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Tim Murray really swung for the fences today, executing a major blockbuster trade and acquiring a pair of NHL players who slot in well for the future of the team. The centerpiece of the trade was Evander Kane, a former 30-goal scorer who has tremendous upside.
I took some time to chat with Travis Hrbeniuk of the JetStream Podcast (@Jetstreampod) and managing editor of Arctic Ice Hockey about today’s trade. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @ thrubeniuk
Chris: Pretty eventful Wednesday for the Sabres and the Jets. Just off the top, what was your immediate reaction to the entire trade?
Travis: My immediate reaction was definitely “holy smokes”. It was pretty well accepted here that Kane was going to leave at some point this year, but I don’t think people really expected something of this magnitude. This being Kevin Cheveldayoff’s first trade that included NHL players going both ways, I was certainly a little nervous as things started leaking out. I think he did okay though as he was able to move out a player that was on his way out, addressed a need the Jets had, and got a couple more prospects to add to an already stocked cupboard. The Jets needed something to happen. They definitely could have done worse.
CO: The clear centerpiece of the deal – from a Sabres perspective – is Evander Kane. He’s a player that many Sabres fans had their eye on over the last number of months. What can you tell us about Kane, both pros and cons?
TH: I have been a huge Kane supporter for many years now. Evander Kane is the kind of player that teams should absolutely love to have on the ice. He works his butt of constantly, will accept any role given to him, has tremendous speed and strength, and drives possession in a fantastic fashion. The Jets were always a better team with him on the ice. He scores a lot of goals (despite a drop this season that was very much due to injury problems, highly defensive assignments and questionable line mates), and is a fantastic penalty killer.
He does have a tendency to take a fair number of penalties. Evander plays with a LOT of passion (his give a shit meter is off the charts) and at times it does lead to some iffy decisions both with and without the puck. He also needs to play with guys that can keep up to him, as he was often finding himself up the ice with no help simply because of how fast he is. There is also the entire off-ice situation if you want to consider those cons, but I am a firm believer that a lot of his ‘antics’ were blown way out of proportion.
CO: The recent optics on Kane are pretty tough to decipher. What can you tell us about the recent locker room issues? Is it something you’ve seen as a major red flag or something that was a bit overblown?
TH: As I mentioned above, I think a lot of the little things were blown way out of proportion here. Things like the money phone and his cash-stacks pushups didn’t hurt anybody and a lot of the guys seemed to think they were pretty funny. There are rumors that Kane butted heads with a few guys in the locker room, so I’m not sure how much of that was Kane’s fault as opposed to just conflicting personalities. A lot of the current Jets either have kids and families, or have just entered the league, so I think Kane kind of sat in a demographic of his own. There were definitely guys that got along with Kane very well, but I just think those guys weren’t exactly the leadership core. This likely led to the rumors of Kane often not going out to dinner with the team, meeting up with friends on trips, etc. There were definitely problems that both sides recognized and acknowledged (it was recently reported that Kane HAD spoke to Kevin Cheveldayoff about a trade before), so I think a change of scenery will do him well.
CO: From a Sabres perspective, the key for targeting a player like Kane is to provide the Sabres with a prolific scorer who could be paired with one of their many blue chip centers. Can Sabres fans expect that type of player?
TH: If Kane plays with the right guys, yes. Even with some pretty mediocre centers through the years (Scheifele in his rookie season, Lowry in his rookie reason, an aging Olli Jokinen & Nik Antropov) he was the highest goal per 60 minutes player on the Jets over the last 4 years (his haters in Winnipeg liked to ignore that fact). Will Evander Kane ever score upwards of 50 goals like he aimed for this off season? I would be surprised. But I think you can bet him on being at least a regular 30-goal guy with the proper line mates and deployment. That being said, don’t let it be lost on you how skilled he is when playing tough minutes. Evander is one hell of a hockey player.
CO: Looking both short and long term, are you pleased that the Jets chose to move Kane?
TH: I am pleased the Chevy finally did something about a problem his team was having. I am very disappointed that the solution to that problem was moving Evander Kane. He is not an easily replaceable player, and the Jets need to hope something fantastic emerges on their side of this deal. It was a necessary move, but a move that really sucks to make.
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CO: The other big piece of this trade is Zach Bogosian. I’m personally a big fan of his, despite not living up to his billing as the third overall pick. For those who aren’t as familiar with him, where does Bogosian pencil in on a team’s top-six?
TH: In my opinion he’s a second pairing defenseman. He has never really had to carry the heavy minutes for the Jets, and honestly I consider swapping him and Myers a pretty lateral move. Bogosian has had pretty big ups, and pretty low downs so it’s been hard to get a read on how good he can really be. He seems to rely pretty heavily on however he is paired with to elevate his game.
CO: What are Bogosian’s biggest faults?
TH: His decision-making abilities. He has a big body, a heavy shot, and a lot of good attributes that should lead to him being a great defenseman. But his brain seems to turn off every once in a while in a pretty big way. Whether it be a terrible turnover, a bad pinch, or simply taking the wrong guy, Bogo definitely makes some big blunders once in a while.
CO: One thing of note is that Bogosian and Myers each have very similar fancy stats. So, perhaps Bogosian keeps the Sabres at level pegging in the middle of their d-corps. Would you say Bogosian is an asset playing 3rd or 4th defenseman minutes?
TH: As I mentioned above, that’s exactly where I would place him. He’s young-ish, so maybe one day he steps into a larger role, but I don’t see it.
CO: I know he was a late pick and was sidelined last season, but is there anything you can add on Jason Kasdorf?
TH: If he ever amounts to anything more than being ‘that extra guy’ in this deal, I’d be shocked.
CO: Asking who wins a trade that involves a pair of prospects and a draft pick might be a little short sighted, but as this plays out, who do you see as the winner?
TH: Honestly I think this is a pretty even deal. The Jets move a guy who needed to be moved, start to address a need, and add to their prospect pool. The Sabres get a stud of a player who was misunderstood and wasn’t being given a big enough role in Winnipeg. Both teams get to flop defensemen who probably needed a change of scenery. Only the future will tell who REALLY won this deal.
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