Five NHL Players Getting Squeezed Out By Trade Deadline Additions

Five NHL Players Getting Squeezed Out By Trade Deadline Additions Simon Benoit [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA1MDYxMjAwODE4NDgwNzcy/usatsi_22590246.jpg] Simon Benoit Not every player on a contender is thrilled internally when a GM brings in reinforcements. Specifically, when the new guy is coming for your job. We usually elevate the ripple effects of deadline deals from a macro lens — how much it improves a team — but we rarely look at it from a microlens, from the viewpoint of players themselves. And it’s not always pretty. Here are five players who have seen their role reduced since their team added pieces before the deadline. COLE PERFETTI, C/LW, WINNIPEG JETS Cole Perfetti’s sophomore season has been a rollercoaster. The 2020 10th overall pick appeared destined to become the team's second-line center [https://thehockeynews.com/news/how-a-21-year-old-can-propel-the-winnipeg-jets-in-a-critical-season] from the onset of his second NHL season. He recorded eight goals and 18 points through the first two months of the season — trailing Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Josh Morrissey for the team lead — all the while receiving plenty of power play time. But the 22-year-old cooled off after Vladislav Namestnikov leapfrogged him at center and he was moved to the wing, recording just 12 points in 25 games throughout December and January. After he recorded just one point in the back half of January, the Jets went out and acquired Sean Monahan and Perfetti’s usage has plummeted since. Before Monahan arrived (47 GP): 14 G, 16 A, 14:25 TOI/GP Since Monahan Arrived (16 GP): 0 G, 1 A, 11:46 TOI/GP With deadline-day acquisition Tyler Toffoli now in the fold, Perfetti’s place in the Jets lineup, let alone the top six, has never been less secure. Once Gabriel Vilardi returns to the lineup, Perfetti — who has averaged 10:35 minutes per night in the Jets’ first two games with Toffoli and has been healthy scratched a handful of times in recent weeks— could become a press box regular. JESPERI KOTKANIEMI, C, CAROLINA HURRICANES The Carolina Hurricanes couldn’t have asked Jesperi Kotkaniemi to have a better start to the 2023-24 season. Fresh off a breakout 2022-23 campaign, the 23-year-old Kotkaniemi had an eye-opening October — recording four goals, a team-high 10 points and averaging 2.6 shots per game through 10 contests. Nine of those points were scored during 5-on-5 play, where the 2018 3rd overall pick was driving play at both ends of the ice. But then, ‘KK’ hit a wall. He was less involved offensively — generating fewer shot attempts and scoring chances as time went on — and it wasn’t long before he looked ill-equipped in a top-six role. And his ice time rapidly declined as a result. TOI/GP Oct: 15:44 Nov: 15:27 Dec: 13:05 Jan: 13:23 Feb: 10:23 Mar: 10:30 Since Carolina acquired Evgeny Kuznetsov a few days before the deadline, the 23-year-old has averaged the least amount of ice time per night (10:24) while playing on the fourth line. Unfortunately for Kotkaniemi, barring injury that’s unlikely to change given how locked in Sebastian Aho and Jordan Staal are to their respective first and third-line center posts. NICOLAS ROY, C, VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS Nicolas Roy has always been an honest, hard-nosed two-way bottom-six forward who can provide secondary scoring. Coming off consecutive 30-plus point seasons, Roy is on pace for a career-high 44 points this year and his recent point-per-game stretch through a 19-game span where the Vegas Golden Knights were missing Jack Eichel is a big reason why. Vegas has always thrived off a next-man-up mentality and with Chandler Stephenson having a down year, it was conceivable to think Roy would continue to be deployed in the teams’ top-nine — as opposed to his usual spot, on the teams’ fourth line alongside Keegan Kolesar and William Carrier — even once Eichel returned. But then the Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon went out and got Tomas Hertl, a bonafide center that gives Vegas an exceptional 1-2 punch down the middle. Given how deep Vegas will be with the addition of Hertl, not to mention Anthony Mantha — and perhaps Mark Stone too — there’s no chance Roy is going to touch the teams’ top six again anytime soon. SIMON BENOIT, D, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS It’s hard not to feel for Simon Benoit. After injuries and poor play in training camp led to him being re-assigned to the AHL to start the year, the 25-year-old defenseman clawed his way back into the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup and carved out a role for himself alongside Jake McCabe. The physical meat and potatoes, stay-at-home defenseman quickly became a favorite of Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe and his one-year, $775,000 contract was one of the few shrewd signings GM Brad Treliving made in the summer. But one day before the trade deadline, Treliving traded a third and fifth-round pick for Joel Edmundson — a stylistic carbon copy of the Laval, Que. native — and Benoit has been scratched ever since. While Sheldon Keefe said it “killed him,” to scratch him, even Benoit knew the writing was on the wall. "We pretty much play the same way. He plays hard, I play a hard defensive game," Benoit told The Hockey News’ David Alter [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/im-not-happy-to-be-missing-out-but-i-understand-maple-leafs-simon-benoit-taking-a-positive-approach-after-being-bumped-out-of-the-lineup-following-trade-deadline]of Edmundson. RYAN SUTER, D, DALLAS STARS Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill was unapologetically [https://theathletic.com/4656930/2023/06/30/ryan-suter-buyout-stars-nill/]defiant about not buying out Ryan Suter last summer. But when he acquired Chris Tanev less than two weeks before the deadline — it signalled what many have said for a while about Suter. That he’s no longer a top-four-caliber defenseman. The 39-year-old legs can’t keep up with his cerebral mind anymore. We saw several instances in the playoffs last year where Suter was getting burned, time and time again while playing heavy minutes (23:21 per night). Averaging 19:14 minutes per night, Suter has spent most of the 2023-24 season alongside Miro Heiskanen. However, with Suter being ill-equipped to shutdown opponents’ top lines these days — his top pairing deployment has come at a detriment. Especially given how well Thomas Harley and Heiskanen play together. The problem for Dallas, though, was that pre-Tanev — a pairing of Suter and Esa Lindell never jived well. But since Tanev arrived and slotted in alongside Lindell, Harley has moved up permanently to the top pair and Suter has been relegated to the third pair, where he has averaged 16:08 minutes per night in Dallas’s first five games with Tanev — compared to the 19:29 minute per night he was averaging in the first 63 games of the season.