Whether you’re swinging and missing as a general manager or landing your guy, there are ups and downs in just about any ongoing trading conversation.
Some of them are more extreme than others.
Joe Sakic called Bill Guerin last week, offered Tyson Yost in exchange for Nico Sturm, and like last year’s Ian Cole to Greg Paterin trade, also with Avalanche, the deal was completed in 45 minutes. Kaapo Kahkonen’s deal for Jacob Middleton at San Jose on Monday was set for Sunday, but of course it depended on something else.
That something else — Monday’s acquisition of Monsieur Smiley, the iconic Marc-André Fleury — has been an emotional rollercoaster ride for Guérin.
Worried about the Wild’s goalies lately, Guerin called Chicago two weeks ago, just to find out how much a future first-round Hall of Famer would cost less than a season before winning the Vezina Trophy.
Guerin was reluctant to turn down a first-round pick, but was told it was the price of doing business. Guerin continued to work hard, becoming more and more convinced that Fleury would agree to come to Minnesota and hoped to complete the deal by Saturday so that Fleury could just carry his bag of equipment 50 feet down the hallway of the Xcel Energy Center locker room rather than leave town with “Blackhawks”. after encountering wildlife.
But Chicago general manager Kyle Davidson didn’t back down from his request for a first-round pick.