Trading Deadline Fun, NHL Style.

It comes in every season. It's always an exciting day and it usually disappoints about 60% of the fans. Yup, tomorrow is deadline day in the NHL, and the Bruins are expected to be major players. Whether anything actually gets done is another matter entirely.

It's a fun day if only for the self serving crap trades that everyone (including, apparently the GMs themselves) proposes. The fun part is that some of the ones that include the B's may actually go down this season. While Alan Muir and Darren Elliot of SI.com give some interesting scenarios, it all boils down to the fact that we are searching for the same thing everyone else is, blue line experience. This may not be simply salary dumps for the other side of the deal, as they all seem to involve moving one of the two young scorers, Kessel and Bergeron. Though he has always been a good soldier, I'd rather see Bergeron go because of his injury history and the enormous upside that Kessel has shown since High School, and has started to be realized this year. Other pieces potentially to be moved are Mark Stuart (good friend of the Ballpark, and described by Muir as "developing into a reliable physical presence with a C in his future"), Chuck Kobasew, and draft picks.

What the Broons would be getting in return, though, is substantial. Names thrown around include Tomas Kaberle of the Maple leafs, Chris Pronger of the Ducks and the hot current name, Derek Morris of the Coyotes. Any of them would provide the veteran puck moving defensive presence that the Bruins, as well as the Caps, Flyers, Sharks and everyone else , needs. Pronger and Kaberle would bring interesting salary cap consequences as both have contracts that do not expire after the season, as Morris does. However, Pronger is one guy who could provide the type of deep playoff experience that makes most B's fans worry about making it past round 1, let alone seeing Zdeno holding the Cup about 12 miles in the air (he's really tall).

While those are all interesting blockbuster situations, the one deal which needs to happen, and is closer to home, is the trade of Keith "Melrose's favorite son" Tkachuk to the bruins for a package of draft picks. This one is a no brainer. He brings scoring punch and grit (defined here as "tough veteran leadership," not "the stuff that sand becomes after it gets into your butt crack at the beach"), as well as an intense desire to be one of the guys who wins the Cup for the Black and Gold. He will be willing to stretch himself to the limits to bring the cup home in the way that he had dreamed as a kid.

Now we wait. If anything happens I will update immediately with an overly angry/happy and altogether rash spur of the moment stream of invective. (that means a gut response which will most likely be wrong).

On the Sox front, it's all going downhill. Ortiz, § (the Player formerly known as The Beard that Should Not Be), The AL MVP, Javier Lopez and the Buzzard have all left for other teams (more on that tomorrow). Drew is on his way back to Boston for an injection in his back (if he plays more then 135 games this season I'll give up beer for a week). Penny's first spring start has been pushed back. The Red Sox are only going to win 54 games. Shit.

Go Sox, Go Brooooons

Done.

This article first appeared on GetOutOfMyBallpark.com and you should read it every day.