When the Panthers sent Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann to Pittsburgh on Feb. 1, 2019, it was more than just a deadline swap. Florida’s move for Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan and three draft picks helped steer the franchise in a new direction, while Jim Rutherford used the deal to add younger pieces to the Penguins’ roster.
For Florida, the haul was built around future value, but the NHL players involved each had their own separate runs before and after the trade.
Bjugstad had already carved out a long stretch in South Florida by the time he was moved. Drafted 19th overall in 2010, he spent parts of seven seasons with the Panthers and dressed in 394 games.
He finished his Florida run with 87 goals and 104 assists for 191 points, along with 176 penalty minutes, 43 power-play points, a minus-49 rating and a 49.4 faceoff percentage. He averaged 15:21 of ice time per game.
After the trade, he played parts of two seasons in Pittsburgh, appearing in 45 games with 10 goals and six assists for 16 points. He ended his Penguins stint at plus-7, added 22 penalty minutes and chipped in three power-play points.
McCann’s path was more productive offensively in Pittsburgh. After Florida picked him up from the Vancouver Canucks in May 2016, he spent parts of three seasons with the Panthers, logging 143 games, 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points.
He finished those years at plus-1 with 52 penalty minutes and five power-play points. With the Penguins, he played 141 games across parts of three seasons and put up 39 goals and 45 assists for 84 points.
He closed that run at plus-31 with 38 penalty minutes, 16 power-play points and a 35th-place finish in Lady Byng Trophy voting in the 2020-21 season.
The veterans Florida brought back did their part, too, though neither stayed long. Brassard appeared in 10 games for the Panthers, recording one goal and three assists for four points.
He finished at minus-6 with two penalty minutes and was later moved to the Colorado Avalanche on Feb. 25, along with a conditional sixth-round pick, in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2020 Draft. In Pittsburgh, Brassard played 54 games over two seasons, scoring 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points while finishing at minus-5 with 33 penalty minutes.
He was used as a defensive-minded center and depth option.
Sheahan’s stop in Florida was also brief. He played 33 games for the Panthers, posting two goals and eight assists for 10 points, with a minus-2 rating and four penalty minutes.
He joined the club for the second half of the 2018-19 season and then left in September to sign with the Edmonton Oilers ahead of 2019-20. With the Penguins, Sheahan appeared in 122 games over two seasons and recorded 18 goals and 23 assists for 41 points.
He finished at minus-3, had 17 penalty minutes and added two power-play points while serving as a steady depth contributor.
The draft picks Florida received turned into more long-term assets, even if the end results were mixed. The second-rounder became Vladislav Kolyachonok, selected 52nd overall in 2019.
He never played for the Panthers, who later used him in a deal to clear Anton Stralman’s contract by packaging him with another second-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for a seventh-round pick. Kolyachonok has since played a handful of games with the Coyotes, appeared with the Utah Mammoth, and had brief stints with the Penguins, Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins.
He is currently with the Utica Comets in the American Hockey League.
Florida also used both fourth-round picks from the trade to move up in the 2019 Draft and take Cole Schwindt in the third round. Schwindt played three games for the Panthers before becoming part of the Matthew Tkachuk trade that sent MacKenzie Weegar, Jonathan Huberdeau and draft picks to the Calgary Flames. He later came back to Florida after the Vegas Golden Knights claimed him off waivers, and last season he appeared in 29 games and produced seven points.
Looking back, the deal marked the exit of two important Panthers pieces and helped open the door for the next wave in South Florida. It also left the door cracked for a possible reunion down the line, since McCann is in the final year of his contract and could fit as a deadline target depending on how things play out for him, the Seattle Kraken and the Panthers.
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