Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman spoke with The NHL Tonight last night, addressing trade deadline moves and non-moves…
The Tampa Bay Lightning had been connected with Karlsson in trade rumors, but when all was said and done it was the Lightning and New York Rangers hooking up for a Ryan McDonagh transaction.
The defenseman and J.T. Miller went to Lightning for Vladislav Namestnikov, Brett Howden, Libor Hajek, a first-round pick in 2018, and a conditional first-rounder in 2019.
“What I can tell you is that the Lightning and the Rangers have been grinding,” noted Friedman. “The Lightning over the last two weeks, they took a long look at Mike Green. They cooled on him, and then they started grinding away with both the Senators and the (Rangers) – one for Karlsson, obviously, and one for McDonagh. I think the Lightning checked in with the Senators today. They realized they weren’t going to be able to get it done. And then they really started grinding away with the Rangers in that deal you see there.
Nichols continues, with Friedman dissecting the Bolts-Rangers trade…
The Lightning were sending scouts after scouts to the Wings’ games over the past month, but they appear to have decided that McDonagh was their guy, and whoever else was interested was, as Ken Holland has told the media, “scared off” by Green’s neck injury.
“…and whoever else was interested was, as Ken Holland has told the media, “scared off” by Green’s neck injury.”
Which was caused by Tampa player Adam Erne with 9:30 left in a lopsided game in which, with the puck gone and no one else around, Erne finished Green high into the glass.
Was that about when Tampa started to cool on Green?
No I’m not saying that was such a terribly dirty hit, but it was gratuitous and looked like Green didn’t exactly expect it. Anyway, skating straight to the bench and missing a bunch of games speaks for itself. That’s been Tampa’s MO for a long time – since a lot of these players were in Syracuse – cheap, dirty plays all over the ice, whether a game is tight or a blowout.
What, were we still trying to showcase Green for Tampa, et al, late in the 3rd period of a mismatch? Why was he even on the ice in that situation against that team? Why don’t we play Witkowski every single time against Tampa?
It’s also Green’s right to say “no”, but if Holland wasn’t talking with Green earlier in the season about a trade, figuring out ways to retain money, exploring the possibility of a trade when no one else of note was for sale, and working to see if he could expand Green’s “list” of eligible buyers (because you don’t bother a player with a NTC until a week before the deadline or something?) then he wasn’t doing his job.
Sometimes in life when you are complacent and wait for the last minutes for something to materialize you end up with nothing.
The return for Tatar was quite solid, though trading two of our more talented, still mid-twenties players is either a) moving whomever has a taker or b) an acknowledgement that this is going to be quite a long-term rebuild, even beyond the muddling along we’ve been treated to.
I’m sure this has been said many times and better by others, but who would have expected Vegas to spend #1-3 picks at their first trade deadline. Anyone on the planet?
I think he was way too complacent in handling Green’s NTC. Even as little as a couple weeks ago, Green admitted Kenny had never spoken with him about the parameters of a trade. FAIL.
lefty30,
Who expected them to be in contention their first season? Maybe they know they will likely have a dramatic fall off after their first season (Ala Avs with Roy). Go big or go home now, drum up ticket sales for the next few seasons.