Gaborik's Move to Columbus Tops NHL Trade Deadline Day

The trade deadline in the National Hockey League has passed for another season. Of the 16 deals which were done, one really stands out: Marian Gaborik (pictured), who spent several years in the Midwest toiling for the Minnesota Wild before heading for the bright lights of Broadway as a free agent, is back in the hinterlands again after being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This deal makes sense from the angle that the two teams have now managed to exchange critical players. It wasn’t that long ago — last July, actually — when Columbus sent their franchise player, Rick Nash, to the Rangers (along with defenceman Steven Delisle and a conditional third-round pick) for forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov, defenceman Tim Erixon and the Rangers’ first-round choice in the 2013 draft. Now New York has sort of returned the favour, sending a top scorer to the Blue Jackets in exchange for forwards Derick Brassard and Derek Dorsett, along with defenceman John Moore.

The deal has the fingerprints of team president John Davidson all over it. A former player and general manager, Davidson is widely seen as the executive who reversed the fortunes of the St. Louis Blues. It’s also an impact deal for rookie general manager Jarmo Kekelainen, who took over in mid-season for Scott Howson and has now put his stamp on a team which is bucking for a playoff spot.

What’s really interesting about this is that for the entire length of their existence, the Blue Jackets have been an afterthought on Deadline Day: always a seller, never a buyer. This move has given a clear signal to its rivals that Columbus, in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and a single point away from a playoff spot, will be fighting tooth and nail to get to the post-season.

They started the year with a move that appeared questionable at the time and now looks like a stroke of genius: Columbus traded a second- and fourth-round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for Sergei Bobrovsky. All that Goalie Bob has done is stabilize the net, long a trouble spot for the Jackets. Now they have a bona fide scorer in Gaborik who has tallied 40 or more goals in two of the last three seasons.

So far, the trade has also worked out really well for the Rangers. Brassard, who had become a forgotten man in Columbus with seven goals and 18 points in 34 games this season, teamed up with another Rangers acquisition, former Shark Ryane Clowe, to form a deadly power-play unit. Through two periods Brassard had a goal and two assists, all with the man advantage, as the Blueshirts were dismantling the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 5-1 after 40 minutes. Needless to say, the Blue Jackets brain trust would be extremely happy if they get similar production from Gaborik.

UPDATE: Brassard ended up with four points in his Broadway debut, and even defenceman Moore scored a goal as the Rangers gutted the Penguins by a final score of 6-1.