Here is a proposed trade that would have to be done pronto because of the status of one of the principles. The Winnipeg Jets send Ron Hainsey to the New York Islanders for Blake Comeau (RFA Hearing August 4th), a conditional pick and the rights to Kirill Petrov.
Why the Islanders do it: They need a durable D that can play big minutes while their youth on D matures. Hainsey can play those big minutes and has only missed 3 NHL games to injury in 8 seasons. Last season no Islander D played in 65 games so his ability to play the L or R side would come in handy. He was a +3 over 82 games on a porous Atlanta team last season and spent only 24 minutes in the penalty box. He looks like a great fit on the Island.
New York has an issue being $5,949,834 below the cap for next season and the UFA pool doesn't give them any serious options. Hainsey is a 4.5 million cap hit for the next two seasons with a salary of 5 million in year one and 3 million in year two. Hainsey would have to agree to the trade since he has a no-trade clause, but given his reduced role in Winnipeg as well as the chance to be a top four D-man again, he may not have a better opportunity.
Ron Hainsey Age: 30 Date of birth: March 24, 1981 Place of birth: Bolton, CT Ht: 6-3 Wt: 210 Shoots: Left. Salary: $5,000,000 NHL Seasons: 8 Drafted by Montreal in 2000 (1/13).
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1997-98 | U.S. Junior National Team | USHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 1997-98 | U.S. National Under-18 Team | NAHL | 40 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 16 | ||||||
| 1998-99 | U.S. Junior National Team | USHL | 48 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 45 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| 1999-00 | UMass-Lowell | H-East | 30 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 1 | |||||
| 2000-01 | UMass-Lowell | H-East | 33 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 51 | 1 | |||||
| 2000-01 | Quebec Citadelles | AHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001-02 | Quebec Citadelles | AHL | 63 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 26 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002-03 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2002-03 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 33 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 26 | -2 | 23 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 20 |
| 2003-04 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2003-04 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 54 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 35 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 6 |
| 2004-05 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 68 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 45 | -3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005-06 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 22 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 19 | -10 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2005-06 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 55 | 2 | 15 | 17 | 43 | 13 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006-07 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 80 | 9 | 25 | 34 | 69 | -19 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2007-08 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 78 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 25 | -7 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008-09 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 81 | 6 | 33 | 39 | 32 | -16 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2009-10 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 80 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 39 | -6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010-11 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 82 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 24 | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| NHL Totals | 488 | 34 | 135 | 169 | 238 | ||||||||
Comeau had a 24 goal season which could potentially win him as much as 3 million+ in arbitration, and he'll likely get over 2 million in a loss. The Ralston acquisition had Comeau drop to the 4th line which means the Isles are likely to walk away, win or lose rather than pay that much cash to a 4th line guy. The pick is based on if the Jets get Comeau signed by Thursday, August 4th. Like I said... limited time offer. The Jets get a 5th if he is signed before becoming an UFA, a 3rd if he goes free. This gives New York the chance of getting some value for a player that no longer fits with the team instead of just walking away with nothing.
Blake Comeau: Age: 25 Date of birth: February 18, 1986 Place of birth: Meadow Lake, Sask, Canada Ht: 6-1 Wt: 207 Shoots: Right Salary: $800,000 NHL Seasons: 5 Drafted by NY Islanders in 2004 (2/47).
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2001-02 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2002-03 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 54 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 77 | 11 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| 2003-04 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 71 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 123 | 13 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 23 |
| 2004-05 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 65 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 108 | 10 | 24 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 34 |
| 2005-06 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 60 | 21 | 53 | 74 | 85 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 22 |
| 2005-06 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2006-07 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 61 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 46 | -8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2006-07 | New York Islanders | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2007-08 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 31 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 30 | -9 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2007-08 | New York Islanders | NHL | 51 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008-09 | New York Islanders | NHL | 53 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 32 | -17 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2008-09 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 19 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2009-10 | New York Islanders | NHL | 61 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 40 | -2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010-11 | New York Islanders | NHL | 77 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 43 | -17 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| NHL Totals | 245 | 56 | 65 | 121 | 137 | ||||||||
Kirill Petrov was a 3rd pick in 2008 and has been in the KHL since. He played little in 08/09 + 09/10 but played 47 games in 10/11 after Kazan traded him to Khanty-Mansiisk for a 5th round pick in the KHL draft. He is under contract there until after the 11/12 season. The Isles have an abundance of young forward prospects that would make it difficult to crack the roster... perhaps enough discouragement to consider staying in the KHL.
Kirill Petrov Age: 21 Date of birth: April 13, 1990 Place of birth: Kazan, USSR (RUS) Ht: 6-3 Wt: 198 Shoots Left. NHL Seasons 0-R Drafted by NY Islanders in 2008 (3/73).
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2006-07 | Kazan Ak-Bars | Russia | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 2007-08 | Kazan Ak-Bars | Russia | 47 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2008-09 | Kazan Ak-Bars | KHL | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2009-10 | Kazan Ak-Bars | KHL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010-11 | Kazan Ak-Bars | KHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2010-11 | Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra | KHL | 47 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
Why Winnipeg does it: They need scoring and Hainsey is a victim of the youth movement on the Jets and last season was relegated to the 3rd pairing on D. The Jets now have Mark Stuart as the 5th D-man and signed UFA Randy Jones for an economical 6th member of the D. The Jets have a few good choices in the system for a 7th D-man so Hainsey and his salary become highly tradeable.
Blake Comeau is a prairie boy that could get major minutes in the 'Peg if he shows that scoring touch of his is for real. He did score 19 even strength goals last season playing with a variety of line-mates moving between the 2nd and 3rd line. He has size, he hits and his ability play RW or LW gives gives the Jets options to get him on the ice.
Winnipeg offers Petrov a better chance of making an NHL club than the Isles or a lot of other teams. One look at their lack of scoring punch among their prospects in the system says why. He wants to play in the NHL after this season, Winnipeg could be his best chance. If he is to succeed in the Show, he needs to play defence to compliment his scoring touch.
Would Comeau take an offer from Winnipeg for say... two years at 2.5 million a year to play close to home and get real opportunity for meaningful minutes? By Thursday? Does he believe he will get more if he were to go to free agency? Would Hainsey wave his NTC to go to New York? These questions would need answering very quickly to assess if this trade could work.
