Not much is happening on the trade market at the moment in the National Hockey League - as a matter of fact, not a lot is happening period as we awaited to see when the 2020-21 campaign could get underway after the 2019-20 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the postseason took place in the summer in bubble cities.
Three years ago today however, a lot was happening as Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic managed to pull one of the biggest blockbuster of the past seasons as he remained patient with one of his forwards, Matt Duchene, who had expressed his anger in Denver for quite some time. Patience paid off big time as Sakic managed to rob two other general managers seeing that the trade ended up being a three-team transaction.
Simply epic.
Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion and Nashville Predators GM David Poile were the two other general managers involved in the monster trade, agreeing to part with key elements to get the transaction approved by the league. The Sens were acquiring Duchene, while the Predators added Kyle Turris to their lineup. As for the Avalanche, it got a shit load of returns, excuse my French, and are still today the ONLY winners in this trade. Here is what they got:
- Defenseman Samuel Girard
- Forward Shane Bowers
- Forward Vladislav Kamenev
- Goalie Andrew Hammond
- 2019 first round pick, which turned out to beBowen Byram, who was selected fourth overall
- 2018 second round pick, who became Filip Hallander, the 58th overall pick
- 2019 third round pick, who was Matthew Stienburg, selected with the 63rd overall pick in that draft
We all know how it turned out for the Senators and the Preds. Three years later, the Senators traded Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who later flipped him to Nashville where he signed long-term. As for Turris, he was bought out by the Predators and has now signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers…
In the meantime, the Avalanche is considered one of the league's powerhouses. Samuel Girard now takes part of the Avs’ Top-3 members of their defensive squad while Bowen Byram is considered the team's best prospect. Vladislav Kamenev was recently ranked third, while Shane Bowers is ranked 6th among the team's prospects according to NHL.com.
Three years later, it is now official that this transaction was a brilliant larceny by Colorado. The Avalanche is a tremendous contender at the moment and we only expect things to get better in the near future when Byram, Kamenev and Bowers become part of the roster in Denver.
Great job by Sakic!
The former Quebec Nordiques legendary player is still beloved in the province of Quebec and an article was published by Le Droit on his tremendous work as a general manager, especially in this blockbuster trade.
