I’ll admit- this one took a little bit of time to figure out.
I can usually put a positive spin on a deal pretty quickly but this particular trade had me scratching my head a little bit.
Initially, I was shocked. I think we all were. Just when it seemed like we were entering that quiet part of the NHL off season, Pierre Dorion made his biggest splash to date. It only got more confusing as the details were released. So wait- we traded a young forward for an older forward? And both guys have similar production? Oh and you’re telling me WE had to throw in a draft pick?
Nope, this doesn’t quiet add up.
A quick glance at the contract situation for each of the players and things started to make a little more sense. Not only was Derick Brassard’s contract front-loaded, he had also just received a hefty $2,000,000 bonus on July 15th. Suddenly it all started to make sense. We’ve already spent some 5,000 comments on the trade but there are a few things I wanted to add.
Some final thoughts on the Mika Zibanejad for Derick Brassard trade.
-In terms of assets for assets, it’s pretty easy to make the case that the New York Rangers won this deal. But if you accept that the Senators are a team under a strict budget and that financial considerations are central to any deal they make, well then it starts to look a little bit better for the Senators. It’s a deal that will save them money in the short term and probably down the road too. The fact that they had to include a 2nd round pick after the Rangers paid the bonus is a little unsettling but it’s a price they were willing to pay to improve the team and improve their position relative to the internal budget. Despite Dorion’s attempt to spin it otherwise, both factors were important in this trade.
-It hasn’t been talked about a whole lot as part of the aftermath of this deal but there are some minor red-flags in Mika Zibanejad’s past that may have at least been on Ottawa’s radar during these trade talks. Depending on who you ask and which ones count, Zibanejad has had 4 or 5 concussions in his career (remember the wisdom teeth injury?) with the most recent one coming in December of last season. He’s absolutely 100% healthy now but it’s obviously a concern when a player has that many concussions that early in his career. You’ll also recall an incident late in the year a few years back where Zibanejad had to be taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Again, he’s healthy but I’m sure these are things Ottawa had to think about before making a trade like this.
-Mika Zibanejad’s name has been in the rumour mill before. It was clear that the Senators were at least entertaining the idea of trading Zibanejad for more than a year. In fact, I was sort of surprised when at one point last year, I heard the Senators offered Mika Zibanejad in the talks with the Tampa Bay Lightning over Jonathan Drouin. So while Monday’s trade came out of nowhere, the reality is they have been open to the idea of trading Zibanejad for months. I don’t know that the organization ever really intended on signing Zibanejad to a long extension at the end of his deal next summer. It was just a matter of finding the right trade.
-While Dorion has consistently said he was happy with the team’s top six forwards, that search for a left-shot centre that could play on one of the top two lines has been going on for a while now. I think he would have been fine not making that deal this summer but this was definitely an area that had been identified internally. It’s why they quietly kicked tires on Matt Duchene last season. When they knew Derick Brassard was available (a local, left-shot centre with a front-loaded contract), it became a no-brainer for the Sens to pursue him. Having a play-making left-handed centre is going to make a huge difference for the Senators, especially on the power play.
-Lost in all the talk about “who won the deal?” is the fact that the Senators are getting a damn good player in Derick Brassard. This is a guy coming off a career year who has a reputation for being at his absolute best on the biggest stage. Look around for some of the reaction from Rangers fans and you’ll see that Brassard was clearly a fan favourite in New York. And he’ll be that here too. Listening to his first interview on TSN1200 the other day and it’s pretty clear that he’s fired up to have a chance to play near his hometown. Brassard is an absolute perfect fit for this line up and for this organization.
Now…let’s watch some Derick Brassard highlights, shall we?!
