NHL Trade Season Getting Busy
Taylor Hall, Kevin Hayes, Sean Durzi, and Ryan Johansen on the move
With a suspect list of unrestricted free agents in the NHL this summer, it appears that the trade market is popping. In addition to earlier trades that saw the Columbus Blue Jackets bolster their blueline, more trades have started to come in.
Here is a look at three trades that have already happened, with the acknowledgement that there appears to be a Philadelphia Flyers-St. Louis Blues deal lurking, and possibly a Pierre-Luc Dubois trade among those on the way this week.
Colorado brought in center Ryan Johansen
Arizona acquired defenseman Sean Durzi
St. Louis landed forward Kevin Hayes
First up, though, the Chicago Blackhawks secured some help for presumptive No. 1 overall draft pick Connor Bedard, dealing for an established scoring winger.
The Blackhawks Get: LW Taylor Hall and LW/RW Nick Foligno
Hall, 31, was the first overall pick in the 2010 Draft and has enjoyed a productive career, scoring 693 points in 828 games, winning the Hart Trophy as the Most Valuable Player in 2017-2018. He has also played just 39 playoff games, during which he has produced 29 points (14 G, 15 A).
Hall’s role was reduced in Boston last season, as he averaged a career-low 15:56 of ice time per game, scoring 36 points in 61 games, a career-low 0.59 points per game. Although Hall was not as effective last season, he has consistently been a strong play driver and his team has outscored the opposition with Hall on the ice during five-on-five play in eight of the past nine seasons. That track record could get tested in Chicago next season.
In Chicago, Hall is the prime candidate to play on the top line alongside Conor Bedard, the highly touted center who is going to be the first overall pick in the 2023 Draft. Hall will not drive play in the same way, but will get more ice time, including time on the power play, so he should still have a productive campaign, even if the Blackhawks are likely to lose a lot of games.
Hall is making $6 million against the salary cap for the next two seasons, with a total salary of $12.5 million.
Foligno is a 35-year-old winger who has battled injuries in recent seasons. It’s not surprising, given that he has played a physical game for a long time, and he is probably desired more for leadership and defensive acumen than on-ice production. He did have 26 points (10 G, 16 A) in 60 games for the Bruins last season, while playing just 12:22 per game, so Foligno could reasonably expect a bigger role with a rebuilding Blackhawks squad.
Foligno has already signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Blackhawks, which is certainly a lofty price to pay for the player, but it prevents Foligno from hitting the open market.
Adding Foligno’s one-year contract to the deal means that, if he stays healthy, he could have some appeal on the trade market before the deadline next season, which could conceivably bring another mid-round pick to the Blackhawks.
The Bruins Get: D Ian Mitchell and D Alec Regula
Mitchell is a 24-year-old right shot defenseman who has 16 points (4 G, 12 A) in 82 career games over the past three seasons. He has not been able to secure regular playing time and his subpar results with the rebuilding Blackhawks have justified his spot as a fringe player.
Moving to Boston could benefit Mitchell, as he played for Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery at Denver University for one season. It will depend on whether the Bruins have more moves to make on the blueline, but with Connor Clifton heading for unrestricted free agency, Mitchell could claim a spot on the right side of the third pair.
Regula, 22, has appeared in 22 NHL games across the past three seasons and while that is still a small sample, the 6-foot-4 blueliner can add some physical play when given the chance. It may be premature to pin any significant expectations on Regula, but he gives Boston another option on the back end.
Both Mitchell and Regula are restricted free agents who are trying to stick in the league, so they will not break the bank, which fits with the Bruins’ plan of trying to gain space under the salary cap.
Verdict: There is little question that the Blackhawks get the better end of this deal because the Bruins are practically giving Hall and Foligno away. Given Chicago’s dearth of quality offensive players, bringing in a player like Hall to complement Connor Bedard will help ease the transition to the league for Chicago’s new franchise player.
The Blues Get: C/RW Kevin Hayes
Hayes, 31, is a big skilled forward who totally fell out of favor with Flyers head coach John Tortorella last season. He ranked second on the team with 54 points (18 G, 36 A) in 81 games and the puck typically moves in the right direction when he is on the ice, at least relative to his teammates.
In St. Louis, Hayes should fill a complementary role and with the Flyers retaining half of his salary, a cap hit of more than $3.5 million, his price fits for a player that can provide secondary scoring.
Hayes’ contract runs for three more seasons, which should be manageable for St. Louis.
The Flyers Get: A sixth-round pick.
Philadelphia obviously wanted to unload Hayes, because eating half of his cap hit for the next three seasons, just to receive a sixth-round pick, is practically giving him away.
The Flyers are in a rebuilding mode and Hayes’ departure will open the door for others, but Philadelphia’s roster is so thin at this point, that they did not need to move Hayes to create playing time for other players.
Verdict: Hayes might be considered a distressed asset, but St. Louis is getting him at an extremely discounted price. That’s a win. Philadelphia might be able to do something with more cap space, but that will be a future move to be evaluated at that time.
The Coyotes Get: D Sean Durzi
Durzi, 24, has been a productive point producer from the blueline, tallying 65 points (12 G, 53 A) in 136 career games, with 31 of those points coming on the power play.
In Arizona, Durzi should step into the role of first unit power play quarterback, bumping Juuso Valimaki from that spot, and that should allow Durzi to keep producing points.
Durzi’s defensive game is still a work in progress. If he can improve his play without the puck, then he could become a quality two-way defenseman. If it stays as is, then he will put up points and give up chances in his own end. Under the circumstances, this is a reasonable risk for the Coyotes to take.
The Kings Get: A second-round pick.
The second-round pick that the Kings receive is a 2024 pick that originated with the Montreal Canadiens. The likelihood is that the pick will be in the first half of the second round and that tends to bring a one-in-three chance of yielding an NHL player.
Moving Durzi also clears a path for 2021 first-round pick Brandt Clarke, a right-shot defenseman, to step into the Kings lineup next season.
Verdict: Both teams are probably getting what they want from this deal, but the Coyotes are taking a smart risk here. If they can develop Durzi’s game away from the puck, even a little, then he can become more than a one-dimensional power play threat. For the price of a second-round pick, especially from a Coyotes team that is overloaded with picks, it makes sense.
The Avalanche Get: C Ryan Johansen
Johansen, 30, is coming off a down season during which he managed 28 points (12 G, 16 A) in 55 games. He is a reluctant shooter, which puts a limit on his offensive upside, but he has soft hands and good size, so is not without appeal. He also won a career-best 59.2% of his faceoffs last season, so that is a niche that the right-shot center can fill as well.
In Colorado, Johansen is a fair option as a second-line center but what makes this trade work for Colorado is that Nashville is retaining half of Johansen’s salary, so he costs the Avalanche $4 million against the cap, a much more reasonable price than the $8 million cap hit he had with the Predators.
With two seasons left on his contract, Johansen is a better fit for Colorado than trying to find a second line center via free agency, where they would likely have to commit to more than two years.
The Predators Get: LW Alex Galchenyuk
Galchenyuk is a 29-year-old who is heading for unrestricted free agency. He did not record a point in 11 games for the Avalanche last season and has bounced around to six teams in the past four seasons. He is only included so that the deal does not look like the Predators giving away a player, which is exactly what they are doing.
Nashville has hopes for its younger centers, including Tommy Novak, Juuso Parssinen, and Cody Glass, so moving Johansen creates more room for those players to play prominent roles.
Verdict: While the Preds are happy to get out from under half of the $8 million salary cap hit owed to Johansen and might have been prepared to buy him out otherwise, this is a worthwhile play for the Avalanche. It’s not a home run but a sensible play and sometimes that’s enough.