Welcome back to the Pierre Dorion’s Best Trade tournament. We kicked things off yesterday with two high-profile trades, though the voting result hardly came as a surprise. You have overwhelmingly decided that the deal that sent J-G Pageau to the New York Islanders was a nicer piece of business than the deal that brought Matt Duchene to Ottawa. It’s time for the second matchup in the first round:
Trade 17: Sieloff --> ANA
Out: Patrick Sieloff
In: Brian Gibbons
Not every trade Pierre Dorion has made shattered the earth. After being acquired in the deal that sent Alex Chiasson to the Flames, Sieloff spent a couple seasons in Belleville without doing much. In 2019, Dorion sent Sieloff to the Ducks in exchange for Brian Gibbons, who instantly made a big impact with the NHL Senators. He tallied 14 points in 20 games with the Senators, before leaving as a free agent last summer. The long-term impacts of this deal were negligible for both teams, but Gibbons’ short-term success with the Senators suggests that this was a minor win for Dorion.
It’s not like Chris Wideman was ever going to be in the running for the Norris Trophy, but there were certainly nights when he was an effective lower-pairing option with power play upside. His role with the Senators was inconsistent after injury woes struck, which made the Oilers more than happy to take the low-risk gamble. Following the Uber incident, and with dwindling ice time, it was clear that Wideman’s days with the Senators were numbered. Dorion took what he could on the trade market and ran.