Does The Michael Stone Deal Dictate Brendan Smith’s Possible Trade Value?

The Arizona Coyotes traded 26-year-old defenseman Michael Stone to the Calgary Flames on Monday afternoon. In exchange for the right-handed Stone, Arizona acquired Calgary’s 2017 third-round draft pick as well as a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Arizona also retained half of Stone’s $4M salary.

This is not a ground-breaking trade by any means, but could Michael Stone’s deal set a precedent for what Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings could acquire by possibly trading Brendan Smith before the trade deadline?

Stone, who is two years younger than Smith, has played roughly the same amount of total NHL games (326 for Stone, 317 for Smith) but has also slightly out-produced Brendan Smith in total regular-season points (96 for Stone, 67 for Smith).

It’s also important to factor in that Stone is coming back from a torn ACL and MCL this season and struggling to produce on a team that is also struggling to produce. Despite these two factors, Stone was able to draw a third-round draft pick, equivalent to the very same round he himself was drafted in,

Brendan Smith on the other hand, as we all know, can be as hot or cold as the very Red Wings team he plays for. Some nights Smith can be the most blunder-ridden player on Detroit’s blue-line, other times he can be one of the Wings most solid defenders.

It’s hard to imagine that the Red Wings could draw anything other than a second or third-round pick for Smith, but in all honesty, it’s both a fair and acceptable trade. By this point in his NHL career, you know what you are going to get in a player like Brendan Smith, and it’s not all bad.

In a world of high asking prices for big-name free agents, the Brendan Smiths of the world offer teams a reasonable and more affordable option. Our counterparts over at pensburgh.com recenty penned a piece making this very argument into why the Penguins might be a team that would be interested in acquiring Smith from the Red Wings.

But let us not forget, this whole scenario is based on whether or not Ken Holland decides to be an active seller before the NHL trade deadline. The next two weeks will be very pivotal for not only Brendan Smith, but the entire Detroit Red Wings organization.