CarterHud

The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired defenseman Seth Jones, a 2021 1st round pick (32nd overall) and a 2022 6th round pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenseman Adam Boqvist, a 2021 1st round pick (11th overall), a 2021 2nd round pick (44th overall) and a conditional, lottery protected 2022 1st round draft pick. The Blue Jackets then flipped the 44th overall selection to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for defenseman Jake Bean.

There is a lot to break down here. There’s even more considering the Blackhawks have reportedly agreed to an extension with Jones for eight years with a $9.5 million cap hit. Jones is a complicated player to assess. Analytics hate him, while the eye-test says the opposite. The truth is that Jones is a good top-pairing defenseman, but not elite, and had a really bad 2020-21 season. To pay as much as they did after the year he just had is confusing for Chicago. They are also paying him like a Norris-winner. Jones is not that kind of guy. He was one year away from free agency and will have a $5.4 million cap hit in 2021-22. Extending him makes sense when they are giving all that up. Boqvist is a blue-chip defensive prospect with NHL experience. They moved back 20 picks, which in the first round means a lot. They also traded away a second-rounder that could’ve been traded for a promising young defenseman, and a first-rounder that could end up being high in overall next year. This is a very risky bet for Chicago with low odds to pay off. Still, they do keep a first-round pick. They selected defenseman Nolan Allan with the final pick of the round.

Jones, 26, scored five goals with 23 assists for 28 points in 56 games for the Blue Jackets in 2020-21. In his NHL career for the Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators, Jones has scored 65 goals with 221 assists for 286 points in 580 games.

This is an absolute home run for Columbus on the value side. However, it is a bit concerning that all their stars keep leaving. But if you look at the pure value, it is hard not to like. Boqvist is a young defenseman who was drafted 8th overall in 2018. He has not played much in the NHL, but he has shown flashes of offensive potential. He is entering the final year of his entry-level deal. Plus, they move up 20 slots (after Arizona forfeited their selection) and picked Cole Sillinger 12th overall (eleventh player selected, the terminology is weird with the forfeiture). Will Sillinger be better than Allan? We don’t know. But his stock is much higher as of now. They are able to add a first that could be very high for next year. Then, they flip the second to Carolina. They have the draft picks, so why not take a high-risk, high-reward bet? Bean was selected 13th overall in 2016 but has had trouble cracking a deep Carolina defense. He played in limited time for them this past year. He definitely has potential. The Hurricanes were not looking to pay the RFA Bean and figured that they would ship him off instead. The value for a first-round pick from five years ago who has struggled is about right.

Boqvist, who will be 21 next season, scored two goals with 14 assists for 16 points in 35 games for Chicago in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all for the Blackhawks, Boqvist has scored six goals with 23 assists for 29 points in 76 games.

Bean, 23, scored one goal with 11 assists for 12 points in 42 games for the Hurricanes in 2020-21. He has just two extra games to add to his NHL career. He did not record a point in either of them.

The Vancouver Canucks have acquired defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson and forward Conor Garland from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for forwards Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, a 2021 first round pick (9th overall), a 2022 2nd round pick, and a 2023 7th round pick. Arizona retained 12%, or $990k of Ekman-Larsson’s salary.

This is a big, big trade. The Coyotes have to part with a young forward who was quickly rising to the status of their best player. They also lose their captain, although that is less of a loss. While he can still be effective, Ekman-Larsson is no longer a top-pairing defenseman. He has six years left at $8.25 million per season. For Vancouver, it will be a $7.26 million cap hit. That is a contract that will very likely age poorly. If Ekman-Larsson has already started his regression, then there is no telling how bad he can get with the Vancouver, a team that is not a sound defensively structured team. The Canucks are able to save about $4.75 million in cap space for this upcoming season. However, they will have to use about all of it on Garland. The 2015 5th round pick became a nice find for Arizona, but he is an RFA now. He will be able to pot goals playing on the Canucks’ second-line. The cost is very high. They traded the ninth overall pick! Plus, an extra second. There is a really good chance that the Canucks will regret this quickly, even if Garland gets better.

Ekman-Larsson, 30, scored three goals with 21 assists for 24 points in 46 games for the Coyotes in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all for Arizona, Ekman-Larsson has scored 128 goals with 260 assists for 388 points in 769 games.

Garland, 25, scored 12 goals with 27 assists for 39 points in 49 games for the Coyotes this year. In his NHL career, all in Arizona, Garland has scored 47 goals with 49 assists for 96 points in 164 games.

The main theme of this trade is cap space, which is a shame since Garland is a pretty good player. But the Canucks are fine in that regards for this year. After that? Not so much. The Coyotes saw this and took a good bet. They get the ninth overall pick, who they immediately used to select forward Dylan Guenther, and a second-round pick next year, which adds to their collection of FIVE for 2022. The contracts they take on are for expansion fourth liners, but they all have one year left. Loui Eriksson has a $6 million cap hit but can be buried to save some of that. Beagle and Roussel are at $3 million each. Both can still play a fourth line role for the Coyotes. To clear up Ekman-Larsson’s contract for the five years after that, and get a very high overall pick is an amazing bet for Arizona.

Beagle, 35, scored one goal with four assists for five points in 30 games for the Canucks in 2020-21. In his NHL career for the Canucks and Washington Capitals, Beagle has scored 57 goals with 82 assists for 142 points in 613 games.

Roussel, 31, scored one goal with three assists for four points in 31 games for the Canucks earlier this year. In his NHL career for the Canucks and Dallas Stars, Roussel has scored 81 goals with 108 assists for 189 points in 554 games.

Eriksson, 36, had one assist in seven games for Vancouver in 2020-21. In his NHL career for the Canucks, Stars, and Boston Bruins, he has scored 250 goals with 344 assists for 594 points in 977 games.

The St. Louis Blues have acquired forward Pavel Buchnevich from the New York Rangers in exchange for forward Sammy Blais and a 2022 2nd round draft pick.

The Rangers are saving cap space for a big move, whether that is Jack Eichel, or maybe even Vladimir Tarasenko in a separate trade with the Blues. Buchnevich figured to be a casualty of that. As the Rangers prepare for some big upcoming RFA deals, they wanted to clear cap space so they wouldn’t have to get into a bad situation like other teams have. Buchnevich will be a restricted free agent after making $3.25 million over the past two seasons. But this trade is not good. Buchnevich was blossoming into a legitimate top-six winger, and he very well seemed like the top right-winger of the future for them. To deal him is disappointing; for this return, it is plain sad. Buchnevich easily could have netted a first-round pick. Blais is a fine, scrappy bottom-six player. He rode a 25.8 percent shooting rate to a career high in goals this year. He can provide the defensive grit that the Rangers have been targeting this offseason. Blais will be an RFA after next year. He has a $1.5 million cap hit for 2021-22.

Blais, 25, scored eight goals with seven assists for 15 points in 36 games for the Blues in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all for St. Louis, Blais has scored 17 goals with 18 assists for 35 points in 119 games.

The Blues were definitely in the market for a top-six winger. Tarasenko could be dealt any day now. Jaden Schwartz and Mike Hoffman could leave in free agency. To get a younger replacement for a second-round pick and a fourth-liner is a great deal. The next step is extending the restricted free agent Buchnevich. He could command in the $5-$6 million range long-term.

Buchnevich, 26, scored 20 goals with 28 assists for 48 points in 56 games for the Rangers in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all for New York, Buchnevich has scored 79 goals with 116 assists for 195 points in 301 games.

The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenseman Robert Hagg, a 2021 first round draft pick (13th overall) and a 2023 2nd round pick.

The Flyers are presumably a lot happier about this than they should be. To say that Ristolainen is not elite is an understatement. He has played top-pairing minutes in Buffalo, but the results are at replacement level. To trade a first AND a second-round pick for him is abysmal. Sure, Ristolainen can rack up points and is physical. But he is often a defensive liability. There is no way that he is worth even the second-rounder. An all-around head scratcher for the Flyers, who trading a second-round pick to unload Shayne Gostisbehere yesterday, only to trade even more assets to get a worse and more expensive defenseman. Ristolainen is a year away from free agency and will count for $5.4 million against the cap this year.

Ristolainen, 26, scored four goals with 14 assists for 18 points in 49 games for Buffalo in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all for the Sabres, Ristolainen has scored 46 points with 199 assists for 245 points in 542 games.

The Sabres are big winners here. Ristolainen was only holding them back, and now they get key assets. Hagg is not one of them. With one year left at $1.6 million on his contract, Hagg is a borderline third-pairing defenseman. Still, any team would take him for two highly valuable picks. As of now, this is actually the highest draft pick traded this year. Good on Buffalo for getting more for Ristolainen than a comparable like David Savard did.

Hagg, 26, scored two goals with three assists for five points in 34 games for the Flyers in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all in Philadelphia, Hagg has scored 13 goals with 34 assists for 47 points in 236 games.

The New York Mets have acquired LHP Rich Hill from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for RHP Tommy Hunter and C Matt Dyer.

The theme of this season for the Mets has been injuries once again. Their starting rotation has been devastated with multiple injuries, leaving them to use spot-starters on many different occasions. Even at his old age, Hill can still be a semi-effective fifth starter. Hill’s strikeout rate has not completely depleted yet. However, after a strong start, Hill has struggled as of late. The Mets are definitely buying low on him and hoping that Hill gets hot late in the season as they try to hold their spot atop the NL East. Given his age, Hill’s underlying numbers are a bit concerning. He has a 4.57 xERA and his 89.1 mph average exit velocity is his highest in the Statcast era.

Hill, 41, has a 3.87 ERA with 91 strikeouts and a 1.164 WHIP in 95.1 innings for the Rays this season. In his MLB career for the Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, and Baltimore Orioles, Hill has a 3.80 ERA with 1126 strikeouts and a 1.217 WHIP in 1071.1 innings pitched.

The Rays are most likely a playoff team this year, barring a collapse. So, them selling is a bit of a surprise. But, it is the Rays, after all. They trade a veteran on an expiring contract and save some money after taking on Nelson Cruz yesterday. Hill’s recent struggles could have ending up in a designation for assignment if it kept going. So, they get some assets for him. Hunter is a journeyman reliever who has been effective for multiple teams, including the Rays. In 2017, he had a 2.61 ERA for the franchise. However, he is currently on the 60-day injured list with a back injury. If he does return this year, Hunter could be a depth bullpen option for the Rays. Dyer is a catcher who was drafted in the 4th round in 2020 out of Arizona. In his first professional season this year, Dyer has been about an average hitter.

Hunter, 35, allowed no runs with six strikeouts, four hits, and three walks in eight innings for the Mets this season. In his MLB career for the Mets, Rays, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians, Hunter has a 4.04 ERA with 597 strikeouts and a 1.237 WHIP in 871.1 innings.

Dyer, 23, has hit seven home runs with six stolen bases, a .329 OBP and a .781 OPS in 152 Plate Appearances for Single-A St. Lucie this year. In his collegiate career at Arizona, Dyer hit seven home runs with eight stolen bases, a .407 OBP and a .875 OPS.