In the first unexpected move of the 2012 trade deadline in the NHL, Tampa Bay sent winger Steve Downie to Colorado for defender Kyle Quincey. Then, Tampa dealt Quincey to Detroit for a first round pick and minor league defender Sebastien Piche.
Detroit:
First off, one of Ken Holland's mistakes was choosing to keep Derek Meech over Kyle Quincey in 2008. I remember hating the move when it happened, even though I knew Quincey to was seen at times at college parties around Grand Rapids (where he played AHL hockey) from time to time. The dude was a kid, and any partying ways were sure to die off after exposure to Babcock and the Red Wings, who are very much fitness freaks. If I remember correctly, the move was made because Meech was able to play forward (though he really never belonged as a forward) and was forced after Chelios decided to come back yet again. And now Detroit has to trade a first round pick and a prospect - albeit one not likely to be an NHL player - to reacquire Quincey? Yikes.
However, forgiving that mistake by Holland, the trade is solid for Detroit. Quincey is an upgrade currently over Commodore, Kindl, and Ericsson. He's also a good insurance policy when/if the Wings lost Lidstrom or Stuart this summer. And, a Holland said, he likely developed better playing big minutes on weaker teams. He can play on the power play and/or penalty kill. In short, he improves the Wings and I'm glad he's back. Any locker room issues will likely be erased by the professionalism of his new teammates and coaching staff.
Meanwhile, while Detroit has been a great team in the draft, they've actually been relatively poor with first round picks. And while I'm sure Sebastian Piche is a heck of a nice guy, he's never been noticeable at AHL games I've attended and likely won't be a factor in the NHL. So in short, Detroit probably received more than they gave up in the trade.
Colorado:
It seems that some Colorado fans thought that Kyle Quincey alone could have netted them a top-six forward, but that simply wasn't the case though I thought they might make him part of a package to land a guy like James van Riemsdyk.
Overall, I think they got a good return in Steve Downie. The guy is a 15-25 goal guy who brings a lot of sandpaper to his game. He's played on a line with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis and has been effective, so he's not out of place on a team's scoring line. He's probably a good second/third line forward who brings a physical presence and can chip in with some offense. I think he'll be a welcome addition to Colorado.
Tampa Bay:
This trade is harder for me to understand from Steve Yzerman and Tampa Bay's point-of-view. When it was first reported that they traded Downie for Quincey, I thought Stevie Y had made a great trade as his team needs to improve their core defenders. Quincey would have been a solid guy for the second-pairing. Acquiring him only to trade him for a late first round pick and a middle-of-the-road prospect seems odd to me as in my opinion Quincey would have been more valuable to Tampa than the package they received for him. Of course, Tampa has now stockpiled draft picks with two first rounders and three (and another possible second rounder). And it could be that Yzerman knows that if he wants to acquire the star young goalie his team so desperately needs that he needs to trade a lot of picks. Other than that though, I find the trading of Quincey hard to understand.
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