Pucks In Depth: Phaneuf, Byfuglien and Blandisi
Dion Phaneuf
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KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE, ENEMIES CLOSER

Last Tuesday the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators shockingly came to terms on a nine-player deal that saw Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, among others, head to Ottawa in exchange for a few bad contracts, Tobias Lindberg and a draft pick.

Now that I’ve had time to fully digest the deal I offer a few thoughts:

1) Both teams got what they wanted out of the deal but I think Toronto gained a lot more value on their side. Phaneuf is already overpaid and, as each year passes, his long-term deal will look worse and worse. By the time the Leafs will be competitive, his contract will be an absolute black hole on the cap and something that could have held them back from getting where they want to go. The Leafs needed to get rid of Phaneuf’s contract and they managed to do so without retaining any salary. This gives them a lot of long-term cap flexibility moving forward.

2) Lindberg is not a Grade A prospect but he’s far from just a throw-in. His production as a 20-year-old in the AHL has been very promising and better than the likes of some very highly touted prospects.

There’s a very real chance he becomes an NHL regular down the road.

3) From Ottawa’s perspective, I get why they did the deal. They desperately wanted to improve their defense and adding Phaneuf does that. I mean, Jared Cowen hasn’t even been serviceable the last couple years and Phaneuf is still a mid-pairing guy.

Down the road when Phaneuf’s play really starts to fall off, his contract will look truly horrific but over the next couple seasons the Sens will be a better team with Phaneuf in the fold. This is a pretty shortsighted move by the Sens, but I understand why they did it.

BETTING BIG ON BIG BUFF

The Winnipeg Jets recently took care of a big piece of house keeping signing defenseman Dustin Byfuglien to a five-year extension worth $7.6 million per season.

On the surface that seems like a lot of money – it is, really – but Byfuglien is worth it as he has a combination of size, strength, speed and skill that you rarely find in a player.

By all measurements the Jets are a significantly better team with Byfuglien than without him, so he’s certainly a guy they needed to keep around.

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The Jets paid a pretty penny to retain Byfuglien but, as a result, they were able to keep the term somewhat short. That’s very important as, when Big Buff’s play really starts to decline in his mid 30’s, the Jets won’t be committed to paying him big money.

In other words, the Jets are paying a premium for him while he is a great player so they don’t have to pay him when he’s, well, not.

I think this is a good bit of business.

LOU’S PARTING GIFT

Lou Lamoriello made a lot of good moves as GM of the New Jersey Devils.

They came a little less frequently towards the end of his time in New Jersey, however, the last signing he ever made – giving Joseph Blandisi a three-year entry-level deal – while running the Devils looks to be a very good one.

It didn’t seem like a move of significance at the time, although I thought Blandisi would become an NHL player, but fast forward a little more than a year and Blandisi is skating on the top line of a team that currently sits in a playoff spot.

It took him a few games to adjust to the NHL game but he seems to have figured it out as he’s tallied 11 points in his last 12 games and has looked very good in the process.

What’s most impressive about Blandisi is that, on top of putting up points, the Devils have been a much better team with him on the ice. Their possession numbers, scoring chance differential and goals for percentage are all higher with No. 64 on the ice.

Having played just 18 games the sample size isn’t large, obviously, but the future certainly looks bright for the 21-year-old.

Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.