The Dallas Stars trade with the Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon is a wonderful lesson in how the world of negotiations works.
It's not as simple as "our needs fit your needs, so let's make this quick swap." Trades, particularly ones involving key pieces of a franchise, are usually in the works for quite a long time before anything comes to fruition.
That, apparently, is exactly what happened in this deal that saw the Stars receive Derek Roy for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. Sabres general manager Darcy Regier admitted as much Monday afternoon.
"It didn't just start up in the last week or two, it's been in the works," Regier said. "And at times I didn't want to pull a trigger on a trade we talked about, or Joe didn't want to pull the trigger on a trade we talked about - either the timing wasn't right or the people weren't."
So the next time you feel compelled to scream "do something!" at the executives of your nearest favorite sports team, keep in mind they might be trying to do just that. You just probably won't know until all the details are ironed out.
After the jump, lots of reaction to the trade, Mac Engel doesn't understand and a goodbye from Steve Ott.
- To start, an incredibly prophetic piece from Mike Heika, who captured the mixed emotions of moving on from a group of players like Steve Ott, Mike Ribeiro and Adam Burish while trying to continue on forward. This was obviously written before the Ott trade, but it still fits pretty well. [DallasNews.com]
- And Ott has some bittersweet parting words as he remembers growing from a 150-pound first-round draft pick to the master of irritainment he is today with the Stars. [Buffalo News]
- A couple pieces from our friends over at Die By The Blade. The first is their initial post about the trade. First of all, I'd balk a little bit at their description of Ott as "slightly talented." I suspect they will appreciate his skills that go far beyond the agitation over time. But the other interesting thing is the comments section, where their fan reaction also seems to be mixed. [Die By The Blade]
- The other is this piece about Roy and the disassembling of a core that didn't work for a variety of reasons. That should be a familiar storyline to Stars fans. [Die By The Blade]
- In terms of summarizing what the team gained and lost from the move, I think this was the most complete non-DBD article out there, at least in terms of the immediate aftermath. [The Hockey Writers]
- I will note here that by flipping Ott for Roy, the Stars got exactly nine months younger (though in reality, the flip is Ribeiro for Roy and Ott and Pardy for Eakin and a second, at least when you prioritize where they'll play). And at 29, Ott is still well within a window where he could be expected to contribute for another 3-4 years at his current level. So while I get the trade, this wasn't about getting younger or opening up roles for younger players, at least in my opinion. This was about filling a hole they created because they decided someone else wasn't worth the trouble. You can debate the merits of that till the cows come home. [ESPN Dallas]
- All that said, if Roy can come back from a nasty quad injury, he could be the answer to fill the offensive hole left by Ribeiro, and the Stars feel that injury is behind him. [DallasNews.com]
- Mac Engel remains confused by the Stars offseason plan. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- The best free agent in this market, and that's not saying much, went off the board Monday as Olli Jokinen agreed to a two-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets. [ESPN]
- On the biggest free agent fish front, still no news. Are you really that surprised? [Associated Press]
- And in the "Big-Name Goalies Are Getting Expensive" news of the day, Carey Price got a six-year, $6.5 million per extension from the Montreal Canadiens. [National Post]
- Instead of video today, I will leave you with these screenshots from Ott's Twitter.
