Lessons from the Gaborik Trade

Marion Gaborik back in his CBJ Days

There came a time in the history of the CBJ where it was thought that trading Marian Gaborik at the trade deadline was important because he was an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) at the end of the season.  It was considered important to get assets for him instead of taking a dead loss in free agency.  That was the thought.  We'll review the trade in a minute.  The unfortunate reality was that later that year, down a goal to the Penguins late in an elimination playoff game, the guys we had coming down the ice were not 'high danger' guys.  Good players, but not players you feared would wing the puck by you into the net before you could react.  Gaborik is a guy who could do that, but he was long gone, off to win a Stanley Cup with the LA Kings, because he winged the puck by guys a bunch of times in the playoffs.  Now he's dead weight on LA's salary cap, but would you exchange that for a Stanley Cup?  Every time. Errata:  LA unloaded Gaborik on Ottawa.  LOL.  But you get my point.

The point is, when the CBJ most needed a player of that ilk, we didn't have him because we were 'worried about losing him for nothing'.  Jarmo Kekalainen is a pretty astute man.  This lesson did not escape him at all.  Hence the concept of 'renting him to ourselves', a way of internalizing the cost versus the value.  Obviously, all of this has relevance to this year, as we look at possibly renting a couple of high value players to ourselves, potentially at great cost.

But what cost?  Here, looking at the Gaborik trade in depth makes sense.  In that regard I am indebted to Pale Dragon over on the Jackets Cannon who posted this  Ranking of Jarmo Trades.  I've been thinking of this post for awhile, but I was hung up because I couldn't remember exactly what the trade was.  Pale Dragon bailed me out on that regard.  And there is a thread in the comments on his article that flirts with what I am trying to get at here, so I wanted to take a moment to give credit where due.

According to Pale Dragon, we traded Marian Gaborik for Matt Frattin, a 2015 second round pick (Travis Dermott) and a 2014 3rd round pick (Dominic Turgeon).  You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy... Oh wait, wrong epic.  Anyway, Matt Frattin made it to the NHL for 135 games.  That's nothing to scoff at for any old hockey player growing up.  But as a significant piece of a trade for an aging top player?  Meh.  The other two pieces played zero role in the CBJ's efforts to become respectable.  So overall, it's fair to say we got nothing in the trade.  Except for the loss of a scoring threat when one might have been useful.

There were other issues with Gaborik.  CBJ management (JD and Jarmo) were distinctly unhappy with his apparent influence on Cam Atkinson.  The investment in Cam's future (hello Mr. All-Star!) may have made this a great trade in hockey ops balance sheet.  But Jarmo learned this lesson well, and he will be using the experience he gained with this lesson to make tough choices as the 2018-19 trade deadline approaches.

If you subtract Sergei Bobrovsky and Artemi Panarin from this team, you are certainly going to be looking at situations in the playoffs where their skills will be dearly missed.  Can their skills take you to a new level this year if you keep them?  Only 20-20 hindsight sees this clearly.

I sure hope the Breadman signs.  I love watching the dude play.  The lesson above says, if you aren't getting a large return, you keep him.  Matt Frattin, a second and a third, neither of whom panned out?  If you are going to come up empty, I'd rather take my chances in free agency with Panarin, and reap the benefits of what he will bring to the playoffs.

Bob is tougher.  But I think the market is bad, and you have to have goal tending if you want to do anything, so you keep him, and take your chances competing in free agency.  Likely he'll be gone.  But you have to have him if you want to make any noise.  And the pressure is on him to perform.

Summing up, the lesson from the Gaborik trade is that these guys are probably worth more to you than what you will be able to garner on the open market.  Trust your ability to convince them in free agency, and move forward with your sights on really making some noise in the playoffs.  It won't be easy.  This is high risk, high reward stuff.  But you just gotta take your shot when you can.  And now is that time for the CBJ.  It's going to be a fun finish to this season!!

GO JACKETS!!
GO MONSTERS!!

@gallosdbj