5 NHL trades we would love to see this offseason
1. Mark Stone heads to Colorado
COL gets: F Mark Stone (immediately gets an extension)
OTT gets: 2019 first round pick (OTT), D Tyson Barrie
Why the Avalanche should do it: The Colorado Avalanche should be complete jerks and offer sheet Mark Stone. Fun things don’t happen very often in the offseason and an offer sheet would immediately make the 2018 offseason one of the most memorable summers in NHL history.
But there’s a problem. Mark Stone might have no interest in signing one. Would you want to sign an offer sheet and risk having to stay in Ottawa long-term? I wouldn’t. This trade provides an alternate avenue for the Avalanche to acquire an elite two-way NHL forward in Stone.
Barrie has been in trade rumors for the past few seasons. He’s a really good defenseman, but he just doesn’t seem to fit in Colorado. This makes Barrie a valuable trade chip. The Avalanche could leverage an offer sheet against Ottawa, with the Senators likely being willing to negotiate a trade.
Why the Senators should do it: There’s enough humiliating stuff going around in Ottawa these days. Adding “we traded the first overall pick in 2019 for Matt Duchene” to the list would cause chaos across the Senators organization. This trade would allow them to recoup that pick and add a valuable defenseman in Barrie.
The 2019 first-round pick probably isn’t enough to get the Senators to listen. Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me if Ottawa has Joe Sakic’s number blocked. But on the off-chance that it’s not, this trade gives both sides what they want. Except for a new owner. Sorry, Ottawa.