So, today's trade deadline day in the National Hockey League. Anything can happen at any time. My vow to you is to keep my eyes keenly trained on the television set and my fingertips on the keyboard, so as to be able to report to you almost instant analysis of any trade that goes down from here until the deadline hits at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (at which point I have to go to class; a dude's gotta have priorities... and a life of some semblance). So, without further ado:
9:05 a.m.: The doorbell rings and I wake up, because it's presumably the mailman. He always rings the bell when he has a package, so I get up excited-like and go to the door. He's no longer there, but he's left the package outside, as if the fact that he rang the doorbell magically placed some force field around the box so as to prevent it from being stolen. No matter, I pick it up. It isn't for me. I bring it inside and leave it for the addressee, now slightly more frustrated. Then, I realize it's trade deadline day and all my anger dissipates (this time, very much magically).
I turn on the television and find out that the Montreal Canadiens have traded forward Matt D'Agostini to the St. Louis Blues for prospect Aaron Palushaj (I already knew that the Toronto Maple Leafs had traded forward Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Martin Skoula and forward Luca Caputi from the night before). As a Montreal fan, the D'Agostini trade pleases me for the simple reason that he had become redundant in the team's system (too many checking forwards) and he hadn't performed all that well since getting called up last season when he was placed on one of the team's top lines. Palushaj, according to hockey'sfuture.com, is a winger with some pretty hefty upside, so, for now at least, I consider the trade a major win.
Meanwhile, in reporting the trade, for probably the umpteenth time since it happened the night before, TSN's Darren Dutchyshen (I think I spelled it right) mistakenly calls D'Agostini an unrestricted free agent at season's end. No, Dutchy, I say to myself, he will be a restricted free agent. If only he could hear me.
10:00 a.m.: I start writing this post (I'm nothing if not a stickler for detail).
10:15 a.m.: The folks at TSN are having the panelists put together their dream Team Canada teams for the 2014 Winter Olympics. Oh, God... it's going to be one of those trade deadline days. It's not even noon, and they're reaching for content. Not even a week after Canada brought home gold in Vancouver, they're already looking ahead four years |STAR|groan|STAR|.
10:16 a.m.: Content that nothing will happen for the moment, I do my laundry. The detergent bottle is empty, so I get a new one and wash out the old one. Talk about excitement abound!
10:33 a.m.: I learn that power-play quarterback Derek Morris is on his way back to the Phoenix Coyotes from the Boston Bruins for reportedly a draft pick. This is interesting for a number of reasons: 1) He played for the Coyotes last year, only to be traded to the New York Rangers at last year's deadline. 2) He signed with the Bruins during the off-season, as general manager Peter Chiarelli opted to go with a defenseman instead of pursuing a deal with forward Phil Kessel. And 3) He was supposed to be one of the missing links as the Bruins were meant to seriously contend for the Stanley Cup this year, one season after winning the Eastern Conference in the regular season. Now, interestingly enough, they've become sellers, even though they still hold a playoff spot (eighth in their conference).
10:44 a.m.: I get my laundry only to discover a kleenex had been left in a pocket prior to the wash. Now there are bits and pieces of wet tissue all over my washed clothes. Nice.
11:00 a.m.: Word gets out that Skoula is being flipped to the New Jersey Devils by the Leafs for presumably a late-round draft pick. While Skoula is not a top-end defenseman by any stretch of the imagination, he is a legitimate NHL player, which unfortunately cannot be said of all of the Devils's defensive corps this year. Skoula's stay-at-home style of play should fit in with new head coach Jacques Lemaire's system. Good acquisition for New Jersey, in my humble opinion.
11:36 a.m.: It is reported on TSN that the Florida Panthers traded defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Matthew Bartkowski to the Bruins for forwards Byron Bitz, Craig Weller, and a second-round draft pick. I call a die-hard-Bruins-fan friend of mine who says that, while Seidenberg is a bit of an offensive upgrade over Morris, he believes that Bitz and the draft pick are too valuable to justify both moves. Bitz, he says, has high upside and the draft pick, which was originally Tampa Bay's, will be high next draft. My friend also says that the Bruins better do something else to give them more scoring. Maybe more is to come from the Boston camp today.
11:48 a.m.: The Anaheim Ducks decide to add some defensive depth to their organization by acquiring Aaron Ward from the Carolina Hurricanes for goaltender Justin Pogge and a fourth-round draft pick. Considering Pogge seems to have limited potential at this point of his career after being drafted by the Leafs six years ago, I think the Ducks soundly won this trade, even if Ward will be an unrestricted free agent come July 1.
11:52 a.m.: I start putting away my laundry.
12:28 p.m.: As I finish scarfing down my burrito of a lunch, I see that the Washington Capitals have traded a seventh-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Scott Walker. I don't know if Walker, at this stage of his career, is any kind of answer for the Caps, even in an industrious role such as the one he's been playing in recent years. Still, this move signifies that the Caps are serious about contending this year. Hopefully their goaltending situation won't be a problem one way or another come playoff time (Semyon Varlamov healthy and Jose Theodore competent).
12:40 p.m.: The Vancouver Canucks trade for forward Yan "The Other" Stastny in exchange for forward Pierre-Cedric Labrie from the Blues. It is heralded as a move to improve the depth of the Manitoba Moose (Vancouver's American Hockey League affiliate) by TSN. No argument here.
12:44 p.m.: In perhaps the biggest move of the day, the Colorado Avalanche traded for fallen-out-of-favour-forward Peter Mueller and prospect Kevin Porter. In exchange, the Coyotes get Wojtek Wolski, a great, but inconsistent, skilled forward who scores his points in bunches and then pulls a Houdini disappearing act for a few games. I'm a huge fan of Wolski's, but I'm not sure who got the better end of this deal. Porter's a relatively top-end prospect, so it may just be Colorado if Mueller turns his career around after two consecutive sub-par seasons.
12:55 p.m.: The Detroit Red Wings get minor-league forward Jordan Owens and the Rangers get minor-league forward Kris Newbury in another unimportant deal (no offense to Owens or Newbury).
1:35 p.m.: TSN reports that veterans Jeff Halpern and Mathieu Schneider are moving. Halpern has been traded to the Los Angeles Kings from the Tampa Bay Lightning, while Schneider, who had been demoted earlier in the season to the AHL, is on the move to Phoenix from Vancouver (or, more accurately, Manitoba). I'm a fan of both of these guys', especially Halpern, who I believe, from a leadership AND a skill standpoint, has a lot left in the tank. It's hard to make a case that Schneider can be as effective as he was as recently as last year with Montreal, but, if given limited minutes on the power play, who knows? It still remains to be announced what the Canucks and Lightning are getting in their respective deals.
1:45 p.m.: It is announced that the Lightning are getting forward Teddy Purcell and a third-round draft pick in the Halpern deal. Purcell has the talent to play in the NHL, but, for whatever reason, hasn't been able to put it together to earn a consistent job with the Kings. It remains to be seen if Tampa Bay has the coaching and developmental skill to bring out the best in him in more than just brief spurts.
1:46 p.m.: The Capitals trade for forward Eric Belanger with the Minnesota Wild who get a second-round pick in the deal. A decent trade as Belanger, who will be a UFA at season's end, plays a solid two-way game and could step into a top-six role if necessary... more defensively responsible than a Brendan Morrison, who currently plays a similar role with the Caps.
2:05 p.m.: The Ducks and Calgary Flames swap back-up goalies, with Curtis McElhinney and Vesa Toskala switching places. Likely just a matter of the Ducks clearing some salary cap space and Toskala's excessive $4,000,000 salary. The only real way to explain this deal, I think.
2:27 p.m.: The Buffalo Sabres acquire forward Raffi Torres from the Columbus Blue Jackets for defenseman Nathan Paetsch and a second-round draft pick. Considering Paetsch has never amounted to much despite a high amount of potential, his expendable nature relatively justifies this deal from Buffalo's point of view. They get a checking-line player in Torres, who once netted 27 goals and three times netted 20. Not bad for a team looking for more offensive depth.
2:41 p.m.: Fresh off their acquisition of Torres, the Sabres turn around and deal forward Clarke MacArthur to the Atlanta Thrashers for third-round and fourth-round picks. I like this deal from the Sabres's viewpoint once again, getting some return out of a guy who likely has a future as a top-six forward in the league, but who knows when?
2:42 p.m.: For what seems like the fifteenth time today, TSN is discussing Toronto defenseman Tomas Kaberle, despite his no-trade clause. I'm beginning to think TSN should adopt Fox News's "Fair and Balanced" slogan, purely for ironic reasons. At least then, people might cut them some slack whenever they go off on pro-Toronto tangents like this (which is all the time).
2:54 p.m.: Washington apparently reacquires defenseman Milan Jurcina from the Blue Jackets after sending him there along with forward Chris Clark earlier this season. Curious move. I wonder what is going through Jurcina's head right now. There's likely no way he re-signs at the end of this season with the Caps after this mini-saga is all said and done. The Blue Jackets are said to get a sixth-round pick in the deal.
3:08 p.m.: Phoenix continues to make a strong bid for a long playoff run upcoming, acquiring depth-forward Lee Stempniak from the Maple Leafs. Going the other way would be a few draft picks, according to TSN. Considering what Phoenix has done today, the Coyotes are clearly the winners. They made a significant attempt to become more offensively dangerous, and I think they've succeeded. Look for them to challenge for home-ice advantage for the playoffs. Obviously, being in the same division as the San Jose Sharks, they won't win their division, but number-four spot in the conference, currently held by the Kings, looks to be up for grabs.
3:10 p.m.: The Kings respond by picking up veteran forward Fredrik Modin from the Blue Jackets for future considerations. He's got a big shot, but he's getting up there in years.
3:10 p.m.: The Capitals continue their restructuring of their blue line, trading for Joe Corvo, giving up defenseman Brian Pothier and forward Oskar Osala. It would seem that Washington is content with their goaltending situation heading into the playoffs. Good luck to them, in that case.
3:14 p.m.: I'm going to take a shower to wash this day-long stink off of me. No big names traded, but a lot of players switching places nonetheless.
3:35 p.m.: No sooner do I get out of the shower do I see several deals that just got completed. Firstly, the Ducks acquired goalie Joey MacDonald, possibly to replace Pogge in their minor-league system. They gave the Leafs a seventh-round pick in 2011 in exchange. Meanwhile, the Canucks addressed some defensive injury concerns by acquiring Andrew Alberts from the Hurricanes for a third-round pick. In addition, the Panthers get defenseman Mathieu Roy from Columbus in exchange for forward Matt Rust. In perhaps, the most nonsensical deal of the day, at least from Anaheim's perspective, they ship off defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Edmonton Oilers for Lubomir Visnovsky. Both are similar players except for the fact that Whitney is cheaper, younger, and arguably has more potential. Maybe I'm just pissed off because I own Whitney in a keeper fantasy league and he has now been sent to where talent goes to die in the NHL, but, in all seriousness, I don't know how Anaheim general manager Bob Murray convinced himself of the rationale behind this deal in his head.
3:40 p.m.: The Maple Leafs continued to rebuild their organization, trading for defensive prospect Chris Peluso, giving up a sixth-round pick in exchange to the Penguins. This is clearly an organizational depth move on the Maple Leafs's part. In addition, Nashville added some depth by trading for forward Dustin Boyd. The Flames get a fourth-round pick in that deal. In my opinion, it's hard to justify this deal as well. Perhaps after signing Matt Stajan to a contract extension a few day ago, gm Darryl Sutter didn't think he had the space to re-sign Boyd (set to become a restricted free agent at season's end). Still, the Flames gave up a major component of their depth in this one.
3:50 p.m.: Time to go to class. Peace out. Not a bad trade deadline day after all. Twenty-five deals to tie the record.