The first trade of the 2018 NHL trade deadline season was a doozy, as it saw the Ottawa Senators trade Dion Phaneuf to the LA Kings
It’s NHL trade deadline season. Though things have been slow, things got heated very quickly on Tuesday, Feb. 13. Just two years after acquiring him from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Ottawa Senators sent defenseman Dion Phaneuf to the LA Kings. In addition, forward Nate Thompson will be going to the Kings as well. The Senators, meanwhile, will take on the contracts of Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore.
This is a fairly significant deal. Or at least a very surprising one. Let’s take a look at how the two teams did in this trade.
Ottawa Senators
Grade: B-
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
This trade makes sense for the Senators. The trade has nothing to do with on the ice things. It involves the Senators clearing cap space and money. They have to re-sign captain Erik Karlsson and forward Mark Stone. Getting rid of Phaneuf’s deal should help.
Gaborik provides practically no value. But with his history of injuries, it’s plausible to see him eventually becoming a long-term injured reserve list guy. If this happens, the Senators save even more money. Shore is a solid bottom six forward. He can’t score much, but he is an upgrade over Thompson defensively.
The Senators made a really dumb mistake by trading for Phaneuf in the first place. How they didn’t force the Maple Leafs to retain salary is unthinkable. But at least the Senators are willing to admit their mistake. Heck of a lot more than most bad teams can say.
Los Angeles Kings
Grade: B+
Anytime you can get a productive NHLer for a bad one, you won the trade. The Kings accomplished this. Phaneuf was bad for Ottawa, but it’s worth noting he was stuck with Cody Ceci as his defensive partner. Maybe being with a better team like the Kings will help.
They take a step back by replacing Shore with Thompson, but the latter is a better scorer. So that’s at least something to hang their hat on. Most importantly, the Kings get Gaborik’s contract off the books completely. It was a dumb deal before the ink on his contract died and it got worse with every passing second.
Phaneuf’s contract is awful. He’s a good player, but that salary is unbearably bad. However, it’s much better when you consider the Kings basically swapped Gaborik for Phaneuf.