In attempting to name a winner in Monday's trade between the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators, let's start with this: Neither the Rangers nor the Senators were going to win the Stanley Cup this coming season.
That said, the Rangers come out better in the deal that sent Derick Brassard and a seventh-round pick in 2018 to the Senators for Mika Zibanejad and a second-rounder in 2018. The Rangers got younger, cheaper and therefore more cap-flexible and got the much better draft position.
It's true, though, the Senators probably got the better player for right now in Brassard, the 28-year-old center who scored a career-high 27 goals, along with 31 assists, in 2015-16. But the Rangers probably are getting the better player for the long term in the 23-year-old center Zibanejad, the sixth overall pick in the 2011 draft who also is coming off a career high for goals (21) and points (51) in Ottawa.
If the Senators were arguably just one player away from winning a Cup, they would have gotten the winner's checkmark here. But unless Craig Anderson stands on his head almost every night in goal and/or Erik Karlsson ...
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Article written by Adrian Dater
Rangers Help Themselves in Long Run with Smart Trade for Mika Zibanejad
July 18th, 2016 by Adrian Dater Leave a reply »
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