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GMs who look best – and worst – after the NHL trade deadline |
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More than 48 hours have passed since the NHL’s 2016-17 trade deadline, and though the lack of blockbuster moves disappointed transaction aficionados, the ramifications of the deals that were made – and those that didn’t materialize, despite intense speculation – cast different GMs in different lights. Some came away with improved images, while others only had more questions cast about their actions and blueprints for success.
Here are the GMs who looked best, and worst, post-trade-deadline:
Best
1. Brian MacLellan, Washington. His Capitals have been running roughshod over most opponents this season, but MacLellan made the biggest deal of the deadline period when he landed blueliner Kevin Shattenkirk from St. Louis without removing anyone from the NHL roster. That’s not to say MacLellan didn’t pay a notable price in the trade – a first-round draft pick, a possible second-rounder and three prospects went to the Blues, who weren’t exactly dealing from a position of strength with a player everyone knew would move on as an unrestricted free agent this summer – but Washington now has the deepest blueline in the game and Capitals players have no excuses to not make it out of the second round and far beyond in this post-season.
MacLellan understands the window his Caps have in which to truly be a Stanley Cup frontrunner could close before he or the team’s fan base expects it will. And Shattenkirk’s addition represents as much of a victory for Washington in that keeps his services away from rivals in Pittsburgh and Manhattan as it does in terms of what Shattenkirk can do to push the Capitals into a competitive stratum that has eluded them in the Alex Ovechkin era.
2. Jim Benning, Vancouver. The Canucks GM has taken all sorts of heat for the mishmash his team has become since he took the reins in May of 2014. In fairness, we don’t know exactly how constrained he’s been by Vancouver’s ownership, but the bottom line is Benning’s Canucks were headed right where many of us expected they’d finish the year: in the lower middle of the Western Conference, out of the playoff mix, but not near the very bottom (and a much better chance at drafting a youngster of consequence).
But in dealing away winger Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen for prospects Jonathan Dahlen and Nikolay Goldobin, Benning has signalled the organization is conceding they need to move in a larger rebuilding direction.
That’s important and should be reassuring to Vancouver’s long-suffering fan base, and although much work still is needed and more growing pains are ahead, Benning has done well to pick up the pace of the process.
3. Steve Yzerman, Tampa Bay. Yzerman was a master in reinventing himself to maintain his status as a star NHLer during his Hockey Hall of Fame career, and he’s currently proving to be an expert in extricating himself from the bonds of the salary cap and finding ways to maintain the Tampa Bay Lightning’s core of talent. The Bolts GM took a hit from a talent perspective when he dealt center Brian Boyle to Toronto, center Valtteri Filppula to Philadelphia and goalie Ben Bishop to Los Angeles in separate transactions prior to the deadline, but the cap flexibility he now has will make it easier to fit in raises for soon-to-be restricted free agents Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat.
Yzerman was able to get out from under Filppula’s $5-million salary next season and he turned Boyle and Bishop into draft picks that will help seed the future for the franchise. This season has been a nightmare for the Lightning, but Yzerman has taken solid steps to return them to prominence next season and in the years ahead.
Worst
1. Joe Sakic, Colorado. So let’s get this straight – you’ve got far and away the worst and most disappointing team in the league, a number of very talented young players who would bring prospects and draft picks in return, and yet the only deals you make send Jarome Iginla (who got a conditional fourth-round pick from L.A.) and Andreas Martinsen to Montreal (in return for winger Sven Andrighetto)? Sorry, but that’s not acceptable. I get that Sakic is probably being lowballed by his GM colleagues and believes his asking prices have a better chance of being met at the NHL draft, but is there any guarantee? And what happens if, say, star center Matt Duchene makes a trade demand in the off-season that becomes public? Then Sakic will be really up against it, and the return could be even more of a disappointment.
It’s clear the Avalanche has been in need of a serious shakeup for months now, and yet Sakic hasn’t been willing or able to get it done. That’s troubling, and given that Colorado has just two picks in the top 90 in this summer’s draft, the pressure on him to mix things up will only mount from here. His patience may eventually pay off, but it’s just as possible it could prove disastrous.
2. Marc Bergevin, Montreal. Don’t get me wrong, Bergevin made a shrewd move in quickly plucking Claude Julien off the unemployment line and inserting him as Montreal’s new head coach last month. And the Canadiens’ current four-game win streak certainly is an indication Julien has settled in nicely. That said, Bergevin made a flurry of moves approaching and at the deadline, and all of them were for fringe players to add to the Habs’ depth. Meanwhile, their biggest concern – secondary scoring behind Alex Radulov and Max Pacioretty – wasn’t addressed at all.
Bergevin has made a drastic overhaul of the Canadiens starting last summer, and the first appearance of P.K. Subban back in Montreal this week was a stark reminder of how significant it’s really been. This is a division-leading team we’re talking about, so it’s not as if Bergevin is failing spectacularly here, but Steve Ott? Jordie Benn? Dwight King? These are not players who are going to push the Habs through to a conference championship and beyond. This feels like too much change for change’s sake.
3. Tim Murray, Buffalo. The Sabres aren’t completely out of the playoff picture just yet, but this season has not gone ideally for the organization, and they’d dropped four straight games heading into the deadline. In addition, Murray has five unrestricted free agents on his roster – including blueliners Cody Franson and Dmitry Kulikov, as well as captain Brian Gionta – who could’ve helped a true contender and brought something to help Buffalo’s build in return. Standing pat as Murray did doesn’t seem to be beneficial either in the immediate or long-term.
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