Joined: Jul. 2022
Posts: 790
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I think the McCabe trade is a good comparable, as both McCabe and Borgen fall into a similar tier of defenseman: primarily defensive guys who can slot in on a good team's shutdown second pairing, but on a bonafide cup contender would fit better as above average third pairing guys.
The difficulty then is trying to parse out what aspects of the trade package Toronto sent to Chicago were for McCabe and what aspects were for Lafferty. I think the second rounder sufficed for Lafferty and the two fifths given the asking price for Lafferty that was floating around at the time (a second round pick). That leaves Anderson, Gogolev, and first rounder for McCabe at a cap hit a bit less than what Borgen is making right now. Considering that McCabe had three years left on his deal while Borgen has one, while Borgen is a RHD while McCabe is a LHD, I think a first round pick would be about what Borgen would garner on the hypothetical trade market.
It is important to note that compared to Chicago, Seattle is much closer to contending, so they're much less inclined to move Borgen than Chicago was to move McCabe. The Kraken also seem to value Borgen quite highly, as they were patient with him after selecting him in the expansion draft, gave him his first real crack at the NHL, and have steadily entrusted him with a larger role. Honestly, I don't see the Kraken trading Borgen anytime soon unless they get an offer too good to refuse.