NHL rejects ‘ultra-complicated’ Derick Brassard trade
By Dave Lambert
The NHL has rejected the complicated trade sending Derick Brassard to Pittsburgh. But sources are still confident it will be completed – eventually.
A trade was worked out taking Derick Brassard to the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the trade deadline.
But after reporters had originally broken the news, it was speculated that the deal was more complicated than first thought.
It was actually revealed to be a three-team deal, also involving the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
But due to the complicated nature of the trade, it has now been rejected by the NHL.
The league says the trade must be restructured before it would be allowed. But journalists and insiders have tweeted saying they still expect the deal to go ahead.
Source involved in the deal says he's confident the deal will still get done...
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 23, 2018
The nature of the restructuring required is a complete mystery. This is because the full details of the deal itself never came to light.
Here’s what we do know so far. The Pittsburgh Penguins were set to give up netminding prospect Filip Gustavsson, defenseman Ian Cole and a first round pick. In return, they were going to receive Ottawa Senators center Derick Brassard, giving them enviable depth down the middle alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
The complications start with the introduction of a third team, believed to be the Golden Knights.
It is rumoredthat the trade would involve sending Brassard to Las Vegas first. It appears that the idea behind this would be to allow both Vegas and Ottawa to retain salary on and massively reduce Derick Brassard’s cap hit.
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There has been no indication yet what Vegas will get in return for its part in the trade.
TSN analyst Bob McKenzie called the deal: “Ultra-complicated.”
PIT-OTT deal involving Brassard is ultra-complicated, so much so that Brassard will likely first be traded to a team other than PIT. Then flipped to PIT. Hearing that third team is likely VGK. Potential for layers of salary retention.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 23, 2018
It remains to be seen how the three teams will re-work the trade to make sure it is approved by the NHL. But confidence appears to be high that it will still go through eventually.