How Metropolitan Division Trade Deadline Moves Affect The Columbus Blue Jackets

The trade deadline has come and gone, with the Metropolitan Division making moves all the way up to the 3 p.m. EST cutoff point. What deals went down and how will they affect the Columbus Blue Jackets?

The Columbus Blue Jackets decided to complete only two trades, acquiring defenseman Kyle Quincey from the New Jersey Devils for defensemen Dalton Prout in the first move, and then adding Dallas Stars winger Lauri Korpikoski to the roster while sending out defenseman Dillon Heatherington. The moves could be described (and have been by our own Lansing Murphy) as “not sexy” but still good additions to strengthen the Jackets’ depth. The rest of the Metro was not as passive as Columbus. Here is what the rest of the toughest division in the NHL did over the past week, and how it will affect our Blue Jackets.

Related Story: Columbus Blue Jackets 2017 Trade Deadline Grades

Carolina Hurricanes

Moves: Although silent on deadline day, Carolina made a splash last Thursday by trading veteran defenseman Ron Hainsey to the (vomits in mouth) Penguins… In exchange for the blue liner, Carolina received a 2017 second-round pick and minor league winger Danny Kristo. Hainsey, a former Blue Jacket, was a much-needed piece for Pittsburgh with several defensemen out with injuries, including Trevor Daley and Kris Letang. Carolina also decided to send forward Viktor Stalberg to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday in exchange for a 2017 third-round pick. Stalberg earned 12 points for the Canes in 57 games this season.

Effect: Simply put, anything benefiting the Penguins is bad for the Jackets. If I had my dream, the rest of the league would stop trading anything or anyone of value to the Pens for the rest of time. All kidding aside (I’m only slightly kidding), the Jackets are tied in points with Pittsburgh at second in the division so any beneficial move for the Penguins cannot be good news for the CBJ.

On Carolina’s side, the Canes can’t really do anything of note for the rest of the season being the worst team in the division. However, they are stockpiling draft picks to either unload in trades this offseason or to keep to draft an army of prospects. With these trades, the Canes have added their tenth and eleventh picks in the 2017 draft. Although that’s staggering by itself, the craziest part is that seven of those are in the first three rounds. Carolina, you better share!

New Jersey Devils

Moves: The Devils actually decided to do something at the deadline, sending the aforementioned Kyle Quincey to Columbus in exchange for 26 year-old defenseman Dalton Prout. Prout has played his entire NHL career with the Blue Jackets after being drafted in the sixth round of the NHL Entry Draft in 2010 by Columbus. He has two years left on his current contract after signing an extension last March. He has been sent down to the AHL a few times throughout his career and has been largely unavailable for a this season due to back spasms.

Along with the Prout trade, New Jersey added the Nashville Predators‘ 2017 sixth-round pick in exchange for forward P.A. Parenteau. Parenteau is an NHL veteran, now playing on his eighth team since being drafted in 2001. Shortly after making that deal, the Devils acquired forward Shane Harper from the Florida Panthers for defenseman Reece Scarlett. Per the Devils’ site, Harper will report to their AHL affiliate team in Albany.

Effect: The Quincey-Prout trade really benefits the Blue Jackets by allowing Columbus to ship away the young, but struggling Prout and bring in an experienced player such as Quincey. The trade also gives Columbus some more flexibility with Quincey being in the last year of his contract where as with Prout still has some years on his deal.

The Devils may be able to get something out of Prout with some playing time and a new culture. A change of scenery may be exactly what he needs to revive his career. Similarly to the Canes, the Devils are holding on to eleven draft picks this year and those picks will be something to watch out for in the offseason, possibly affecting the Jackets.

New York Islanders

Trades, what are they good for? Absolutey nothing! Well, that’s what the Islanders must have thought considering they decided to not make a trade on deadline day or the week leading up to it. The Isles reportedly listened to offers for recently-recalled prospect center Joshua Ho-Sang, but decided to hold on to the 21 year-old that they drafted in 2014. Ho-Sang has been effective in the minors, scoring 82 points last season for the Niagara IceDogs in the OHL.

New York Rangers

Moves: The Islanders’ crosstown rivals were much more active. The Rangers maked a total of three trades in the 36 hours leading up to the trade deadline. The first came when NYR acquired defenseman Brendan Smith from the Detroit Red Wings for a 2017 third-round pick and a second rounder next year. Smith has struggled to stay on the ice this season, missing over 25 games due to a knee sprain injury. If Smith can manage to stay healthy, the defensive depth he brings to New York may prove invaluable. If he can’t stay on the ice though, the Rangers will probably look at this trade as throwing away two draft picks.

The Rangers also decided to trade AHL defenseman Mat Bodie to the Buffalo Sabres for minor league center Daniel Catenacci earlier today. In 50 games this year with the Rochester Americans, the 23 year-old Catenacci has 13 points.

Finally, the Rangers agreed with the Edmonton Oilers to send winger Justin Fontaine to Edmonton’s AHL club in exchange for forward Taylor Beck. In the NHL, Beck most notably played 62 games for the Predators in the 2014-2015 season, finishing with 16 points. He currently has 50 points in the AHL this season.

Effect: Ignoring the minor league trades, the effect of the Rangers-Wings trade obviously hinges on Brendan Smith’s health. If he is able to play consistently for the Rangers and improve their dreadful penalty killing unit while adding some depth, the Jackets will not be liking this trade come playoffs time. The Rangers are currently two points behind the Jackets (and the Penguins).

Philadelphia Flyers

Moves: After extending goalie Michal Neuvirth and winger Pierre-Edouard Bellemare‘s contracts for two more years, the Flyers decided to trade defenseman Mark Streit for Tampa Bay Lightning center Valtteri Filppula, a 2017 fourth-round pick, and a conditional 2017 seventh-round pick. Per TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Flyers only have to retain 4.7% (wait, FOUR POINT SEVEN PERCENT?!) of Streit’s remaining salary.

Filppula is 32 years old but has performed somewhat-well this season compared to last year, already improving in points and shooting percentage. He will help give Philly some depth at the center spot as a second-line player.

Effect: I don’t see much of an effect here involving Columbus this year with the Flyers being behind the Jackets by 19 points, sitting in sixth in the Metropolitan.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Moves: Other than the Hainsey trade that I covered in the Canes section, the Pens were late movers, announcing their two deadline day trades after 3 p.m EST.  The first move was acquiring the former Flyer defenseman Mark Streit from Tampa Bay for a 2018 fourth-round pick. According to NHL.com, TB will retain half of his remaining salary. The 39 year-old Streit has 21 points this season and will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.

Their final move of the day included sending forward Eric Fehr, defenseman Steve Oleksy, and a 2017 fourth-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Frank Corrado. Corrado will report to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where the Pens’ AHL team is located.

Effect: Although near the end of his career (unless he pulls a Jagr), Streit will still be a welcomed piece into the Pittsburgh system. The offensive defenseman, like Hainsey, will be tasked with replacing the injured blue liners while the bunch recover.

All of their moves this deadline had them acquiring defensemen, successfully doing what they set out to do in bolstering their depleted blue line. These moves affects the Jackets because like I said, anything the Pens benefit from is not a good thing for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Washington Capitals

Moves: Last, but surely not least, we have the Washington Capitals. The Caps were active and definitely the biggest movers of the deadline in the division, acquiring 2014 All-Star defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk from the St. Louis Blues. Shattenkirk, who has 42 points thus far in the season, apparently rejected a trade and subsequent extension to Tampa Bay last week with his no-trade clause per Bob McKenzie. He did not reject a trade to the nation’s capital, however.

Shattenkirk was undoubtedly the biggest and most sought-after player on the market this week and he now joins the top team in the NHL. Along with Shattenkirk, Washington acquired goalie Pheonix Copley in the STL trade in exchange for a 2017 first-round draft pick, several conditional picks, and forwards Brad Malone and Zach Sanford. Copley has only appeared in two NHL games in his career but will be tasked to bring some experience to the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ AHL affiliate team. Malone and Sanford will most likely play in the minors as well for the Chicago Wolves.

Effect: What a trade. The best team in the league picked up the best available player on the market. This move shows that the Caps have no problem hiding that they are going all-in to try and win the Stanley Cup this year. The Cup has continuously eluded them and their legendary leader, Alexander Ovechkin, but this trade puts them in an even better position to make a run.

The thought that the best team can bring in the best trade asset is honestly frightening for everyone else in the league, especially the Columbus Blue Jackets. I will say it now: I do not want to play the Caps in the playoffs.

That is all from the 2017 NHL trade deadline! Thank you all for joining us in our coverage in a rather uneventful deadline day. Make sure to join us tonight starting at 6:30 p.m. EST for a live game post where you can interact with the Union and Blue staff and readers in real-time while we watch the Jackets take on the Minnesota Wild.