Cory Conacher waived by Ottawa Senators as trade deadline anniversary present

So, uh, it’s pretty safe to call last season’s deadline deal between the Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning a “win” for Steve Yzerman.

After scoring four goals in 59 games this season, winger Cory Conacher was placed on waivers by the Senators on Tuesday along with rent-a-defenseman Joe Corvo. According to Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa offered Corvo around last week to no avail.

Please recall last trade deadline when Conacher, who was second in rookie scoring at the time, was traded to Ottawa with a fourth-round pick (used on Tobias Lindberg) for goalie Ben Bishop, who established himself as the starter for the Lightning this season with a 2.05 GAA and played himself onto the U.S. national team radar. It’s possible he’ll skate away with the Vezina Trophy this season.

Conacher, meanwhile, averaged just 12:20 per game and goes RFA after this season.

We rated the initial trade as a “two Milbury” deal via our official grading system, with the acknowledgement that Yzerman had actually made out better than his critics had suspected. It’s a bit more of a fleecing than we first thought, but it remains a win for Stevie Y.

As for Conacher ... hey, it didn't work out. Doesn't change the fact that he's a hard-working, feisty asset to a team that wants to pick him up. Hell, if Yzerman really wants to dance on the grave of this trade, he'd snag him for Stamkos' wing. (But then they'd have him as an RFA again, which was one reason why the Lightning dealt him in the first place ...)