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).