As most of you may know by now, I have a disturbing fixation with the NHL.
For those of you who don't know (basically all of you), today was the National Hockey League's trade deadline. While I don't know for sure, I'm willing to guess that there's generally more activity at the hockey deadline than at deadlines for other professional sports.
I'll be doing this in a strange fashion. Rather than grading trades, I'll grade teams based on...well, whatever I deem gradable. If something seems too insignificant, I'll skip it to save time.
Alphabetical order, folks. This will look a lot longer than it really is, so don't be intimidated. Trades dating back to February 3rd will be included, because that's how far the NHL's list of trades goes back.
1. Anaheim Ducks...B-
a. This team, while it may make the playoffs, can't make a deep run. There's not enough scoring and speed. Therefore, forward Travis Moen and defenseman Kent Huskins were shipped to San Jose for prospects and a pick. If they're going to enter reconstruction, they need to start soon: a lot of contracts expire after this season.
b. Samuel Pahlsson, another forward with an expiring contract, was shipped to Chicago for James Wisniewski. Wisniewski is young and has potential, so a quality move.
c. Sent defenseman Steve Montador to Boston for Petteri Nokelainen. Nokelainen was a former first round pick, but right now he's hurt, and his numbers at the NHL level haven't been too good when he's healthy.
d. Shipped Chris Kunitz and a prospect to Pittsburgh for Ryan Whitney. Whitney is a quality offensive defenseman, but he isn't known for his defense. Fortunately, his contract runs for a few more seasons, and his price tag isn't too bad.
2. Calgary Flames...A-
a. Possibly the biggest winners at the deadline, the Flames shipped Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, and a first round pick to Phoenix for Olli Jokinen. The team finally has a quality center for Jarome Iginla. Sure, Jokinen isn't having a good season (by his standards) and holds the record for most NHL regular season games without a playoff game, but he can still be effective.
b. In less exciting news for the Flames, they acquired Jordan Leopold from Colorado. Leopold has played for the Flames before, and while he's not an outstanding defenseman, he gives the defense some nice depth.
Blah blah blah blah blah blah
3. Chicago Blackhawks...C-
a. Sure, Chicago got Samuel Pahlsson from Anaheim, and while he provides a physical presence along with Stanley Cup experience, he doesn't fill the void at their second line center spot. Furthermore, the team was unable to deal Nikolai Khabibulin, who will now probably leave them for nothing when free agency arrives.
4. Colorado Avalanche-C-
a. Got a decent return on Jordan Leopold in defensemen Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson to go along with a second round pick. Nycholat, despite having piled up the points in the minors, has been unable to transfer his game to the NHL level. Whether or not Wilson will ever reach the NHL level is in question too. This team won't make the playoffs, but it would've been good to see them sell more. This reconstruction could take quite a while.
5. Columbus Blue Jackets...C+
a. Nabbed Antoine Vermette from Ottawa for Pascal Leclaire and a pick. Leclaire, who seemed to be a great fit in net last season, has put up terrible numbers this year (.867 Sv%, 3.83 GAA). Meanwhile, Steve Mason has put up significantly better numbers (.918 Sv%, 2.20 GAA).
Getting rid of Leclaire's salary was a great job, and Vermette was a decent return. He's one of the best faceoff men in the league, and he's also incredibly fast. Vermette can be useful on the penalty. However, he's most likely not the solution at center for Rick Nash. Sorry, Nash, hopefully you'll get one next year. Either way, this team seems to be set up for the franchise's first ever postseason appearance.
I've decided to split these up in groups of 5. Theoretically, it'll be easier.
Hey you're not the only one who talks about stuff other people don't care about. Besides, the blog is called Stuff With Brett, hence, hockey.
ReplyDeleteI like the "blah blah blah" though.
And yes I did actually read it. But it doesn't mean very much to me because I barely know any of these players.
feel free to ask questions, or look at stats, or look at anything.
ReplyDelete