CarterHud

 

       The Buffalo Sabres have acquired forward Eric Staal from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Marcus Johansson. 

       For about the 50th year in a row, the Sabres are not a great team. Next year\’s roster will be drastically different from the 2019-20 squad, as only 10 players are signed for next year, Of those ten, two (Rasmus Dahlin and Henri Jokijarju) are on entry level deals, and two players combining for $15 million of cap space (Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo) scored 23 goals in total this past season. The Sabres, who will have eight RFAs this offseason, lack center depth, and Staal is an improvement. He can easily slide behind Jack Eichel and be Buffalo\’s second line center. With a $3.25 million cap hit and one more year left on his contract, Staal can be dealt at the trade deadline if he performs well, or even if he doesn\’t perform well with his new team. A former captain in Carolina, Staal was a teammate of Jeff Skinner, although the Sabres would want to keep Skinner with Eichel, and not move him down. In return, the Sabres give up Johansson, who played center for them but is best suited as a winger. Even at his age, Staal is an improvement, and he takes up less cap space. He had a 50.3% face-off percentage over his time in Minnesota, while Johansson had a 40.1% mark in 2019-20. 

        Staal, 35, scored 19 goals with 28 assists for 47 points in 66 games for the Wild this past season. In his NHL career for the Wild, Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers, Staal has 436 goals with 585 assists for 1021 points in 1240 games. He has received Lady Byng votes six times and Selke votes seven times. 

        Johansson is a big injury risk, with a higher cap hit than Staal, and his peak hasn\’t been much better than Staal\’s average season. So, this deal is a head scratcher for Minnesota. Both are solid defensive players, but Johansson is an above average defender for a winger, but at center that doesn\’t hold up as well. He has only scored at least 20 goals twice, last in 2016-17. And, his 60 games this past season was his most since that year. If both Staal and Johansson were dealt for prospects and draft picks, Staal would get the better return. It is understandable if Johansson had more term on his contract, but he has one year left with a $4.5 million cap hit.

       Johansson, 29, scored nine goals with 21 assists for 30 points in 60 games for the Sabres this past season. In his NHL career for the Sabres, Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins, Johansson has 129 goals with 235 assists for 364 points in 648 games.

 

       The Montreal Canadiens have acquired defenseman Joel Edmundson from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 2020 5th round pick. 

       The Canadiens need help on the left side of their defense, with Ben Chiarot, Victor Mete and Brett Kulak being their most prominent players on that side last year. Now, they acquire Edmundson, who is a pending UFA, but they get his rights. Most players do sign with a team after their rights are traded, and I would be surprised if Edmundson doesn\’t end up a Canadien. In his five year career, Edmundson has played over 60 games in each season, but has never reached 70. If the 2020-21 season is more than 70 games, then a healthy Edmundson should reach it for the first time. A 2019 Stanley Cup champion, he is definitely an improvement.

        Edmundson, 27, scored seven goals with 13 assists for 20 points in 68 games with the Hurricanes this year. In his NHL career for the Hurricanes and St. Louis Blues, Edmundson has 20 goals with 52 assists for 72 points in 337 games. 

        The Hurricanes have a bunch of defensemen, and they have five d-men signed for next year with a cap hit of at least $4 million. Three of them (Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei and Jake Gardiner) are left-handers, with another lefty, Hadyn Fleury, becoming an RFA. Edmundson didn\’t fit in, especially since he was going to leave as a free agent. The Canes get a fifth rounder back, and it would have been conditional normally, but the new CBA means that picks can not have a condition based on a player signing with a team, so the pick is automatically going to Carolina. 

 

       The Minnesota Wild have acquired F Nick Bjugstad from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional 2021 7th round pick. 

      The Penguins had just under $6.95 million in projected cap space prior to this trade, with Justin Schultz and Conor Sheary pending UFAs, and Matt Murray, Tristan Jarry, Dominik Simon and Jared McCann becoming RFAs. While one of the two goalies could be dealt, the Penguins are once again dealing with cap issues. This trade helps that, as Bjugstad has one more year left on his contract, with a $4.1 million cap hit. Bjugstad was born in Minneapolis, and he could be a success gamble for the Wild. A 2010 first rounder, Bjugstad had 49 points as recent as 2017-18, although he was traded the next season to Pittsburgh, and cannot stay healthy. Lower body injuries led to multiple surgeries, and just 13 games played, none of which came in the playoffs. 

        For the Wild, this is definitely a worthy trade, as a conditional 7th round pick is next to nothing. While a $4.1 million cap hit is hefty, it is only for one season, and the team has a bunch of cap space without many key players needing new deals. He can play both center and wing, and he has multiple connections to Minnesota. Not only was he born in the state, his uncle Scott played in parts of five seasons for the Minnesota North Stars, and he scored 43 goals in 1985-86. 

       Bjugstad, 28, scored one goal with one assist for two points in 13 games for the Penguins this past season. In his NHL career for the Penguins and Florida Panthers, Bjugstad has scored 97 goals with 110 assists for 207 points in 439 games.

 

       The Montreal Canadiens have acquired G Jake Allen and a 2022 7th round pick from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a 2020 third round pick and a 2020 7th round pick. 

       The Canadiens really need a backup goalie, as Carey Price started 58 of the 71 games that the Canadiens played, and 11 of those 71 were started by Keith Kinkaid and Charlie Lindgren, who each posted save percentages well under .900. The other two were started by Cayden Prime, and while the 21 year old could be the goalie of the future, he is not completely NHL ready. Allen is a big get, as while he has been inconsistent, he is a veteran who won the Stanley Cup (albeit as a backup) last year. Allen\’s $4.35 million cap hit brings the total cap space occupied by goaltenders up to $15 million in Montreal, but Allen is a free agent after the 2020-21 season. While Max Domi being an RFA is concerning cap wise, the Habs could trade him for a defenseman, an area of need for them. This trade is good considering that the third rounder was originally Washington\’s, acquired this past deadline for Ilya Kovalchuk, who was disappointing in the Capitals\’ playoff run. 

       Allen, 30, had a .927 SV% with a 2.15 GAA and two shutouts in 24 games for the Blues in 2019-20. In his NHL career, all in St. Louis, Allen has a .913 SV% with a 2.50 GAA and 21 shutouts in 289 games. 

       For the Blues, they are still over the salary cap, even after unloading Allen. Jordan Binnington came back to Earth this year, and their next best backup goalie option is Ville Husso, who has zero games of NHL experience and a .909 save percentage in the AHL this past season. While Vladmir Tarasenko could go on LTIR, the Blues look very likely to lose captain Alex Pietrangelo in free agency. This trade helps, but opens up a big hole in net.

 

       The Cincinnati Reds have acquired RHP Archie Bradley from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for IF Josh VanMeter and OF Stuart Fairchild. 

       Bradley has been a good late inning reliever over the years for the Diamondbacks. The 7th overall pick in 2011 became their closer when Greg Holland was released last year. Bradley will be a much needed addition to a struggling Reds bullpen. While he hasn\’t had an amazing start to the season, Bradley still has one more year left of control, so I am surprised he got this low of a return. VanMeter is young with some MLB experience, but he has had an awful start to this season. A 2017 2nd rounder, Fairchild was Cincinnati\’s 11th best prospect (per MLB Pipeline) prior to the deal. He reached AA last year, and had good numbers.

       Bradley, 28, has a 4.22 ERA with 12 strikeouts, six saves and a 2.01 FIP in 10.2 innings for the D-backs this year. In his MLB career, all in Arizona, Bradley has a 3.96 ERA with 419 strikeouts, 28 saves and a 3.66 FIP in 404.1 innings. 

       VanMeter, 25, has one home run with a stolen base, a .059 average and a .334 OPS in 38 Plate Appearances for the Reds this year. In his MLB career, VanMeter has nine home runs with 10 stolen bases, a .214 average and an OPS of .683 in 298 Plate Appearances.

       Fairchild, 24, hit 12 home runs with six stolen bases, a .264 average and an OPS of .794 in 460 Plate Appearances for AA and High-A last year. In his minor league career, Fairchild has 24 home runs with 41 stolen bases, a .272 average and an OPS of .777 in 1212 Plate Appearances.