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So Matt Duchene is on the move again. This morning the 28-year old pending unrestricted free agent was traded from Ottawa to the Columbus Blue Jackets. A deal that is nothing but good news for the Colorado Avalanche.
We all know by now that the Avalanche own Ottawa’s 2019 first round pick thanks to the Duchene deal that went down 15 months ago. It was an incredibly valuable asset to begin with and now it’s worth even more.
Not only have the Senators traded away one of their two best players, but they are getting a return that won’t help the team on the ice this season. The trade might end up being good for Ottawa but for this season, it makes them worse.
To CBJ: Matt Duchene, Julius Bergman
To OTT: 2019 1st Round Pick. Vitali Abramov, Jonathan Davidsson and a conditional 2020 1st Round Pick.
The condition on the 2020 first round pick is that Duchene would have so re-sign in Columbus - something that is very unlikely to happen. Oh and Columbus was smart enough to protect their 2019 1st in case they end up winning the lottery.
On the surface, it’s a decent trade for Pierre Dorion and the Senators, but when you put it in context:
So in 15 months the Senators turned Sam Girard, Vladislav Kamanev, Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers (rights), 1st RD pick* (OTT), 2nd RD pick (NSH), 3rd RD pick (OTT) into Vitali Abramov, Davidsson and a later 1st
— Tom Hunter (@PuckDontLie) February 22, 2019
That’s some terrible asset management.
The trade points to Columbus hanging on to Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky to go “all in” this season so maybe Matt Duchene will get the playoff hockey he’s been looking for.
The trade is also the latest step in the tear down of the Senators. In the summer, Dorion traded away Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman. Now Duchene goes with Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel on their way out in the next few days. That’s five of the best players leaving a team that knew someone else owns their first round pick this summer.
The Senators already sit dead last in the NHL. Today’s trade ensues that they’re more likely to stay there and while some might feel bad for fans in Ottawa, only good things will come for the Avalanche.
Now all we can do is sit, watch and hope that the ping pong balls fall in the right order on draft lottery night.