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Good morning to everyone who’s still following hockey in late July. Let’s look back on the third anniversary of the trade that shifted the balance of power in the league. Let’s get to it.

The trade that changed everything

Where were you when the Matthew Tkachuk trade news dropped, three years ago this week? And do you remember your reaction when you heard all the names involved?

I’ll be honest with you: My first reaction was that the Flames had made out like bandits. And I know I’m not alone.

That view, as the kids like to say, has not aged well. But let’s remember the context – Tkachuk had just blindsided the Flames with what amounted to a trade demand, flexing his leverage by announcing that he wouldn’t sign an extension in Calgary. That meant Flames GM Brad Treliving had to scramble and, we assumed, take whatever he could get from whichever teams Tkachuk was interested in committing to.

At the time, we had a list of seven teams we thought would make sense. If you go back and look at that piece now, two things stand out. First, the Panthers aren’t on it because they weren’t viewed as a serious landing spot. And maybe more interestingly, the proposed offers that the piece explores don’t hold a candle to what Florida eventually gave up.

If anything, the return was jaw-dropping. Tkachuk was coming off a breakthrough season in which he finished eighth in league scoring. But in return for his rights, the Flames got the league’s second-leading scorer, Jonathan Huberdeau. That felt like a fairly even swap on its own, but Calgary also got MacKenzie Weegar, a guy on everyone’s list of underrated defensemen, as well as a first-round pick and a prospect.

  • Trivia time 💡: Tkachuk and Huberdeau were not the only players who finished in the top 10 in points in 2021-22 that have since switched teams. How many others can you name?

It was a stunning deal. And even if you didn’t think the Flames won it, you had to at least admit they did way better than anyone thought they could. We had five writers grade the trade, and all five gave Calgary a better mark than Florida. Two gave the Flames an A+.

Three years later, it doesn’t feel like an A+ trade in Calgary anymore. In fact, knowing what we know now, you could make the case for it being the most lopsided deal of the cap era.

So what happened? Two things, really, both of which we didn’t see coming at the time but maybe should have. The first is that Tkachuk was a perfect fit in Florida, and turned out to be the final piece in a championship puzzle. It didn’t seem that way at first – that first season was closer than you might think to being a disaster – but flags fly forever. And the other factor was that Treliving and the Flames immediately fell into the dreaded Shiny New Toy trap, giving Weegar and (especially) Huberdeau big new contracts. Weegar’s has maybe aged OK, but Huberdeau’s production has plummeted in Calgary, and his contract may now be the NHL’s worst. Oh, and the Flames haven’t made the playoffs in the three years since.

So sure, chalk the trade up as a huge win for the Panthers, and a disaster for the Flames. Just don’t pretend that you knew it at the time. Because if you did, you were one of the only ones.

Must-read: Be sure to go back and revisit Julian McKenzie’s piece from 2022, the definitive look at how the trade came to be.

Coast to Coast

📺 The broadcast rankings are in, and we’ve got an Original Six team at both ends of the 32-team list.

🚨 We all love a good re-draft, and Scott Wheeler takes a crack at the 2022 list. Oh cool, Montreal has the first overall pick and doesn’t take either Juraj Slafkovsky or Lane Hutson, I’m sure their fans will be very chill about this.

🏒 Just how concerned should you be about your team’s offseason so far? Shayna Goldman weighs in on some of the situations popping up around the league. Leafs and Oilers fans, worried yet?

🔥 Finally, this week saw our ranking of every team’s best and worst jerseys, and hoo boy, did that get the comment section going. People feel very strongly about this topic, which is weird because you wouldn’t think there’d be anything to debate when it comes to best jerseys (whatever your team wore in 1992-93).

A slow offseason, by the numbers

If this has felt like a lazy summer, even by NHL standards, you’re not wrong. Despite a rising cap – or maybe even because of a rising cap – it’s fair to say that it’s been a very slow offseason, especially over the last few weeks.

How slow? Well, as of today, it has been:

  • 7 days since the last trade (Dakota Joshua to the Leafs for a pick)
  • 11 days since the last trade involving players on both sides (Arturs Silovs to the Penguins for a pick and prospect Chase Stillman)
  • 14 days since the last trade involving NHL players on both sides (if you count Vladislav Kolyachonok, who was traded in the Matt Dumba salary dump)
  • 2 days since the last signing worth more than a $1 million AAV (Kaapo Kakko re-signing in Seattle; you’d have to go six days back to find the next, which was Gabe Vilardi)
  • 13 days since the last UFA to sign with a new team on a deal worth more than $1 million AAV (Jeff Skinner to the Sharks)
  • 21 days since the last UFA to sign with a new team on a multiyear deal worth more than $1 million AAV (Nik Ehlers to the Hurricanes)
  • 15 minutes since the last time you heard an insider say that things were going to start heating up any time now…

But then again, you say wisely, big moves just don’t happen in late July. You fool, I reply, having lured you into my trap. Big moves at this time of year are rare, sure, but they do happen.

Your trivia answer

In addition to Matthew Tkachuk and Jonathan Huberdeau, four other players from 2021-22’s top 10 points list have since moved to new teams. That list includes Johnny Gaudreau, who tied with Huberdeau for second spot with 115 points before heading to Columbus in free agency, as well as Steven Stamkos (who was tied for sixth), J.T. Miller (ninth) and Mitch Marner (tenth).

The only players from the top 10 who haven’t moved are leader Connor McDavid, plus Leon Draisaitl, Kirill Kaprizov and Auston Matthews.

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(Photo of Matthew Tkachuk: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)