Jsaquella

Bringing Hexy Back • 42 Years Old • Male

JSAQ's Deadline Day Review And Analysis!!!

Ok, so I worked for the first time in over a decade on deadline day. Fortunately, I had all the deals sent via text message to me, so I didn't miss anything except the normal glass of Jameson's with one cube and a splash of water and being able to sit around all day in my underwear and not have the wife complain.

Anyhow, I am going to offer some thoughts on the trades:

Devils trade Cam Janssen to the Blues for Bryce Salvador.

Janssen is a limited enforcer. Salvador is a competent 5th or 6th defenseman. If I were the Blues I'd have demanded a pick be tossed in this deal.

Sabres trade Brian Campbell and a 7th rounder to the Sharks for Steve Bernier and a 1st rounder.

I keep thinking that Campbell, even if he's just a rental, is worth more than budding power forward and late first rounder. Bernier looks like he'll be a very good player, but I think he's a step down from Jeff Carter, which was the asking price to send Campbell to Philadelphia.

It comes down to Campbell's re-signability and what the Sharks do in the postseason. If they can re-sign Campbell-and they have enough cap room-I think they got a steal.

Lightning trade Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist to the Stars for Jeff Halpern, Jussi Jokinen, Mike Smith and a 4th round draft choice

I really don't like this trade for Tampa Bay. I realize they had to move Richards' deal out to re-sign Dan Boyle, but they got about 50 cents on the dollar in this deal. Halpern is a decent depth forward, Jokinen is a third liner and shootout specialist and Smith is an unproven, but talented young goalie.

I guess I just expected the Bolts to try and land an established number one goalie, because they have Kari Ramo and Riku Helenius in their system, and both guys are highly regarded.

Call this one a case of a NTC and a over the top contract biting a GM in the ass. But Richards is EXACTLY the kind of guy Dallas needed.

Les Habs trade Cristobal Huet to the Capitals for a 2nd rounder

This is the biggest head scratcher to me. My guess is, that Bob Gainey had another deal that fell through at the last second for a goalie. Carey Price is a great young goalie, but he's unproven in the NHL. A playoff team like the Canadiens should want a serviceable veteran back-up.

It's an interesting move for the Caps, too. Huet is probably an upgrade on the erstwhile Olaf Kolzig, but with Kolzig and Brent Johnson already onboard, the Caps might have a crunch in net. It was rumored that Kolzig refused to waive his NTC to go to Ottawa, which makes sense to me.

This is twice the Lightning could have upgraded in goal for minimal cost and didn't do anything. They passed on Ilya Bryzgalov earlier and probably could have had Huet, who, in my opinion would have been a better mentor to Helenius or Ramo.

Panthers trade Ruslan Salei to the Avalanche for Karlis Skrastins and a 3rd round draft choice.

Not a big fan of Salei, but I do really like Skrastins. However, considering the make-up of the Colorado D-corps, Salei and fellow deadline acquisition Adam Foote are good fits.

Hurricanes trade Andrew Ladd to Chicago for Tuomo Ruuttu.

Perhaps one of the more ballsy trades of the deadline, dealing a young power forward who seems to be just finding his way for another young forward who's biggest issues so far have been remaining healthy enough to capitalize on his vast talents.

I think Ladd will be a perfect fit in Chicago, and I give Dale Tallon a slight edge here.

Columbus trades Sergei Fedorov to the Caps for Theo Ruth & Adam Foote to the Avs for a conditional first rounder and a conditional 4th rounder.

Colorado is having a class reunion at the deadline, with Forsberg and Foote returning. I was half-expecting to see Patrick Roy announce his comeback, too. My issue with the Foote trade-the conditional picks are contingent upon Foote re-signing. But I am not certain with whom. I assume if the Avs keep Foote they lose a 1st rounder.

The Fedorov trade wasn't unexpected, but coupled with the Foote deal, basically told Jackets fans that the tents were being rolled up, yet again. How many "Wait 'Till Next Year" chants are the fans in Ohio expected to tolerate?

The Canucks deal Matt Cooke to the Capitals for Matt Pettinger

The Caps enjoyed a great deadline. They added Fedorov, which can only help the massively talented kids thay have up front. Huet will upgrade the goaltending, and now they add a pest like Cooke to a team that already works hard for sixty minutes a night.

With Tampa Bay clearing the decks and Atlanta dealing off Hossa, the Caps have themselves positioned for a divisional crown this year.

The Rangers acquire Christian Backman from the Blues for a 4th rounder & trade Marcel Hossa and Al Montoya to the Coyotes for Fredrik Sjostrom, Josh Gratton, David Leneveau and a conditional draft choice.


OK, here's what I don't get. The Rangers are just re-organizing forwards and swapping minor league goalies. I understand the Coyotes-Don Maloney loves Montoya.

Just a deal that doesn't accomplish a whole lot for the Rangers. Backman at least provides defensive depth.

Peguins trade Eric Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito and a 1st rounder to the Thrashers for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.


Hossa-another name that was almost guaranteed to move today-brought in a huge return for Don Waddell. It helps the Pens a lot in the short term, especially since it gives Crosby or Malkin a stud winger, but long term I have some serious questions-like, how do the Pens afford to re-sign Hossa, and Malkin, Staal, Whitney, et al.?

The Leafs trade: Hal Gill to the Pens for 2nd and 5th rounders
Chad Kilger to the Panthers for a 3rd rounder
Wade Belak to the Panthers for a 5th rounder.

With the 5 NTC guys all refusing to waive their rights to avoid early spring tee times in Onatrio, Cliff Fletcher's hands were tied. He didn't do a bad job, considering. Belak had the line of the day, when he said, "I blame Mats".

The Kings deal Brad Stuart to the Red Wings for 2nd and 4th rounders.

After seeing this one, I bet Ray Shero was upset that he traded basically the same package to Toronto for a human pylon, instead of getting a better player overall.

I am not a big Stuart fan, but he's not a bad addition to a team that should be deep on the blueline by the playoffs, as injured stars like Lidstrom, Rafalski and Chelios return.

Anaheim acquires Marc-Andre Bergeron from the Isles for a 3rd rounder and Jean-Sebastian Aubin from the Kings for a 7th rounder.

Brian Burke adds a "defense"man to his stable and gives the world it's first all Jean-Sebastian goalie tandem.

The Isles trade Chris Simon to the Wild for a 6th rounder

Did I say that the Habs trading Huet was the biggest head scratcher there was? Hold the phone....I sent Doug Risebrough an e-mail, asking if I could buy pot from him.

Pre-DDay Deals:

Flyers acquire Vinny Prospal for Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft choice.

I love Vinny, and Picard is in danger of being a poor man's Andy Delmore.

Flyers acquire Jaroslav Modry from the Kings for a 3rd rounder & trade Jim Vandermeer to the Flames for a 3rd rounder.

Basically a Modry for Vandy deal. I like Vandermeer, but he was asked to do too much in Philly. Modry is a cagey vet, who knows his role and handles it well. Vandermeer is a good fit for Calgary.

Hurricanes trade Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore to the Senators for Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo.

A deal that looked good for both teams on paper hasn't really worked out for either team. Ottawa has been struggling since before the swap, and even though Stillman has fit well, the team hasn't been winning. Carolina, meanwhile, lost Rod Brind'Amour days after the deal, and probably wouldn't have made the swap had Brindy been hurt before it went down.

Winners:
Dallas
San Jose
Pittsburgh(short term)
Detroit
Washington

Losers:
Columbus fans
Montreal
Tampa Bay
St Louis(Lost two roster players and only added Cam Janssen? That's a loss!)

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