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Poll: Rush to a judgement and tell us who won the trade

Buffalo Sabres v Winnipeg Jets

Buffalo Sabres v Winnipeg Jets

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Buffalo and Winnipeg pulled off a blockbuster deal on Wednesday, with the Jets sending Evander Kane and Zach Bogosian to Buffalo in exchange for Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, a pair of prospects and a first-round pick in 2015.

The trade happened an hour ago, which is about 45 minutes more than it takes to unilaterally declare the winner and loser. Hey, don’t blame me. You know how this works.

Anyway, here are some things to consider.

Why Buffalo won

• You could make the argument Kane was the best player in the deal and, as the old adage states, whoever gets the best player wins. Numerous teams across the NHL expressed major interest in getting Kane but Buffalo acted first and strongest; GM Tim Murray pounced on a situation where the Jets didn’t have much leverage and, as a result, obtained a dynamic, 23-year-old, goalscoring power forward with a good contract (signed through 2018 at $5.25 million per.)

• Kane’s out 4-6 months following shoulder surgery, which means he can’t improve Buffalo’s on-ice product in the present. That keeps the organization on track in the McEichel Derby.

• Buffalo shipped out Myers, who appeared to lack the mental and physical fortitude to be an elite, shut-down, No. 1 defenseman. In Bogosian, they get a physical blueliner that’s actually younger than Myers and under contract through 2019 (with a slightly smaller cap hit: $5.14M to Myers’ $5.5M).

Per Murray, the untouchable prospects were Sam Reinhart, Nikita Zadorov, Rasmus Ristolainen and Marcus Foligno. So he managed to retain all of them while moving Joel Armia (who was drafted under the Darcy Regier regime) and Brendan Lemieux, a second-round pick.

Why Winnipeg won

• They got Myers, who desperately needed a change of scenery and will be asked to do less in Winnipeg (which still has the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba and Tobias Enstrom on defense) than he did in Buffalo (which has one of the NHL’s weakest bluelines.) Myers was also highly coveted across the league.

• They ship out a distraction in Kane, who caused rifts in the dressing room and well-publicized issues with teammates. Could be addition by subtraction, to a certain degree.

• They actually added depth for their playoff run. Roster-wise, Myers is a straight swap for Bogosian and since Kane wasn’t going to play again this year, Drew Stafford -- a three-time 20-goal scorer -- is a nice get for the top-nine forward group.

•They added Armia and Lemieux to a prospect base that already boasts Nikolaj Ehlers, Josh Morrissey and Nic Petan.

So...who won?

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