Welcome back to the Pierre Dorion’s Best Trade Tournament! The final quarterfinal matchup is upon us, and it’s an interesting one. In the Erik Karlsson trade, you have a deal that looked ‘meh’ when it was made, but now looks phenomenal thanks to a little bit of luck. In the Curtis Lazar trade, you have a deal that subtly returned one of the most promising young names in the Senators system. Let’s get to it:
When this trade was made, people thought Pierre Dorion was acquiring quantity rather than quality for a superstar asset. Hindsight suggests that he acquired both quantity AND quality for an asset about to lose significant value due to injury concerns. The perfect storm that has occurred since this deal was completed makes it look infinitely better than it did in September 2018, and nobody in Ottawa is complaining about it. Chris Tierney has been a solid NHL producer for the Senators. Dylan DeMelo established himself as one of the league’s most underrated defenders prior to being moved. Josh Norris turned every head possible in the American Hockey League this year. Rudolfs Balcers remains tremendously promising. Oh, and then there’s that 2020 first-round pick still to come. If the NHL’s reported move to the old lottery system is true, that pick will be a top-four selection in what is widely viewed as an exceptionally strong draft. Trading Karlsson was always going to be a franchise-defining move for Pierre Dorion. A little bit of luck seems to have made it a superb one. Few would have predicted that Norris would develop in the way that he has, and that the Sharks would be bad enough to hand Ottawa such a high pick.
The trade looks even better now than it did when the first round of voting took place, as the draft lottery format is final. There’s no possibility that San Jose goes on a magical late season run as many had feared. They’re done.
Trade: Lazar --> CAL
Out: Curtis Lazar, Michael Kostka
In: Jyrki Jokipakka, 2017 2nd Round Pick
Curtis Lazar was one of junior hockey’s hottest commodities, but he was never quite able to translate it into the professional game. While trading Lazar earlier while he was still viewed as full of potential likely would have resulted in a larger haul for Dorion, it’s tough to complain about how things turned out. That second-round selection turned into Alex Formenton, who is one of the more promising names in the Ottawa system. Everything about Formenton’s rookie year in Belleville suggests that the Senators organization is going to get more out of him than they ever did out of Lazar.
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