Columbus Blue Jackets: Looking Back On Trading Marko Dano
The Columbus Blue Jackets traded Artem Ansimov, Marko Dano, Corey Tropp, Jeremey Morin, and a fourth round pick for Brandon Saad, Michael Paliotta, and Alex Broadhurst prior to the 2015-2016 season.
This deal was a blockbuster at the time with the Columbus Blue Jackets acquiring the best player in the deal by far in Brandon Saad, but they had to send one of their top prospects at the time Marko Dano to Chicago.
Dano came off his first NHL stint where he tallied 21 points in 35 games in Columbus. He was on the up and up and looked to be an integral part in Columbus. His upward trajectory changed once he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks.
In the 2015-2016 season Dano only played in 13 games with the Blackhawks before being traded again to the Winnipeg Jets in a deal that acquired forward Andrew Ladd. Dano is still young only 22. There is a shock to seeing him not produce the way the Blue Jackets thought he would. It is also truly a shock to see him moved so quickly upon arrival in Chicago.
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Winnipeg Struggles
Marko has yet to hit his stride in Winnipeg where he has tallied only 19 points in 59 career games with the Jets. This makes one think that maybe the Blue Jackets struck when the iron was hot on their top prospect.
Things may have been different said Dano stayed in Columbus, but Columbus was able to package the young winger into Brandon Saad. Brandon played lights out in Columbus, but he ultimately was turned into offensive stud Artemi Panarin.
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At the time there were doubts about trading one of the club’s top prospects. There should be no doubts now though because that trade set the Blue Jackets up to acquire an offensive juggernaut that should truly help Columbus get to the next level in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.