NHL Trade Deadline Primer: Tampa Bay Lightning say 'F those draft picks'

They do not care about draft picks, and they should not.

The NHL trade deadline had been a strong buyer’s market until the Tampa Bay Lightning decided to make their yearly splurge by sending defenseman Cal Foote and five — FIVE! — future draft picks to the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward Tanner Jeannot this week.

It is by far the wildest trade of the trading deadline season just because the price paid seemed so outrageous for the player they were getting. Maybe it was. But the Lightning definitely have a type of player they like to trade for at this time of year, and they have a very smart plan for how to get those players.

It basically amounts to “fuck those draft picks.” It usually works. It might work out again here.

Let’s dig into it.

The first layer of this approach is the way NHL teams, fans, media, and pretty much everybody involved in talking about the league tends to overvalue future draft picks. Especially the future draft picks of good teams.