Where Did All The Trades Go?
Posted 3:01 PM ET | Comments 5
There once was a time when a struggling team could be counted on to make a trade in an attempt to change it's fate. There was a time when teams would swap key players in an attempt to shake up their roster and kick-start them onto the path of success.
That time is gone.
With the end of the lockout fans were promised more player movement along with more parity in the league thanks in part to the salary cap and the new CBA.
As it turns out, this newfound parity has actually ceased trades as we know them. With so many teams located so close in the standings, nobody wants to make a move lest it harms their team or they give an advantage to an opponent. While this has always been the case, it has reached an extreme this season as we have seen the likes of Ilya Bryzgalov and Mark Recchi placed on waivers because seemingly noone is willing to make a trade.
While the continuity is great and players don't have to worry too much about their future with the team, one has to wonder if this is actually hurting the NHL in the long run.
Every team this year has it's strengths and it's weaknesses but until at least one team starts to drop significantly no teams are going to be able to address those needs.
Bottom line is trades will eventually happen... the standings are just far too close at the moment for anyone to take any risks yet.
That time is gone.
With the end of the lockout fans were promised more player movement along with more parity in the league thanks in part to the salary cap and the new CBA.
As it turns out, this newfound parity has actually ceased trades as we know them. With so many teams located so close in the standings, nobody wants to make a move lest it harms their team or they give an advantage to an opponent. While this has always been the case, it has reached an extreme this season as we have seen the likes of Ilya Bryzgalov and Mark Recchi placed on waivers because seemingly noone is willing to make a trade.
While the continuity is great and players don't have to worry too much about their future with the team, one has to wonder if this is actually hurting the NHL in the long run.
Every team this year has it's strengths and it's weaknesses but until at least one team starts to drop significantly no teams are going to be able to address those needs.
Bottom line is trades will eventually happen... the standings are just far too close at the moment for anyone to take any risks yet.
Parity has a lot less to do with it than the salary cap. The Pens tried to trade Mark Recchi. The Flyers tried to trade Denis Gauthier. Anaheim tried to trade Ilya Bryzgalov. None of those teams found takers, mainly because of economics-although the Bryzgalov one was probably because the goalie market is over saturated.
I'm not totally sure if I buy the salary cap argument though. How many teams have actually spent to the cap? it's not a very large number.
Not a lot of teams have spent to the cap, but they don't want to add to it, because they want wiggle room at the deadline. Say they make a trade now, and suffer an injury later on, and have their hands tied. I think Parity plays a part, but right now, teams don't want to take a salary they have to carry for 3/4ths of a season.
What I'm concerned about is not necessarily the trades at the moment, but more what may become a lack of trades near the deadline as well. I doubt there is really any team that would consider themselves to be totally "Out of It" at this point and if the trend continues, we may very well see 13-14 teams in each conference whithin 6-8 points of a playoff spot come the deadline... will teams be willing to make a move at that point? I doubt it.
On the contrary Elchrisco, I think if the standings are that tight, you'd see plenty of teams wanting to load up at the deadline. Question is, will teams pay the heavy price that some teams (Hello, Don Waddell) paid to acquire a rental player last year? Drafting is so much more important now with so many more teams able to bid on FA's that I don't know that teams will be willing to part with draft picks so easily.