Notable NHL Trades for June 27, 2023
The New Jersey Devils acquire winger Tyler Toffoli from the Calgary Flames in exchange for forward Yegor Sharangovich and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Devils will be a very scary team to face in 2023-24. Imagine a first line centered by Nico Hischier with Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt on the wings with Toffoli skating on right wing on the second line centered by Jack Hughes with Timo Meier on the left wing.
Toffoli had requested a trade from the Flames after indicating he wasn’t interested in a contract extension. He’s coming off a career-best performance with 34 goals and 39 assists for 73 points. If he meshes well with Hughes and Meier, the Devils will possess an even more lethal scoring punch than what they had this season.
This move leaves the Devils with $19 million in cap space with 15 active roster players under contract. Meier remains to be re-signed which could eat up a big chunk of that cap space.
The Flames, meanwhile, get a decent return in Sharangovich. A restricted free agent coming off a two-year contract with an annual cap hit of $2 million, he should be an affordable re-signing.
A versatile forward who can play center or on either wing, the 25-year-old Sharangovich is a year removed from a career-best of 24 goals and 46 points. His production dropped this season to 13 goals and 30 points as he was dropped to the Devils’ third line. He’ll get an opportunity to earn top-six minutes in Calgary.
The Winnipeg Jets trade Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for forwards Alex Iafallo, Gabriel Vilardi and Rasmus Kupari as well as a 2024 second-round pick. The Kings also signed Dubois to an eight-year contract believed to be worth an average annual value of $8.5 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is a major move by the Kings as they attempt to move from playoff contention status into a Stanley Cup contender.
Dubois, 25, is a top-six forward who can play center or wing. The 6’4”, 214-pounder is coming off a career-best 63 points with the Jets, reaching the 60-point plateau for the third time in five years. He can play a two-way game but does his best work in the offensive zone.
Coming off a one-year, $6 million contract, it was assumed the Dubois camp would seek over $9 million annually for their client. He’s still getting a healthy raise here on a long-term deal.
Winnipeg Jets trade center Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings (NHL Images).
Dubois comes with some baggage having forced the Jets (and before them, the Columbus Blue Jackets) into trading him. Nevertheless, Kings general manager Rob Blake believes he’s worth the investment. He’ll likely skate as their second-line left wing alongside Kevin Fiala.
The Jets wanted a return that helps them now and in the future.
Vilardi is the main addition here. The 23-year-old winger shook off early injuries that threatened his career to enjoy a career-best 23 goals and 41 points in 63 games this season. A restricted free agent with arbitration rights, he should be an affordable re-signing for the Jets. If Vilardi can stay healthy, he should a productive forward in Winnipeg.
Iafallo, 29, plays a solid two-way game and should fit in well on the Jets’ checking lines. He’s signed through 2024-25 with an average annual value of $4 million. He had 36 points in 59 games this season, marking the fifth straight season he’s exceeded the 30-point plateau.
The 23-year-old Kupari is completing his entry-level contract. He’s split the past three seasons between the Kings and their AHL affiliate. He has potential as a playmaking forward who can play center or wing.
The Philadelphia Flyers traded center Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2024. The Flyers also retain 50 percent of Haye’s $7.14 million average annual value through 2025-26.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is the aftermath of a reportedly attempted trade by the Flyers and Blues that would’ve included defenseman Travis Sanheim going to St. Louis with Hayes and blueliner Torey Krug going to Philadelphia. Krug, however, nixed that deal by refusing to waive his no-trade clause.
The Flyers really wanted Hayes gone after he butted heads at times this season with head coach John Tortorella. They settled for retaining half of his cap hit to move him. It’s the second significant trade by new general manager Daniel Briere, who shipped Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets earlier this month in a deal involving the Los Angeles Kings.
With half of Hayes’ salary off their books, the Flyers have over $10 million in projected cap space for 2023-24 with 15 active roster players under contract. One wonders what other moves Briere might have up his sleeve in the coming days.
As for the Blues, GM Doug Armstrong appears committed to making a quick turnaround for next season after missing the 2023 playoffs. They’re getting a 31-year-old center who put up 54 points with this season’s floundering Flyers. He’ll likely slot in as their second-line center, which likely means they won’t be bringing back former captain Ryan O’Reilly, who was dealt to Toronto before the March trade deadline.
The Colorado Avalanche traded center Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadien in exchange for the 31st overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, the 37th overall pick and prospect Gianni Fairbrother
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This is an affordable gamble by the Canadiens, who already possess a promising prospect pool along with several talented youngsters already on their roster.
Kent Hughes made one notable reclamation project last season by acquiring Kirby Dach from Chicago. Newhook looks like the latest one. He’s coming off his entry-level contract.
The 22-year-old is a former first-round pick by the Avalanche who has two 30-plus point seasons under his belt. Capable of playing center or wing, the 5’10”, 190-pounder he has good speed and playmaking abilities. He’s also of the right age to fit into the Canadiens’ rebuilding program.
Colorado, meanwhile, now holds two picks in the first round and one in the second of this year’s draft. They had no selections from rounds two through four before this trade so this move puts them in a much better position. They can retain those new acquisitions to restock their prospect pipeline or perhaps use them as trade bait to add to their current roster.
The New Jersey Devils traded goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2023.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Once considered a future starting goalie for the Devils, Blackwood has been hampered by frequent injuries. The 26-year-old was limited to 47 games over the past two seasons.
A restricted free agent who’s a year away from unrestricted free-agent eligibility, Blackwood was no longer a fit with the Devils with Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid as their current tandem. They might not be done making trades involving a goaltender as they’ve been linked to Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck.
Blackwood will now get a chance at a fresh start with the rebuilding Sharks. He could get a one-year “show-me” contract with the opportunity to earn a longer-term deal based on performance. Failing that, they could ship him to a playoff contender at next year’s trade deadline.
Time will tell, but right now I think LA paid (too) a hefty price to get Dubois.
It’s amazing that never once hitting 70 points as a C can net you 8.5 mill.
I think they got the best player in the deal which is what you want to see but they paid quite price. Vilardi could be a great piece moving forward. Jury still out on Kupari. Boom or bust.
Good for Winnipeg for making the best out of a bad situation. All eyes on Dorion to see what he manages to pull now.
In the NHL, teams pay for potential, not for what players have already done
I will say this… with many of the most talked about trade already going down… and a lackluster free agent pool… I can see Ottawa getting a decent return on Debrincat.
Called it months ago that he wasn’t going to Montreal. If he really wanted to play in Montreal all he had to do was say that he was not going to sign a long term contract no matter which team traded for him and that would have forced Winnipeg to deal with Montreal or risk losing him for nothing. Let’s see how long it takes before he is unhappy in LA and wants a trade out. Good (not great) player but so far in his career too much drama and not worth the risk.
yes, but now he does not have a contract that is expiring anytime soon so good luck asking to move on somewhere again haha.
I dunno, something about him always struck me as too much ego and not enough talent to match.
Sounds like he’ll be right at home in la.
WPG should trade Wheeler to Philly for Courtorier so they have players under contract for years
I think Blake paid too much for PLD. that being said, as we saw last year in the deal between Florida and Calgary, the team that gets the best player generally wins the trade. As a Kings fan I hope it works out for LA as well as it did for FLA.
I love how it was said in Montreal that they weren’t going to screw up the rebuild by trying to speed it up. Couple years later and they’re trying to speed it up.
It will be fun to see if Hughes can make it all come together.
Paying a 1st and a 2nd is quite the price for what you would usually pay for a reclamation project.
Why ? Suddenly it is a 1st rounder ? In the past month all I heard was it is like a 2nd rounder (31st) Funny how things change quickly. He is 22 and we have to 5th overall pick. The other one we got for…Ben Chiarot, turned out to be a good trade
Broken, Newhook is hardly a reclamation project. He’s a 22-year old with a couple of years in the NHL that have made an impact but who hasn’t hit his stride yet. If he picks up his game like Dach did, it’ll be well worth it.
“Reclamation project”? Please; that characterization is way off-base. He has two years in the NHL and is a middle-six regular. Give him time to mature and grow into his game and you could have a 40-50 point player on your hands. Besides, the 31 and 37 picks are likely to never be anything in the NHL.
Newhook wasn’t getting much ice time in Colorado. Still young and a 16 th overall pick. I don’t think you had to add the 37 th pick but should be a good fit with the
A
Agreed. 1st & 3rd would’ve made more sense.
I think that the 37th was the price to pay for Colorado to accept taking Fairbrother. The Habs are close to the 50 contracts limit and need to clear some.
If the Habs were indeed offering Dvorak and pick 31 for Dubois, then they paid more for Newhook. Dvorak isn’t worth pick 37 imo. Having said that, I like Newhook and would have paid the first for him. I think Mtl panicked when they didn’t get Dubois. That trade for Newhook was pretty fast after the Dubois deal. I think they could have got him for just pick 31 if they had a little patience.
I think Winnipeg did well in that deal. Dubois may have a couple big years but he will be unhappy over time and it will be LA’s problem. Vilardi is pretty much the same size at Dubois and will have more opportunity in Winnipeg. Kupari could surprise and Iafallo is a solid addition.
Dave,
According to TSN’s insiders that’s not what the Canadiens were offering it was prospects and picks but the Jets don’t want a rebuilt. Hughes is way smarter than that, he knows the Jets GM would hang up.
Don’t know about you but I think this is better than the trade deadline lol
I agree Mike Pilon, it’s been a wild few days. Let’s see how tomorrow plays out.
The over/under on years before PLD wants to be traded is probably 3.5. I’ll take the under. Good luck in that locker room.