SIMNET Trade Deadline Frenzy

Here is my take on the trade deadline frenzy that engulfed our league this season.  With a total of 21 trades, I have given MY take on each team’s activity, if there was activity.  At the end of the article, I will give my suggestion as to who I thought was the biggest winner of the year for the deals for cup contending and nonn-cup contending teams.  Remember, these are all MY opinions and not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings.  So please read them knowing this.  I’ve deemed the trades as Neutral, Winner and Loser.  I’ve only included trades back to the 23^rd of February…basically the last week of the trade period.

Anaheim – Neutral –No deadline deals made...should have tried to upgrade some forwards for increased offense to ensure a playoff birth.

Boston – Winner – Although some people may feel that the Bruins may be a loser in the trade they made by shipping out veteran backup goaltender Jose Theodore, this is quite contrary.  GM Arcesi has made it clear that Cam Ward is his starting goalie and will be the starter all through the playoffs, whether that is 1 round or 4.  Arcesi had no intention of resigning Theodore and was able to trade him and receive a 3^rd round pick, a young prospect in Werek who was drafted in the 2^nd round and a young back-up goaltender in Neuvirth who is an RFA, which means that Arcesi can get a cheap back up for next season or let him get signed by another team and take the draft pick compensation.  He also moved a 3^rd round pick and Colton Orr to upgrade to a 2^nd round pick.  Again, another contract Arcesi moved that he had no intention of ever bringing up to the NHL club.  Not a lot of movement from the Bruins, but quality movement nonetheless.

Buffalo – Winner – The Sabres only made one deal in the deadline frenzy, however, it was a good one.  The cup contenders were able to receive Brooks Laich and a 2^nd round pick for a 3^rd rounder and a couple of young players.  Although they moved Nick Spaling, who is a good 4^th line defensive and energy player, Laich more than compensates.  Good quality move by GM Blanchard.

Calgary – Neutral – The Flames were active making three deals in the week before the deadline.  First off, they shipped a 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th to upgrade to a late 2^nd round pick…seems pricey at the time, however, they were able to flip that late second round pick in another dealto help acquire Rick Nash.  They also gave up a 3^rd and a 5^th in the deal along with young stud Logan Couture.  In my opinion, Nash is an immediate upgrade, however, taking into consideration his contract and age compared to Couture, it makes it balance out.  The Flames get more experience and scoring prowess immediately, but lose a lot of youth in the process.  The Flames also acquired Derek Roy, Steve Staois and Dustin Penner for Matt Cullen, Rob Ccuderi and Dainus Zubrus.  Again showing that Calgary wants to challenge for the cup by looking for more experienced players.

Carolina – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold vets for youth.

Chicago – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold vets for youth.

Colorado – Winner – GM LeBlanc made two solid deals and clearly was looking for more playoff experience and offense.  He added more experienced and defensive prowess by adding veteran Willie Mitchell for a few picks, youth and Bryan Allen to help take some salary away.  He also added grit by picking up a good young player in Colin Greening.  He may have lost some scoring ability by dealing Gaborik, but he picks up a better overall player in Parise.  Parise addes passing, and defense upgrade from Gabby and doesn’t take too much of a loss in the scoring department.

Columbus – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have made moves if looking to make playoffs, if not, should have sold some vets for the future.

Dallas – Winner – GM Rocket made a few deals in the last week and ultimately made sound deals.  First off he made the trade with Buffalo to move Laich and a 2^nd, but did get the third and youngster Nick Spalin and Alex Petrovic to help a movement for the future.  He later added to that future movement by adding mid-twenty year old Nathan Gerbe for aging veteran Sullivan and a late 4^th round pick.  He finally completed his week by adding more picks and prospects when he traded Mitchell to Colorado.  He also acquired Bryan Allen who can most likely be shopped around the league to any contender next season.

Detroit – Neutral – League Leader GM Cyr was pretty vocal with the trade frenzy chirping, but was relatively quiet in the deal making…but look at the standings…why mess with success?  Not sure if this was because there was a lot of alcohol involved and this made him shy to trade and not want to make a bad drunken trade…or as I said earlier…why mess with success?  :)  Cyr did make one deal which saw him move a lot of youth for a 2^nd round pick and Jiri Tlusty.  Tlusty obviously won’t help his squad much this year, unless he is destined to be a 4^th liner…which Tlusty doesn’t typically have the typical 4^th line stats, but could definitely make the roster next year since salary may be an issue and with what is destined to be an increased rerate.

Edmonton – Loser – I’m really not sure what GM Lozinski is trying to do this year…first go for it…then blow it up…now go for it again?  Danny made some decent moves…so even though I’ve tagged him as a deadline loser, it doesn’t mean the moves were bad, it just means that I think they were in the wrong direction for his club.  First off, he moved a 2^nd round pick to the Bruins for a 3^rd and a fighter.  Not a horrible move, but a surprising one to say the least.  Then he moved a promising youngster in Carter Ashton for Chris Neil and Jarred Smithson…who are both aging, but solid 4^th liners.  He then made a move with Florida to acquire Jeff Petry and Ruslan Fedotenko.  Seems like a steep price to pay in paying a 3^rd rounder and a 1^st rounder for Petry.  Other pieces that were moved were purely for salary.  Sure,  Fedotenko will help his team to try to make the playoffs, but why would he want that?  With the plethora of first round picks he will have next draft, I would think he would want his team to finish as low as possible to make that Oiler first rounder a better pick.

Florida – Winner – GM Spencer made a few moves which brightens his team’s future.  He was able to move veteran Daymond Langkow for two younger players in Sutter and Ferriero.  Even if these two don’t pan out, Langkow wasn’t helping his team in any case.  He then moved pivot Drew Miller for a 3^rd, a 5^th and youngster TJ Galiardi.  Finally, he was able to move Petry for a 1^st and 3^rd round pick.  To me, this was a great trade to help his movement for the future.  He’ll also get a additional 3^rd round pick if the Lightning make the Cup finals…although that is very unlikely, there is still a chance.

Los Angeles – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold vets for youth.

Minnesota – Loser – The Wild made only one deal, and I’m sure that GM McKenzie is happy with the trade, but in my opinion…it was questionable.  Looking at the trade this season…it’s not a poor trade as McKenzie dealt Yandle, Kulemin and Bobrovsky for Marleau, Elliot, Hannon and a couple of picks.  This will help him this year for a push for the playoffs and cup…however, looking at next year and every year after that…that is what makes me think that McKenzie lost out on this trade.  Yandle, Kulemin are having good years and should see dramatic increases in ratings next year.  Even Bobrovsky should see an increased rerate since he is now the starting goalie in Columbus whereas Elliot will most likely have dramatic decrease in rating.  Hannan shouldbe about the same and Marleau…well, if he rerates the same…he is still getting older.  At least the Wild were able to get a 2^nd rounder in the trade.

Montreal – Neutral – GM Sawyer was pretty quiet at the deadline.  He did make one move by trading two 3^rd round picks, one later and one earlier to get a mid round 2^nd round pick.  Ultimately a solid deal by both teams.

Nashville– Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold vets for youth.

New Jersey – Winner – Only one trade made by GM Roussel, but it was a good one.  He moved veteran leader Jarone Iginla, but was able to pick up Mika Zibanejad, Slater Koekoek and Johan Sundstrom…essentially, 2 top 10 first round picks and a 2^nd round pick.  This should definitely help out the rebuild process especially aince Zibanejad is having good success in Ottawa in his rookie year and is proving he deserves to be on that roster…he’ll see a decent rerate in my opinion.

New York Islanders – Neutral – GM Cyr only made one deal the week before the deadline, and ultimately it looks pretty close…moving out vets and a couple of later picks for some prospects.  In my opinion, it is a wash and even out…unless Shane Prince turns out to be a solid player.  Prince is having good success this year in the AHL…hopefully for GM Cyr’s sake, he continues that and gets a shot at the NHL and could amount to be a decent energy player.

New York Rangers – Neutral - No deadline deals made...could have added some 4th liners to ensure competition among Toronto, Boston and Buffalo who could be heavily seen as the top three teams in the East, despite their standings.

Ottawa – Winner – First off, GM Young’s initial deadline deal was great in my opinion.  He traded what is looking to be the last pick in the 2^nd round for a 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th round pick…great move.  Secondly, Young is showing that he wants to make the playoffs and will pay the price to do so.  He moved two young prospects to the devils along with rising talent Mika Zibanejad to acquire Jarome Iginla.  Mr. Young clearly wants to make the playoffs and after pulling this exciting trade, I hope he makes it.

Philadelphia – Winner – Winner with a capital W!  GM Paquenet made deadline deals that are definitely deadline deals!  He moved a lot of his veteran players to get youngsters in Kyle Beach, Taylor Beck, Alex Killorn, Jordie Benn, Matt Tennyson, Carter Ashton and Chris Kreider.  He also picked up Martin Havlat which can be traded in the next year or two.  Great trades Mike.  Even if only one or two of these guys that he picked up amount to anything, they were trades well worth making!

Pheonix – Winner – GM Brodsky only made one deal, but it was a blockbuster.  He moved Rick Nash for youngster Logan Couture and 2^nd, 3^rd and 5^th round picks.  I rate this as a winner trade because of the youth possibilities he picked up and he didn’t lose much in player rating as Couture is very close to Nash in a lot of the areas that count…except experience.  But still a great trade.

Pittsburgh – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold vets for youth.

San Jose – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold vets for youth.

Saint Louis – Neutral - GM Peralta only made one deal, but it was a decent deal.  He made a traditional deadline deal…gave up a young player for a veteran player to help him get to the playoffs…and managed also get a late round pick.

Tampa Bay – Loser – Although the Lightning were busy at deadline frenzy making three substantial deals, I feel that they have taken away their chance at making it far into the playoffs.  GM St. Pierre moved key veteran pieces to his division leading Lightning, Thornton, Marleau, Elliot and Hannan to get good defensive pieces in Yandle, Byfuglien and forward Langkow and back-up goalie Bobrovsky.  In my opinion, the Lightning made the wrong moves at the deadline to increase their chances for a cup, but did make the right moves to help build for next season and for the future.  The Lightning should be in good shape next year, but it remains to be seen if these moves will pay off this season or not.  Good Luck Jeannot.

Toronto – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have added to his already stacked roster...possibly an upgrade on the 4th line.

Vancouver – Winner - To no body’s surprise, GM Hondronikolis was the most active GM at the deadline making a whopping 8 deals.  With the plethora of deals made, it will be tough to even try to decipher what Johnny boy is doing and that if anyone knows, it would only be him…and that’s a big if.  :)   It looks on the forefront that the Canucks were looking for more experience for their chance for the playoffs and acquired a lot of experience in the process in all positions.  The acquisition of Thornton, Gaborik, Roy, Penner, Staois, Theodore, Miller, Stafford, show that experience was crucial for the trades.  The Canucks sit one point out of a playoff spot right now, but that should change and I predict that the Canucks will be back in the playoff standings in the very near future and could pose some threats to many Western conference teams.

Washington – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have focused on selling to help a rebuild out.

Winnipeg – Neutral - No deadline deals made...should have sold picks for vets to make playoffs as there is a good chance for it.

For non-playoff contending teams, I feel that Philadelphia made the best moves.  For cup contending teams, I would have to say that Vancouver made the best moves.  Best moves overall…Philadelphia.  Great moves were made and Philly looks to be bright for the future already.