Columbus Blue Jackets get: D Ian Cole
Ottawa Senators get: C Nick Moutrey, 2020 third-round pick
Follow all the trade deadline action here.
Click here for all of the trade grades ahead of the 2017-18 deadline.
Columbus Blue Jackets: A-
The Blue Jackets are a team that has been on the verge of being great during the past two seasons, but they can't seem to get over the hump. As they prepare for what they hope is a long postseason run, Cole is a terrific addition. He also safeguards the Jackets if they choose to move Jack Johnson before the deadline (which now seems more likely).
He has played in 56 career playoff games, and his experience in the Penguins' back-to-back Cup runs is invaluable. He also adds a level of grit. He recorded 114 blocked shots in those past two playoff runs. Cole was beloved by teammates in Pittsburgh, and we think he's the type of player that would fit in well under coach John Tortorella.
Columbus really didn't give up much at all here. A third-round pick isn't a huge loss, and the fact that pick doesn't come for another three drafts is especially attractive for GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who was hired five years ago and needs to start seeing results soon.
Ottawa Senators: C
As soon as Ian Cole landed in Ottawa, it was clear the plan was for the Senators to flip him before the deadline. So this comes at no surprise.
The price, however, does.
There are few reliable, let alone top-end, defenseman on the market this year. The Canucks locked in Erik Gudbranson to an extension a week before the deadline. Detroit's Mike Green is seen more as an offensive weapon at this stage in his career. The Rangers captain, Ryan McDonagh, is available (with term left on his contract), but would come at a high price. And Erik Karlsson -- well, it will take a haul to move him anywhere.
That makes Cole, a dependable blue-liner with significant postseason experience, a commodity. We think Ottawa could have commanded more in this deal.
A third-round pick in 2020 is helpful in the long-term rebuild. It's going to take some time for Ottawa to see the return on that. Nick Moutrey, 22, is a decent prospect, but he's spent the past three seasons in the AHL, and honestly, he might not be much more than a body. (That said, with Ottawa full-on cleaning house, he could be a third or fourth-line center in the near future.)