NHL Trade Deadline: Hitting You When You Least Expect It

I'll admit it—today's NHL Trade Deadline was weird.

I mean, I've been confused before but the amount of times I ask "why" had me thinking I was back in grade eleven physics...and let me tell you: Grade Eleven physics is some bad mojo.

So what happened you ask? Well, if you weren't keeping up with Derek Harmsworth's live trade deadline coverage, then we'll recap it all right here. 

But first, a few things:

1) I usually make it a point to stay away from criticising other writers harshly, but I've had it with Steve Simmons. He wrote an article today about how Sundin refusing to be traded has cost them an opportunity for the future. Well first of all, they're at the same place today (with a few more draft picks at least) than they were last season. Sundin refusing to be traded IS NOT a missed opportunity for the Maple Leafs. What is the missed opportunity in T.O. is the last six to seven years. You're going to pin the fact that this team has continually sold its youth for high-priced, over-the-hill veterans on Mats? Give me a break.

Second of all, there are no guarantees coming from Sundin being traded. Sure they could get two first round draft picks and a top-notch prospect, but what happens if that prospect blows out his knee? Or what if he just isn't that good? What happens if the draft picks become the next Jeff Ware and Alexander Andrijevski. Would it have been nice to take the chance? Sure it would have, but I'm not going to lay into Sundin because he denied us a "chance" which had as much potential to screw the franchise over for even longer, as it did to improve it.

2) I want to see a change in format for the NHL Trade Deadline shows. I was noticing this as I watched TSN, but what I'd really like is all 30 NHL GMs in the studio, in like a telethon kind of setting with the three-tier bleachers and everything. James Duthie would host, and whenever teams wanted to make a trade, they would come down from the Bleachers, and would stand with James as they announce their trade, while in-behind them, large LCD screens would flash with graphics while dramatic music played in the background.

Then we'd have instant analysis from a panel of three judges (I guess, until Jeremy Roenick retires the most candid we get is JFJ, Mike Millbury, and Dave Hodge. That's right...no Pierre McGuire on my show!), and it would kind of be like American Idol, combined with PBS/Christian Children's Network (or whatever it's called), combined with the Deal or No Deal graphics.

I would love it if someone could make this happen.

3) John Ferguson Jr. is someone I can actually listen to. While he was General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I found myself wanting to scratch my nails on a chalkboard in an attempt to drown out whatever he was talking about, but now that he's breaking down trades, there's just something about him I like. He offers good analysis, he acts human (meaning he doesn't explode like Pierre McGuire) and he even looks younger now that he isn't Toronto's GM anymore. Good for you John!

Alright, on to the assessing.

I first want to start with the Toronto Maple Leafs—and I won't go in-depth. I promise.

With five no-trade clauses on the roster, Cliff Fletcher found himself at an impasse, and you know what? I'm not overly disappointed with what he did. Sure we lost a quotable guy in Wade Belak (like the Matt Bonner of Leaf Land), a strong defensive defenseman in Hal Gill (who really allowed Ian White the opportunity to open up his game) and a hard-working third line guy in Chad Kilger, but these were good dumps, that don't leave large holes on the roster, with a quality return.

 Toronto gained four picks (2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th) for this summer's draft, and although they aren't sure things, those picks could be used to make a draft day deal to score a quality on-ice talent. Who knows, one of them could even make something of themselves one day. Only time will tell, but at this time? Good job Fletch.

Sidenote: The only real issue is that the Leafs have to face Kilger and Belak tomorrow as they're in Florida, but after tomorrow...well...if this were any other team it'd be smooth sailing, but it's Toronto. If anything? Tighten the seat-belts.

In other, smaller news, Mike Comrie inked a new contract with the New York Islanders, the Vikings reached an agreement to ship Troy Williamson to Jacksonville (wait....wrong sport...but it's news anyhow!), J.S. Aubin and Marc-Andre Bergeron went to the Ducks (Brian Burke: We've cornered the market on goalies named J.S.), Jan Hlavac and Brandon Bochenski went to Nashville, Washington sent Joe Motzko to Atlanta for Alex Giroux, Chris Simon is getting out of the New York spotlight and heading to the back woods of Minnesota (Why does a secluded Chris Simon scare me more?), Rob Davison was shipped to Long Island from San Jose (um...does this benefit anyone? seriously?), and Christian Backman will be "bringin' it Broadway style" for the rest of the season.

Of all of these "smaller deals" the Anaheim Ducks acquired the most "bang for their buck" you could say. Granted there wasn't a lot of bucks involved in these deals, but you take what you can get right? 

But now, let's dig our hands into something deeper shall we?

To New Jersey Devils: Bryce Salvador 

To St. Louis Blues: Cam Janssen

Alright, alright. I could have included it in the above paragraph, but I'm still mad at Janssen for his hit on Kaberle last year, so I figured I'd talk about how I'm glad he's out of the East, how St. Louis just acquired an enforcer who recently dislocated his shoulder, and how the New Jersey Devils could have six Bryce Salvador's out there and it still wouldn't matter—they've got Martin Brodeur.

To San Jose Sharks: Brian Campbell, 2008 7th Round Pick

To Buffalo Sabres: Steve Bernier, 2008 1st Round Pick 

The big thing here is that at least the Sabres are getting something in return (unlike Chris Drury and Danielle Briere).The Sharks? All they do is add more depth and talent to the defense corps, and if they can resign Campbell, then all the better. For Buffalo, This deal gives them a pick to build on, as well as a young forward who (at least for now) is on the cheap side. This trade has hints of a hockey decision tucked away under all the business mumbo jumbo, as it meets needs for both teams at (what I feel) is the perfect price.

To Dallas Stars: Brad Richards, Johan Holmqvist

To Tampa Bay Lighting: Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, and a 4th Round Pick

So the "Big Three" era in Tampa is over, and it leads to Dallas being able to play Brendan Morrow and Brad Richards on the same line (throw in either Modano or Ribeiro on the right side if they're willing, and that is a dangerous line). The only other place I would have had Richards go is Columbus, only because the prospect of him playing with Rick Nash was mind-boggling.

Dallas also gets Holmqvist who will be a serviceable backup, while Mike Smith will get the chance to compete for the starter's job in Tampa, as Marty Turco is locked in as Dallas' starter for years to come.

Halpern, a long-time Capital, will get to return to the Southeast Division, while Jussi Jokinen provides some secondary scoring (especially seeing as Vaclav Prospal was dealt late last night), and gives Tampa three dangerous Shoot-Out shooters (Jokinen, Lecavailler, St. Louis). 

To Washington Capitals: Christobal Huet 

To Montreal Canadiens: 2009 2nd Round Pick.

I'm sorry...what?! Your team is fifth in the conference, three points behind Ottawa for first in the division, and you're going to run with a tandem of Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak? A whole 44 career NHL games is what's taking you to the playoffs?

Apparently boys and girls, Bob Gainey is on LSD. Who knew?

The one thing about this, is that every year there are a few deals that should be made in the off-season. This is one of those. Everyone knows that Carey Price is the future in Montreal, and if you didn't, well something was lost in the translation. But at least let Huet finish out the season. I mean, if he crashes during the playoffs then you at least have reason to trade him or buy him out (or to let him walk if he's a Free Agent this summer) but to do what Gainey did? If the Habs choke in the post-season I don't know if I'll be more worried about Gainey's well-being, or whether Carey Price will be able to rebound from the let-down.

To Colorado Avalanche: Ruslan Salei

To Florida Panthers: Karlis Skrastins, 3rd Round Pick 

 I'm not sure about this trade. I mean, Salei gets you some more point production out of the back end, but with the signing of Peter Forsberg and Joe Sakic coming back I'd think you'd want to be solid defensively rather than overly explosive offensively (especially with Jose Theodore and Peter Budaj in net). 

If this is me, I keep Skrastins.

To Carolina Hurricanes: Tuomo Ruutu

To Chicago: Andrew Ladd

To some this looks like a minor deal, but I strongly believe that Carolina got a steal here.

Andrew Ladd is talented, don't get me wrong. He's a strong two-way player, who can get you a handful of points a season. However, Tuomo Ruutu has yet to play a full NHL season (or at least 75 games), and could still be a very special player.

Injuries have derailed his career, but with Sergei Samsonov finding his step in Carolina, don't be surprised if Ruutu just needed a change of scenery (he was starting to get buried in Chicago by Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, ect.), and starts to light the lamp in Raleigh.

To Ottawa Senators: Martin Lapointe

To Chicago Blackhawks: 6th Round Draft Pick (2008)

So the Senators finally went out and acquired their 'Gary Roberts type' player. Granted he's a poor man's Gary Roberts, but Ottawa got their man.

Although you won't see Lapointe's name on the score sheet too often, he brings what this Ottawa team needed: grit and experience. His two Stanley Cup rings prove that he (and new acquisitions Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman) knows how to win, and hopefully he can pass some of that knowledge on to the rest of the Sens. 

To Colorado Avalanche: Adam Foote

To Columbus Blue Jackets: Two conditional picks 

I guess that Avalanche are just trying to get the old gang together. I mean Forsberg and Foote? Hell, why not go for Rob Blake and call Ray Bourque out of retirement too?

This trade caught me completely off guard, as I fully expected Foote to resign with Columbus. The likelihood of him doing that though? Well I'd say it's not high, as one of the conditional picks Columbus received in this deal is contingent on Foote resigning with the Avalanche.

For a team (Colorado) three points out of eighth place, it'll be interesting to see if the acquisition of Foote and Forsberg put the Avs over the top, or if they're just left spinning their wheels at the end of the season.

To Washington Capitals: Sergei Fedorov

To Columbus Blue Jackets: Theo Ruth

The one-time husband of Anna Kournikova, the former MVP/Selke/ Lester B. Person winner, and three-time Cup champion is now a Washington Capital, whose best chance of making the playoffs is winning the division (they're five points out).

It's funny how the mighty have fallen isn't it? 

I mean, Fedorov was worth Todd Marchant, Tyler Wright, and Francois Beauchemin at one point in his career. Before that he was worth anywhere from $30-$50 million.

Now? Fedorov is worth a second-round selection in the 2007 draft in Theo Ruth.

I'm speechless.

To Vancouver Canucks: Matt Pettinger

To Washington Capitals: Matt Cooke

Well, I'm starting to get the feeling that Washington wants in the playoffs this season.

Getting Matt Cooke for Matt Pettinger? Well, I'd classify that as a steal.

Pettinger has put up thirty points the past two years, but he's been sidelined with injuries this season.

Cooke? Well, he's seemingly lost a step the past few years, but he's still the kind of guy that gives his all every shift, and is willing to grind it out—the kind of guy you need in the playoffs.

Vancouver is on the bubble of making the playoffs, and I don't think Matt Pettinger is the solution to put them "over the top".

To Detroit Red Wings: Brad Stuart

To Los Angeles Kings: 2008 2nd Round Pick, 2009 Fourth Round Pick

Although it wasn't a "high impact" move, Brad Stuart will add some depth and some toughness to Detroit's defense, as well as a large body to help protect Chris Osgood and Dom Hasek.

Stuart is a hard nut to crack, as he's bounced back and forth from good and bad teams for so many years, that it's hard to tell if he's a quality player on a bad team, or if he's freeloading on a good team. In Detroit though, we'll find out soon enough if he's freeloading. 

To New York Rangers: Fredrick Sjostrom, David Leneveu, Josh Gratton

To Phoenix: Marcel Hossa, Al Montoya

For some reason, Phoenix decided that Ilya Bryzgalov, Mikael Telqvist just weren't enough and saw reason to bring in Al Montoya. Now Montoya is young, however he's in the middle of his third strong AHL season, and will soon be looking at a job in the NHL.

Word when he was drafted was that Montoya was going to be the next great New York Rangers goaltender. Well, with him being traded that won't happen, however there's a could chance that this kid could carry Phoenix to the top of league and keep them there when he makes it to the NHL.

Although both Hossa brothers were traded today, there's no mistaking Marcel for Marian. Once highly touted, Marcel has gone the way of Valeri Bure—down the score sheets and the depth charts (you may remember Valeri as Pavel Bure's brother). Maybe getting out of hockey-mad markets like Montreal and New York could do Hossa some good, although at this point, Marcel may as well be bait to bring Marian to the desert come the off-season.

As for what the Rangers get, it's not an overly impressive package. Josh Gratton has found himself as an NHL enforcer, but that's providing that he's in the NHL. At 25, there's some upside, but with only 67 games and three points to show for it, Gratton will be passed by other, younger, more productive players while in the Rangers organization. 

Leneveu  has a career record in the AHL of 50-87-10, so nothing that's overly impressive. What might have triggered this from a goaltending perspective, however, is the fact that New York wanted to avoid a goaltending controversy down the road between Montoya and Henrik Lundqvist. Leneveu could one day supplant Stephen Valiquette as the back-up in New York, but other than that, the starting job looks to be in the hands of Lundqvist for the foreseeable future.

Sjostrom has slightly better odds with the Blueshirts however. Sjostrom has provided some production at the NHL level, and has the adaptability to play anywhere on the forward lines.

To Pittsburgh Penguins: Pascal Dupuis, Marian Hossa

To Atlanta Thrashers: Angelo Esposito, Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, 2008 First Round Pick

Pittsburgh made a large impact on the league today, and declared themselves a contender for the Cup, but with this deal I'd rather be Atlanta.

Well first of all, Pascal Dupuis is just another one of those NHLers who average around 20-30 points a year to move today. All he does for Pittsburgh is replace one of the two roster players they gave up in Armstrong and Christensen.

Then we get to Marian Hossa. He'll be in Pittsburgh for the rest of this year, but then he'll gone because if the Penguins sign him long term, then they'll just be throwing away money that they could be using to lock up Ryan Whitney, Jordan Staal, or Evgeni Malkin to a longer term.

That and Hossa is notorious for not showing up in the playoffs. Ask Atlanta as last year Hossa posted one assists and a -6 in four games for the Thrashers. Then, if you're not convinced, go and ask the Senators who begged him to show up in April and May, but in return got a guy who was just eating up ice time.

Then look at what Atlanta got...

First of all, they almost redeem themselves for giving up that plethora of picks for Keith Tkachuk last year in getting Angelo Esposito, a guy they missed out on last year because they were nowhere to be seen in the first round of the draft.

Then they go out and get Armstrong and Christensen. Armstrong resembles a young Darcy Tucker with his propensity for the nitty-gritty and his periodic scoring, and Christensen who could have a bright future ahead of him playing in Atlanta.

The Penguins were one of the winners today—adding a solid defenseman in Hal Gill and a dynamic regular season scorer in Marian Hossa. However, like with Ottawa's acquisition of Stillman and Commodore, it'll be waste if the city of Pittsburgh isn't sipping champagne from Lord Stanley's mug come June.

 Because being a winner at the trade deadline just isn't the same as being a winner when in counts.