Trade Targets: Braydon Coburn (PHI)

“Trade Targets” will be a recurring piece on Fear The Fin until the March 3rd deadline, in which Plank and TCY will explore trade possibilities for the San Jose Sharks. Previous pieces of this nature can be found here.

With news that Ray Emery will be out for the season (and possibly his career) with avascular necrosis, Philadelphia is rumored to be looking for a goaltender. As we have addressed previously, it is our opinion that San Jose needs a top four defenseman in order to shore up the blueline and reduce Rob Blake’s minutes. The Nashville Predators, as we touched upon here, are rumored to be looking for a forward to help during their stretch run.

Last night, a deal involving Ryan Parent (PHI) and Dan Hamhuis (NSH) was scrapped because Nashville reportedly wanted a forward in return. Both Parent and Braydon Coburn have been mentioned in trade speculation this week by the Philadelphia Inquirer.

From my end, this proposed deal works out for all parties:

To PHI: Dan Ellis (G), Dan Hamhuis (D)

To SJS: Braydon Coburn (D)

To NSH: Ryane Clowe (F), Benn Ferriero (F)

Pull the trigger on that in a heartbeat.

Nashville receives a top six forward in Ryane Clowe and burgeoning prospect in Benn Ferriero, as well as trading from their defensive depth. They have been looking for a forward to slide into the top six. Philadelphia receives a goaltender as well as a player they have been linked to the last twenty four hours. San Jose receives a young defenseman who will slide onto either the top or second pairing, and rids themselves of Ryane Clowe’s contract to free up space heading into next offseason.

Although Nashville GM David Poile has been playing hardball with Philadelphia, I think he may be holding out in order to attempt to drive up the price. Nashville has an internal cap of roughly $48 M, and there is no way they manage to resign both Hamhuis and Ellis if they are looking to upgrade their offensive capabilities.

Braydon Coburn is a tough minutes defenseman, who plays a physical style and can be counted on to shut down opposing teams top lines. He hits, blocks shots, and works tirelessly in the corners. Offensively he is relatively unsung, but he moves the puck well up the ice with strong breakout passes, and has a very good shot from the point. He would easily play on San Jose’s power play, likely on the second unit with Rob Blake to provide a lefty-righty dynamic that would faciliate one-timers.

24 years old with a $1.3 M cap hit, an RFA in July. Would likely come in at around $3.0 M per year as his stock has dropped this season. Legitimate top four defenseman in years to come, and if paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic, would provide San Jose one of the best shutdown duos in the Western Conference, both this year and well into the future.

Make the jump for analysis from our SBN partners covering the Nashville Predators and Philadelphia Flyers.

Clowe definitely would help Nashville but the problem is, I don’t see NSH trading Ellis. They need a solid backup to Rinne.

I think the rule with NSH is that they do want a forward who can help this year in return for Hamhuis. That makes a straight deal difficult, and perhaps a 3-way would work, although they’re tough to assemble.

– Dirk Hoag from On The Forecheck

From a Flyers perspective, the deal could certainly work. Paul Holmgren says he’s confident in Michael Leighton but I think he’d jump at the chance to add a guy like Dan Ellis. Dan Hamhuis would be a great addition to our oft-injured blueline as well. Braydon Coburn has regressed a lot this season but he still has a lot of upside, and I’d say that Hamhuis is a better player than him right now. It’d be a no-brainer from our end, as long as the salary cap implications work out.

By my quick calculations it would put us just under the cap as well.

– Travis Hughes from Broad Street Hockey

Contrarians Corner (TCY): Although I agree that Coburn is a beast, this is a tough one to swing. Not only is it a three way deal, but Coburn is also an RFA at the end of the season, adding another potential headache down the road to go along with Pavelski and Setoguchi’s contract negotiations. Coburn would be a solid pairing partner with Vlasic, though, and would help to make our defense younger. The age of the Sharks blueliners has been a concern, and with the lack of any blue chip blue line prospects in the system, the addition of Coburn would be welcome going forward (assuming he resigns at a reasonable price). That’s a possibility, since his value has dropped from 2008, which in turn is also a concern.

Also, even though I advocated trading Ferriero earlier in the season (in a deal for Seidenberg), I hesitate to move both he and Clowe together, considering the dearth of forward prospects in the system. If a pick was involved, coming to the Sharks (maybe a 3 or 4), I’d be all for this deal. I still may pull the trigger as currently constructed.

All in all, even though it’s a solid deal, three way trades almost never happen. DW can’t complete a transaction of this magnitude! However, if he does, they’ll be dancing on the forest moon of Endor, to be certain.

Go Sharks.