The Senators pulled the trigger on a deal to send star forward Mark Stone to the Golden Knights before Monday’s trade deadline. Ottawa receives defenseman prospect Erik Brannstrom, forward Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round pick.
Stone and the Golden Knights have also reportedly agreed to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual cap hit of $9.5 million. He has a $7.35 million cap hit in the final year of his current contract.
Stone had been one of the top names on the trade market given his impending free agency in the offseason. The Senators couldn’t negotiate a long-term extension with the player’s camp, so they decided to field offers from teams over the past few weeks. Reports on Monday had pegged the Flames, Bruins and Predators among his other suitors.
In Stone, the Golden Knights land one of the top wingers in the NHL. The 26-year-old has recorded at least 20 goals and 60 points in each of the past five seasons despite his team’s ups and downs. He’s been as good as ever on a struggling Senators team this season with 28 goals, 34 assists and some ridiculously good shot rate numbers in 59 games.
Vegas gave up one of its elite prospects in Brannstrom, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2017 draft, to make the deal happen. A highly skilled defenseman with impressive mobility, he’s recorded 28 points in 41 games this season with the Chicago Wolves, the Golden Knights’ AHL affiliate.
Lindberg, 27, is a solid bottom-six forward who’s recorded four goals and eight assists in 35 games with Vegas this season. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The Senators originally selected Stone with their sixth-round pick (No. 178 overall) in the 2010 draft.
