Derick Brassard Learned of Trade From Awkward Martin St. Louis Text

The New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators made a late summer splash when they swapped Derick Brassard and Mika Zibanejad. Those deals often come together and details leak out before the players even know about it. That was the case with this trade.

Brassard tells Chris Stevenson of NHL.com that he discovered he had been traded from a confusing Martin St. Louis text.

“I think Ottawa is an up-and-coming team,” St. Louis wrote Brassard. “I think it’s going to be good for you.”

The text was met with utter confusion. “I was like, ‘What is he talking about?’ After that, my phone started blowing up,” says Brassard.

Brassard, who will be 29 before the start of the season, met the media in Ottawa this week, pulling the Sens jersey over his head for the first time.

Newest #Sens forward looking good in his new threads. pic.twitter.com/6exVCaMw1b

— Sens communications (@Media_Sens) August 12, 2016

“Playing in front of my friends and family is going to give me another edge to my game,” he said. “I think I’m in the prime of my career right now and I think that’s one of the reasons [the Senators] came to get me. I want to show everyone they made a good choice.”