draft, where former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher selected Greenway 50th overall. Fletcher plucked Greenway from the US National Team Development Program, where he was coached by current Sabres head coach Don Granato.

Greenway made his way to Boston University after the draft, and starred for three seasons there as a high-scoring power forward. He made his NHL debut in 2017-18, signing with the Wild at the conclusion of his collegiate season, and he showed some promise, scoring two points in five playoff games.

Greenway stepped into the NHL lineup and played 2018-19 with the Wild, scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 81 games.

His six-foot-six size and speed excited Wild fans, and there were nights where it seemed clear that big things would be coming for the American power forward.

Greenway’s progress began to stagnate after that point, and a mix of injuries and inconsistency spelled the end of Greenway’s time in Minnesota.

While he scored 27 points in 62 games last season, Greenway has scored just seven points in 45 games this year, and Russo reported last month that the Wild were “actively shopping” him. It’s seemed clear for some time that a change of scenery was the best path forward for the Wild and Greenway, and that change of scenery has been achieved through this trade.

The Wild not only receive a quality draft pick in return for Greenway but they also clear his $3MM cap hit from their books, something of particular importance given how they are still under the weight of the Ryan Suter/Zach Parise buyouts.

For the Sabres, this deal is a roll of the dice on their development staff’s ability to rejuvenate the career of a player with some tantalizing physical tools. NHL teams are always on the hunt to find the next power forward, and while a second-rounder and another draft pick is certainly a hefty price to pay for a player with single-digit points at this stage of the season, it’s easy to see why the Sabres might get excited about what Greenway could do on their team.

Should the Sabres end up unlocking the potential many have believed Greenway has long possessed, then they could receive a big, talented forward with some affordable team control left on his contract.

It’s definitely a risk, but seeing how the Sabres have developed other big forwards in recent years such as Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens, it’s an understandable home-run swing for the team to take.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Deadline Notes: Greenway, van Riemsdyk, Canucks

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The Minnesota Wild are still taking calls on Jordan Greenway, but the offers have not been enough to entice them to make a deal yet. Darren Dreger of TSN reported that the Wild are receiving interest in the young winger but are waiting for their asking price to be met.

Greenway has two more years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3MM. The 26-year-old forward brings plenty of size at 6’6″ but little scoring this season. He set a career-high with 32 points in just 56 games in 2020-21 but has just two goals and seven points in 45 games this season. The Wild would like to move out his contract but don’t want to give him away for nothing.

  • The Washington Capitals have been active leading up to the trade deadline. Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Lars Eller have already been dealt with, but it sounds like pending unrestricted free agent Trevor van Riemsdyk is not going anywhere today. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet has reported the Capitals are keeping the right-shot defenseman due to their injury situation. He mentions the potential of a post-deadline contract extension but nothing is confirmed at this time.
  • The Vancouver Canucks may be working on something with the Florida Panthers. According to Rick Dhaliwal of the Donnie and Dhali radio show in Vancouver, the Canucks are working the phones and have been in talks with the Panthers. He also mentions it sounds like it is not a major deal, so don’t expect one of the Canucks big contracts to be heading to the Panthers.

Minnesota Wild Sign Caedan Bankier

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The Minnesota Wild have signed prospect Caedan Bankier to a three-year, entry-level contract that kicks in for 2023-24. Bankier plays for the Kamloops Blazers, meaning he’s ticketed for a Memorial Cup appearance with the host city this spring.

Selected 86th overall in 2021, Bankier has developed nicely for the Wild since and was even included on Team Canada at the recent World Juniors, winning gold. While he played a limited role on that team, he stars in Kamloops, where he has scored 30 goals and 62 points in 44 games this season.

With a long reach and good speed, Bankier has been able to convert on a lot of the excellent scoring chances that Dallas Stars prospect Logan Stankoven has created. Eleven of his 30 goals have come with the man advantage, tying him for 17th in the WHL in that category. He has also chipped in two shorthanded goals, a role he may play professionally.

Despite his 6’2″ frame, though, Bankier doesn’t use his size enough as an advantage, but may grow into that physicality in the future. Next season, he’ll be eligible to play with the Iowa Wild, where his offensive game will be tested against more experience defenders.

Minnesota Wild Acquire Gustav Nyquist

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The Minnesota Wild are acquiring forward Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets, according to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets. The Blue Jackets later announced they would be acquiring a 2023 fifth-round pick from Minnesota in return, originally belonging to the Boston Bruins.

Nyquist is still out long-term as he remains week-to-week after recovering from shoulder surgery. However, per Michael Russo, Nyquist expects to be back before the end of the regular season.

That’s especially important considering this morning’s news that the NHL will closely scrutinize any trade deadline transaction involving players on long-term injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Additionally, as PuckPedia notes, the Wild have enough cap space to avoid placing Nyquist on LTIR, making this a legally sound move under NHL rules.

Nyquist, 33, is in the final season of a four-year contract with a $5.5MM cap hit signed with Columbus in 2019. His tenure there didn’t work out as hoped, with him missing significant time, including the entire 2020-21 season, due to injuries. He had 10 goals and 22 points in 48 games this season before sustaining his latest injury.

Minnesota receives, if healthy, a capable middle-six winger to add to the acquisition of Marcus Johansson earlier today. It’s an added offensive boost over players in top-nine roles like Jordan Greenway and Brandon Duhaime, who haven’t produced at a top-nine pace this season.

The Athletic’s Michael Russo was first to report Minnesota’s interest in Nyquist.

Minnesota Wild Acquire Marcus Johansson

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Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin has been clear that he thinks his group deserves an addition at the deadline, and now he’s made one. The Wild have acquired Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick.

This is Johansson’s second stint with Minnesota, though he may still have nightmares about his first go-round. After being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in 2020, the versatile forward would play 36 games for the Wild during the regular season before breaking his arm in a game three playoff loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Surgery and a seven-game elimination followed, ending his time with Minnesota prematurely. Johansson will get to rewrite history this time, joining the Wild ahead of another playoff run.

With a bit of a rebound after some disappointing seasons, Johansson has 13 goals and 28 points in 60 games for the Capitals this season. The left-shot forward can play center in a pinch, and adds another capable NHL option to the Minnesota lineup—one that currently leans heavily on one line to do most of the heavy lifting. Johansson’s goal and point totals would put him fifth on the Wild, who have gotten little production from players like Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway.

For Washington, expiring contracts are must-trades unless an extension is possible. The club has already thrown in the towel on this season by trading long-time defender Dmitry Orlov, and might as well sell off anything else that’s not tied down.

Getting a third-round pick for Johansson is a nice return, though it should be pointed out that they invested more than just the one-year, $1.1MM contract he is currently playing on. Last year at this time, it was Washington trading for him at the deadline, sending Daniel Sprong and two draft picks (a fourth and a sixth) to the Seattle Kraken. This is the fifth time he has been traded in his career, and the third at the deadline.

Kevin Weekes of ESPN broke news of the deal on Twitter.

Flyers Receiving Interest In James Van Riemsdyk

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As more trade targets come off the board, others now are shifting to the forefront.  That appears to be the case for Flyers winger James van Riemsdyk as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that there are now several teams showing interest in the veteran.  Michael Russo of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that the Wild are among those teams.

The 33-year-old has been a quality scorer throughout his career, averaging 26.5 goals per 82 games.  Notably, van Riemsdyk has been a strong producer on the power play, potting 21 goals with the man advantage since the 2020-21 campaign.  This would certainly be appealing to playoff-bound teams who could use him in a middle-six role at even strength while deploying him in a more prominent spot on the power play.

Despite his track record, van Riemsdyk is in the middle of a bit of a down season as he has just nine goals and 14 assists in 40 games while also missing 20 contests due to a hand injury.  He also carries a sizable price tag with a $7MM AAV in the final season of a five-year, $35MM pact signed back in 2018.  Notably, that deal does not carry any form of trade protection.

Philadelphia has all three of its salary retention slots remaining so it seems quite likely that they’ll retain up to the maximum of 50% ($3.5MM) to help facilitate a move and help secure a better return.  It’s unlikely that van Riemsdyk will command a first-round pick in return even with a strong market but the Flyers will have a chance to add at least a decent piece for the future by flipping him elsewhere in the coming days.

Guerin Talks Dumba, Deadline

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The Minnesota Wild have acted as a banker the last few weeks, retaining salary in two transactions to grab some extra draft capital. Given their place in the standings, though, many assume they will do something more significant at the deadline. General manager Bill Guerin spoke candidly about his team today, once again answering specific questions on Matt Dumba:

Wild Unlikely to trade Matt Dumba

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  • The Minnesota Wild have had an up-and-down season but appear to be firmly entering the buyer category ahead of the deadline. A recent hot streak has propelled them to within two points of Central Division leading Dallas Stars. This should put talk of Matt Dumba’s availability to rest. Joe Smith of The Athletic reports that Wild general manager Bill Guerin said Dumba would be tough to replace and he is not looking to move the right defenceman with his team playing so well.

Boston Bruins Acquire Garnet Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov

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A few moments after announcing that Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway would be held out of the lineup for tonight’s game for trade protection purposes, the Washington Capitals have sent both players to the league-leading Boston Bruins.

Heading back to the Capitals is forward Craig Smith, Boston’s first-round pick in 2023, Boston’s third-round pick in 2024, and Boston’s second-round pick in 2025. Washington will retain 50% of Orlov’s remaining salary, while the Minnesota Wild will retain 25% of Orlov’s contract, sending the rights to Andrei Svetlakov to Washington (who actually flipped those rights to Boston in the other part of the deal), and acquiring Boston’s fifth-round pick in 2023.

The NHL’s best team just became much better. With the acquisition of Orlov and Hathaway, the Bruins have cemented themselves as a top Stanley Cup contender and an odds-on-favorite for Lord Stanley. In his 11 seasons in Washington, Orlov became one of the more underappreciated defensemen in the league. Being able to do a little bit of everything, averaging over 100 shots, 100 hits, and over 20 minutes a game, Orlov is a complete player that Boston will now be able to supplant into their already talented defensive core.

Joining him on the New England juggernaut is Hathaway, who is a near-perfect example of what Bruins fans have come to love from their players over the years. A hard-nosed forward, Hathaway can provide depth goal scoring, sufficient work on the penalty kill, and amassing almost 200+ hits every year of his career. If they weren’t already hard enough to play against, Orlov and Hathaway turn Bruins into an even more frustrating opponent for the rest of the league.

Although they only find themselves two points out of a playoff spot, the Capitals’ recent stretch of play has sent them into a bit of a spiral. Losing their last five games in a row, the Capitals seemed to have made a pivot toward selling during this deadline. Still carrying the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson, it is not likely that this will lead to a full-tear down in D.C. However, with so many players headed for unrestricted free agency after this season, and falling further out of the playoff picture, it is only natural that the Capitals recoup some assets from this group.

Having already traded away this year’s third-round selection and next year’s second-round selection in separate trades, the Capitals looked to restock their draft capital in this deal with Boston. After falling out of favor in Boston and clearing waivers earlier this season, Smith can slot into the Capitals’ bottom six for the remainder of the season.

Much like the trade sending Ryan O’Reilly to the Maple Leafs, the Wild were able to involve themselves in this trade as well. With ample deadline cap space, the Wild have now used 2/3 of their retention slots in the last six days to help facilitate deals around the league.

Boston will also receive the rights to Svetlakov, though his inclusion will be overshadowed by the two NHLers. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Svetlakov has spent the last several seasons playing for CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that Hathaway and Orlov were headed to Boston, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic first reported Smith and picks would be the return to Washington.

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