Is There a Chance of More Situational Trades Coming

Situational Trades Will Not Lead to an Uptick in Trade Action

Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on TSN Radio in Montreal and was asked with the recent flurry of trades will there be more coming? Pagnotta does not think so because the two trades were situational.

NHLRumors.com Transcriptions

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Host: “A couple of trades that happened last week, does that open the door for more trades at this time of the season?”

Dave Pagnotta: “Well, those were situations; if anything, it’s escalated to perhaps early-level discussions. But Utah depleted on the blue line because of injuries, they wanted to give themselves a week or two to figure out if, internally, they have options to fill in at least some void left by Marino and Durzi.

Obviously, they felt they needed some outside help. Detroit had a surplus of defensemen. They move out a contract in Olli Maatta and a body frees up some cap space for them. Utah can afford it, and it’s an expiring deal, so it doesn’t hamper their plan on the blue line beyond this season. Olli Maatta is going to be UFA next July. So that was a situational move out of necessity for Utah, given the circumstances they were dealt with those injuries.

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Toronto, moving out Liljegren also situational, both cap wise and surplus on their end. They had been trying to move Liljegren since the summer before he even signed his two-year extension with or contract at the time with the Leafs. And him and his agent, Peter Whelan, applying a little bit of extra pressure once the season got going, when they realized, okay, we’re not going to be in the top six, which is what we thought we would be. Either play me or trade me, not a formal request or demand, but I’m putting you on notice.

And the Leafs because of their cap situation and the amount of guys they have on the back end, they obliged. They made the move, and San Jose benefits from it, because I think he’s going to be a pretty solid defenseman regularly. But San Jose benefits from that because (A) they have the cap space. (B) they have the extra assets to move it out and see they’ve got an opportunity to slot this guy in the lineup on a regular basis and see what he does.

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If anything, both of those moves, situational moves, have enhanced, or at least allowed conversations to pick up for teams like the Canadiens,  like the Ducks, like the Islanders, who are also now dealt with some injury blows on the back end, to see what’s out there.

And maybe that entices a team to make a move, typically it doesn’t, because, again, the salary caps a bit of a pain. But I’m not anticipating a flurry of early season moves just because of those two situations that that played out.”