SYDNEY, N.S. — Cape Breton Eagles general manager Jacques Carrière didn't wait until the final hour of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League trade period to make another big transaction.
Just over two weeks after the team sent captain Shawn Element to the Victoriaville Tigers on Dec. 30, Carrière completed another trade on Monday, sending Calgary Flames prospect Ryan Francis and a sixth-round draft pick in 2021 to the Saint John Sea Dogs, a Maritime Division rival.
In exchange, the Eagles received forward Dawson Stairs, a first-round draft pick in 2023, and a second-round draft pick in 2023. Cape Breton will also get a sixth-round draft pick in 2022, a pick originally belonging to the Sherbrooke Phoenix.
"We said that we were going to see at Christmas where we were going to be and how we were going to reposition ourselves to try to restart the cycle and restart the wheel," said Carrière when reached by phone Monday evening.
"There was an opportunity to move Ryan Francis to get a player that's a year younger and get some picks that are going to allow us to load the bank with regards to young players at the draft and we thought it was the right thing for us to do."
In 2017, as the Eagles' head scout, Carrière drafted Francis in the second-round, No. 21 overall.
"He's been a big part of our organization," said Carrière. "It was hard (to trade him), but it's something that has to be done for the team and it gives Ryan a chance to perhaps go and win."
Francis, 19, appeared in 198 career games in an Eagles uniform, posting 51 goals and 159 points. His best season in the league to date came during the 2019-20 campaign, where playing on the top line with Shawn Boudrias and Egor Sokolov, Francis recorded 24 goals and 72 points in 61 games.
The Beaver Bank, N.S., product was drafted by the Flames at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft in the fifth-round, No. 143 overall. Francis has yet to sign with the Alberta-based NHL team and was not invited to attend the club's training camp earlier this month.
In 15 games this season, the five-foot-nine, 176-pound Francis had six goals and 21 points along with a minus-9 rating and 12 penalty minutes.
Meanwhile, Stairs, 18, was a seventh-round draft pick of the Sea Dogs at the 2018 QMJHL Entry Draft.
The five-foot-11,196-pound left-winger suited up for the Sea Dogs in 87 career games, notching 20 goals and 38 points along with 60 penalty minutes and a minus-24 rating.
After appearing in only 11 games during the 2018-19 season, the Fredericton, N.B., native had a good rookie season in 2019-20, posting 17 goals and 28 points along with 101 shots on goal in 63 games. Five of his goals came on the power play.
"Dawson plays with some good Eagle-like qualities," said Carrière, who compared Stairs to former Eagle Shaun Miller.
"He plays 200-feet, he's a decent skater, he goes in the dirty areas and he has some skills, so we liked the overall package that he brought forward."
Carrière said there was a market for Francis' services and there were some teams interested.
"There's no bidding wars going on right now like you would normally see in a trade period because of COVID-19 and some of the uncertainty," he said. "It's pretty tough to max out the value where in other years you could go back and forth."
Carrière confirmed Stairs will travel to Sydney on Tuesday and begin the required 14-day isolation period due to COVID-19 restrictions for people travelling from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia.
The QMJHL trade period will close next Monday at 1 p.m. Atlantic time.
- Jeremy Fraser is the sports reporter for the Cape Breton Post. Follow him on Twitter @CBPost_Jeremy.
