The Florida Panthers have agreed to trade centre Derick Brassard and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2020 to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a third-round draft pick in 2020. If the Avalanche re-sign Brassard they will forfeit the sixth round pick. If they do not re-sign Brassard, they will get the pick.
Brassard to Colorado for a third, sounds like
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 25, 2019
The full deal: Brassard and a conditional sixth RD pick in 2020 to Colorado in exchange for a third-round pick in 2020. If Brassard re-signs with Colorado, the Avs no longer get the sixth-round pick from Florida.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 25, 2019
Panthers Trade Derick Brassard to the Avalanche
The Panthers completed a trade Monday with the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche acquire 31-year-old centre Derick Brassard and a conditional pick in exchange for a third-round draft pick.
Key Players
In Brassard, the Avalanche get a solid depth center who has a lot of regular season and Stanley Cup Playoff experience under his belt. This season, he has scored 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points, adding 31 minutes in penalties in 50 games played, split between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers. His possession numbers are 44.8 percent Corsi-For and a relative Corsi of -5.8 this season. Those totals are well down compared to last season, where he scored 21 goals, 25 assists for 46 points. Over his 12-year NHL career, Brassard has played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Florida Panthers. In that time, he has 172 goals and 275 assists for 447 career points in 766 career games. He was originally drafted sixth overall of the 2006 NHL draft by the Blue Jackets.
What This Means for the Future
Brassard joined his third team this season after being traded from Pittsburgh to Florida on February 1st. Once he was acquired by the Panthers there seemed to be talk that the Panthers had plans on flipping him. This makes sense for the Panthers as they are currently in the midst of a rebuild. The 31-year-old center is in the final year of a five-year, $25 million deal and will become a UFA at the end of the season.
Brassard heads to Colorado who are fighting for a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference. They are hoping that he can provide some secondary scoring, an issue that they have had all season. The Avalanche have high-end talent and one of the best lines in hockey (when together) but have been searching for depth for some time.
The Panthers were in Denver preparing for a game against the Avalanche tonight. Brassard goes down the hallway to the home dressing room and will face his old team.
