The best trade deadline rental left on the board ended up getting traded tonight. I was thinking it would come down to Boston or Nashville but the Stars traded Erik Cole to Detroit. All the early NHL trade activity is making it look like tomorrow could be a fairly quiet NHL trade deadline day.
The Deal
The trade is as follows: Erik Cole and a conditional 2015 3rd round pick for Detroit’s 2015 2nd round pick and Swedish prospects Mattias Backman and Mattias Janmark-Nylen. Make no mistake, Jim Nill knows these prospects very well.
The swap of 2nd and 3rd round picks is interesting. The 2015 NHL Entry Draft is expected to be among the deepest drafts in several years. Moving up to Detroit’s 2nd will give the Stars an opportunity to get an excellent player. Here is where it gets interesting. If the Red Wings make it to the Eastern Conference Final and Erik Cole plays 50% of the games, the Stars get to keep the 3rd round pick.
https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/572192997875585024
Who Did The Stars Get?
Mattias Backman, 22 years old, is a left-handed shooting defenseman, 6’2 176lbs. Backman was buried behind a very deep group of Red Wing blue line prospects. He was drafted by the Red Wings in the 5th round (145th overall) in 2011. Backman started the season with Grand Rapids (Detroit’s American Hockey League affiliate) appearing in 18 games with 0 goals and 4 assists. However, Backman grew frustrated by a lack of playing time and returned to his home country to continue his development with Linkopings HC in the Swedish Elite league.
Mattias Janmark-Nylen is a name that has come across the waiver wire of my fantasy dynasty league a few times. He’s a 22-year-old center, and was the Red Wings 3rd round pick (79th overall) in 2013. He’s 6’1 191lbs and plays for Frolunda HC in the Swedish Elite league. He has 13 goals and 23 assists in 53 games with Frolunda.
Trade Analysis
The Stars get 2 prospects who have chance to play in Dallas in the next year or two. Some insiders had predicted the Stars would get a 2nd round pick for Cole. However, it turns out they could legitimately end up with 4 roster players for Cole. It will be difficult for Stars fans to root for the Red Wings, but this was a nice trade by Jim Nill.
Oh and let’s not forget, Cole could always turnaround and re-sign with Dallas next season. I’m expecting tomorrow to be a fairly quiet day for the Stars, but you never know. Most likely they will move veteran center Shawn Horcoff for a prospect for pick.
