Things were almost looking too good for the Ottawa Senators. The third and fifth overall picks in a great draft? Check. The promising development of prospects and young roster players? Check. A coach that preaches an up-tempo, entertaining brand of hockey? Check. And, as Gord_Wilson_2.0 mentioned in the last blog, we’ve even had the chance to talk about rumors of players coming in rather than players going out. What a run its been.
So, given that what goes up must come down, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Senators were dealt a hand tonight that looks little bit more like the recent history of bad luck we’ve come to know and love. The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 of their playoff series, which pushes Ottawa’s third first-round pick down into the 28-31 range. Acquired in the trade that sent J-G Pageau to the Islanders, that pick was once thought of as an almost-guaranteed shot at a high-quality prospect in the middle of the first round. There’s still obviously an opportunity for the Senators to pick up a nice player with the Islanders pick, but it’s no secret that the value of draft picks falls off precipitously towards the end of the first round.
The interesting thing about New York’s win from Ottawa’s perspective is the strange yin and yang symmetry it creates in Pierre Dorion’s trading history. The Pageau deal looked absolutely phenomenal when it was made, with a bit of bad luck and an unexpected New York run making it look worse now than originally thought. Contrast that with the Erik Karlsson trade, which looked horrendous when made and turned out to be a positive, franchise-defining move thanks to a bit of good luck and an unexpected San Jose crash. Hockey can be a funny sport.
Speaking of funny: After wishing for the Islanders to fall out of the playoffs for the last number of weeks to benefit the pick, Senators fans should likely now shift their attention to cheering for those same Islanders in the Eastern Conference Final and beyond. As part of the Pageau deal, the Senators obtained a conditional 2022 third-round pick, which will become theirs if the Islanders win the Stanley Cup this season.
Go Islanders! As always, thanks for reading.
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