Trade Musings: Chris Tanev to the Stars

The Calgary Flames traded Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. They received a 2024 2nd Round Pick, prospect Artem Grushnikov and a 2026 conditional 3rd Round Pick. The Flames also retained 50% of Tanev’s cap hit and the New Jersey Devils joined the deal to retain anther 25%. The Devils received a 2026 4th round pick for their trouble, while also sending goalie prospect Cole Grady to the Stars. Let’s unpack the deal from each team’s perspective.

As with other recent trades, I’m not going to assign grades for this trade. I’ll try to keep the focus on the larger teambuilding picture rather than putting the blinders on and focusing too narrowly on this trade. I recently shared some thoughts on team building strategies in a series of posts, and we’ll consider how the move fits with these strategies.

• Perpetual Mediocrity: ‘Just Get In’
• Designed to Fail: The Rebuild
• A Better Way: Regenerative Cohorts

The Trade

The Pieces

Chris Tanev

Prospects and Draft Picks

Defenseman Artem Grushnikov goes to the Flames. Drafted 48th overall in 2021, he’s a defensive defenseman who looks like a long shot to become an NHL regular.

The Flames receive the Stars’ 2024 second round pick. They’ll also receive the Stars’ third round pick in 2026 if the Stars make the Stanley Cup Final this season.

The Devils receive the Stars’ 2026 4th round pick.

The Outlook

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars were expected to be a strong team this season and they haven’t disappointed. An influx of young talent has made it’s way onto the NHL roster and they’re locked in a tight 3 team race for the Central Division title. With the trade deadline approaching, they decided it’s time to add reinforcements for what could be a long playoff run this spring.

Adding Chris Tanev gives the Stars’ projected strength a slight boost. More important for the playoffs, though, is the additional depth. Injuries are a almost certain in the postseason and the addition of Tanev gives the Stars another capable top four defenseman that makes their roster more resilient.

The cost wasn’t that bad either. The Stars pool of draft picks is starting to dwindle, but they already have the next wave of talent in their system. Logan Stankoven, Mavrik Bourque, and Thomas Harley headline a cohort that are in their early 20s and should be the next group to lead the Stars roster. That makes the next few drafts an ideal pool of future assets to pull from to help boost their current roster.

Calgary Flames

Craig Conroy’s stated objectives when he took over as Flames GM last spring were to avoid another Johnny Gaudreau type free agent fiasco and to get younger. He’s made good on both of those promises so far, including in this deal. Tanev is a 34 year old pending UFA, who the Flames were able to turn into picks and prospects.

The Flames were reportedly asking for a 1st round pick for Tanev, so perhaps the return seems underwhelming. With the Flames looking unlikely to make the postseason this year though, it’s far better for their long term outlook to have added to their future asset pool than to have watched Tanev walk for nothing in the summer. As I discussed after the Elias Lindholm trade, the next 3 years of draft picks are a great fit for a focus cohort for the Flames as well.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils added a lottery ticket in the form of a 4th round pick for their role in retaining some of Tanev’s cap hit. It’s interesting that the Devils played the part of the broker considering they are actively chasing a playoff spot themselves. It may be a sign that they are going to cut their losses this season and take on the stretch drive without making any big additions. They do have a lot of LTIR space with Dougie Hamilton on the shelf though, so perhaps it was just a case of opportunity presenting itself and the Devils jumping on it.