Ottawa Senators: Analyzing the Mark Stone Trade

I hope management is happy, because the Ottawa Senators just traded their future captain.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that the Ottawa Senators traded Mark Stone to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Oscar Lindberg, Erik Brännström, and a second-round pick in 2020.

It may have been expected, and even predicted, but it still stings to see another home-grown superstar be traded, whether for financial reasons or his frustrations with ownership/management.

Trading such a prominent player will be a derided decision going forward, but the Senators didn’t get nothing for Stone, and at this point that’s all that matters.

What Did Vegas Get?

Vegas is getting one of the top wingers in all of hockey.

I don’t feel like I’m over-selling him to Golden Knights fans. Stone has amassed 311 points in 364 career games and has a knack for blowing up the scoresheet whenever he is on the ice. This season in 59 games he has 28 goals and 34 assists, a new career high in goals and well on his way to besting his previous career high in points (64 points in 2013-14). He has also been a power play machine in his career, with 23 goals and 48 assists coming on the man-advantage.

Add to it that Vegas immediately signed him to an eight-year deal with an AAV of $9.5 million and it makes it even better for the Knights. He is a player that automatically gives Vegas a chance to repeat their Stanley Cup Final run from last year and locking him up to a max-term deal was the best move for them.

What Did Ottawa Get?

The biggest piece the Ottawa Senators received was Erik Brännström, a 19-year old Swedish defenseman who was selected 15th overall in 2017.

There’s a reason the return for Stone didn’t include a first-round pick: Brännström looks incredible.

In 41 games for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, he had 28 points, tying him for first on the team in defensive scoring and was one of three Wolves to be named to the AHL All-Star Classic. He is a former SHL champion and won numerous accolades in the J20 SuperElit hockey league in Sweden, including Best Defenseman (2016-17) and Playoff MVP (2017-18).

He is going to make a fantastic addition to the Belleville Senators as they make a run at the playoffs down the stretch and, with time, will be a key piece of the defensive core for the Ottawa Senators.

The other player the Senators received was Oscar Lindberg, a second-round pick of the then Phoenix Coyotes back in 2010. He has played 232 games in the NHL and has just 71 points, averaging only 11:39 TOI in his career. He is making $1.7 million this year, with his contract expiring this summer. He’ll likely be the center on the fourth line going forward.

And lastly the 2020 second rounder, which is actually Dallas’ selection that the Knights got in exchange for Marc Methot. That gives the Senators seven picks in the first three rounds of the 2020 draft. If things go according to plan (And a few more picks are acquired over the next year), 2020 is shaping up to be a solid draft year for the Sens.

It Could’ve Been More

The best case scenario for the Ottawa Senators was re-signing Stone, but that obviously wasn’t going to happen. The return could have been better, maybe another pick or two, but Brännström looks like a solid player and the 2020 pick adds to a great draft haul for next season. Knowing how management operates, this could have gone a lot worse, but you aren’t wrong for wishing the Sens had gotten more for a player who was shaping up the be the captain of the team.