Faceoff Factor

The Trade Deadline: A Delayed Reaction

Michael Farkas | Transactions & Rumors

Mar 8, 02:48 PM | Hype this story!

Although the trade deadline has long passed, I thought I would take one last look at it. I never really gave my thoughts about it, and I figured better late than never. Enjoy.

In the days leading up to the deadline, we saw only Paul Holmgren making moves. He traded a 3rd in 2008 to Los Angeles for Jaroslav Modry and then acquired a 3rd in 2009 for Jim Vandermeer (Calgary). So, he made two moves and ended up with the same player essentially. Seems almost like a move for the sake of making a move, but at least he kept us mildly entertained before the 26th.

Peter Forsberg returned to Colorado, despite assumptions to the contrary. Who would have thought this would be the start of Colorado re-assembling a team that won them a Stanley Cup back in 2001.

Dan Boyle re-signed with Tampa Bay for six-years and $40 million. Boyle, who was hurt much of the year, only had 9 points in 14 games at the time of the signing (16 in 23 currently). I can’t imagine how negotiations went there…

Boyle: I want about six-years, $40 million.
Feaster: Sounds good, sign here. How ‘bout a no-trade clause?

This will be quite the albatross for Tampa Bay in the coming years, good for them, using the Toronto Maple Leafs’ model for signing defensemen.

The night before the deadline, the Flyers acquired Vaclav Prospal from Tampa Bay for Alexandre Picard (the second best Alexandre Picard on his way to the NHL) and a 2nd or 3rd in 2009.

Prospal is having a career year and was a former Flyer. Philadelphia needed some scoring help because of the injuries they have been saddled with this season. Alexandre Picard is type of player you acquire if you trade Dan Boyle away. Boyle is not exactly a defensive mastermind and Picard who is offensively talented, but not much else, could fill in for the loss of Boyle. However, Feaster gets a big guy in Picard, who can’t play defense very well and doesn’t use his size effectively at all. Picard will not turn out to be more than third pairing offensive defenseman and he was never really going to get a chance in Philly. Good deal for the Flyers, Picard probably wasn’t among Philadelphia’s five best prospects.

Trade Deadline Day

In the morning, the Devils acquired Bryce Salvador from St. Louis for Cam Janssen. That gave the Devils nine defensemen. I find it odd that the price of Jackman was so incredibly high, but the price of Salvador was the complete opposite. Salvador is a warrior and upgrades the makeshift, although huge, defense pool for New Jersey.

Later on, another blockbuster, the Panthers gave a fifth round pick for Wade Belak. From Florida’s perspective: why? From Toronto’s perspective: this must be a relief, it’s a sign that change is coming, when a player like Belak is moved you know there is a brighter future on the way, some day.

After that there’s a break in the action and then the Brian Campbell trade. Bernier and a 1st for Campbell and a 7th. Good deal for both clubs, I had Campbell going to San Jose in my own predictions, so a pat on the back was in order for me, however, a bigger trade was about to go down…

Dallas got Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist for Jussi Jokinen, Mike Smith, Jeff Halpern and a 4th. This was huge for Dallas and good for Tampa Bay as well. They got good value out of the big salary in Richards. Jokinen is a decent second line goal scorer and Smith has showed great potential to be a number one goalie. Another thing about Smith is that he can play the puck so well; he can play it right past some of those terrible defensemen and get it right to guys like Lecavalier and St. Louis.

Richards was interviewed after the trade and he sounded rather annoyed. It sounded like he didn’t want to leave Tampa. However, when Tampa asked him, he was so bothered by it that he just wanted to leave and didn’t really care where he went. Richards will undoubtedly turn it on big time and make this an “I told you so” in the face of Jay Feaster.

Now it’s after 1 pm and Habs GM Bob Gainey finally rolls out of bed after abusing the snooze button for the past five hours.

He trades his starting goalie for a 2nd round pick. Assuring us that there is a bigger trade on the way. I, for one, can’t wait for it.

Andrew Ladd (underachieving) for Tuomo Ruutu (injured and underachieving) and you get the feeling that maybe Pittsburgh missed a chance at a deal. Interesting to see how quickly Carolina gave up on Ladd who was just recently a 4th overall selection.

Salei from Florida to Colorado for Skrastins and a 3rd. Salei was a big salary and Skrastins was a big healthy scratch in Colorado. Florida makes another odd move in my opinion.

The Senators got Martin Lapointe (a poor man’s Marian Hossa?) to slap some sense into Ray Emery.

The Avs then make it very clear that they are going to party like it’s 1999. They acquire Adam Foote for a 1st and a conditional 4th. Which seems like a pretty high price to pay considering that Foote said he would only go to Colorado, so who was Colorado outbidding with that offer?

The Caps, who already made it very clear they were competing for a playoff spot when they grabbed Cristobal Huet, go and acquire Sergei Fedorov from Columbus. Not a bad pick up or price to pay, good for guys like Ovechkin and Semin who likely idolized Fedorov growing up.

The Islanders weren’t nearly as foolish at this deadline. They actually make a good trade for Rob Davison (at the cost of a 7th), he’s a decent, tough, number six d-man. The polar opposite of Marc-Andre Bergeron.

Cooke for Pettinger is something of a wash in terms of agitating and Matt’s.

The Penguins make a splash by acquiring Hal Gill for a 2nd and a 5th. Which is a high price to pay really. However, Gill offers some size and some toughness to a very soft Penguins defense. He can’t skate, but he can penalty kill and move players out of the crease with authority. This is assumed to be the Pens only move of the afternoon.

The Blues move another defenseman in Christian Backman, he goes to the Rangers for a 4th. It adds a puck mover to the Blueshirts’ blue line, and furthers the case for taking Marek Malik out of the lineup regularly.

Then the deal we were all waiting for: Marian Hossa. Was it to Ottawa for Vermette, Kelly, Foligno, etc. Was it to Montreal for Lapierre, Grabovski, Ryder, plus…no. It was to Pittsburgh for Angelo Esposito, Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and 1st. The Pens also got Pascal Dupuis.

A great deal for the Penguins. Armstrong was a third liner and his on-ice product cancels with Dupuis. Christensen had no place in the organization anymore. Esposito was going to be leaving no matter what, there was no way he lasted past his entry-level deal in Pittsburgh and the first round pick, which you invest in a deal like this assuming it becomes the 30th pick.

If Hossa re-signs, it avenges Naslund for Stojanov and/or Zubov for Hatcher. If he doesn’t, it’s about even value. Two third liners, a guy that was a question mark prospect that has plummeted recently and a 1st for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. A steal by Shero.

With everyone catching their breath and the clock ticking rapidly to 3 o’clock…

We get Chris Simon to Minnesota for a 6th. How? I guess just to make a Fedoruk-Boogaard-Simon line? Trying to go with the Ducks method of being a “mean” team. The Wild won’t get beat up this time around, well, except for Fedoruk.

Bob Gainey crawls back into bed for a few more hours, citing that he’ll just try again tomorrow.

Paul Holmgren attempts to go full circle by offering a 3rd round pick for Ben Eager.

The Coyotes and Rangers make a rather unexpected trade. Montoya and Hossa for Sjostrom, LeNeveu, Gratton and a pick. The Coyotes, out of all that, got the two best players in the deal. Montoya’s stock has fallen a bit, but LeNeveu’s has plummeted to the point that the NHL is not an absolute certainty. Hossa and Sjostrom are close, but Hossa’s ceiling is higher. Nice job by the Coyotes there.

The Panthers acquired Chad Kilger for a 3rd…wait, why? You gave a 3rd and a 5th for Kilger and Belak, what happened to being sellers? Jacques Martin to be the new GM of Toronto?

The Ducks acquired Marc-Andre Bergeron for a 3rd. Bergeron might be the worst defenseman in his own end in the NHL right now. He was only acquired in case somebody good gets hurt.

The Wings sure up their defense by getting Brad Stuart for a 2nd and a 4th. Wings must have been very happy with their team for this would be their only move of the day.

The Ducks and Kings make their first ever trade. Aubin for a 7th. Pointless, but mysterious. The Ducks affinity for goalies named Jean-Sebastien continues. The Kings now have 72% of all 2008 draft picks.

Then there was some depth deals, Giroux for Motzko, Hlavac for a 7th, Bochenski for futures, Segal and a 7th for Leach, DiCasmirro for Goertzen. Nothing much there, and with that, the day comes to an uneventful end.

Aftermath:

Montreal was a big loser, dealing their starting goalie for a draft pick. I would understand if the value was high (like Fehr/Fleischmann and a 1st) and Gainey couldn’t turn down the assets for an impending UFA, but this wasn’t good value at all. And how did Ryder survive there, he must have been part of the Hossa offer.

Florida lost, their deals were just awkward and scatterbrained.

Washington was a big winner, they got some good parts for no assets. Keep in mind, the 2nd that they gave up for Huet was the 2nd that they got from Anaheim for Brian Sutherby, which (in my opinion) was a “pay off” for not claiming Bryzgalov off waivers. That way Bryzgalov could go to Phoenix so Phoenix would pass Edmonton in the standings to give the Ducks a better first round pick (Edmonton’s). So, they essentially got Huet for free.

I guess technically Colorado won, they just added so much at the deadline.

Columbus won by getting good assets back for their UFAs.

And even the Islanders won by sheer fact that they didn’t screw up like they did last deadline. If anything, Davison and a 3rd for Bergeron and a 7th improves their team.

I’m also not entirely sure, besides Ryder, how John-Michael Liles stuck in Colorado after they acquired Foote and have Cumiskey on the way. How Satan stuck on the Island (although I heard that Snow wanted a 1st for him, so I guess that settles that). Jarret Stoll in Edmonton, I guess there was no interest in him at all. I’m surprised Michael Peca didn’t find a playoff team at the deadline as well. Robert Lang I thought for sure would go and one of the Devils 427 defensemen would go the other way. Maybe Chris Kelly and Antoine Vermette, but I guess they were only part of a Hossa proposal.

And this concludes another very interesting trade deadline with one of the more informal and loosely structured articles I’ve ever written.