CarterHud

The New York Rangers have acquired forward Barclay Goodrow from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2022 7th round pick. Additionally, they acquired defenseman Nick DeSimone and a 2022 4th round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for forward Brett Howden.

There is a lot to unpack here. First of all, the Rangers may be getting a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion. Maybe. Goodrow is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 28th. The Rangers are just paying a late-round pick for his rights. Reports have indicated that the Rangers wanted to get tougher to play against when they promoted Chris Drury to General Manager and this proves that. If they can sign Goodrow, they get a defensive bottom-six winger with grit. He had 111 hits and 52 penalty minutes this past season. The key here is signing him to a responsible deal. The cap-pressed Lightning were never going to retain Goodrow, so good on them for getting a pick back.

Goodrow, 28, scored six goals with 14 assists for 20 points in 55 games for the Lightning this past season. In his NHL career for the Lightning and San Jose Sharks, Goodrow has scored 32 goals with 61 assists for 93 points in 331 games.

Brett Howden was one of the players that had a good chance of being picked by the Kraken. A former Lightning prospect himself, Howden looks more like a first-round bust than a legitimate bottom-six player. He can play center and the wing but has really struggled in his NHL career. The Golden Knights may think that he could be something good. A fourth-rounder is not a lot, but still probably above Howden’s worth. He just signed a one-year, $885k deal with New York and will be an RFA after it ends.

Howden, 23, scored one goal with six assists for seven points in 42 games for New York this year. In his NHL career, all for the Rangers, Howden has scored 16 goals with 33 assists for 49 points in 178 games.

The Rangers are able to unload Howden here, and his spot could be filled in by Goodrow, assuming he is signed. The real return here is the fourth. Vegas, not eligible for the expansion draft, must be compliant on their reserve list. That means that they had to trade a contract if they were to add Howden. DeSimone is exactly that. He is an offensive AHL defenseman who the Rangers have no interest in signing before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in less than two weeks.

DeSimone, 26, had 11 assists in 22 games between two AHL teams in 2020-21.

The Vancouver Canucks have acquired forward Jason Dickinson from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2021 third-round draft pick.

The expansion draft has caused a bunch of trades today and this is one of them. Dickinson is a good defensive, bottom-six player. He is a guy that the Stars normally would not want to lose. But, he was the odd-man out and headed to Seattle. With this deal, they are able to get some value for him. A third-rounder is basically market value. Dickinson does not have a contract for 2021-22 as a restricted free agent and the pick is 73rd overall. This is a fair deal for both sides as the Canucks, who desperately need cheaper, better bottom-six options, get one here. Dickinson was a first-round pick all the way back in 2013.

Dickinson, 26, scored seven goals with eight assists for 15 points in 51 games for the Stars in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all in Dallas, Dickinson has scored 25 goals with 38 assists for 63 points in 221 games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forward Jared McCann from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for forward Filip Hallander and a 7th round draft pick.

Like always, the Penguins are in salary cap troubles. They are also in expansion draft troubles. This move prevents them from losing McCann for nothing to Seattle. However, they did not have much leverage. So, the return is very disappointing. Hallander was a second-rounder of their own back in 2018, who they traded less than a year ago to the Leafs for Kasperi Kapanen. They get the player back but lose a vital middle-six option who can play center and wing. Hallander is also yet to come to North America.

Hallander, 21, scored 13 goals with 11 assists for 24 points in 51 games for Lulea HF of Sweden in 2020-21. He scored two goals with an assist in seven playoff games.

While on paper, the Leafs are big winners here, there are questions to be answered. We all expected them to protect Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander, plus their four key defensemen. But now they have McCann and cannot do that and keep him. Do they protect McCann, Alex Kerfoot and another forward while exposing Justin Holl? We will see. There are also could be a side deal with Seattle involved. McCann is a very solid player who can play center and left-wing. He is signed for one more season at $2.94 million before becoming an RFA. He can be a good replacement for Zach Hyman, who is soon departing in free agency.

McCann, 25, scored 14 goals with 18 assists for 32 points in 43 games. In his NHL career for the Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Vancouver Canucks, McCann has scored 66 goals with 89 assists for 155 points in 353 games.

The San Jose Sharks have acquired goaltender Adin Hill and a 2022 7th round pick from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goalie Josef Korenar and a 2022 2nd round pick.

As the trade freeze prior to the expansion draft comes, the Coyotes had a bit of an issue. They have to protect starter Darcy Kuemper but that would mean exposes Hill. The Kraken would certainly have Hill on their radar, but now he goes to a team that will protect him. Hill has never been a starter in the NHL, meaning that he can be replaced by Arizona. The return is very good. A second-round pick is much higher than they should have gotten. Plus, they add a goaltending prospect in Korenar who is signed for one year at the league minimum of $750k. He comes back in this trade really so the Coyotes have a goaltender to expose to Seattle. This is a really nice trade for them.

Korenar, 23, made his NHL debut in 2020-21, with a 3.17 GAA and a .899 save percentage in 10 games. He also played in the Czech league this past season, where he had a 2.44 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 11 games.

The Sharks really need a goalie. Martin Jones and Devyn Dubnyk were a terrible tandem last year. Dubnyk was traded to Colorado at the deadline, while Jones remains and could be bought out. At the moment, this does not appear to be happening. So, the Sharks could get another goalie, or rock with a Jones and Hill tandem. Hill is a capable goalie who is still young with some NHL experience. He is about to be a restricted free agent, but he should not command much. Hill could be the 1A or 1B to Jones, or to a completely different goalie. Yes, a second-round pick is too much. But, it does accomplish what the Sharks need. Hill is still young enough to develop into someone worth that pick.

Hill, 25, had a .913 save percentage with a 2.74 GAA in 19 games for the Coyotes in 2020-21. In his NHL career, all in Arizona, Hill has a .909 save percentage with a 2.79 GAA in 49 games.

The Detroit Red Wings have acquired Nick Leddy from the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Richard Panik and a 2021 2nd round pick (52nd overall). Detroit also retained 50% of Panik’s salary.

First off, the second-rounder was originally from Edmonton, via the Andreas Athanasiou deal from the 2020 Trade Deadline. This is a weird trade for the Wings. They aren’t really renting out their cap space, rather making a buyer’s move. Leddy has one more year left at a $5.5 million cap hit and Detroit took all of it on. Plus, they didn’t even unload all of Panik’s cap hit. The Wings will not be contenders this year, so getting a veteran a year away from free agency is odd. However, the Red Wings may believe that Leddy can be good to start the season, then they could flip him at the deadline for more assets. Still, 52nd overall is a pretty hefty price. Leddy is a second-pairing defenseman who can play on the power-play and racks up assists, but really struggled defensively in the Islanders’ long playoff run.

Leddy, 30, scored two goals with 29 assists for 31 points in 56 games for the Islanders this year. In his NHL career for the Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks, Leddy has scored 65 goals with 271 assists for 336 points in 776 games.

Cap space is the big question for the Islanders this offseason. They don’t have a ton of it and need to sign restricted free agents Adam Pelech, Anthony Beauvillier, and Ilya Sorokin while Casey Cizikas is a UFA. After retention, the Isles clear up $4.125 million. Panik is a fine, bottom-six forward who the Isles saw earlier this year as a member of the Capitals before he was traded to Detroit at the deadline. He can be physical and responsible defensively, something that Head Coach Barry Trotz will love. Panik has two more years left on his contract. Each team will have a $1.375 cap hit courtesy of him. The 52nd overall pick can be used to boost a thin farm system, or be dealt to clear up more cap space or improve the team.

Panik, 30, scored four goals with nine assists for 13 points in 48 games for the Red Wings and Washington Capitals in 2020-21. In his NHL career for the Wings, Caps, Chicago Blackhawks, Arizona Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Toronto Maple Leafs, Panik has scored 88 goals with 106 assists for 194 points in 517 games.