CarterHud

                   The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired goalie Calvin Pickard from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Tobias Lindberg and a 6th round draft pick.

                  Behind starter Freddy Andersen, the Leafs\’ backup is Curtis McElhinney, who\’s 2.85 GAA with Toronto last year wasn\’t very impressive. Pickard struggled last year in Colorado since he was thrown to the wolves with that defense the Avs have. Also, he\’s fairly young for a goalie\’s standard. Lindberg and a sixth isn\’t too much of a price to pay for a solid goalie. But until he can prove himself to the organization, Pickard will report to the Marlies (AHL).

                  Pickard, 25, had a .904 SV% and a 2.98 GAA in 50 appearances for the Avalanche last year. In his three year NHL career, all for one team, Pickard has a .914 SV% and 2.77 GAA in 86 appearances. He was the first pick of the expansion draft this offseason by Vegas.

                  On Tuesday, the Knights claimed goalie Malcolm Subban off waivers from the Bruins. After that, they had a three goalie situation. Pickard was waived, but wasn\’t claimed. Vegas didn\’t need Pickard with Subban. Lindberg isn\’t too bad of a prospect also, and a 6th rounder can turn into anything.

                   Lindberg, 22, only played in the NHL in 2015-16, totaling two points, both assists in six games, for the Leafs. He was acquired in 2014-15 from the Senators in the Dion Phaneuf trade.

                    I think the Leafs win this trade. They get a good backup goalie for a prospect who isn\’t that young. Also, Lindberg scored just 16 points in 44 AHL games last year. That\’s why they win this trade.

                     The Montreal Canadiens have made another trade, this time sending C Andreas Martinsen to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Kyle Baun.

                      The Blackhawks have a bunch of players who would sit on other teams, but be in the lineup for them. And there is about 3-5 extra players like that. Martinsen will join that group. But, he was assigned to Rockwell (AHL) to start the season. Baun was just one of the IceHogs\’ forwards, and didn\’t have much of a chance of playing this year.

                    Martinsen, 27, scored three goals and four assists for seven points in 64 games for the Colorado Avalanche and Habs last year. He was traded mid-season for Sven Andrighetto. In his two year NHL career for those two teams, Martinsen has scored seven goals and 11 assists for 18 points in 119 games.

                    The Habs have a plethora of forwards, especially ones who are 4th line type players. Also, they recently acquired Nicolas Deslauriers from Buffalo. One of the forwards were bound to go at sometime, and it was Martinsen. A little disappointment is that Martinsen scored zero points in just nine games as a Hab, and the player he was traded for, Andrighetto, scored 16 points in 19 games after the trade. Baun is for depth at Laval (AHL), and is only two years younger.

                      Baun, 25, didn\’t play in the NHL last year. He was scoreless in five games between 2015-16 and 2014-15. He doesn\’t have much NHL history besides that, and that he is the grandson of Maple Leafs great Bobby Baun.

                      I think the Blackhawks win this trade. Both players aren\’t very notable, but Martinsen is better than Baun, and more experienced. That\’s why they win this trade.

                The Montreal Canadiens have acquired forward Nicolas Deslauriers from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Zach Redmond.

                For the Habs, they get an extra forward. They\’ve already set their 23 man roster, so Deslauriers will go to Laval (AHL). He\’s a 4th line grinder type of player that can surprise you every once in a while with a goal. Also, Redmond didn\’t make the team either, so this move really only affects the Rocket.

                Deslauriers, 26, scored two points, both assists, in 42 games last season. In his four year NHL career, Deslauriers (DIH-LORE-EE-AY) has scored 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 211 games, all for the Sabres.

               Like the Habs and the Rocket, this move affects the Rochester Americans more than the Sabres. After forward Jordan Nolan was claimed off waivers by the club, Deslauriers was waived. Though they don\’t really need an extra defenseman, Redmond is a solid player to have just in case.

                Redmond, 29, scored five points, all assists, in 16 games last season in Montreal. In his five year NHL career for the Habs, Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets, Redmond has scored 38 points, nine being goals, and the other 29 assists.

                I think this is an even trade, only because it\’s kind of irrational. I think both of these teams have a surplus at the area they just added to, and this is just an AHL move. So, I\’m not giving this one a rating.

             With teams needing to finalize their 23 man rosters, some of their roster players from last years were placed on waivers. And for the Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins, they were not as lucky as others. The Bruins lost G Malcolm Subban to the Vegas Golden Knights, and the defenseman the Colorado Avalanche were bound to claim became Stars D Patrik Nemeth.

              The Avs were expected to go with Chris Bigras and Anton Lindholm, two young guys, for their third pairing, but they were also expected to pick up a defenseman just in case. At 25 years of age, Nemeth is also fairly young. He was waived because the Stars decided to go with John Klingberg, Marc Methot, Esa Lindell, Dan Hamhuis, Greg Pateryn, Stephen Johns, Julius Honka and Jamie Oleksiak as their eight defensemen. They\’d obviously rather go with an extra forward and two extra defensemen than three extra defensmen and no extra forwards.

               Nemeth, 25, played in a career high 40 games last year, but only scored three points, all assists. In 108 career, all for the Stars, Nemeth has only 14 points, and somehow they are all assists. He\’s going for his first NHL goal this year.

                The Golden Knights, before they even had a name, and were just referred to as \”The Vegas Team,\” were expected to go after Subban in the expansion draft. But, he was never able to get the job done. Last season, he was passed on the Bruins depth chart by Zane McIntyre, who\’s now behind just backup Anton Khudobin and starter Tuuka Rask. So, it makes sense that the B\’s waived him.

                  Subban, 23, played in just 31 minutes of a game last year, allowing three goals on 16 shots (5.81 GAA, .813 SV%). He\’s never played in a full NHL game. He\’s just played in two games, and just 31 minutes of them each. He\’s allowed six goals on 22 shots (.727 SV%, 5.81 GAA) in his NHL career.

                    After being drafted 8th overall in 2012 by the Pittsburgh Penguins, defenseman Derrick Pouliot has just never lived up to expectations. And today, the defending champs gave up on him. Pouliot was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Andrey Pedan and a 2018 4th round pick.

                    Pouliot is finally waiver eligible. Afraid that someone would pick him up, the Pens shipped him away. Pedan is also waiver eligible, but he\’s less likely to be picked up. Also, they receive an extra draft pick. Pouliot didn\’t make the team, and neither will Pedan. I think Pedan will play for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA).

                    Pouliot, 23, played in just 11 NHL games last year, totaling 0 points. In parts of three seasons, Pouliot has scored 14 points, with two of them being goals, and the other 12 obviously are assists. Also, his career -11 rating in those 67 games isn\’t impressive.

                    For the Canucks, you can\’t go wrong. Pedan is a year older than Pouliot, and Pouliot has more NHL experience, and higher potential. Maybe the Canucks also think he can actually still live up to the so far wasted potential. They give up an extra 4th rounder, but I think it\’s worth it.

                    Pedan, 24, made his NHL debut in 2015-16 for the Canucks, going scoreless in 13 games. He sat out every single game in 2016-17. He\’s a little bit of a troublemaker, with 18 PIM in those 13 games, and 100 last year in Utica (AHL).

                   I think the Canucks win this deal. It\’s pretty even. But if I had 100 points, and I had to give each team some of the points, I\’d give 51 to Vancouver, and the other 49 to Pittsburgh. It\’s obviously pretty close.