Trading Draft Picks Isn't As Simple As It Used To Be
In an attempt to decipher how the value of a draft pick has changed in recent years thanks to the implementation of the salary cap, I have taken it upon myself to conduct some rather unscientific research on the matter.
Although nothing is clear upon first glance, through the course of this piece I will hopefully be able to show you how young players have changed the face of the game.
Not only is a generational shift in talent taking place in the NHL, but the amount of players becoming draft eligible is increasing at a rapid rate. Despite the outcry about development, the truth is that the game is starting to take roots in more areas than ever before and is starting to push players from all over the globe to aspire to one day play in the NHL.
The volume of players has certainly pushed the average talent level to the highest it has ever been in the NHL, but it hasn’t been the only factor in increasing the value of a draft pick.
The salary cap has also played an enormous role.
The “salary cap system” that the Collective Bargaining Agreement established during the lockout year of 2004-05 has now laid the ground work for parity in the league, but also priority. With a set limit on what a team can spend on their roster, the have now been forced to prioritize their focus on the players they draft and develop.
Beginning with the original cap of $39 million, set for the 2005-06 season, we have seen the cap rise and rise again. With expectations that the salary cap is set to rise once again, this time to anywhere between $58.5 and $58.8 million, the easy opinion would be that clubs are once again edging towards the days where spending limits no longer dictate how competitive a team can be, yet it’s not that simple.
As mentioned above, the youth movement has also taken affect and is now a league-wide phenomenon. A forced phenomenon perhaps, but a phenomenon nonetheless.
The value of a draft pick has changed in recent years. Although a top tier pick will and always has been a highly sought after commodity, it was not until the institution of the salary cap system that teams finally became aware of just how important they truly are.
In the first part of this piece, I will focus my concentration on examining the amount of trade activity that has included draft picks in the 5 seasons prior to the lockout.
In the days prior to the CBA mandated salary cap, there was a clear financial discrepancy in the NHL between the top teams and the rest of the pack. As a result of the un-even playing field, there was far less consideration and value placed on draft picks, especially the more valuable 1st and 2nd round picks.
So, without further ado, here is a look at the trade activity involving draft picks in the 5 years leading up to the lockout.
This is a year by year breakdown of all the 1st and 2nd round Draft picks that have been traded in the final 5 seasons leading up to the lockout(’99-’04).
- Please note that it is not a fully detailed list, rather a numerical tally. For the sake of conversation, I have also added in the notable trades from each year, whether they be players or picks. I did not include the amount of 3rd round picks(or later) that were traded.
October 1999 – September 1999:
Regular Season
1st rounders: 1
2nd rounders: 2
Trade Deadline Day, March 23, 1999: Red Wings acquire Chelios from the Hawks for their 1st rounders in ’99 and ’01. The Panthers trade Rhett Warrener and a 5th rounder(Ryan Miller) to the Sabres for Mike Wilson.
1st rounders: 2
2nd rounders: 5
Draft: June 26, 1999
1st rounders: 5
2nd rounders: 1
Draft Notes:
- The Canucks sent Bryan McCabe and a 1st rounder in 2000 to Chicago for their 1st rounder in ’99(This move led to the Canucks being able to select the Sedin twins).
- The Rangers traded Cloutier, Sundstrom and a 1st and 3rd rounder in ’00 to Tampa for a 1st rounder(Chicago’s) which turned out to be Pavel Brendl. The Rangers also traded Marc Savard and a 1st(Oleg Tverdovsky) to the Flames for Hlavac and a 1st(Lundmark) and a 3rd(Craig Anderson) in ’99.
Trade Notes:
- In November, the Rangers traded Kovalev and York to the Penguins for Nedved, Sean Pronger and Chris Tamer.
- The Canucks traded Bure, Hedican, Ference and a 3rd rounder in ’00 to the Panthers for Jovanovski, Gagner, Brown, Weekes and a 1st in ’00.
- Prior to the Draft, the Kings traded Olli Jokinen, Green Biron and a 4th in ’99 to the Islanders for Palffy, Smolinsky and Cousineau.
Totals:
| Time of Year | 1st Rounders | 2nd Rounders |
Regular Season | 1 | 2 |
Trade Deadine | 2 | 5 |
Draft/Free Agency | 5 | 1 |
- In a busy trade year, there was a total of 8 First Rounders swapped and 8 Second Rounders.
October 1999 – September 2000:
Regular Season
1st rounders: 1(Bourque/Andreychuk to Col for Rolston, Pahlsson, Grenier + 1st)
2nd rounders: 9
Trade Deadline Day, March 14, 2000::No 1st or 2nd rounders traded.
Draft: June 23, 2000
1st rounders: 2(+4)
2nd rounders: 15
Draft Notes:
- Pavel Brendl, the #4 overall pick in 1999 was traded twice(The + 4 includes Brendl being traded twice as well as the other 2 first rounders included in those trades).
- The Habs traded away the #44 pick to the Ducks, (turned out to be Ilya Bryzgalov).
- This was also the Draft where we saw the Islanders trade Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen to the Panthers for Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.
Trade Notes:
- This was the season where Ray Bourque went west to Colorado(the only trade during the season to include a 1st rounder) and the Canadiens and Devils swapped Malakhov for Souray(+ a 2nd rounder).
Totals:
| Time of Year | 1st Rounders | 2nd Rounders |
Regular Season | 1 | 9
Trade Deadine | 0 | 9(combined w/Reg.Season) |
Draft/Free Agency | 4 | 15 |
- This season may have proven to be the most active for trading high level picks as 5 First Rounders were traded, while a mind-boggling 24 Second Rounders were exchanged.
October 2000 - September 2001:
Regular Season
1st rounders: 1(Kings trade Blake/Reinprecht to Avs for Deadmarsh, Miller and Avs 1st rounder in ’01)
2nd rounders: 0
Trade Deadline Day, March 13, 2001:
1st rounders: 2(Habs trade Linden, Zubrus and NJ’s 2nd rounder in ’01 to Caps for Zednik, Bulis and Caps 1st rounder in ’01) – (Coyotes trade Tkachuk to Blues for Handzus, Nagy, Taffe and a 1st rounder in ’01 or ’02)
2nd rounders: 3
Draft: June 24, 2001
1st rounders: 2
2nd rounders: 3
Draft/Free Agency Notes:
- Leading into the Draft, the Islanders traded Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and their 1st round pick to the Sens for Alexie Yashin.
- The day prior to Free Agency, the Sabres traded Dominic Hasek to the Red Wings for Slava Kozlov and a 1st rounder in ’02.
Trade Notes:
- The Caps acquired Jagr and Kucera from the Pens for Beech, Sivek, Lupaschuk and future considerations.
- This was also the season where Teemu Selanne was traded from the Ducks to the Sharks for Friesen, Shields and a conditional pick.
- The “conditional pick” was the common modicum of trade during this season as most teams opted to include a “conditional” or “optional” pick rather than the guarantee of an early round pick.
Totals:
| Time of Year | 1st Rounders | 2nd Rounders |
Regular Season | 1 | 0 |
Trade Deadine | 2 | 3 |
Draft/Free Agency | 2 | 3 |
- Following the outburst of pick swapping in the prior two seasons, things calmed down a bit as only 5 First Rounders and 6 Seconds rounders changed ownership.
October 2002 - September 2003:
Regular Season
1st rounders: 1(Sharks send Owen Nolan to the Leafs for McCauley, Boyes and a 1st in ’03)
2nd rounders: 1
Trade Deadline Day, March 11, 2003: The Red Wings traded Sean Avery, Maxim Kuznetsov , a 1st rounder in ’03 and their 2nd rounder in ’04 to the Kings for Mathieu Schneider
1st rounders: 1
2nd rounders: 3
Draft/Free Agency:
1st rounders: 2
2nd rounders: 6
Draft/Free Agency Notes:.
- Panthers trade MA-Fleury(1st overall) and Carcillo to Pens for Horton(3rd overall), Samuelsson and their 2nd rounder.
Trade Notes:
- Prior to the trade deadline, the Penguins traded Kovalex, Laukkanen, Wilso and LaCouture to the Rangers for Fata, Samuelsson, Bouchard, Lintner and future considerations.
- Notable (Steal)Trade of the Year: Sabres trade Chris Gratton and their 4th in ’04 to Coyotes for Daniel Briere and a 3rd rounder.
Totals:
| Time of Year | 1st Rounders | 2nd Rounders |
Regular Season | 1 | 1 |
Trade Deadine | 1 | 3 |
Draft/Free Agency | 2 | 6 |
- As the NHL wound its way towards the inevitable lockout, it was clear to see how the value of draft picks was starting to change as fewer and fewer picks were being exchanged regularly. During the 2002-03 season, 4 First Rounders and 10 Seconds rounders were traded .
October 2003 - September 2004:
Regular Season
1st rounders: 3
2nd rounders: 12
Trade Deadline Day, March 9, 2004: As a result of the intense activity pre-deadline, there wasn’t much worth noting on Deadline Day. There were 17 deals on the day, the most significant of which was Rucinsky for Umberger and Grenier. There were no 1st or 2nd rounders traded.
1st rounders: 0
2nd rounders: 0
Draft/Free Agency:
1st rounders: 0
2nd rounders: 0
Draft/Free Agency Notes: There were very few moves made during the Draft and Free Agency as the looming lockout kept teams from investing in an uncertain future.
Trade Notes:
- Oilers trade Comrie to Flyers for Jeff Woywitka, a 1st in ’04 and a 3rd in ’05. Philly then sent Comrie to the Coyotes for Radivojevic, Eager and Sean Burke.
- Sharks trade Mikka Kiprusoff to Flamers for a 2nd rounder in ’05.
- Hawks trade Sullivan to Predators for a 2nd in ’04 and ’05.
- Caps trade Bondra to Sens for Brooks Laich and a 2nd in ’04. Caps also trade Lang to Red Wings for Fleischmann, a 1st in ‘04(Mike Green) and a 4th in ’06. Caps then acquire Shaone Morrisonn, a 1st rounder in ‘04(Jeff Schultz) and a 2nd in ’04. Caps send Nylander to Bruins for a 2nd rounder in ‘06(Francois Bouchard).
- The Canadiens acquire Alexei Kovalev from the Rangers for Josef Balej and a 2nd rounder in ’04.
- The Rangers trade Brian Leetch to the Leafs for Kondratiev, Immonen, a 1st in ’04 and a 2nd in ’05.
Totals:
| Time of Year | 1st Rounders | 2nd Rounders |
Regular Season | 3 | 12 |
Trade Deadine | 0 | 0 |
Draft/Free Agency | 0 | 0 |
- With one final flurry, GM’s across the NHL exchanged plenty of picks, but not many important ones. There was a total of 3 First Rounders and 12 Seconds rounders traded during the regular season, but absolutely no picks of consequence were exchanged at the deadline nor during the brief period of Free Agency..
Lockout Begins
- There is no definite source for all of this information, so this piece was assembled with the aid of the records found on nhltradehistory.blogspot.com and the oft-uncertain records found on Wikipedia.
It’s impressive to note the decline in volume of draft picks that were traded in the 5 years prior to the lockout. It’s quite clear when following the numbers that a big change was coming to the NHL and how it managed itself.
Tomorrow, in Part 2, I will take a look at how and why trading draft picks has become one of, if not
the most important elements that has changed the face of the NHL.
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