Todd Cordell
From Vegas' perspective, I love the deal. In Mark Stone, they acquired one of the league's best two-way forwards. His game is not built on speed so losing a step down the road probably won't impact him as much as it would others. I think he will be elite for several more years and well above average for most, if not all of his next contract. Losing Erik Brannstrom sucks but Oscar Lindberg doesn't move the needle at all and a 2nd round pick is more likely to bust than hit. This trade makes Vegas a real threat once again, both now and moving forward.
From Ottawa's perspective, this is a very mixed bag. Not being able to re-sign yet another premium talent is a loss in itself. They should have at least been able to get a 1st instead of a 2nd, too, since Stone quickly signed an extension. In saying that, I think Brannstrom is an elite, elite, prospect so Ottawa did get one piece they can really hang their hat on and legitimately sell to fans. Should they have gotten more? Yes, but adding Brannstrom to a young stable of players including Thomas Chabot, Brady Tkachuk, Colin White, Logan Brown, and Drake Batherson, among others, at least gives some hope for the future.
Peter Tessier I think this is a win-win for both sides. First, Vegas was able to get him extended and under 10 million while getting the extra year. They had to give up a TOP prospect but they got a top 5 (by position) player in the league.
The thing for Ottawa is that they got far more than a late-round lottery pick in Brannstrom. They received an almost assured top 3 guy who projects very well for the future. This is what Ottawa needs more than more draft picks- something solid and Brannstrom is as solid as it can get as a prospect. He also won't need to be protected for the Seattle expansion draft :).
Trevor Shackles Excerpt from today's post:
If you don’t know who Brannstrom is, then seeing no first rounder in this deal is puzzling. It’s definitely less than ideal that they could not get Vegas to include that in addition to Brannstrom, but I’d much rather have a prospect of his calibre and a 2nd round pick than a lesser prospect and a 1st round pick. I think Brannstrom is going to be a very good defenseman in the NHL as soon as next season, as he has been quite good in the AHL as a 19-year-old.
This deal hinges on whether Brannstrom can turn into a quality player or not because Lindberg is a bottom-six player, and who knows what the 2nd rounder will turn into. I like that Ottawa was able to get a legitimate top prospect though, especially a defenseman, an area where they needed one more high upside player. Don’t get me wrong, losing Stone is catastrophic and should be talked about for years, but it was either this return, a worse return from a different team, or losing him for nothing. Considering the alternatives, it's hard to be too upset. It will just take a long time for fans to heal.
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