CHICAGO — The landscape of the National Hockey League’s transactional calendar is changing, and as the 2017 NHL Draft comes to a close, we find ourselves just trying to keep up.
There was a time when Trade Deadline Day featured non-stop deals, from morning ‘til night. Then a few general managers began to make their trades during the three- or four-day period preceding the deadline.
And as the cap system took hold and draft picks became the cleanest form of trading currency — as they arrive with no cap hit — the juiciest trades began to occur later on the calendar, on Draft Day.
This week in Chicago, we saw another shift.
Day 2 of this draft saw the Calgary Flames pull off a major deal, with Travis Hamonic the only real live player changing his address, and a bevy of draft picks filling out the trade. But on the much-anticipated Friday night, the St. Louis Blues’ involvement in a pair of deals that included first-round picks marked the only significant trades.
The biggest deals had already happened that morning.
The rite of spring — NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman stepping to the microphone amidst a chorus of boos, to state “We have a trade to announce!” — was by and large left wanting. Instead, the hockey insiders broke the news on Twitter all afternoon, as GMs jockeyed for the likes of Antti Raanta, Derek Stepan, Brandon Saad and Artemi Panarin.
So why is that? Well, there are a number of theories.
For one, drafting and developing has taken on an entirely new level of importance in this cap system. Just ask the Vancouver Canucks what happens when that department is neglected for a period of time.
Teams with cap issues will always deal picks, then squirm to get some back in time to stock their cupboards. Conversely, the Vegas Golden Knights stocked up on draft picks and chose three players in Friday’s first round.
But they also held on to a mitt full of future picks, and you can bet some of those will be used to “help out” teams down the road who need to dump good players in return for picks.
So the trades are there. They just don’t happen on the old schedule.
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Today, teams are built in the summer and can only be mildly tweaked during the season, and that’s exactly what Treliving did this week, adding goalie Mike Smith from Arizona and rounding out one of the NHL’s best Top 4’s by acquiring Hamonic.
You know how they say that everyone copies the winning teams? Well, Nashville and Anaheim had the two deepest defence corps in the West last season, and they met in the conference final. Treliving noticed.
Now, the Flames will ice two pairings of Mark Giordano with Dougie Hamilton, and T.J. Brodie alongside the rugged Hamonic, who was long-rumoured to be available off the New York Islanders roster and was at one time a target of Alberta rival Edmonton as well.
“We’ve got two pairs now,” Treliving said Saturday. “On the road, where you’re not in control of matchups, we can put two pairs out there who can play against anybody. We’ve got to be able to match up (against) Edmonton, they’ve got a heck of a team. But there are a lot of good teams in the West.”
Across Canada, teams completed their mission this weekend, with the Toronto Maple Leafs thrilled to see Timothy Liljegren still available when it was their turn to draft at No. 17. Give me a smooth-skating, right-shot Swedish defenceman any day of the week, considering the wealth of good, young blueliners the Tre Kronor have produced in recent years.
Edmonton drafted the smallest player ever to go in Round 1 when they picked Spokane, Wash., native Kailer Yamamoto at No. 22 — all five-foot-seven, 153 pounds of him.
Vancouver walked away with Swedish centreman Elias Pettersson, who will have a choice of which Sedin brother he wishes to board with when he makes his way over to the NHL, likely after next season.
And now, the hockey world boards a plane at O’Hare, and moves towards the “courting period” for free agents, which opens on Sunday. Agents and GMs have a chance to speak over the week leading up to the July 1 opening of free agent season, while players can tour a city, check out schools, and generally make a wise decision on which NHL city they and their families will call home over the next several years.
By July 2, all the big names will likely be signed. Then, NHL folks will head to their summer places, renew acquaintances with wives, husbands and kids.
And this Latvian hockey writer? He’ll be out at the trailer, having a cold one.
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