Early Monday, Canucks GM Jim Benning sent Alex Burrows to the Ottawa Senators for former second-round pick Jonathan Dahlen.
This piece would have been written earlier, but for three paralyzing shocks: that Benning actually finalized a trade, that the return was really good, and that the player involved was Burrows. The body can only handle so much, people!
Kudos to Benning. We’ve ripped on him since last year’s trade deadline for not shipping off veterans for picks or prospects. As an obvious reader of PITB (confirmed as username IAMNOTJIMBENNING, in case you’re wondering), Benning responded to our critique. Not only did he pull off a trade, he negotiated a fantastic value.
Jonathan Dahlen’s stock has only increased since the 2016 draft. He has netted 27 goals and 41 points in 43 games for Timra in the HockeyAlsvenskan, the second-highest league in Sweden. He’s a shifty, scoring forward with great hockey IQ.
And remember that Burrows had a full No Trade Clause, giving him total control over his end destination. So getting this trade done at all is impressive (though I suspect that Burrows, unlike Radim Vrbata last year, was a willing participant.)
Further adding shock to my system, Ottawa has reportedly signed Burrows to a two-year, $5 million dollar contract extension.
If you’re confused by all of this, it’s worth noting that a) Ottawa’s top six is seriously depleted due to injuries (and Burrows is known for effective play up and down the roster), b) the Sens are in a furious battle defending a playoff berth at the moment, and c) Chris Neil is also rumoured to have been injured.
So those are the facts. Now I’m going to take off my totally objective journalist’s hat for a moment.
I love Alex Burrows, I’ve watched him since he first arrived out of the Manitoba Moose and stuck. He slayed dragons. He broke losing streaks. He’s loyal and clearly a great teammate. My wife legitimately calls him her boyfriend. I’m going to miss the crap out of this guy.
Go do what you do best, Burr. You’ll always “win da turd” in my heart.
