SUNRISE, Fla. — They didn’t add a generational talent. They didn’t even make a pick.
But it was hard not to leave the BB&T Center after an eventful first round of the NHL Draft without thinking the Calgary Flames made the biggest splash among the Canadian-based teams.
This was always going to be Connor McDavid’s night. As a result, the Edmonton Oilers were assured of being major winners from the moment they won the draft lottery in April.
However, the odds of their Alberta cousins also turning heads were considerably longer — at least until they won a busy auction to acquire 22-year-old defenceman Dougie Hamilton from Boston.
Even though they surrendered three picks — a first-rounder and two seconds — it looked like a home run for an organization coming off an unexpectedly good season.
“This is a good player that a lot of teams had interest in,” said general manager Brad Treliving. “You’re hopeful, but until you know you have a deal you don’t have a deal. When (Bruins GM) Donny (Sweeney) told me those words, we were pretty happy.”
Ecstatic, to be precise.
There is still work to be done on a contract for the restricted free agent, but Treliving and agent J.P. Barry didn’t waste any time before exchanging some preliminary ideas on that issue. Don’t expect it to be a major hurdle.
Hamilton didn’t request a trade from the Bruins, but he was certainly open to a change of scenery. This is a time of great upheaval in that organization and now the ninth overall pick from 2011 gets to start anew.
He is the type of player that rarely changes hands under a cap system: Still very young, with a massive amount of upside, and a six-foot-five, right-handed shooting defenceman to boot.
“We’ve watched him,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley. “We’ve played against him. There were rumours the Bruins might be putting him on the market. We watched many shifts, many videos.
“We feel that his game is very similar to our game. That’s what made him so attractive to us.”
On a blue-line that already includes Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie and Kris Russell, Hamilton likely won’t have to be anything more than a second-pairing guy next season. That’s an awfully deep group of defencemen.
Arizona and Edmonton are among the other teams that coveted Hamilton’s services and it wasn’t until the last day or two that Treliving’s offer rose to the top.
The Flames will be in tough to improve on the second-round showing they produced last season, but this is obviously a big start. Calgary will consider other moves, including the possibility of adding a goalie — Treliving joked that his phone still had some juice left — but they don’t feel like they have to do something.
“We made our blue-line bigger, faster and younger,” said Hartley. “There’s no shortage of skills in Dougie Hamilton. He plays basically the same game that we play. It’s just a matter of us finding the right partners and finding the right game.”
The first round of the NHL draft tends to be a day where NHL teams start reimagining what they are, and can be, and Friday more than lived up to that.
Ottawa dealt with its crowded crease by sending Robin Lehner to Buffalo for the 21st overall pick. They also dumped David Legwand’s contract in the process.
In addition to McDavid, the Oilers acquired Griffin Reinhart for the 16th and 33rd overall picks. The Winnipeg Jets added two prospects — American centres Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic — while the Toronto Maple Leafs grabbed skilled forward Mitch Marner at fourth overall and parlayed the 24th pick into two second-rounders and a third for Saturday.
Montreal was the quietest among the Canadian teams, picking defenceman Noah Juulsen.
The biggest surprise came from the Bruins, who freed up some much-needed cap space by dealing Milan Lucic to Los Angeles for goalie Martin Jones, prospect Colin Miller and a first-rounder.
This was Don Sweeney putting an immediate stamp on the Bruins and he’s probably not finished. He’ll try to deal a goalie, possibly even Jones, to one of the teams in need.
“We’re in a very comfortable spot,” said Sweeney. “We’ve got two young goaltenders that we’ll develop accordingly. We felt all along that Tuukka (Rask) was put in a tough spot last year, and we’re very comfortable now with Martin as potentially a part of our group.
“So I think it’s a real depth of the organization.”
There’s a strong possibility for more trading action on Saturday, with Chicago still needing to offload cap space and the Coyotes eager to add players. Pittsburgh would also like to add a top-six forward while the Maple Leafs remain open for business.
The Flames, meanwhile, have the luxury of stepping back and staying patient.
A wide smile came across Treliving’s face as he rhymed off the depth of a blue-line that got even better with Hamilton’s addition.
“I like that defence and I think it’s critical to build your team from the defence out,” he said. “You look at the playoffs. You look at the Stanley Cup champions. You look at the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were playing in the final.
“As wide open as our game is, in today’s game you need to defend, you need to be able to exit your zone.”
There’s obviously still more work to be done on the second day of the draft, but the Flames are off to an impressive start.