In an offseason of otherwise popular moves with the fan base, Blackhawks general manager immediately took a lot of flak for the trade that sent Henri Jokiharju to the Sabres for Alex Nylander.
Four months later, the one-for-one swap has turned out better than expected for the Hawks — and just as good as expected for the Sabres.
If anything, the early verdict is of a win-win trade, which is presumably what Bowman and Sabres GM Jason Botterill were going for.
Although neither Nylander nor Jokiharju particularly stood out in Sunday’s meeting between the two teams (a 4-1 Hawks win), both showcased just how substantially the trade has elevated their respective roles and careers.
Jokiharju has appeared in all 20 contests this year for Buffalo and averaged a sizable 16:37 per game, proving himself a reliable every-night player while the Sabres’ supposed top two defensemen (Rasmus Ristolainen and Rasmus Dahlin) struggle.
And Nylander — unable to permanently crack the Sabres’ bottom-tier roster the past three years — has played in 19 of 20 games for the Hawks, doubling his NHL game total from the past three seasons, and averaged 12:53 per game.
“He’s playing very well,” Jeremy Colliton said Sunday. “Based on his play, [he] could have more goals, more points, and so [we’re] very happy for him.”
Comparing their respective campaigns is difficult, considering the positional differences. Nylander holds the lead in points, 9-7. Jokiharju’s on-ice shot attempt and scoring chance ratios are better. Hockey Reference’s Point Shares statistic, which holistically evaluates individual impact on standings points earned, gives Jokiharju a slight edge, 1.3 to 0.9.
But considering the doomsday mentality through which many initially viewed the trade, a slight edge to the Sabres is a welcomed outcome.
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The comparisons may be pointless, anyway. It was obvious all along that Nylander needed a change of scenery to rejuvenate his young career, and it has become increasing clear that Jokiharju and Colliton weren’t compatable, either.
In Jokiharju’s return to the United Center on Sunday, he said he somewhat expected to be traded over the summer and referenced his lack of a relationship with Colliton as a key reason why. The former first-round pick was sent down to the AHL shortly after Colliton’s arrival last season and never returned, despite solid results in his NHL tenure under Joel Quenneville.
“Honestly, I thought, ‘Maybe it’s going to be me [who gets traded],’” Jokiharju said. “Too many D-men. I saw a couple guys coming in.”
“It’s a little bit [about] how the coach sees you as a player and as a person. I think that was one of the issues in here.”
Jokiharju admitted it would be weird to face off against Duncan Keith, an important mentor for him last year, and Nylander said the same about the Sabres’ Victor Olofsson, a longtime AHL teammate and friend.
But as far as seeing their old organizations again, both seemed uninterested in offering up more than basic platitudes. There isn’t exactly a reservoir of happy nostalgia to tap into.
And that’s why the summer trade, as lopsided as it appeared at the time, has worked out rather well for both parties. Fans can still make a convincing argument the Hawks deserved a small second asset on top of Nylander — a mid-round draft pick, perhaps — but those usually prove to be irrelevant in the long run.
As both teams move on in the season, Sunday’s game should finally close at least the first chapter of debate on the Jokiharju-Nylander swap.
