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Phil Kessel

Snapshots: Hossa, Zadina, Brassard

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been quieter than usual this offseason and one reason that has been the case is that while it has some cap room to work with, the team didn’t have enough to make a major splash in free agency. The team had been linked at one time or another to players such as James van Riemsdyk, James Neal and David Perron, but were unable to work out a deal and a lot of that has to do with cap space. With its minor moves made after free agency began when the team inked Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning, the team only has just over $2MM to work with.

That’s where the contract of Marian Hossa comes in. His contract of $5.275MM is still stuck on the books for yet another offseason until the team can put it on LTIR to free up the money at the start of the NHL season. That’s what Chicago did last season, using that money to sign defenseman Cody Franson and using it on shuttling AHL talent back and forth all season. However, that didn’t work, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers.

The general belief was the team wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and would attempt to deal the bloated contract to a team that needs the contract to get them to the cap floor. However, there haven’t been any takers as teams want an asset in return for them to take on the 39-year-old’s contract, which the Blackhawks don’t want to do. They were burned back in 2016 when they threw in Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to get the Hurricanes to take Bryan Bickell’s final year of his contract off their books. Teravainen put up 64 points this season.

One way or another, especially if the team still has plans to make a big offseason move, is to find a way to get Hossa and his contract permanently off their books, even if they have to give up a prospect.

  • With questions surrounding where prized 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina may end up if he doesn’t make the Detroit Red Wings NHL lineup next season has been up for debate as there are rumors that the sixth-overall pick does not have to return to his junior team next season and could be eligible to jump right to the AHL. However, regardless on how the NHL decides that case, NBC Sports James O’Brien writes that it shouldn’t even matter. He writes that the team shouldn’t want Zadina to make the team next season as the team’s main focus should be to garner another high-end lottery pick next season to complete their rebuild. A 25-goal season by the flashy winger, who many had pegged as the No. 3 pick in the draft, could vault the team to that unenviable position of not being good enough to make the playoffs, but not being bad enough to get an elite prospect either. O’Brien hopes that the addition of free agent Thomas Vanek might help force Zadina to get much needed development time in the minors, no matter where he ends up.
  • Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that while he envisions the Pittsburgh Penguins keeping Phil Kessel, who has been rumored to be moved out for much of the offseason, he could see the team move on from trade deadline acquisition Derick Brassard. The team suddenly has five centers and of them all Brassard is the most expendable. He has one year remaining on his deal at $3MM, but struggled to produce once he got to Pittsburgh, especially in the playoffs, posting just four points in 12 playoff games.

Latest On The Arizona Coyotes & Phil Kessel

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Part of Josh Yohe’s latest piece for The Athletic (subscription required) touched on the fact that Phil Kessel would be willing to play for the Arizona Coyotes due to his solid relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet. The problem, according to Yohe, was that the Coyotes are only looking to stay near the salary cap floor this season and had told the Penguins it likely wouldn’t be possible to take on Kessel’s salary. Now Arizona GM John Chayka wants to dispel any notion that he’d be stopped from going after Kessel because of financial reasons.

On Arizona Sports 98.7 today, Chayka sounded off about the report:

I’d like to know more about it, too. I think it’s terrible reporting. It’s inaccurate across the board from start to finish. I don’t know where some things come up. I’m the one having trade discussions, those discussions with the Penguins haven’t occurred. So unless someone else is making calls that I don’t know about, I’m not sure where his information is coming from.

I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but the basis of that reporting is not coming from anything tied to the Coyotes and certainly not anywhere close to factual.

Chayka by no means confirms that he is pursuing Kessel, but the fact that he reacted so strongly to the suggestion that the Coyotes are limited financially does make them an even more interesting team to follow this offseason. Arizona currently has around $57MM in salary obligations for next season, but that includes Dave Bolland’s contract that will be mostly covered by insurance and no real important restricted free agents to sign. If they had the full salary cap to spend, the Coyotes could go on a shopping spree in free agency and certainly afford to bring Kessel on board.

More likely though is that Arizona will sit somewhere in the bottom third of the league once again and could even be a landing spot for another bad contract at the draft. Similar to the way they took on Bolland and Pavel Datsyuk in the past, Chayka could use his cap space to take a contract like Marian Hossa’s off the books of Chicago in exchange for an asset.

It seems in this case as though a source was mistaken or perhaps was speculating on discussions between Pittsburgh and Arizona, though a trade between the two would likely benefit both. The Coyotes are looking to compete next season and could use another veteran star to support their young core, and the Penguins need to create some cap flexibility if they’re to do anything in free agency. Pittsburgh has several RFAs to get under contract, and currently less than $10MM in cap space to do it.

Pittsburgh Made Rust, Sheary, Simon Available In Max Domi Negotiations

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic has some of the best sources inside the Pittsburgh Penguins, and in a piece (subscription required) detailing the potential availability of Phil Kessel this summer—something Yohe confirms is possible, though takes the Arizona Coyotes out of the running for financial reasons—he reports some of the players made available in GM Jim Rutherford’s recent pursuit of Max Domi. The Penguins were willing to talk about Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Dominik Simon, though what the exact offer for Domi was is unclear. The Coyotes would eventually trade Domi to the Montreal Canadiens instead for Alex Galchenyuk.

Rutherford is known as an executive willing to trade, and there has been no denying that he’d like to improve his club. As soon as Domi was rumored to be available many reports linked him to the Penguins, but it was never clear what kind of value the team would put on him. Now it’s clear, as all three of the mentioned players are important pieces to the Pittsburgh attack.

Rust may be the most interesting name, after a 38-point season that saw him become one of the most versatile and effective forwards on the roster.  Contributing on the powerplay and penalty kill while putting up some of the team’s best possession numbers, Rust is a perfect fit for a club that wants to spread offense across three lines. He can play both wings and has bounced between several groups over the last two seasons. He also is 26 and a restricted free agent however, meaning he’s due for a raise and is closing in on UFA status. After earning an average of $640K in each of the last two seasons, he’ll cost the Penguins a lot more this time around. Any multi-year deal is buying out unrestricted free agent years, and should send his cap hit skyrocketing despite his pedestrian goal totals.

Sheary on the other hand is already signed for two more seasons at a $3MM cap hit, but could be replaceable for the team if they can find offense somewhere else. The 25-year old saw his ice time drop to under 14 minutes a night this season and without anything to offer on the penalty kill his role is limited to an offensive presence. That point production dropped significantly from the 2016-17 season, and while Sheary still scored 18 goals this year he recorded just 30 points.

Simon lands somewhere else on the value chart, as he’s both a restricted free agent this summer and hasn’t yet shown he can handle the NHL on a full-time basis. The 23-year old was good this year in his 33-game stint, scoring 12 points and recording solid possession numbers, but with just 38 NHL games under his belt since being drafted in 2015 it’s not clear yet what he can really become.

When presented with the choice of these players or Galchenyuk, it makes sense that Arizona would take Montreal’s offer. We don’t know though how the negotiations took place exactly, and instead can only take from this report that the Penguins would be willing to move each of the three for the right return. While that’s not very surprising given their GM’s propensity for trade, it gives us an idea of what to expect from Pittsburgh in the coming weeks.

Rutherford Eyeing Trade Market To Improve Penguins

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Changes are coming in Pittsburgh this off-season, but GM Jim Rutherford is “not even really thinking about free agency right now”. Speaking with Josh Yohe of the Athletic, Rutherford admits that “we won’t really have the cap space to do anything anyway. We’re going to re-sign some of our restricted free agents. And at that point, we’re around the cap.” The Penguins need to re-sign RFA’s Bryan Rust, Riley Sheahan, Daniel Sprong, Jamie Oleksiak and more and even with the expected increase to the salary cap limit will only have $8-12MM maximum to work with. The team could make a couple additional minor moves here and there on the unrestricted free agent market, but Rutherford is correct that team is strapped for the cap space to make any significant signings this summer, at least as things stand now.

As a result, it is the trade market that Rutherford is more interested in. The team has already stated that they don’t plan to buy out any of their current players, but they could look to move them via trade. Atop that list are likely wingers Carl Hagelin and Conor Sheary and defenseman Matt Hunwick. In fact, the blue line appears to be the most likely area for a player to be traded away, as the team enters next season with six veterans under contract and Oleksiak and Frank Corrado as restricted free agents. Rutherford stated to Yohe that defenseman Brian Dumoulin is the most untouchable player on the back end due to his invaluable defensive play, and also expressed his fondness for Oleksiak and Olli Maatta as well. Rutherford said that the front office is optimistic that Kris Letang and Hunwick will perform better next year and were happy with the play of Justin Schultz and Chad Ruhwedel as they made up for Letang’s and Hunwick’s shortcomings respectively this season. However, Rutherford added that his comfort with this group doesn’t mean that won’t make a change.

The goal in making any deal is to improve the depth and youth of the Penguins’ forward corps. This explains why the team was connected to Max Domi recently, before he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens last week. The team is seeking versatility and upside up front and are willing to move substantial assets to get it, but Rutherford wasn’t willing to part with the Alex Galchenyuk-level ask from the Arizona Coyotes for Domi. Rutherford knows that even if he does nothing this summer, Pittsburgh will still be a contender, and as such he does not need to overpay in any trade. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are not going anywhere and Rutherford has already confirmed that he is not shopping Phil Kessel. It’s safe to assume that young winger Jake Guentzel and new acquisition Derick Brassard are also safe. That is already shaping up to be a solid group yet again and the internal addition of younger players should add energy and potential. However, Rutherford’s preference still is to add depth and even more youth if he can to combat the injuries and fatigue that hurt his aging roster last year. Those are the moves he is looking to make this summer and it seems inevitable that at least one such transaction will be made by the expert executive. They may not be three-peat champions, but the Penguins are going to re-stock and be dangerous again in 2018-19.

Pittsburgh Is Not Looking To Trade Phil Kessel

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Following the recent report from The Athletic’s Josh Yohe that Penguins star forward Phil Kessel was upset about his usage in the playoffs and that he and head coach Mike Sullivan were at odds that had led the team to look at moving Kessel, colleague Pierre Lebrun clarified the situation after speaking with Pittsburgh GM Jim Rutherford. LeBrun reports that Rutherford feels the rumors of dissension in the locker room have been “blown out of proportion”. If this sounds familiar, it is because Rutherford responded to Kessel rumors similarly last summer and, of course, he was not traded. It appears to again be a topic that is inflated by the media more than it is grounded in reality.

Rutherford tells Lebrun that both he and Sullivan understand that it is Kessel’s preference to play with Evgeni Malkin, but defends his coach, saying “there’s times where they play together, when they’re both really going, and there’s times when they don’t… (Sullivan) believes balance throughout the lineup is the best way to win, and we won two Cups that way”. He continues that “for someone to suggest it’s an issue within our team, that can’t be taken care of or resolved, I don’t believe that’s accurate… I don’t feel that we have to trade Phil Kessel.”

If there is no discourse, why would the Penguins trade Kessel? Yes, there are salary cap concerns, but some of those could be eliminated by the estimated significant cap increase, while others could be assisted by shipping out a less-crucial player like Carl Hagelin or Matt Hunwick. After all, Kessel’s 92 points this season did finish tied for seventh in the league in scoring – ahead of Sidney Crosby – and he was among the league’s best in goals, assists, and power play production. At a reduced cap hit courtesy of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins would much rather keep Kessel and his enormous output rather than try to find a fair return for him. If not for the rumored rift between he and Sullivan, there is little reason they would rush to deal him away. It appears that we can close the book on this hypothetical, at least until next off-season.

Poll: Impact Of The Estimated Cap Increase

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Earlier this week, Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke with the media about many different league topics. Perhaps the biggest news to come out of the press conference was Daly’s estimation of the salary cap for next season. Daly believes that the salary cap will fall somewhere between $78MM and $82MM, meaning that there will be a significant increase in the salary cap. The cap limit has increased by $2MM or less in each of the past three seasons, but the low point of the estimated range would already be a $3MM increase over the 2017-18 cap number. If it ends up near the top of the range, it will likely be the largest jump in the salary cap in league history.

Whatever the result, the cap increase will undoubtedly affect this off-season. Prior to Daly’s projection, teams like the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks, and Tampa Bay Lightning were going to face an immense cap crunch this summer and likely would have been forced to shed salary. Those teams can now breathe easier. However, teams on the lower end of the salary spectrum who don’t spend to the cap, such as the Carolina Hurricanes and Arizona Coyotes, will find it even harder to catch up in a market that that has lessened its grip on the stronger, higher payroll teams. With a higher cap comes salary inflation, which is another struggle for small market teams. The cap increase may also allow for some of the bigger talked-about trades and free agent movement – John Tavares, Erik Karlsson, Phil Kessel, ect. –  to happen. However, the flip side is that a salary cap increase gives teams incentive to add, but not subtract and could lessen the amount of total trades we see this summer.

What do you think? Is this potentially historic increase in the salary cap ceiling a good thing for the league?

Poll: Should The Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Phil Kessel?

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There’s no love lost between Phil Kessel and Mike Sullivan, according to a new column by Josh Yohe of The Athletic (subscription required). Yohe reveals specific incidents between the enigmatic superstar and his head coach over the last few years that has created a sort of divide between the two, but makes sure to state that there is no rush to send Kessel packing. The 30-year old forward has never been a coach’s dream player, doing things his own way most of the time. His own way resulted in a career-high 92 points this season, and even with just a single goal in the postseason he still registered nine points in 12 games.

Despite all the success that Kessel has had in Pittsburgh, Yohe explains how he feels about the situation at the end of his piece:

…if this relationship is beyond repair, a trade should be explored. From what I’ve been told, the Penguins aren’t actively seeking a trade involving Kessel, but they’re willing to listen if anyone makes an offer. 

This is about a great coach and a star player. Ultimately just how much the coach can tolerate will tell this story’s conclusion because Sullivan will get what he wants.

Kessel is a star in the NHL and has been for a long time. With 741 points in 914 regular season games, he’s still one of the game’s most dangerous offensive machines. Able to score one-on-one, or use his speed and quickness to create space for teammates, he hasn’t registered a season with fewer than 20 goals or 52 points in more than a decade. His contract, expensive as it was when the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him in 2013, is fairly reasonable these days. The Maple Leafs are retaining $1.2MM per season, and the actual salary drops starting next season, and throughout the final four years. Despite his apparent reputation, he would be a desirable asset for many teams.

But, isn’t he that still for the Penguins? This is a team still in a win-now mode with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin entering their thirties, close to the end of their prime. In a few seasons there may be talk of a rebuild, but not right now. Many believed they had a real shot at a third consecutive Stanley Cup this season, and after his near point-per-game performances in each of the last two postseasons who wouldn’t want Kessel to stick around?

Perhaps the answer is only Sullivan, but what do you think? Cast your vote below, and jump into the comments section to explain why you think the Penguins should or shouldn’t consider moving Kessel.

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Trade Speculation Surrounds Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins

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Every year when a team is eliminated early in the playoffs, speculation starts to pop up about any underperforming stars. Will they return next season? Is the time now to move on? What could they fetch in return? This time around, it’s a two-time Stanley Cup Champion coming off a 92-point season that is the target of much trade speculation. Recently, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Ron Cook penned a piece suggesting that a divide had been formed between Phil Kessel and Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, one that “torpedoed” the team’s chances at a third consecutive Stanley Cup. Today, Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review pointed us in the direction of radio host Mark Madden of 105.9, who suggests that the Penguins are trying to trade Kessel and that the enigmatic winger is “okay with that.”

It’s not the first time Kessel has been involved in trade speculation in his career. The 30-year old winger was first shipped out of Boston after a breakout 36-goal, 60-point season for the Bruins in 2008-09, only to find himself traded once again by the Toronto Maple Leafs six years later. The situation in Toronto had deteriorated to a point where they needed a reset on the ice and in the dressing room, and Pittsburgh was happy to take him off their hands—Toronto even retained some of the salary on his expensive, long-term deal.

Kessel is coming off the best season of his career with 34 goals and 92 points, but was able to muster just one goal in the playoffs for the Penguins (though he added eight assists in 12 games). If GM Jim Rutherford were to trade him away, it would be a stark indictment of all the success this group has had the last few seasons. Kessel especially flourished this season, finishing three points ahead of Sidney Crosby and just six behind Evgeni Malkin for the team lead.

That big-money contract that Kessel signed in Toronto still has four years remaining on it, with the Penguins carrying just a $6.8MM cap hit after Toronto’s retained portion. He also holds a modified no-trade clause that would allow him to block trades to all but eight teams, though, if Madden is correct, perhaps he’d waive the clause to find his way out of town.

At this point in the season all the speculation regarding star players should be taken with a grain of salt. If, however, Kessel does enter the trade market there would be no shortage of teams interested. The Penguins do still have a cap crunch going forward, with several restricted free agents needing contracts with little cap room to spend. Trading Kessel would certainly open up some room, and he would likely generate a big return. Usually big trades like this don’t happen until the entry draft, meaning even after the upcoming Stanley Cup Finals we likely will have to wait a bit to see if there is anything to these trade rumors. If Pittsburgh really is considering it, Kessel could quickly become the offseason’s most intriguing story.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Announces Hart Trophy Candidates

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Who is the most valuable player in the NHL? In 2018, it will be one three forwards who finished in the top seven in scoring. However, it won’t be any of the names at #1-#4. Instead, the league announced that the finalists for the Hart Trophy are the Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, the New Jersey Devils’ Taylor Hall, and the Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar, who finished fifth through seventh in points this season, respectively.

The three nominees, as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, will come as no surprise. All three were considered top candidates for the award this season after outstanding campaigns. MacKinnon and Hall each notched 39 goals en route to leading their teams back from the basement of the league last season to unlikely playoff berths. MacKinnon’s 97 points in 74 games was second only to Connor McDavid in per-game production among full-season players, while Hall’s 93 points – 41 more than the next-best player in New Jersey – was the largest proportion of team points in the league. Meanwhile in L.A., Kopitar bounced back from a down 2016-17 season personally with 92 points, while also playing Selke-caliber defense.

As always, there were deserving candidates who did not get the nod as a Hart finalist. McDavid obviously stands out as the reigning MVP and the league’s top scorer at 108 points. However, the struggles of McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers made it unlikely he would get a second consecutive shot at the award. The other top-four scorers – the Philadelphia Flyers’ Claude Giroux, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin – did not share those same struggles, but their Hart resumes weren’t helped by the other talented players on their teams, such as top-15 scorers Jakub Voracek, Steven Stamkos, Phil Kessel, and Sidney Crosby. Other snubs include Rocket Richard winner Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals, NHL assists leader and the captain of the upstart Winnipeg Jets, Blake Wheeler, and a player who may have pushed McDavid for the scoring title if not for injuries and suspensions, the Boston Bruins’ Brad Marchand. However, it is hard to argue that the three finalists picked by the PHWA are not the three most deserving players to be up for the Hart this season. The winner of hockey’s MVP award will be revealed at the NHL Awards on June 20th.

Ottawa Senators Trade Derick Brassard To Pittsburgh Penguins

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8:35pm: The Pittsburgh Penguins’ release fills in the remaining blanks as to the Vegas Golden Knights’ role in the deal. The Pens confirmed that they acquired Brassard, Dunn, and Ottawa’s 2018 third-rounder, but have also added forward prospect Tobias Lindberg from the Golden Knights. In exchange, Vegas received Reaves and the Penguins’ 2018 fourth-round pick, as previously confirmed, and the Knights retained 40% of Brassard’s salary, or $2MM against the cap this season and next . So, in exchange for the added cap space this year and Lindberg, a 22-year-old winger being traded for the third time in his pro career, the Penguins gave Vegas an NHL-caliber checking forward and a draft pick. It is highly speculated that Ottawa, who retained no salary in the deal, will quickly flip Cole to a contender, while it remains possible that Vegas could flip Reaves. The Knights could also hold on to the veteran energy-liner with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and William Carrier currently sidelined .

8:20pm: The Ottawa Senators have now officially announced the trade, with even more twists. The Senators have indeed acquired Cole, Gustavsson, and the Penguins 2018 first-round pick in the trade. They will also receive a 2019 third-round pick from Pittsburgh. Additionally, Brassard is joined by young forward Vincent Dunn and a 2018 third-round pick on their way to the Penguins. Essentially, the teams added a swap of third-rounders into the mix, as well as Dunn, a 22-year-old ECHL veteran.

8:00pm: The trade has been re-worked and approved by the league, with some interesting twists. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report that the deal had been completed, with Brassard headed to Pittsburgh. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman then added that Cole would still be going to Ottawa, rather than Vegas, as some had speculated. However, Vegas will be getting a return in the form of Penguins enforcer Ryan Reaves, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun announced. The Penguins acquired Reaves from the St. Louis Blues for a first-round pick and Oskar Sundqvist in last June’s draft, but have moved on from the energy line forward less than a year later. McKenzie adds that Pittsburgh also sent a fourth-round pick to the Golden Knights. More details about the three-team deal are still to come.

4:58pm: Hold everything, as Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet is now reporting that the deal has been rejected by the NHL unless it is restructured. The league would not allow Brassard to pass through Vegas simply for the purpose of retaining salary. This decision is understandable, as it would set a dangerous precedent for further cap space exploitation if allowed. Dreger and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet both report that the three teams are working to come up with something that will be approved.

4:05pm: Derick Brassard appears to be on his way to Pittsburgh, as Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that the Ottawa Senators are closing in on a deal that would send the veteran center to the Penguins. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Senators will receive a 2018 first-round pick, goaltender Filip Gustavsson, and defenseman Ian Cole. There also is expected to be some level of salary retention of Brassard’s contract, and could be another part of the move still to come. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that the deal is very complicated, and likely includes the Vegas Golden Knights.

Brassard was arguably the top center option available on the trade market this weekend, and had as many as seven teams interested in acquiring his services. Pittsburgh finally won the bidding, and will part with a solid package of assets.

<a rel=The Senators were insisting on a first-round pick in any Brassard deal, but they’ll get one that falls near the end of the round. The Penguins are pushing the Washington Capitals for first place in the Metropolitan Division, and are doing everything in their power to try and three-peat as Stanley Cup Champions.

Gustavsson may be the jewel of the package, as he has shown really high-end potential since being selected 55th-overall in 2016. Playing in the SHL, the 19-year old goaltender has a .917 save percentage and excelled at the World Juniors winning a silver medal and being named the tournament’s best goaltender. Still, Gustavsson is very young and could still be years away from making a real impact at the NHL level.

Cole will likely be flipped in the next few days, as he’s scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. The 28-year old defenseman was included to even out salaries, but probably won’t have a very long Senators career unless the team approaches him with an extension offer. Cole was rumored to be on the block for almost the entire season, and could net the Senators another draft pick or prospect for their rebuild.

In adding Brassard, the Penguins once again become a favorite in the Eastern Conference. Though he isn’t expected to carry the load offensively, he now gives them their familiar three-line attack with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel all able to drive a group. Almost no one in the NHL can match that kind of depth down the middle, especially if Brassard can find another gear playing against weaker competition. Already with 18 goals and 38 points through 58 games, he’ll give them another option on the powerplay as well.

Brassard actually has 78 games of playoff experience, mostly going back to his days with the New York Rangers. In those appearances he’s recorded 22 goals and 55 points, an impressive total that Penguins GM Jim Rutherford no doubt took into account. He’s also been extremely durable the last few seasons, playing in at least 80 games for four straight years coming into 2017-18.

In all, the trade seems like a good fit for both clubs, even if it is a bit surprising. Ottawa was playing Pittsburgh in the seventh game of the Conference Finals less than a year ago, and is now selling off assets in order to reload on talent. This could be just the first of several moves this weekend.

– Zach Leach contributed to this post.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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