It has been my belief that when the NHL finally releases the
rules for the upcoming expansion draft that players with no-trade and
no-movement clauses will be available to be selected if not protected by their
current teams. This is something to keep in mind as trades are made prior to
the deadline. Today’s news that Dion
Phaneuf was traded to Ottawa is a prime example of why. While this is a
fantastic trade for Toronto (as they are full-go on a rebuild), this isn’t a
zero-sum trade, as it makes sense for Ottawa to take on some salary (in the short-term)
to get back into the playoff hunt.
Phaneuf, who turns 31 in April, has a $7 million AAV for the
next 5 seasons ending in 2020-21, and he hasn’t played up to the contract to
this point. That contract has looked bad for Toronto NOW, but Ottawa took a
chance today to see what he can provide in a 2nd line role. Looking
up in the standings, they are behind 4 teams for the last wild card spot in the
East (including the Islanders, who currently hold that last wild card position,
and have 3 games in hand), so a move had to be made. With a -13 goal
differential, and giving up the most goals in the conference, this move will
assist in shoring up the blue line pairings.
For the interest of Las Vegas fans, deals like this should
be viewed as what it will mean in terms of the expansion draft. Ottawa (if my
assumption that trade and movement clauses will not apply to the draft pool),
is able to take on the ridiculous cap hit in the short-term just to see where a
Phaneuf rental can give them for the rest of this year and through at least a
full season next year. If made available to Vegas, he could provide a player
with name recognition that would do well in a market with a smaller microscope
than that Toronto puts on its players. The Edmonton-native is now a former
captain of the most rabid hockey market in the league, and could easily fill
the same role with Vegas.
As players move throughout the league prior to the trade
deadline, through free agency this summer, and prior to next year’s trade
deadline, keep in mind that 2017-18 is in focus for every move. Make no mistake that the Executive Committee
and Board of Directors are sharing every bit of information in regards to
expansion with their GMs. There is no secret inside those offices what is going
to happen, and it is front and center as deals are being made for players. This
thinking provides an interesting side-show in the actions of teams moving
forward.
If a team is in on a player, is it worth it to take the risk
to mortgage talent in a trade, or salary cap space in hopes that a Vegas team
will snag them in a draft? Just because a player is made available to Vegas to
select, does not mean that they have to do so. This is not a given that Foley
and his GM will pick up every high salary player, but it does allow current
teams an excuse to make moves that they wouldn’t normally engage in because
they have a situation where they could be freed of fault for taking on such a
chance. Further, it will be interesting to see who Foley tags as his GM and if
that person has had any actions in some of these deals.
