For your reading pleasure, we will be breaking down each trade from today, noting what each trade means for each team and what this tells us about the direction they are going. For the record there were 22 trades today, 41 players getting new addresses, and 21 picks changing hands in the upcoming draft.
Columbus trades Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick to Ottawa for Antoine Vermette
Goph's Take: This was one of the few trades today where both sides come out winners. Ottawa has been searching for a goalie for the past couple of years, and with Steve Mason doing wonders in Columbus, Pascal Leclaire was readily available. As for Columbus, they are looking to make a push to get into the playoffs and Antoine Vermette is a solid role player that has the ability to put the puck in the net every now and then. Solid move for both teams.
Casey's Take: I tend to think that Columbus gave up a bit much to get Vermette here. Leclaire isn't a terrible goalie, but the Senators need something in net to stop pucks. I'm all for them putting up the shooter tutor and playing with the normal five guys on the ice. Columbus gets a good solid gritty veteran to help out in their playoff push. I can't believe I'm putting playoff push and Columbus in the same sentence. Wow.
Casey's Take: I tend to think that Columbus gave up a bit much to get Vermette here. Leclaire isn't a terrible goalie, but the Senators need something in net to stop pucks. I'm all for them putting up the shooter tutor and playing with the normal five guys on the ice. Columbus gets a good solid gritty veteran to help out in their playoff push. I can't believe I'm putting playoff push and Columbus in the same sentence. Wow.
Calgary trades Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson, and a 2nd rounder to the Avs for Jordan Leopold.
Casey's Take: The Flames are obviously trying to close the gap between them and the Sharks and Red Wings. This may be a bit much to give up for Leopold, but he will be a solid addition to the team.
Pittsburgh trades Danny Richmond to the Blues for Andy Wozniewski
Casey's Take: Just a minor deal here. Might mean that Ray Shero is not planning on re-signing Hal Gill or Philippe Boucher this summer and thinks Wozniewski and Alex Goligoski will be full-time ready for next season.
Phoenix trades Mikael Tellqvist to the Sabres for a 4th round pick
Casey's Take: This is the best the Sabres could do to bring in a goalie to get them to the playoffs? Or at the very least keep them in the playoff hunt? Color me not impressed.
Justin's Take: Well, I guess Tellqvist beats the crippled goalies the Sabres have over here in Portland, Maine. Not by much though.
Toronto claims Martin Gerber off of waivers from the Senators
Casey's Take: Gerber's fallen off the map of quality goaltenders over the last couple seasons, but maybe without the pressure of making the playoffs in Toronto things will change. With Vesa Toskala on the IR now, I could see a platoon of CuJo and Gerber in Vesa's absence.
Goph's Take: I don't think it hurts the Leafs, and if anything, rolling the dice on Gerber can pay dividends if all he needed was to get out of that toxic fog up in Ottawa. With that said, I don't expect much out of this signing.
Dallas claims Brendan Morrison off of waivers from the Ducks
Casey's Take: Very solid pickup for the Stars. If they have any hope of making the playoffs in the log-jammed Western Conference they need people to get healthy. Morrison could very bridge the gap and provide some help for a team missing big players like Brad Richards and Brendan Morrow.
Goph's Take: I like Morrison, but not as much as some of my fellow bloggers. I think he does better with oodle's of talent around him rather than making others around him look better. He will be much better with this team next year with Morrow back.
Anaheim trades Steve Montador to the Bruins for Petteri Nokelainen
Casey's Take: I'm not surprised the Bruins were pretty quiet on deadline day, but Montador brings a physical presence to the backline and some added depth. Bruins win this trade considering Anaheim has waved the white flag on this season.
Justin's Take: I like the deal for the Bruins in the sense that they get more physical in defense and a little stronger in depth. I want to see what it means for a couple rearguards on the team, Hunwick especially.
Goph's Take: I would actually put the Bruins as one of my winners on the day. They simply solidified their depth chart today which is all they really needed to do. Sometimes less is more, and that is the case here.
Calgary trades Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, and 1st round pick for to the Coyotes for Olli Jokinen and a 3rd rounder.
Goph's Take: By far the trade of the day in the NHL. Calgary, who has been holding their cards tightly to their vest, nabs what could be the best offensive player that was on the market. Jerome Iginla must be doing backflips right now. A line of Iginla, Olli, and Cammelari may be the most potent line in the league behind the Spezza, Alfredsson, Heatley line.
Casey's Take: Steep price to pay for Jokinen, but the return could pay huge dividends for the Flames. Before this trade, I don't think the Flames could have knocked off the Red Wings or Sharks. I'm still not so sure right now, but they have a good defense, a more potent offense now and let's not forget that they have one of the elite goaltenders in the league in Miikka Kiprusoff. Watch out for the Flames in the playoffs now.
Justin's Take: Olli Olli Olli! Oi! Oi! Oi!
Boston trades Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums to Tampa Bay for Mark Recchi and a 2010 2nd rounder
Casey's Take: I honestly don't know what the Lightning are thinking here. It's no surprise that they dealt Recchi, but throwing in a 2nd rounder to get Lashoff and Karsums is a waste to me. Just my two cents.
Justin's Take: Casey's right, it is a waste. Lashoff has some potential, but he's limited. Karsums is a high energy, hard player type, but he's a fringe NHL player at best. Boston does well to get a 2nd rounder and 3 months of Mark Recchi.
Goph's Take: How many more years will Tampa Bay be simply cutting salary and acquiring prospects at the deadline, especially with St. Louis having his contract up in 2 years? I don't see them being buyers next year, and if St. Louis jumps ship in two years, this team is going to turn into the Oakland Raiders of hockey.
The Islanders traded Bill Guerin to the Penguins for a conditional draft pick (5th rounder, that turns into a 4th if the Pens make the playoffs and a 3rd if they win 1 round)
Casey's Take: Love it, love it love it. If you go back and look at my previous posts about this saga you'll see that this is exactly what I was prepared to give up for a guy like Guerin. He'll go to the net and bang home rebounds for sure. He'll be the guy camping out in front of the net on the powerplay allowing our skill players to do what they do best. This is a very good move for the Pens.
Justin's Take: So they wanted Billy two years ago and settled for Gary Roberts. Now they need Billy for the playoff push. I like the move because he should do a lot for the Pens power play and it never hurts to have a great leader like Guerin on the team.
Goph's Take: Another trade where I disagree with my fellow bloggers. Satan, Fedotenko, and now Guerin. How many more Islanders cast offs are the Pens going to acquire from a team that perpetually disappoints? I think Kunitz was a great trade, but on this one, I don't see Guerin contributing like Kunitz has over his first 3 games in Pittsburgh.
Phoenix trades Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers for Scottie Upshall and a 2nd rounder
Goph's Take: I saw this and it looked like Philly was gearing to make a big deal by clearing Upshall's cap space. And then nothing happened but cricket noises and Kyle (hahahahaha) Mc (hohohohoho) Laren (hehehehehe). They already have enough guys taking penalty minutes, Carcillo wasn't needed.
Casey's Take: I'll be interested to see how Carcillo and Riley Cote get along. If Carcillo has his head in the game, he can be a lot more effective than just pounding people's faces in. If he loses his head however....
Toronto trades Nik Antropov to the Rangers for a 2nd rounder and a conditional pick
Casey's Take: How bad did Toronto fans want Antropuff off the roster? I got a text from a die-hard Leafs fan right after the announcement that said "Antropuff gone. Thank God!" Enjoy Rangers.
Phoenix trades Derek Morris to the Rangers for Dmitri Kalinin, Petr Prucha, and Nigel Dawes
Goph's Take: At first when the Antropov (Antropuff because he's a big dude who plays about as physical as the Staypuft Marshmallow man from Ghostbusters) trade went down, I was concerned because it gave the Rangers a surplus of wingers and I knew something else big was coming. With that said, there were only 5 forwards on the Rangers who would be pursued by other teams: Dubinsky, Korpikoski, Callahan, Prucha, and Dawes. Personally, I like all 5 of these wingers but I would be most willing to part with the last two.
Then the Rangers sent Dawes, Prucha, and the underachieving Kalinin to Phoenix for Derek Morris, a defenseman who believes in playing... hold it... wait for it... DEFENSE!. This is something the rest of Rangers blue liners don't do too well. Over the last 3 days, the Rangers got Avery, Antropov, and Morris for Prucha, Dawes, Kalinin, and a pick. Not bad at all Sather.
Casey's Take: Morris will help a much maligned defensive corps on Broadway, but did the Rangers sacrifice a part of their future to get him? Time will tell, but I'm sure Lundqvist is excited to see someone play some defense in front of him for once.
Toronto trades Dominic Moore to Buffalo for a 2nd rounder
Goph's Take: Has a 15 game hot streak ever been more influential at the trade deadline then now? In December Dominic Moore was not on anyone's radar. Now he's getting dealt for a 2nd rounders? Don't get me wrong hes a good player and hustles as much as anyone on the ice, but a 2nd rounder? Kudos to you Brian Burke.
Casey's Take: Toronto is going to be wheeling and dealing at the NHL Draft this year with how much they cleaned up on deadline day. Picking up a second round pick for Dominic Moore is near highway robbery. Nice job Brian Burke. Well played today.
Anaheim trades Eric O'Dell to Atlanta for Erik Christensen
Casey's Take: Poor Christensen. Once again he thinks he's made it through the deadline unscathed only to see his name pop up in a post-deadline deal. Last season he got dealt for Judas Hossa and now this yawn-fest of a deal. Hope you at least have a frequent flyer card Erik.
Tampa Bay trades Steve Eminger to Florida for Noah Welch and a 3rd rounder
Casey's Take: Intra-divisional trades bother me a lot. Just doesn't seem natural. It's like sleeping with your step-sister. You grow up hating each other and fighting and such only to reconcile in a dirty unmentionable way.
Justin's Take: A least the draft pick is clean.
Goph's Take: Draft pick is tainted by association.
Calgary trades Kevin Lalande to Columbus for a 4th rounder
Casey's Take: For a day that was supposed to be about big names moving this one deal sure take the cake.
San Jose sends Kyle McLaren to Philadelphia for a 6th rounder
Casey's Take: Oh do I wish I could have seen the look on Derek's face when this trade got announced. The winner of the "nearly peed my pants laughing" trade of the day goes to Philadelphia.
Justin's Take: Hey remember that shift back in 1998 in the second period where Kyle McLaren did that really awesome thing and seemed like a great player? Yeah, me neither.
Goph's Take: Great move for Philly. The Phantoms are in 8th in the AHL and could really use the veteran presence in the playoffs.
Anaheim trades Sami Pahlsson to Chicago for James Wisniewski and a pick
Casey's Take: I like this trade for both teams. Pahlsson is a very scrappy player who gives 110% all the time. He'll be a good fit in Chicago. The Ducks are bolstering their defensive corps for 2009-2010 already with Whitney and Wisniewski. Good deal.
Anaheim trades Travis Moen and Ken Huskins to San Jose for Nick Bonino, Tim Pielmeier, and a pick
Goph's Take: This trade is a clear microcosm of where each of these two teams is headed this season. San Jose is playing for the now, and adding playoff veterans Moen and Huskins will give the Sharks much needed toughness down the stretch. On the other hand, didn't it seem like every move today that the Ducks made was just to clear cap space? This team looks as if its throwing in the towel with 17 games left and tied for the 7th spot.
Casey's Take: See Eminger Trade. Advantage Sharks in this one, Hands down, though Anaheim gets a solid young return.
3 WAY DEAL:
Carolina gets back Erik Cole
Los Angeles gets Justin Williams and a 2nd rounder
Edmonton gets Patrick O'Sullivan and a 2nd rounder
Casey's Take: About time this whole Cole saga gets put to bed. Way to ruin the suspense by going back to the team you just left this summer. Golf clap anyone?
Anyway, I think the Kings make out quite well here with Justin Williams coming over. Add him to the mix with Frolov/Kopitar/Brown and you have yourself a couple potentially fantastic lines. The question is do you break up that aforementioned trio that's tearing it up?
Justin's Take: Wait... Cole didn't get traded to Boston!? Justin 1, Eklund 0.
Casey's Take #2: Yeah, count me in on this too. Cole not coming to Pittsburgh thankfully. Casey 1, Eklund 0.
Goph's Take: Just for the record, outside of Erik Cole and Pascal Leclaire being moved, Eklund (the man of 1000 guessed) did not predict 1 other player moving today who moved. Let that sink in. The last 6 months of guesswork is all for naught. Guerin's pick doesn't count because one he was yanked from the ice Saturday, everybody knew he was on the move. Same goes with Morris who hasn't played in a week. Now he takes a much deserved (cough cough) vacation.
Buffalo trades Ales Kotalik to the Oilers for a 2nd rounder
Casey's Pick: Nice pickup by Edmonton and Buffalo gets the second rounder they dealt to Toronto for Moore back.
Goph's Pick: BUFFALO BASICALLY TRADED ALES KOTALIK FOR DOMINIC MOORE... FAIL!
Tampa Bay trades Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogers, and a 4th rounder to Toronto for Richard Petiot
Casey's Take: Apparently it's bargain buyer day in Tampa Bay. Buy 1 get the whole team free. Good Lord.
Justin's Take: And the Leafs continue to stockpile draft picks and has-beens.
Justin's Take: And the Leafs continue to stockpile draft picks and has-beens.
Casey's Take #2: Hey now, Kolzig was the man in Portland and you know it. Show some respect.
