On the surface, there were good reasons to trade for Martin Hanzal. Dallas was coming off a season in which their penalty kill that was the worst in 20 years. As long as Hanzal could play more than 60 games, he’d be good for 40 points, while bolstering the two-way play of the new system. And Dallas really needed someone to fill in Cody Eakin’s critical 12-point spot from last season.
There were also good reasons not to trade for Hanzal. Not only had he never played the full 82 games, but he had frequently missed large portions of the season.