Winners and Losers of the Thomas Vanek/Matt Moulson Trade

The first big trade of the NHL season occurred this Sunday, as the rebuilding Buffalo Sabres cut ties with star winger Thomas Vanek, sending him to the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Matt Moulson, a 2014 1st round pick, and a 2015 2nd round pick. This trade is a bold move for the Islanders, who are currently playing .500 hockey, and clearly wanted to make an upgrade to get them over the hump. Vanek is definitely an upgrade over Moulson, but is that upgrade worth a first AND second round pick? I suppose only time will tell.

Here are the Winners and Losers of this blockbuster deal:

Winners

Buffalo Sabres

Oh boy, did the Buffalo Sabres make out well here. Not only did they get that first round pick they were looking for, they managed to get a second round pick in the deal, not to mention a four-time 30-goal scorer. If Buffalo wants to flip Moulson, they could most likely get a second round pick out of him. That means that they would have essentially traded Vanek for a first and two seconds. Just, wow.

John Tavares

People have been saying for years that if Tavares played with a legit star winger it would not only help him, but it would help boost the Islanders into contenders. Tavares will now most likely be playing with Vanek, and that duo could be lethal. Congrats, JT.

Thomas Vanek

Thomas Vanek will now be playing with one of the best centers in the league, which will be the complete opposite of who we was working with in Buffalo. Although Vanek surely had built a strong relationship with Buffalo, having spent his whole career there until now, this will help the money he gets in the off-season (He’s an unrestricted free-agent come seasons end), and his career in general.

NHL fans

Anyone who loves watching the sport of hockey in general will be excited to watch a pairing of John Tavares and Thomas Vanek. Tavares will still be dishing it to number 26, it will just be with the name “Vanek” on the back. And minus the shaggy hair cut.

Losers

Matt Moulson

To put it plainly, this sucks for Matt Moulson. Not only was he playing with one of the best players in the league on a team whose fanbase had grown to love him, he was entering an off-season that was supposed to give him somewhat of a raise. Now, he’s on a piss-poor Buffalo team, and the team that helped turn his career around are the ones who traded him.

New York Islanders

Yes, I have said good things about how the deal could work out for the Islanders, but they just flat-out overpaid. Giving up not only a first round pick but a second, for just an upgrade to a position that didn’t need filling is highly questionable. If the Islanders wanted to make a splash, they should have traded the picks for a capable goaltender or defenseman.

Current Buffalo Sabres fans

Watching the Sabres team this season probably isn’t a good idea. I love what the team has done as far as looking towards the future, but the team right now, and probably next year, is very ugly. Plus, this makes Steve Ott the sole captain of an NHL team. Like I said, skip Sabres games at all costs. Sorry, Sabres fans.

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