One of the biggest trades of the 2015-16 season happened yesterday.
The Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs swapped assets that will help both teams going forward. Of course, the most significant pieces swapped were coveted defensemen Dion Phaneuf and Jared Cowen. With many teams inquiring about his services, I find it weird that a rebuilding Maple Leafs team won the Cowen sweepstakes.
We discussed how the San Jose Sharks should look for help on the blueline so I don’t understand why they would pass up an opportunity to solidify the defense. If they decide to stand still for players like Cowen, who knows if the Sharks will add anyone at the deadline?
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First off at ninth overall, Cowen would become the highest drafted member of the Sharks defense. That alone is worth the price of trading for him. Think about it, for the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft the Sharks would have to give up a fortune. Instead, they could have acquired a similar player at a discounted price.
Another reason to trade for Cowen is the Senators have the sixth-highest PDO in the NHL. Getting a defenseman that can influence puck luck will do wonders for a Sharks team that ranks 20th in that category.
His stay-at-home mentality will allow him to block more shots which as you know, leads to less goals against. Also, his shot-blocking abilities will prevent other Sharks defenseman from following suit. So with Cowen, the Sharks would set themselves up for a long and healthy playoff run.
Finally, Cowen is a winner. He was a member of the 2008 Memorial Cup Champion Spokane Chiefs and we know how much Doug Wilson loves his former champions. I’m baffled the Sharks didn’t at least inquire about Cowen, but who knows if Wilson has other targets in mind.
He better be taking a good, hard look at what’s available on the trade market after Brenden Dillon suffered an upper-body injury in last night’s contest in Chicago. It’s no secret the Sharks are awfully thin on defense even with a healthy Dillon, so Wilson better hope this isn’t an extended setback for Dillon.
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I guess we’ll have to settle for captain Cowen leading the Maple Leafs’ defense in ice time. The Toronto media will wonder why he can’t handle elite competition when he could have been traded to a much better team instead. But the Sharks thought that non-Memorial Cup Champion Joe Pavelski is better. I never understand this team sometimes.