The Yegor Sharangovich trade looks like a win for both the Flames and Devils
6 months ago
Sometimes, the best kind of trades are the ones that both teams win.
One these trades took place on June 27, 2023, when the Flames sent Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich and a 2023 third-round pick. Now just a little over halfway through the season, let’s take a gander how this trade has worked out for both teams.
Tyler Toffoli’s season
Tyler Toffoli spent just two seasons with the Flames after they acquired him from the Montréal Canadiens. The right-winger was acquired midway through the 2021-22 season, already playing 37 games and scoring nine goals and 26 points. Well, he scored 11 goals and 23 points with the Flames to end the season, helping push the team to a Pacific Division crown. In the playoffs, he had two goals and 5 points in 12 games.
His best season however, came in 2022-23. Toffoli scored a career-high 34 goals and 73 points, surpassing his previous highs of 31 goals and 58 points set in 2015-16. Sadly, the Flames made Toffoli available in a trade, and the Devils capitalized on it by sending Sharangovich’s rights and a third-rounder.
So far in 2023-24, Toffoli has 17 goals and 30 points in 44 games. He’s on pace for about 31 goals and 55 points, so well off the mark with the latter, but still scoring at a good clip.
Yegor Sharangovich’s season
Yegor Sharangovich got to the National Hockey League and immediately became a middle-six forward. In his first season with the Devils in 2020-21, he scored 15 goals and 14 points in 54 games. The next season was his career-season (for now), where he had 24 goals and 46 points in 76 games. He took a step back in 2022-23, scoring a career-low 13 goals and 30 points in 75 games.
After the end of the 2022-23 season, he became a restricted free agent, with his rights being traded to the Flames in that deal. The Flames signed him a day later to a two-year, $6.2 million deal worth an annual cap hit of $3.1 million.
It was a slow start for Sharangovich, but he now has 19 goals and 32 points in just 46 games. The 25-year-old Belarusian is on pace for 33 goals and 57 points, both of which would be career highs. Not too shabby.
Aydar Suniev’s season
On top of receiving a pretty good player in exchange for Toffoli, the Flames also received a 2023 third-round selection. They used that pick on left-wing Aydar Suniev, who had scored 45 goals and 90 points for the Penticton Vees in the British Columbia Hockey League.
Now, the BCHL isn’t on the same level as the Canadian Hockey League, or even the United States Hockey League, so that begs the question, how is the 19-year-old forward doing as a freshman at college?
Well, Suniev has eight goals and 17 points for the University of Massachusetts Amherst, fifth on the team in scoring. He’s not setting the NCAA ablaze by any means, as his 17 points are tied for 164th nationally in scoring. But it’s worth noting that the 19-year-old is holding his own as a freshman, which is all you can ask for from a third-round pick.
Some things just take time
In Toffoli’s first 21 games, he had 12 goals and 21 points, an incredible clip. In contrast, Sharangovich had just five goals and 11 points in his first 25 games, but the script has flipped. Over his next 21 games from Dec. 7 to the present day, Sharangovich ironically has 14 goals and 21 points in 21 games. Toffoli, on the other hand, has five goals and nine points in his last 23 games.
This isn’t to say either of them are better, as Toffoli has a tremendous track record that includes a Stanley Cup ring and one other Cup Final appearance with the Canadiens in 2021. The discourse around this trade early in the season was that it was awful for the Flames, but after the midway part of the season, it’s safe to say the trade benefited both teams.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.
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