Five Best Trades Of The Bryan Murray Era
Mar 7, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Nashville Predators center
Mike Fisher(12) during the second period against the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
A few days ago I wrote an article talking about Bryan Murray’s five worst trades as Ottawa’s general manager. Some people were upset that I was only showing the bad with Murray and not the good, but alas I’m here today to show that I do support him. Like I’ve always said, he’s made some questionable moves as the GM but also some very shrewd ones.
So here are Murray’s five best trades as General Manager in ascending order. There have been some very good ones.
1. Acquired a 1st round pick (Stefan Noesen) and a 3rd round pick (Jarrod Maidens) from Nashville for Mike Fisher
Noesen is no longer in Ottawa, and Maidens is no longer playing hockey, but it doesn’t matter who Ottawa drafted with those picks. The fact that Murray was able to get a 1st and a 3rd for a 2nd/3rd line centre is fantastic. Fisher has played well in Nashville, and I’m happy for him. I’m glad he got to go where he wanted to go, and I’m sure the Predators are happy with the move.
But at the time of the trade, it was fantastic value for Murray and the Senators. If there was a different scouting team Ottawa would have ended up with different players and perhaps the trade would look much better. Still though, who they drafted shouldn’t really be attached as part of the trade, because the Predators wouldn’t have drafted these exact players. Instead, I think it was great asset management that Murray was able to get two good picks in exchange for Fisher.
2. Acquired Marc Methot from Columbus for Nick Foligno
Apr 2, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Methot (3) skates with the puck in the third period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators defeated the Lightning 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Jack outlined a few days ago that even though Foligno was recently named the Blue Jackets captain, Ottawa isn’t regretting the trade that sent him away. I have to agree with him, because it has worked out for both sides. Foligno had a career year with 73 points in 79 games, and perhaps he has taken a big step forward. However, I doubt he’s anything more than a 40-50 point player, as before this year he had only topped 40 points once in seven seasons.
He did get 39 in 70 the previous year which is on pace for 46 in a full schedule. However, that just shows where his point totals normally are. I doubt he will be getting that many goals next year, although he may end up with around 50 points or so. That’s still solid production, but Ottawa shouldn’t be missing him because of this trade. They were able to get a solid defensive defenseman to partner with Karlsson, and Methot has fit in great these last three seasons.
Although it’s mostly Karlsson making Methot better, sometimes it is the other way around too. Methot is a great equalizer to Karlsson, as he can cover him to make sure he’s there in case he makes a mistake.
His numbers with Methot compared to other defensemen (besides Wiercioch) were also night and day, so he helped immensely there. Overall, I’d say this was a fantastic trade for both sides.
3. Acquired Craig Anderson from Colorado for Brian Elliott
Mar 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators goalie
Craig Anderson(41) makes a save against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Senators 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Although Elliott has been very good with St. Louis, this trade is still a win for Ottawa. The team who originally got Elliott (the Avalanche) didn’t even reap the rewards of Elliott’s later success, so it makes the trade even more lopsided. Since coming over to Ottawa, Anderson has been a saviour with a .920 save percentage.
In 2013-14 he was sub-par, but besides that he has been an elite goaltender. Elliott was never going to be good with Ottawa, and this move by Murray worked out extremely well. They took a chance on a cheap goaltender and ever since then he has been worth every penny and then some.
4. Acquired Kyle Turris from Arizona for David Rundblad and 2nd round pick (Anthony Stolarz)
Mar 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center
Kyle Turris(7) during their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Senators 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
At the time of this trade I was a bit upset, and so were other Senators fans. It seemed like a lot to give up for a young centre that had his fair share of struggles in Arizona. Rundblad was supposed to be Ottawa’s next superstar defenseman, but 3 and a half years later he hasn’t done much to improve his game. Meanwhile, Turris has become a first line centre putting up 64 points this year, and 58 the year before.
Rundblad has been a 6th/7th defenseman on Arizona and Chicago, with only 104 games played in his career. I still can’t believe that this deal turned out as well as it did, because Rundblad was so promising. However, it ended up being perfect for Ottawa as they sorely needed a top six centre, and Turris was a fantastic replacement on the first line for the departed Jason Spezza.
5. Acquired the 15th overall pick (Erik Karlsson) from Nashville for the 18th (Chet Pickard) and 70th (Taylor Beck) overall picks
Apr 5, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators defenseman
Erik Karlsson(65) carries the puck during the shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Ottawa 3-2 in an overtime shootout. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
This has to be his best trade yet. Murray and his scouts specifically targeted Karlsson as their guy, and they moved up three spots to make sure they got him. At the time it didn’t seem like the sexy pick, but of course as we know now it was one of the best if not the best draft pick in Senators history. So while some of the other trades he made were for simply draft spots, this trade was different.
He was trading for a spot in the draft yes, but he knew exactly who he wanted. Apparently the Anaheim Ducks also wanted Karlsson, but they had to settle for Jake Gardiner just two picks later. Murray wanted a certain player in the draft, and he got him. The fact that he turned into the best player in franchise history has to easily make this the best trade that Murray has ever made as GM of the Senators.
Summary
Apr 11, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Ottawa Senators right wing
Mark Stone(61) celebrates his second goal of the game during the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. Ottawa won the game 3-1 and clinched a playoff spot. Mandatory Credit: John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
After looking back on all the trades Murray has made, I still had to cut a few off the list. Some of the ones that were close were trading Chris Kelly to Boston for a 2nd round pick (Shane Prince), trading Alex Auld to Dallas for a 6th round pick (Mark Stone), and trading Antoine Vermette to Columbus for a 2nd round pick (Robin Lehner) and Pascal Leclaire.
Those aforementioned trades look quite good for Murray, but they all have reasons why I had to leave them off the list. Prince isn’t a sure-fire NHL player yet, and if he isn’t then the trade didn’t amount too much. Obviously drafting Stone in the 6th round is a massive steal, and it makes that trade look very lopsided. However, I couldn’t put that trade on the list because when it was made, it was only a 6th round pick for Auld.
That is what he’s worth in a trade, so it’s not as if Murray came out of that as the immediate winner. The Stars most likely wouldn’t have taken Stone with that pick, and plenty of other teams wouldn’t have either. So it’s more a credit to Murray and his scouts drafting rather than his trading skills. The fact that it turned out to be Stone with that pick was coincidental, and you can’t exactly say the trade was a genius move because it was a late round draft pick.
All in all, I’d say there were more good trades than I expected to see on this list
I included the Fisher trade and the trade that got Karlsson because those two are different. Murray was able to get a 1st and a 3rd round pick for a fringe second line player, and that was a lot of value. It doesn’t matter who the Senators drafted in my opinion, because Murray was able to extract value from Fisher near the trade deadline.
Karlsson is a different story. For this trade it may seem like I’m changing my position here a bit, but his case was different than the Fisher and Auld trades. In the Fisher and Auld trades, Murray was simply trading for draft picks, which are a good form of currency. He needed to stock up on some picks, and he did just that.
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But as I mentioned before, he specifically wanted Karlsson, so he knew he was trading the 18th and 70th overall picks for Karlsson. The gamble worked out as well as he could have imagined.
All in all, I’d say there were more good trades than I expected to see on this list. He has a reputation of not being so great at trades, but he has certainly made some exceptional moves. One things for sure, we’re in a much better spot than if John Muckler was still the GM.