Trade Deadline Breakdown

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.

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.

Casey's Take #2: Hey now, Kolzig was the man in Portland and you know it. Show some respect.

NHL Trade Deadline Madness

After yesterday's mad scramble of wheeling and dealing, I am motioning that NHL trade deadline day become a national holiday. How am I supposed to go to work after seeing my Penguins make the biggest trade of the day and land Marian Hossa?

Anyway here's a look at some of the more notable deals from yesterday's trade deadline.

Rangers Receive: G David LeNeveu, F Fredrik Sjostrom, F Josh Gratton, Conditional draft pick For: G Al Montoya, F Marcel Hossa

This trade had be scratching my head and then wiping away tears from laughing so hard. The Rangers have been so high and mighty on Al Montoya since they drafted him and now they trade him for David LeNeveu?

Montoya is going to be a stud in the league within 3 years. Scratch that. Montoya would have been a stud in the league within 3 years had he not been traded to Phoenix.

This deal showed up just minutes after the Rangers acquired Christian Backman from the Blues. I was talking to Gopher as the deadline approached and he has this to say about getting Backman.

Gopher: "I like the deal, our defense sucks."

Me: "True, (laughing) but why would you trade Montoya?"

Gopher: (The true profanity whipping around the room is not allowed to be published here, so we're gonna go with "I'm not a happy Gopher")

Stars Receive: F Brad Richards, G Johan Holmqvist For: C Jeff Halpern, F Jussi Jokinen, G Mike Smith, 2009 fourth-round pick

I really thought that this was going to be the only big deal of the day before the Hossa trade. I like this trade from both sides. Brad Richards has shown he's still capable of being a solid player and should fit in just fine in Dallas.

Johan Holmqvist was obviously not the answer in Tampa, which has no goaltending at all until now. I was surprised to see Mike Smith be dealt away due to the fact that before this season there were rumors flying that the Stars were looking to trade Marty Turco and give Smith his due time in goal. If I'm a fantasy owner with some weak goaltending and felt like taking a flier right now before the league playoffs, I'd grab Smith in a second.

Jussi Jokinen wouldn't be a bad pick-up either depending on what line he ends up on. If he replaces newly departed Vinny Prospal, Jokinen could be a big sleeper pick, especially for power play time.

Capitals Receive G Cristobal Huet For Second-round pick

Here's what went through my head as soon as this was announced.

"Are you %#$&ing kidding me?!!"

The Caps made out like bandits in this trade. As an organization, they just told their 12 fans that they plan on making a push for the playoffs and being good for years to come.

This makes no sense from the Canadiens side of things. 20-year-old Carey Price is not ready to be the #1 goalie in Montreal. I've had this guy on 4 separate occasions this season in my fantasy league. He's inconsistent, but you know why? CAUSE HE'S 20!

I think Bob Gainey screwed the pooch on deadline day in such a way that isn't fathomable. With all the rumors flying around that Hossa was going to the Habs or Senators, I think Gainey bought into the hype and forgot to make a solid offer to get Hossa and include Johan "Moose" Hedberg.

Somthing had to have fallen apart for Gainey yesterday. Why else would you trade Huet who has been great all season and not get another goalie to come back? Habs fans don't seem too happy over this and I don't blame you.

Sharks Receive: D Brian Campbell, 2008 seventh-round pick For: F Steve Bernier, 2008 first-round pick

This should pretty much keep Sabres fans away from the arena until next season. It's a good trade in that at least the Sabres got something for a high priced player they couldn't sign. Think back to last summer when as soon as the UFA market opened, Chris Drury and Daniel Briere went running like they stole something.

Bernier should fit in well in Buffalo, but anyone who has Ryan Miller (Gopher) has go to be a little nervous about how his numbers will be for the rest of the season without his top d-man in front of him.

Campbell gives the sharks another weapon on the powerplay and at even strength. He can move the puck well and could be the trigger man on the man advantage. San Jose should be able to sign him this off-season and keep him in California for years to come.

Now on to the biggest splash of the day, the one you've all been waiting for:

Penguins Receive: F Marian Hossa, F Pascal Dupuis For: F Erik Christensen, F Colby Armstrong, C Angelo Esposito, 2008 first-round pick

Not even I saw this deal coming. At no point leading up to the deadline did I hear anything about the Pens being a player in the Hossa sweepstakes and then BOOM! we land him.

This was a tough pill to swallow at first from a fans perspective because I like Colby and Erik a bunch. Colby was a solid gritty player who gets under opponent's skin and Erik has one of the quickest releases in the league. The reason nobody knows that much about Christensen is because he played on the same team as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury etc.

Christensen will fit in well and will have a familiar face to help him along in Mark Recchi.

Now onto how this helps the Pens.

As if I need to say this. Here's how it helps. IT'S MARIAN HOSSA! Hope that makes it clear. But seriously, with how well the newly formed line of Malkin, Ryan Malone and Peter Sykora have been without Crosby, I don't see how you can break them up when he does come back.

Malkin is a natural center and has flourished since Sid went down and has now taken over the scoring lead in the NHL. While Crosby is clearly the best player in the world, you need to give him another scoring threat to play with.

I was thinking they'd go get Vinny Prospal and wouldn't have to give up a whole lot to get him, but this is just nuts.

Now that they have Hossa, when Crosby gets back you put them together. Crosby may be back by as early as next week. Gary Roberts may miss the rest of the season, but time will tell.

The Pens have enough young talent right now where losing Colby and Erik isn't as damaging as one might think. They've had half of their AHL team up this season are currently 1 point behind the Devils for the top spot in the Easter Conference. The problem is lack of playoff experience, but still the kids have proven they can play and win.

What remains to be seen is how and if the Pens can sign Hossa long-term and retain Malkin and Staal without killing their cap. I don't think this was a nervous move by Ray Shero at all. If we can't sign him, I could see a sign and trade move coming so we have something to show for this steep price other than just Dupuis. If we can't sign him, the Pens will make a big splash in the free agent market this summer, but for the time being sit back and enjoy the times when Hossa, Sid and Malkin will be on the ice together.

Not to mention if you have Hossa in your league (Gopher) despite seeing your whole team traded and screwed, you ran a lap around your living room when you saw this deal.

The Pens also acquired Hal Gill from the Maple Leafs and I absolutely hate this deal. Yes, Gill is a big boy and will block a lot of shots. However, he is slower than molasses running uphill and for a team built on speed this makes no sense to me.

He's a big body and the Pens need a big body on the blue line, but I really don't like this deal at all.

Anyway, I think the Stars, Penguins and Capitals were the big winners on deadline day while the Canadiens take the trophy for worst team of the day. Time will tell how these deals pan out, but in any event yesterday was a very exciting day to be a hockey fan.

Potential Trade Frenzy

This is going to be relatively short, but here's a list of 5 big names in the NHL who are the subject of trade rumors. This is where I feel these players will end up by tomorrow's 3:00pm trade deadline.

Now before you jump down my throat on these "predictions," this is just hypothetical and does not take the salary cap into consideration. This is just my thoughts on teams who have a legit shot at the cup and where these 5 guys would be best suited. Think of it as a conversation with your buddies about which celebrity you'd do.

#5 Dan Boyle

Boy am I glad I don't play in Tampa Bay. Not to mention being a defenseman in Tampa with a serious lack of competent goaltending. Boyle brings an added offensive threat to any team, especially one who could use power play help.

Let's do this Oscars style...

And Dan Boyle goes to... the New York Rangers.

Here's why: The Rangers top power play unit is terrible. Trust me. Terrible. If you're a Rangers fan and have a problem with that statement, you obviously just became a fan yesterday.

The top unit with Brendan Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr has been a huge disappointment. Here's a clue boys, shoot the puck on goal and crash the net. Take a note from your second unit with Fedor Tyutin, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha. Those guys pound the puck on net and hack away until the red light goes on.

Of course as soon as I finish typing this Boyle has re-signed with the Bolts for 6 years and $40 million.

With that said....

#4 Brian Campbell

See above explanation as to why the Rangers power play is awful and instead of going through more uselessness here's the quick info.

Campbell will shoot the puck on the PP. He'll get the puck there so listen up Shanahan do me a fantasy favor and go to the net and start scoring some PP goals.

Side note: Just read a rumor that the Rangers are interested in getting Pavol Demitra.

(Wipes tears away caused by an extreme fit of laughter)

This would just be dumb for a ton of reasons. Mainly, they already have enough scoring depth and need someone to play defense. Also, if Sather thinks he's getting a top 4 d-man for Marek Malik I want the cops searching his home for narcotics.

#3 Olli Jokinen

As a Pens fan I'm hoping he gets traded out of the Eastern Conference. This guy kills the Penguins. That said, I took a look at a team that could use some leadership and added scoring depth.

And Olli Jokinen goes to...The Vancouver Canucks.

Here's why this deal would help the Canucks. I know he's a center but you put him with the Sedin twins. Look what they did with Anson Carter who got a big head and is now out of the NHL. Just imagine those three playing together. Any fantasy owner of those three would sign up for this in a heartbeat.

#2 Patrick Marleau

I think he should have gone to Toronto in the first place in the Vesa Toskala deal, but now that they're still set on trading him here's who would be a good fit.

And Patrick Marleau goes to...The Ottawa Senators.

I know what you're thinking..."but all the rumors are saying Hossa is going to the Senators so there's no way this is happening." To you I say, see #1.

#1 Marian Hossa

Ok here's why Hossa should not go to Ottawa. They already have Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson. They do not need more scoring talent. What they need is defense help. Supposedly the Sens are trying to get a package deal of Hossa and Garnet Exelby, which still wouldn't be much of an upgrade.

So where does Hossa end up? Could this possibly be the out of the ballpark prediction that would appear to look like I found Sather's stash? Yes it is.

And Hossa goes to....The Boston Bruins.

Here's two words why this makes sense and would make the Bruins dangerous. Marc Savard.

These two played together in Atlanta on the same line with Ilya Kovalchuk and tore up the league. If these two get re-united and the B's somehow keep Phil Kessel, wow. Even if they have to pull the trigger on Kessel to pull it off, you put Marco Sturm on the other wing, sit back and watch the fun.

As I said before, most likely none of these deals will happen but if they do you know what the next blog will be about. If they're wrong I'll just comment on the deadline deals. In any event, the next few hours should be fun to watch.