Looking back on the Campoli/Comrie acquisition

[Editor's Note: With the Islanders and Senators meeting tonight for the first time since the Comrie/Campoli trade, Peter (of Senators blog Silver Seven) and I swapped thoughts -- and English spellings -- on how we think each team did. You can see my post at Silver Seven here. Peter's follows below]

Ottawa got: Chris Campoli, Mike Comrie

It’s good because: Since the departure of Joe Corvo, underlined by the departure of Wade Redden, and highlighted by the departure of Andrej Meszaros, the Senators have been looking for a fleet-footed puck-moving defenceman to anchor the powerplay and provide some offence from the defence. With eight points (3G, 5A) in 13 games since joining the Senators, Campoli has done just that. The added benefit of his extremely reasonable contract, which will pay him $650k next season, just gives Ottawa more flexibility in surrounding him with good talent.

Comrie wasn’t a player fans wanted to leave in the 2007 off-season, but the Sens couldn’t possibly match the Islanders $4M offer. Now that management and Comrie himself regret the move, there’s the possibility the winger could re-sign in Ottawa this off-season. Even if he doesn’t, he’s given Ottawa some pretty good secondary scoring for the rest of this season, at least, with five points (2G, 3A) in his 11 games so far (he’s missed the last two games with the flu).

Ottawa gave: Dean McAmmond, 2009 first-round pick

It’s reasonable because: I’m not going to downplay the value of Dean McAmmond. He is a role player, and saw limited ice time in Ottawa, but he was a valuable member of Ottawa’s fourth line and had a good two-and-a-half-year stint with the Senators. He was, however, on an expiring contract, and it seemed unlikely that the Senators were going to re-sign him. Islanders fans have undoubtedly seen the intangibles that McAmmond can bring—speed, intensity, leadership, and terrific penalty-killing—but you’ve also had the opportunity to see him provide some really good offence, with six points (2G, 4A) in 11 games so far.

The first-round pick could very well turn into a valuable player for the Islanders, but the odds are against that. The pick, originally San Jose’s first-round choice, is likely to end up being in the 26-30 overall range, meaning that the chances of selecting a player of Campoli’s calibre, even in a deep draft as this year’s is expected to be, are slim. And even if the Islanders are lucky enough to get a player who will eventually play a role in the NHL, that player won’t come along for a few seasons. Fans in Ottawa are impatient—we’re looking for a quick rebuild to get back into contention as soon as possible.