NHL Trade News: Picking the Winner of Each Huge Offseason Trade

Last summer we witnessed a number of blockbuster deals in the NHL for varying reasons—some were cost-cutting deals, others were made to allow players a change of scenery, and some were simply made to address a team deficiency. 

It’s a tired cliché in the sporting world where every little detail gets broken down and evaluated, but hindsight truly is 20/20. 

Now that we’ve seen these players in action for roughly half a season, we can reasonably begin to assess those trades to see which team won and which team lost. 

Of course, a final evaluation can only be given when all of the players and picks involved in each trade have hung up their skates, but let’s not worry about that right now.

In an age where people have come to expect instant gratification and results, let’s see who in these trades has managed to keep with the times. 

Joe Corvo for 4th Round Pick

Winner: Boston Bruins 

Joe Corvo bounced around the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals for a few years before finally finding a place this past summer amongst the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Boston Bruins. 

Corvo is second to Zdeno Chara for the team lead for points by a defenseman, as he has scored two goals to go along with 14 assists. 

It could be a case of the players around him making him better, but Corvo has been good for the Bruins this year. It remains to be seen if he can provide the same kind of play that helped bring the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2007.

Andrew Cogliano for 2nd Round Pick

Winner: Edmonton Oilers 

Andrew Cogliano’s rookie season gave the fans of the Edmonton Oilers something to be proud of, as he amassed 45 points in the 2007-2008 season. 

Unfortunately, he has been unable to replicate this success since, which is a big reason why he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in the off-season. 

With only 12 points in 38 games on a 29^th ranked Ducks team, it looks like the Oilers made a good move by getting a second round pick and taking their chances in the draft, especially since Cogliano has a cap hit of $2.39 million until the 2013-2014 season.

Daymond Langkow for Lee Stempniak

Winner: Phoenix Coyotes 

The Phoenix Coyotes win this trade by the slightest of margins. 

Currently, there are only two points separating the Coyotes and the Calgary Flames. There is only a one-point difference between Daymond Langkow and Lee Stempniak in scoring. Both players will be unrestricted free agents after this year, which means that neither club has an advantage over the other in terms of cap flexibility. 

The Coyotes win this trade because Langkow has 17 points in only 33 games played while Stempniak has 16 points in 42 games. That’s about the only difference.

Matthew Lombardi & Cody Franson for Brett Lebda & Robert Slaney

Winner: Toronto Maple Leafs 

This move was a clear salary dump for the Nashville Predators that allowed for them to get rid of Matthew Lombardi’s expensive $3.5 million contract and make space to sign goalie Pekka Rinne to a seven-year, $49 million dollar contract in November. 

The only reason why the Toronto Maple Leafs are the winners of this deal is because Cody Franson has improved his play in the last month after a very rocky start to the season. 

Matthew Lombardi has finally returned from a shoulder injury, but his contribution to the Leafs has been minimal and he could return to the IR at any point. Toronto wins this one, but only by a hair.

Semyon Varlamov for 1st Round Pick & Conditional 2nd Round Pick

Winner: Washington Capitals 

After a couple of seasons of finding himself in a timeshare for playing time with the Washington Capitals, Semyon Varlamov was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in July and was anointed as the team’s starting goaltender. 

He has since found himself in a timeshare once again as Jean-Sebastien Giguere has compiled better numbers this season. Giguere was originally brought in to mentor Varlamov. 

Tomas Vokoun, Varlamov’s replacement in Washington, has lived up to expectations for the most part, as his numbers with the Caps this year are right around his career average. The Caps are getting cheaper, more consistent goaltending and have two higher round draft picks to them. Looks like they won this one.

Jeff Carter for Jakub Voracek, 1st Round Pick & 3rd Round Pick

Winner: Philadelphia Flyers 

Jeff Carter has only played 28 games with Columbus this year after missing about a month with a foot injury and has accumulated 17 points, while Jakub Voracek has fit in nicely with the Flyers with 24 points in 38 games.

Columbus took a real risk here by taking on Carter’s monstrous 11-year contract that comes with an annual $5.27 million cap hit. Sitting in last place hurts even more when you have the 12^th highest payroll in the league. This trade has burned them financially so far. 

Meanwhile, Voracek will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season and is still a controllable asset. With both a first round and third round draft pick available to them in this year’s upcoming draft, this trade looks very one-sided.

Kris Versteeg for 2nd Round Pick & 3rd Round Pick

Winner: Florida Panthers

As part of the salary cap clearing process that the Philadelphia Flyers were undertaking in the summer in order to sign Ilya Bryzgalov, the Florida Panthers were able to pick up Kris Versteeg in what was probably the most one-sided deal of the summer. 

Kris Versteeg has been huge for the Panthers this year as they continue to fight with Washington for the Southeast Division crown, a race that they are currently winning. He is on pace to shatter his previous career high of points (53 in 2008-2009) with 38 points in 39 games, including 17 goals.

After a season to forget split between the Flyers and the Toronto Maple Leafs, Versteeg has gone back to his winning ways.

Brent Burns & 2nd Round Pick for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle & 1st Round Pick

Winner: San Jose Sharks 

The San Jose Sharks are listed as the winners of this trade, but they certainly aren’t clear winners, nor will they necessarily be the winners of this deal when all is said and done. They’re the winners right now, and even then by a small margin. 

Both Brent Burns and Devin Setoguchi have been integral to their respective teams’ success this year, with Burns getting the slight nod over Setoguchi since he has played more games. Both teams have exactly the same amount of points, with 48 each. 

However, the Minnesota Wild have Charlie Coyle and a first round draft pick coming down the pipe soon. Coyle scored four goals for Team USA in this year’s World Junior Championships and might crack the Wild roster in a year or two. It could be the Wild who are the eventual winners.

Ryan Smyth for Colin Fraser & a 7th Round Pick

Winner: Edmonton Oilers 

When this trade went down, most people outside of Edmonton didn’t think much of it—after all, Ryan Smyth is 35 years old and his production has begun to dip. This was more of a feel-good homecoming more than anything else. 

Little did we know that Smyth still had something left in the gas tank, all he needed was to leave LA for Alberta. 

Smyth is currently third in team scoring for the Edmonton Oilers with 32 points and has five points in his last seven games. The only question is how much he’ll demand from the Oilers after this season when his contract runs out and he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Brian Campbell for Rostislav Olesz

Winner: Florida Panthers 

The Florida Panthers were able to pick up both their top scoring forward and their top scoring defenseman for next to nothing, making them the biggest winners in the off-season.

Brian Campbell is the second highest scoring defenseman in the NHL this year with 33 points in 41 games. He has a staggering 29 assists so far, including 18 scored on the power play. 

Admittedly, the Chicago Blackhawks couldn’t afford to keep him and are still doing fine this year. It would be incredibly interesting if both teams were to meet in the Stanley Cup Final this year—grudge match, anyone?

Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat

Winner: Minnesota Wild 

The fact that Martin Havlat will be out until mid-February helps to cement the fact that the Minnesota Wild won this deal, at least so far. 

Dany Heatley is second in team scoring for the Wild and is a big reason why the team is currently holding down a playoff spot in the Western Conference. For a while this season, this team was the best in the NHL. 

However, it will likely be how both Havlat and Heatley perform in the playoffs for their respective teams that truly distinguishes which team won the trade. It’s all Wild right now though.

Mike Richards & Rob Bordson for Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds & 2nd Round Pick

Winner: Los Angeles Kings 

Depending on how Brayden Schenn and the 2012 second round draft pick develop, the winner of this trade might be different in a few years. 

At this point though, it looks like the Kings have won this one. Mike Richards leads the team in goals with 13 and has continued to provide the same leadership for LA, as he did with Philadelphia, as the Kings are continuing to hold down a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Wayne Simmonds still might be able to catch his previous career high in points (40) from the 2009-2010 season, but it isn’t clear at this point if he can elevate his game any further. Schenn, however, has two points in his last two games and might be starting to find his bearings in the NHL. We’ll have to wait and see.