Q - What is the purpose behind this deal, LT?
A - Well, Ondrej is a guy we've coveted for a while now. We're extremely high on the Triplets and are very happy to now possess two of the three. Adding him, someone who really adds a high impact in every facet of the game, statistically and realistically, is always a great move. The Entry Draft pick is also wonderful to acquire - several guys high on our list have fallen, and we were seriously interested in adding another pick to draft one of them.
Q - And why Nylander? Why was he moved, after such a great showing after his draft year?
A - You're right, William is a tremendous prospect who is going to make a very big impact in this league. He's not someone you move easily, he's one of those guys you hold on to if you can. But Ondrej is as well, and you've got to give to get. Adding Eichel and Rantanen in this draft put us in a position of strength up front prospect-wise and made Nylander possible to move. Ondrej is what we would hope William could progress into, so that one was a no-brainer.
Q - And Byfuglien?
A - Byfuglien was a throw-in for us - he's a great player, but we were going to be unable to retain him with the addition of Palat. He's got more flexibility in Vancouver and it's a better situation there, he's not the #3 RHD there that he was here.
Q - And finally, you said you were very high on the Triplets - does this mean you're looking to acquire Tyler Johnson as well?
A - Well, we like to take one step at a time. You'll have to wait and see if we choose to make anymore moves, but I can tell you that we're not done with deals this offseason. We've got some big plans in the works.
"Ultimately, we feel that this deal falls into our favor. The value may look slanted, but when you factor in the keeper aspect, Byfuglien was gone one way or another, so we're not really losing anything there. This is a deal that we'll look back on in 5 years and think 'Wow, we really thought ahead with that one'."
