For the second year in a row, Darcy Regier has made a blockbuster trade with the Buffalo Sabres future in mind.
This time around, it was time for the current Sabres captain Jason Pominville to be shipped out of town.
Min/Buf trade: Sabres send Jason Pominville and a 4th in ’14 to the Wild for Johan Larsson, Matt Hackett a 1st in ’13 and a 2nd in ’14.
— Gord Miller (@GMillerTSN) April 3, 2013
After almost 12 years with the Sabres organization, Pominville will suit up for another hockey team for the first time in his NHL career.
Following the trade, Sabres general manager Darcy Regier stated that this deal came together quite quick.
“The first time I was contacted by Minnesota was three weeks ago,” Regier said. “Then I hadn’t heard from them until last night, when (Wild GM) Chuck Fletcher called and said he wanted to focus in on acquiring Jason.”
Coming back to Buffalo are two highly touted prospects, along with two draft picks.
The two picks the Sabres acquired are the Wild’s 2013 1st round pick and 2014 2nd round pick. According to Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Michael Russo, this is the first time in franchise history that the Wild have traded their first pick.
Bryan Reynolds of HockeyWilderness.com, a Wild blog, says “Jhonas Larsson was being developed as the number two center. The fans in Buffalo will love his game.” On Twitter, Kris Baker of SabresProspects.com added in, “Larsson is a hard working center, excellent all-around skills. Thick frame, really nice offensive upside.”
When speaking of Matt Hackett, Reynolds said, “Hackett is a potential number one in the NHL. He is a very solid goalie and could be a starter in the NHL for a long time.” According to The Goalie Guild, Hackett is a “great prospect, NHL-ready (backup), with good athleticism, decent frame, some flair to his game, good instincts.”
Finally, Reynolds went on to say that “Larsson should be the one you are most excited about, but he is also the one who needs the most time. The upside is huge with Larsson.”
Darcy Regier says both Larsson and Hackett will report to Rochester.
This trade begins to push the Sabres in a direction of rebuilding, although Regier refuses to call it that.
“I’m not going to use the “R” word,” Regier said. “But it allows us to draft and develop players and build the organization.”
We don’t know how well these trades will work out but it doesn’t hurt to see what kind of haul Darcy Regier got.
Traded:
D TJ Brennan
D Jordan Leopold
D Robyn Regehr
F Jason Pominville
Acquired:
2013 5th Round Pick
2013 2nd Round Pick
2013 Conditional 5th Round Pick
2014 2nd Round Pick
2015 2nd Round Pick
2013 1st Round Pick
2014 2nd Round Pick
G Matt Hackett
F Johan Larsson
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