CarterHud

        The Arizona Coyotes have acquired center Nick Cousins and goalie prospect Merrick Madsen from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 5th round draft pick and prospects Brendan Warren. Let\’s get into details.

         In the upcoming expansion draft, you need to expose two forwards who played in 40 games this year or 70 games in the last two years. The Flyers had 12 of those players (not counting Chris VandeVelde and Boyd Gordon, because they are both UFAs this offseason), so they can trade one of them to a team that needs one. The Coyotes have 10 other players who are qualified for the \”40/70 rule\”, but just three of them are signed for next year in Tobias Rieder, Brad Richardson and Jamie McGinn, and Richardson likely won\’t be protected.

        Cousins is an RFA, but the Coyotes should sign him. The have a bad roster now, especially on forward. He has a good chance of cracking their top 9 in 2017-18.
  
        Cousins, 23, scored 16 points (six goals and 10 assists) in 60 games this year. He has 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists) in his 107 game NHL career, all for the Flyers, who drafted him in the 3rd round (68th overall) in 2011.

         Madsen, 21, had a .923 SV% and a 2.11 GAA in 36 games this year for Harvard University. He was unlikely to sign with the Flyers, and the Coyotes don\’t have an amazing goalie prospect like the Flyers do (Carter Hart/Alex Lyon/Anthony Stolarz). It seems more like a throw-in.

         With prospect Oskar Lindblom likely coming over from Sweden, and the Flyers most likely drafting Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier, who should make the team, the Flyers wouldn\’t use Cousins much or at all in 2017-18. They get a draft pick that seems worthless, but Dallas Stars star Jamie Benn was a 5th round pick, so you never know.
      
         Warren, 20, scored 10 points (three goals and seven assists) in 35 games for the University of Michigan this season. He looks like another throw-in prospect, but he could reach the NHL eventually.

       The Anaheim Ducks have bought out the contract of defenseman Simon Despres.
       Despres, 25, has been a stay-at-home defenseman (also known as a defensive defenseman) throughout his career. He\’s been good on the ice, but multiple concussions have kept him off of it. He played in just one game in 2016-17, and didn\’t get a point in that game.

       The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted Despres in the first round (30th overall) in the 2009 NHL draft. They traded him to the Ducks at the 2014-15 trade deadline for defenseman Ben Lovejoy. But Despres played in just 49 games for Anaheim in his career, scoring just 10 points (one goal and nine assists). If you add his Penguin totals, Despres has scored 43 points (six goals and 37 assists) in 193 games for the two teams.

        \”I\’d like to thank the Anaheim Ducks for a wonderful two and a half years. I wish my teammates all the best moving forward,\” Despres tweeted.

         \”Simon Despres is a good hockey player and a good person. But, in this point in time, we feel it is in the best interests of both Simon and the organization to part ways. We wish him the very best in the future,\” GM Bob Murray said via Ducks twitter.

           According to capfriendly.com, the buyout will last for eight years. His cap hit will start at $1.26 million in 2017-18, and decrease over the years. Despres was signed through 2020-21, with an AAV of $3.7 million.

        The New York Mets have more injuries. This time, it\’s starting pitcher Matt Harvey (stress in scapula) and CF Juan Lagares (thumb) going to the 10-day DL.

         Harvey, 28, has a 5.25 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched this year. He has a career ERA of 3.22 with 579 strikeouts in 590 innings, all for the Mets. In 2013, he started the all-star game at Citi Field.

         Lagares, also 28, has a .269 batting average two homers, eight RBIs and two steals in 102 Plate Appearances this season. He has a career batting average of .259 with 19 homers, 139 RBIs and 32 stolen bases in exactly 1600 Plate Appearances, all for the Mets.

          To replace Harvey and Lagares, the Mets recalled INF Matt Reynolds and OF Brandon Nimmo from Las Vegas (AAA).

           Reynolds, 26, is four for 23 (.174) with a solo home run this year. He has a career batting average of .214 with four homers and 14 RBIs in 122 Plate Appearances, all for the Mets.

           Nimmo, 24, hasn\’t played in the majors this year. He made his MLB debut in 2016, hitting .274 with one homer, six RBIs in 80 Plate Appearances. He has a .223 batting average, three homers and 16 RBIs in 180 Plate Appearances this season for Las Vegas.

Drouin (left) and Sergachev (right)

                              BLOCKBUSTER TRADE ALERT

        Yep. We have our first blockbuster trade of the offseason. Young left winger Jonathan Drouin has found a new home, after the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Drouin and a conditional 6th round pick in the 2018 NHL draft to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for prospect defenseman Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional second round draft pick in the 2018 NHL draft.

         The Habs were looking for a top six forward, and had interest in the 22 year old playmaker Drouin. There was rumors that a Drouin for star center Alex Galchenyuk trade would happen, but substituting Sergachev for Galchenyuk probably would work better for Montreal. After the Lightning drafted Drouin third overall in 2013, Drouin scored 95 points (29 goals and 66 assists) for them in 164 games over three seasons. He broke out in 2016-17, scoring 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points in 73 games, all career highs. He can be an RFA (restricted free agent) on July 1st.

          I\’m not 100 percent sure why the Bolts would even think about trading Drouin, but it\’s probably because they couldn\’t get him to sign. Also, he played just 21 games in 2015-16 due to suspensions over AHL visits, and a trade request. They got a big prospect in Sergachev, and imaging Sergachev paired with a top three defenseman in Victor Hedman is scary. Sergachev, 18, played just four games with the Habs in 2016-17, and failed to score his first NHL point in them. The Habs drafted him 9th overall in the 2016 NHL draft.

           I think the Canadiens win this trade. They get a good player in Drouin, who\’s also young. They give up a prospect in Sergachev, who\’s a defenseman, their big need, but they have Shea Weber, a top defenseman, and the best goalie in the world in Carey Price. But, still expect them to draft a defenseman in the first round this year.

            Also, the Canadiens signed Drouin to a six year deal worth $33 million, with an AAV of $5.5 million. I think it\’s a fair deal for both parties.
          

     The Houston Astros have placed OF Josh Reddick on the 7-day concussion DL.

      Reddick, 30, has a .281 batting average, six homers, 24 RBIs and three steals in 238 Plate Appearances this year. He has a career batting average of .257 with 102 homers, 370 RBIs and 44 stolen bases in 3172 Plate Appearances for the Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox.

      To replace Reddick, the Astros called up their 4th best prospect and the 72nd best prospect in the MLB, OF Derek Fisher for his MLB debut.

      Fisher, 23, has a .335 batting average, 16 home runs, 45 RBIs and 13 stolen bases in 275 Plate Appearances for Fresno (AAA) this year.