Detroit acted as a go-between with Tampa Bay and Columbus, so that Tampa could acquire David Savard from the Blue Jackets.
It’s complicated, but the important aspects for Detroit fans are:
- Detroit adds Tampa’s 4th round pick in 2021.
- Tampa Bay now owns Brian Lashoff’s rights, but he will remain with the Grand Rapid Griffins, so the only change there is that Detroit cannot call up Lashoff to the NHL.
- Detroit retains 25% of David Savard’s salary.
The tweet from Pierre LeBrun lays out all the details:
Here’s the three-way trade between Tampa, Detroit and Columbus landing Savard in Tampa ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ZCVCpaogkR
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 10, 2021
Technically, an NHL team can assign a player to any AHL team that will take them, which is why Lashoff can remain on the Griffins. It would have been disappointing to see him move on after being named the captain of Grand Rapids this year, so it ends up working out.
So #tblightning gets David Savard, gives up a first this year (to Columbus) and fourth rounder (to Detroit) and a third rounder in 2022 (Columbus). Tampa Bay also acquires Brian Lashoff, who will remain in AHL with Grand Rapids
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) April 10, 2021
At the end of the day, Yzerman acquired another mid-round draft pick for very little. Since Lashoff will remain in Grand Rapids, the only real cost was 25% of Savard’s 4.25M cap hit for the rest of the season.
