Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland has acquired speedy forward Andreas Athanasiou from Holland's former team, the Detroit Red Wings.
The Wings get forward Sam Gagner and second-round picks in the 2020 and 2021 drafts. Detroit also sends left wing Ryan Kuffner to Edmonton.
Oilers get: F Andreas Athanasiou, F Ryan Kuffner
Red Wings get: 2020 second-round pick, 2021 second-round pick, F Sam Gagner
Edmonton Oilers: B+
It's sometimes hard to evaluate a player from a severely underperforming team. The Red Wings are historically bad. So nobody in the NHL is judging Athanasiou's league-worst minus-45 too harshly. Or, rather, as harshly as it looks. What we've seen from Athanasiou over the past few seasons is this: a player who has elite speed, good skill and strong finish, but plays poorly away from the puck.
The Oilers hope that moving from the NHL's worst team to a squad featuring Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can bring out the best in Athanasiou. He will get a good look on McDavid's wing. Athanasiou can keep up with McDavid, no doubt, but the questions are: Can the two players complement each other? Can Athanasiou be a long-term answer there? He is a restricted free agent this summer, so this short audition could have big implications on where his career goes from here. Given that the Oilers gave up two second-round picks for Athanasiou, they're invested in his success. They'll give him every opportunity to succeed.
Athanasiou scored 30 goals last season, and the Oilers' front office certainly knows him well. Holland drafted Athanasiou in the fourth round in 2012 and oversaw his development up until Holland left the Red Wings organization this summer.
One criticism of Athanasiou is that he likes to hold on to the puck. That's not necessarily bad, but McDavid also likes the puck, and, of course, is far more effective with it. Athanasiou will need to alter his game if he's going to mesh with the best young player in the game.
Big picture: Holland is looking for long-term success, but also is trying really hard for this team to make the playoffs this season. And to do it, he's going with what he knows. After acquiring Mike Green late Sunday night, it's Holland's second deal with his former franchise. The two second-round draft picks are a fair price.
Detroit Red Wings: B+
When Steve Yzerman took over as GM of his old team, he knew that it was going to be a project. This team was devoid of top-end talent (Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha being the only exceptions) and depth. The Wings had been saddled with bloated, aging contracts for a while. Yzerman has been careful not to publicly assign any timeline of when he thinks Detroit can win a Stanley Cup, let alone be competitive again.
Athanasiou is a player who had a ton of promise and should have been part of the long-term solution, but it's not too surprising that Yzerman was willing to cut bait. Athanasiou is an RFA this summer and will be due for a new contract. Yes, the Red Wings will finally get some cap space, but Yzerman is trying to build things his way. And that means starting fresh. The two second-round picks are far more important to Detroit right now. The Red Wings have 11 draft picks in the first three rounds over the next two years. Yzerman's staple in Tampa Bay was a draft-and-develop model. He now has more tools to achieve that.
Gagner, on an expiring contract, isn't much of a factor here. He has 12 points in 36 games, and as the Red Wings look to build from scratch, it's hard to see him being anything other than a warm body for the rest of the season.
Kuffner was a coveted college free-agent signing last spring. Our Chris Peters recently saw him playing for the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins and said, "While he has some solid skills, he's still working on catching up to the pro pace. His skating needs to improve to have a chance at reaching the NHL again after a 10-game stint with Detroit at the end of last season." Peters doesn't view Kuffner as a long-term NHL option, and again: He's not a guy Yzerman signed. The new GM wants to put his own stamp on this team.