White Heat: Did Sutter Lose Another Trade?

It didn’t take long after this week’s Ian White trade for the critics to draw their swords in the direction of Darryl Sutter. The verdict from most? The Flames GM messed up – again.

Understandable, given that White had looked like he could become the best thing to have come out of last winter’s questionable Dion Phaneuf trade. While Sutter didn’t get as much as many people thought he could for his enigmatic star defenceman, he had at least extracted White – a skilled young blueliner with plenty of upside.

Then, just a few months later, he let’s White go for a couple of spare parts on Carolina’s roster. He gave up on another valuable asset too soon, and for too little in return, the prevailing argument goes.

To the first point, I couldn’t agree more. To the second, I have to say, “well, yes and no.”

Let’s deal with that second part first. Did Sutter really get poor value? Although Anton Babchuk is not well known in the West, the fact is he measures up well against White. About the same age, he’s put up similar offensive numbers. He has a huge shot from the point – something the Flames need on the power play, and something White – though he possesses a good shot himself – wasn’t providing. He’s physically much more imposing, making him a better fit with Calgary’s defence. And he comes with roughly half the price tag.

The problem isn’t what Sutter got. It’s that he could have, and probably should have, held out for more.

As The Globe and Mail’s Eric Duhatschek argued, White would have been a highly valued commodity a few months from now, at the trade deadline: A puck-moving defenceman capable of playing top-four minutes. Those don’t grow on trees.

As nice as Babchuk might look, the Flames aren’t desperately in need of another skilled defenceman. Had Sutter waited, maybe – just maybe – he could have made a deal for something he DID need – a scoring forward, a young prospect or a high draft pick.

By making a deal now, Sutter gave up the chance to lever a strong asset to tangibly improve his team, for now or for the future. And for fans, what’s most frustrating is it’s not even the first time he’s done it. Once again, we have to wonder if Sutter has any plan for this team, or if he’s flying by the seat of his pants.