The Calgary Flames suddenly found themselves in an incredibly advantageous position ahead of Monday's NHL Trade Deadline. Prior trades from other teams had left the Flames with perhaps the most desirable defensive trade target in the whole league. Late Monday afternoon, Flames GM Brad Treliving turned that target, Kris Russell, into what Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News believes is a young roster defenseman, a forward prospect and a conditional pick in a deal that will see Russell finish out the 2015-16 season with the Dallas Stars.
The trade was first reported by Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.
Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 THE FAN tweeted that the full trade is defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, forward Brett Pollock and a second-round pick in exchange for Russell. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, that second will become a first-round pick if the Stars reach the Western Conference Finals.
Russell, 28, isn't a big guy at just 5-foot-10, 170-pounds, but he's got enough skill that the defensively deficient Stars, led by GM Jim Nill, clearly thought he was worth the haul it would take to land him. With his team giving up an average of 2.84 goals per game, making the blueline a priority ahead of the deadline was a no-brainer in Dallas.
Russell may be more than a rental if the Stars are willing to touch the reported $1.5 million per season Russell is said to be asking for on a new deal, but that's a question for the offseason. For now, the league's most powerful offensive team has strengthened their backend for a run at the Cup.
