The Dallas Stars traded Lauri Korpikoski to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the NHL trade deadline. Columbus is solidifying their depth for this year’s playoff run. Korpikoski is a winger who consistently makes smart decisions to help further his team’s success. However, he is not offensively proficient therefore opposing teams do not view him as a scoring threat.
The Dallas Stars trade Lauri Korpikoski to Columbus Blue Jackets
Korpikoski’s value is his speed and intelligence. He utilizes his speed to match up against slow skaters to cancel out their effectiveness on defense. His ability to play all three forward positions and kill penalties is also very valuable down the stretch. All those attributes make him a good pickup for Columbus.
Lauri Korpikoski is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of 2018. Therefore, Columbus will still have him under contract until next year. He is 30 years old, so Columbus hopes to get the last of his effective years in the NHL.
Korpikoski’s statistics do not reflect how good he is playing this year. He has only managed 20 total points in 60 games for Dallas. The Stars have been going through a down year so their player’s stats reflect that.
Columbus will utilize his skills in various ways to fit their system. There is always a need to improve penalty killing, Korpikoski helps there. He will be a bottom six forward and contribute more for the Blue Jackets then he did with Dallas. Columbus also plays very fast paced, so that fits his skill set as well.
In return, Dallas gets back defenseman Dillon Heatherington. He is currently in the minors but should be an asset in the future. Heatherington is very young and has shutdown potential. He plays a very physical game which can bode well for Dallas. Dallas needs to fortify their defense and acquiring Heaterington can help immensely.
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