Islanders: Looking at success rate of big trade deadline acquisitions

The 2019 Trade Deadline

• Kevin Hayes (to Jets): 5-7-12 (20) // 2-1-3 (6)
• Brandon Montour (to Buffalo): 3-7-10 (20) // N/A
• Matt Duchene (to Columbus): 4-8-12 (23) // 5-5-10 (10)

With only three trades going on in terms of first-rounders being traded in and around the 2019 trade deadline there’s less to consider than in 2020. All three of the players hit the ground running in their new cities. The two forwards had almost identical production.

Matt Duchene in Columbus and Hayes in Winnipeg had twelve points in 20-ish games. That’s great. Obviously, the hope was high for both teams and their fan bases that these trades could put them in the running for a Stanley Cup.

Neither team reached their goal. Columbus at least made it past the opening round by eliminating the Tampa Bay Lightning (the presumed favorite) in four straight games. But they couldn’t get past the Bruins in the second round.

Duchene for his part was a big reason for that run. He was a point-per-game player for them with ten points in ten playoffs games.

The takeaway? We’ll have to see more, but it seems that maybe if players get a good portion of the season to acclimate to their new surroundings they can eventually make it work. Duchene for example only had three points in his first seven and two of those came in game number one.