NHL Trade Rumors 2011: Possible Trade Values and Destinations for NHL's 'Big 3'

August is here and that means that the upcoming NHL 2011-12 season is just two months from kicking off, and I for one cannot wait to see it get started.

The playoffs ended with EA Sports correctly picking the winners of 14 out of the 15 series, but with the off-season moves by teams, this season should be a lot more wide open and a lot less predictable.

The NHL was without the full force of superstars last season with Sidney Crosby (concussion) out for the last half of the season, Alexander Ovechkin (shoulder) not playing his best due to an injury, and Steven Stamkos (although finishing with 45 goals) only scoring five goals in his last 28 regular season games.

Luckily, the NHL's "Big 3" are back (Crosby is able to do workouts again, Stamkos signed a five year deal to keep him in Tampa, and Ovechkin's shoulder will most likely be at full strength) and should be in full force to push each other for the Art Ross (points) and Rocket Richard (goals) trophies.

But because it is still the off-season, and "anything can happen," this article (although highly hypothetical) will examine the possible trade values and possible destinations of Ovechkin, Crosby, and Stamkos.

1. Stamkos to Toronto Maple Leafs

Let me say first off that Steven Stamkos will not play for the Toronto Maple Leafs anytime in the next few years.

The five-year, $37.5 million dollar deal that Stamkos signed with the Lightning will keep him a Bolt for the foreseeable future barring any blockbuster trades.

But what would it take for Stamkos to be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

I would think it would take an arm, a leg, and a kitchen sink; but it might look something like this:

To Toronto: Stamkos, Teddy Purcell

To Tampa Bay: Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Jonas Gustavsson, 1st round pick 2012,1st round pick 2013.

Including Teddy Purcell to this trade seems almost normal because he feels like a Brian Burke kind of player.

There are three things that I like about Purcell:

Firstly (and the trait Brian Burke would like most), Purcell goes to the net like he owns the place. A fair number of his goals came from "Tomas Holmstrom" areas, within five feet of the front of the net.

Secondly, Purcell has a bullet wrist shot (see the Boston series for more on that).

Thirdly, Purcell put up 17 points in 18 playoff games.

That might not mean too much considering Purcell played on the same line as Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, but if and when the Maple Leafs make the playoffs this season, it would be good to know that they have a Teddy Purcell on their team to step up in the playoffs.

In addition to the two first round picks, going to Tampa Bay would be proven scorer Phil Kessel, power forward Joffrey Lupul, and a possible long term solution in goal: Jonas Gustavsson.

Kessel has had to carry the mail for Toronto so to speak and he, unlike his team, has not disappointed. Kessel will be going for his third straight 30 goal season this year, and with some added offensive help, has an outside shot at hitting 40 goals.

Joffrey Lupul has a unique record that he owns: First (and only) player to score all four of his team's goals in a playoff game, including an overtime winner. Having said that, in his three full seasons Lupul has never scored less than 16 goals (that was with Edmonton) and his career highs are 28 goals and 25 assists back in 2005-06.

Lupul is in his prime at the age of 27, and would be a good go-to-the-net kind of guy for Tampa Bay. Putting him on the ice with either Lecavalier or St. Louis would give the opposing coach headaches trying to match up with him.

Gustavsson has not played up to his potential, but did post a winning record two seasons ago with the Leafs. A better defense and better overall team would help Gustavsson develop into the franchise goaltender that some have pegged him to become later in his career.

2. Crosby to Anaheim Ducks

Sidney Crosby (concussion) has not been able to work out until recently because he sustained a pair of hits to the head in back-to-back games and missed the last half of the season.

The first one by David Steckel looked almost accidental, but come on, Steckel clearly wanted to give him more than a friendly bump on the way by.

The second one by Victor Hedman wasn't really a cheap shot; it was more of a high hit while finishing his check, leaving his feet a little bit to do so.

Having recapped the hits, we must recognize that Sidney Crosby's trade value has gone down substantially because he is not the Sidney Crosby of old.

Alright now I know what you're thinking here reading this, "Sidney Crosby, Sid the Kid, poster boy of the NHL, playing for...Anaheim?"

Relax and read on; Crosby's value on the open free agent market and on the trade market plummeted significantly after his season-ending concussion, seemingly make it easier to acquire him via trade.

Crosby's no-movement clause does not come into effect until 2012-13, so the blockbuster trade to Anaheim that I would propose would look something like the following:

To Anaheim: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin

To Pittsburgh: Corey Perry, Cam Fowler, 1st round pick 2013

Anaheim only has 10 forwards signed to date, so they will either need to call up players from their AHL squad or sign more free agents.

Giving them Crosby and Malkin would put them at 11 forwards (needing just one more to fill four lines) with Perry and Fowler going the other way with the first round pick.

Crosby and Malkin (when healthy) are arguably the best scoring tandem in the NHL today.

Sending Perry to Pittsburgh would give the Penguins the NHL's only 50 goal scorer from last season, a feat he accomplished playing with Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan.

It would also extremely benefit the Penguins to acquire a young defenseman such as Fowler to build around for the coming years.

The trade would work out as far as cap hits go because Crosby and Malkin have a collective cap hit of $17.4 million (per CapGeek.com). Perry and Fowler's combined cap hit (including bonuses) is $6.735 million, leaving Anaheim (who according to CapGeek.com has cap space of $11.9 million) with $1.3 million dollars in cap space to sign a twelfth forward.

Ovechkin to San Jose Sharks

Alexander Ovechkin playing in the Western Conference? With the Sharks?

Relax, read on, this will possibly be more interesting than the Crosby trade I just proposed.

Ovechkin, possibly the most exciting player to watch both with the puck and without it, impacts the game in so many different ways. Whether it is scoring goals, dishing out big hits, or setting up teammates, this guy plays the game at 110 percent.

In fact, it shows how skilled this guy is when I say that his past season's stats (and career lows) of 32 goals and 53 assists were considered awful for Ovi.

Somewhere in the middle of this season, Ovechkin sustained or re-aggravated a previous injury.

He simply was not the same as he was the previous few seasons, and although he played the majority of the season, one could tell his game was off this year.

Having summarized Ovi's injury history, he could accept a trade to the Sharks if he chose to waive his no trade clause, and he felt like there wasn't a reasonable chance to win in Washington.

Here's what I would propose as compensation, keeping in mind that Washington (per CapGeek.com) is $890,000 over the cap limit and San Jose (per CapGeek.com) has  approximately $4.47 million in cap space:

To San Jose: Ovechkin (after waiving NTC), Alex Semin, First Round pick 2012

To Washington: Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe, Dan Boyle (Boyle would have to waive his NTC), First round pick 2012

$14.3 million in salary would be going to Washington, while $16.25 million would come to San Jose.

This would put San Jose about $2.4 million away from the cap, while giving Washington cap relief and moving them below the salary cap. 

Ovechkin is signed until 2020 at $9.5 million a season.

Semin is entering the final year of his contract, meaning he could be let go by the Sharks following this season if a deal could not be made or he did not meet expectations.

There were multiple rumors of Semin's being traded this off season, but Capitals General Manager George McPhee quashed those rumors.

Semin and Ovechkin are both snipers and both lethal players with the puck; they are arguably the best Russian tandem to play on the same team in the history of the NHL.

Put them together with Jumbo Joe Thornton and the word "yikes" comes to mind.

Going to Washington are Joe Pavelski, Ryane Clowe and Dan Boyle.

Pavelski is still coming into his own in the NHL and becoming more of a set-up man with career highs of 46 assists and 66 points this past year with the Sharks.

He is also stellar at faceoffs, ranking 23rd in the league by winning 54.3 percent of his draws.

In Ryane Clowe, Washington would get the power forward that they have been seeking to take the puck to the net.

Clowe had 24 goals and 62 points this past season and put up 15 points in 17 playoff games.

Funny I mention the playoff statistics because that is where Washington always seems to stumble every season.

Dan Boyle brings a veteran presence on the back end and he can also dish the puck around, putting up 41 assists and 50 points in 76 games last season.

Washington has never really had a dominant defenseman (let's be realistic, Mike Green is more of an offensive defenseman) and Boyle's presence along with Clowe's power forward abilities would make this deal look very enticing for both GMs.

None of These Trades Would Ever Happen, But.....

Despite the fact that all of the trades listed above are highly doubtful, it is fun to throw around ideas of what the trade values of the "Big 3" could be.

These players are the poster figures for their individual teams, and the chance that any of these teams let  these players get away is almost zero.

However, none of these GMs would look a gift horse in the mouth, so all of them could and should be open to appealing deals if they were to come along.

The goal of each GM every year is to win the Stanley Cup for their franchise and so far out of these "Big 3," only Crosby has helped Pittsburgh capture a Cup.

The fact that each team needs more than just superstars to achieve greatness speaks volumes to the fact that these GMs should be open to trading their top players if it would give them a shot at winning the Stanley Cup.