The NHL trade deadline is getting closer by the minute, and teams are starting to unload some of the hotter names rumored to have been on the market.
Matt Duchene, perhaps the most prized target of the March 1 deadline, is still on the market along with Kevin Shattenkirk, from the St. Louis Blues. But after a couple of recent defenseman deals and the Anaheim Ducks’ acquisition of Patrick Eaves on Friday, things started to heat up at the close of the weekend.
The Minnesota Wild, pushing to maintain their No. 1 standing atop the Western Conference and coming off a recent stretch of tight losses, made the biggest splash Sunday by dealing a trio of draft picks in exchange for Arizona Coyotes center Martin Hanzal. The Los Angeles Kings did their best to rival the Hanzal swap by landing goalie Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning in a package deal.
Bringing in a 6-foot-6 offensive contributor in Hanzal has to be exciting for the Wild. But when you’re giving up a first-round pick in 2017, a second-rounder in 2018 and another conditional pick the following year, you’d better hope that Hanzal, at nearly 30, does enough damage to warrant a new contract with the team once free agency strikes. Minnesota did get a fourth-rounder and center Ryan White as part of the deal, but it’s hard to fully get behind mortgaging so many early-round picks for a guy whose value to the Wild may not last beyond 2017, even if Hanzal may have been a top-10 trade target.
In contrast, the Kings’ deal for Bishop may have been exactly what L.A. needed.
Fresh off a win over the Ducks, the Kings are in desperate need of a late-season hot streak, particularly at home, and bringing in the Lightning’s top-tier goalie is an automatic shoring up of at least part of the club’s defensive unit. Bishop has a cap hit, but he also brings playoff experience should Los Angeles find itself in the postseason. The package to land him, which included Peter Budaj, was a little more player-heavy than the Wild’s deal for Hanzal, but if L.A. truly believes Bishop will help catapult them into playoff contention, it might have taken the right risk.
