The Jackets acquired center William Karlsson, winger Rene Bourque and a 2015 second round draft pick today from the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman James Wisniewski and a 2015 third rounder.
We obviously know the great player that the Jackets shipped out, and Matt wrote quite a bit about Wisniewski last week. I won’t get into further details on that portion, as at least one of our other writers is going to come out swinging shortly. I’m here to discuss what the Jackets got in return.
Firstly, the second round pick is merely moving up a few spots in the draft, since the team also gave up a third rounder in the trade for some reason.
Rene Bourque is a drastically overpaid albatross contract and is no more than a salary dump for the Ducks. He is slow, not particularly good at any aspect of hockey, and has a $3.3 million cap hit for this and next season, before he becomes a UFA. Bourque was a brutal Flames mistake that the team managed to ship off to Montreal. After parts of four horribly unproductive seasons in Montreal, the Habs traded him to Anaheim for another awful contract in defender Bryan Allen. The Ducks tried Bourque out for 30 uneventful games before burying him in the AHL and forgetting that he even existed until they found a willing taker in Columbus.
Here’s what Bourque had to say about the trade, via Aaron Portzline:
Rene Bourque, who cleared waivers this morning, on the trade: "It just gives me another chance to try an stay in the NHL and prove that …
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 2, 2015
"… I have something left. That's what I was hoping for."
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 2, 2015
Columbus responded by immediately assigning him to Springfield.
For the Jackets brass, William Karlsson was the major return in the deal. During the post-deadline presser, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was quick to point out that the Wisniewski trade was a “hockey trade”, not simply a salary dump, and that they see Karlsson as a good player for the big club in the near future.
The 22-year old, 6’0″, 185 pounder is in his first full North American pro season, after playing the last two seasons with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League.
Karlsson had a very strong 2014/15 training camp, earning a spot on the Ducks’ opening night roster. He started out hot, with two goals and three points in his first seven NHL games, but cooled off quickly and has shuffled between Anaheim and Norfolk since.
The 2011 2nd round draft pick has been a solid possession player in his time with the Ducks, largely in a third line role centering Andrew Cogliano and Jakub Silfverberg. He has positive results in Goals For % (53.8%), Goals For Relative to Team (+1.6%), and his Corsi For (51.3%) is even relative to the rest of the team. Even though the Ducks are one of the top teams in the league and very deep in the forward ranks, Karlsson has for the most part been able to keep up with them. The concern right now is consistency as, after his initial outburst of production, Karlsson went nine games pointless, was supplanted as the third line center by Rickard Rakell, and eventually demoted to Norfolk. Since his re-assignment to the AHL, Karlsson has put up eight goals and 24 points in 37 games.
According to his Hockey’s Future profile, Karlsson grades as a shifty skater who requires some seasoning in the finer aspects of his game. While the Swedish center is never going to be a huge point producer, he projects well as an effective two-way forward with solid play driving ability and some decent skill. Not possessing a heavy shot, Karlsson prefers to set up teammates for chances rather than take them himself. His defensive game isn’t based on physicality, but more smart stickhandling and positioning, comparable to a Mark Letestu. An ideal path sees Karlsson developing into a jack-of-all-trades second liner with decent offensive instincts and playmaking ability.
ESPN scout Corey Pronman projected Karlsson as a potential top six center in his prospect review for Craig Custance’s ESPN Insider rundown on the Wisniewski trade:
Karlsson is a gifted possession forward with the skill and vision to make difficult plays. His skating and physical game have historically been issues with his game.
While Karlsson will report to Springfield to begin his stint as a Jacket, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him recalled to the Jackets at some point before the end of the season. His Big Picture outlook could see him make the opening day Columbus roster as a depth player as early as next season.
– Jeremy
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