Pittsburgh Penguins get: Center Derick Brassard, Center Vincent Dunn, right wing Tobias Lindberg, 2018 third-round pick
Ottawa Senators get: Goalie Filip Gustavsson, defenseman Ian Cole, 2018 first-round pick, 2019 third-round pick
Vegas Golden Knights get: Ryan Reaves, 2018 fourth-round pick
Follow all the trade deadline action here.
Pittsburgh Penguins: A-minus
These Penguins always seem to get a deal done right before the deadline, and this one makes a ton of sense. Brassard will plug in as Pittsburgh's third-line center, alongside Jake Guentzel and Phil Kessel, bumping Riley Sheahan to the fourth line. The Penguins are certainly familiar with Derick Brassard from his four seasons with the Rangers; he has also faced them in the playoffs in each of the past four seasons, including last year's seven-game Eastern Conference finals. For his career, Brassard has 20 points in 23 games against Pittsburgh.
But this is really about Pittsburgh adding reinforcements at center. Bottom-six depth is where they were hit hardest after their latest Stanley Cup, as they lost both Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen as free agents last summer. The biggest hurdle for the Penguins to making a deal was cap space; with just $1.65 available, general manager Jim Rutherford had to get creative. Finagling Brassard's $5 million cap hit into the roster might go down as a signature Rutherfordian move. He didn't have to part with prized youngster Daniel Sprong, nor winger Conor Sheary ($3 million cap hit) to make the financials work. The first-rounder the Penguins surrendered likely accounts for the fact that Brassard isn't just a rental; his contract runs through the 2018-19 season.
A big loss here is defenseman Ian Cole. Even though the impending unrestricted free agent was being shopped earlier this season, his sturdy presence on Pittsburgh's blue line cannot be understated. And, of course, there's Cole's grit: 114 blocked shots over his past two playoffs. Ryan Reaves never felt like a natural fit in Pittsburgh; they won two-straight Cups without an enforcer, so why the sudden need?
As the Penguins appear to be gearing up for another long playoff run, let's note that Brassard has postseason experience (78 career postseason games) and has been clutch (22 goals, including four game winners, and 33 assists. He was, however, limited to a goal and an assist in the seven-game Eastern Conference finals series against Pittsburgh last season.
For Pittsburgh, the goal is to maximize the Cup window of its two aging centerpieces: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins' top three lines might now be the most feared in the league, as far as matchups go. Losing goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson isn't huge problem for the Penguins, who have a 23-year-old starter in Matt Murray and a 22-year-old up-and-comer in Tristan Jarry, who already has proved himself capable at the NHL level.
Ottawa Senators: B-plus
We know Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk and his team are poised to be big sellers this season, and Brassard is reportedly the player they shopped the hardest. There was pressure to get a good return here; Brassard has another full season remaining on his contract, and he is one of the few (if only) top-six quality centers available on the market, meaning there definitely would be takers.
There's no way the Senators could have dealt Brassard without at least securing a first-round pick in return, so that's a start. Ottawa had previously traded away its 2018 first-round pick, as part of the Matt Duchene trade, so this recoups that loss. The Senators still don't have a second-round pick this year, but that could very well come before Monday's 5 p.m. ET deadline.
Cole, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, is most likely going to be flipped -- and, depending on the return there, we might be tempted to bump this trade grade up. Contenders should certainly be interested in Cole's services. Gustavsson, who is currently playing in Sweden and who was named the top goalie of the 2018 World Juniors Championships, is an excellent goaltending prospect. Brassard never fully lived up to expectations with the Senators (he had 14 goals in 81 games in 2016-17 and 18 goals in 58 games this season), and it always felt like the Rangers got the better end of that deal, picking up the younger and more dynamic Mika Zibanejad. Nonetheless, Brassard was a dependable player who likely would have logged some meaningless minutes over the next season and a half as the Senators commit to a full rebuild.
Vegas Golden Knights: D
Vegas GM George McPhee had a calculated plan -- make the playoffs in three years, contend for the Stanley Cup in six -- which would be executed by building slowly and from within, stockpiling draft picks and young players. That should have made Vegas sellers at this trade deadline. Obviously, the plan has been derailed now that the Golden Knights are not just good, they're contending. This trade, however, doesn't make a ton of sense -- unless it's the precursor for a larger one (perhaps landing Ian Cole?).
Vegas already has collected a ton of draft capita -- highlighted by six second-round picks combined in 2019 and 2020 -- so the fourth-rounder is nice, but also a luxury. If the Golden Knights are going to be buyers this deadline, their priorities should be depth scoring or an elite defenseman. Reaves, who has eight points (four goals, four assists) in 58 games this season, is neither of those. He also is averaging only 6:45 minutes of ice time this season. One of the things that has made Vegas so successful is that it rolls four lines out regularly.
Vegas assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon drafted and coached Reaves in junior hockey, so there's some history there. Jumping in the trade just for Reaves -- while retaining 40 percent of Brassard's salary -- feels unnecessary and incomplete. There has to be a corresponding move. If there is, and if it make sense, we'll consider a regrade.