First, Yzerman sent a conditional 2013 7th-round pick to Detroit for D Mike Commodore.
Commodore is an experienced defenseman and a Stanley Cup champion. He is 32 and a free agent at the end of the year, but he should help support the defense.
Yzerman then pulled off the biggest trade of the day, sending top prospect F Carter Ashton to Toronto for D Keith Aulie.
Aulie is also a highly-touted prospect. He is only 22, and is huge: 6' 6", 225 lbs. He will bring some size and good puck handling to the Bolts, and if he pans out will be a force on the Tampa Bay blue line for years to come. Losing Carter Ashton is a big price, but scouts tend to think the Aulie has a higher upside. The Lightning also have good organizational depth at forward (such as Labrie, Conacher, and Namestnikov) and weak defensive depth.
The final trade of the day sent D Matt Gilroy to Ottawa for D Brian Lee.
Lee is 24, 6' 3" and 205 lbs, another big body and an up-and-coming talent. Many will say trading a defenseman for a defenseman is a lateral move, but Lee is three years younger than Gilroy, and is a bit more of a stay-at-home defenseman, rather than offensive minded like Gilroy. Gilroy is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, while Lee is restricted. I was really liking how Gilroy was coming along this year, but the trade seems pretty fair.
As far as new jersey numbers go, Aulie will wear No. 3 and Lee will wear No. 15, and Commodore will forego the much called-for Commodore64 in favor of 23.
Overall, I really like the trades that Yzerman has pulled off this year. These trades help set the Bolts up for both the future and the present.
No comments:
Post a Comment