Make the deal.........and hope you win!

Trade deadline day has passed in the NHL and there were definitely some significant moves made around the league. There were also a number of trades that were shall we say, meaningless. On deadline day itself there were maybe 6 or 7 really significant deals. In the days leading up to the deadline there were perhaps another 7 or 8. The teams that really made the largest impacts on their clubs since January were likely the Flames, Sharks, Islanders, Predators, Penguins, Thrashers and oddly enough the last place contending Philadelphia Flyers. So in no particular order here is what these teams have done:

Calgary Flames
On January 29th the Flames addressed a need at center by adding a great compliment to Jarome Iginla with the addition of Craig Conroy. To get Conroy the flames had to part with an underachieving forward in Jamie Lundmark and a couple of picks. Definitely this was a good deal for the Flames since Conroy has had so much success in the past with Iginla. Then on February 10th the Flames did a great job in bringing depth to their club with the additions of Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau. Both of whom are upgrades on Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference who went the other way in the deal. On trade deadline day the Flames were fairly quiet (having made their big moves already), but were able to add a good young defenceman in David Hale for a pick. Definitely the Flames made a fairly deep team even deeper and have positioned themselves for a potentially long playoff drive.

San Jose Sharks
On the 25th of February the Sharks added some experience to their defence when they acquired Craig Rivet. The price was fairly steep however since they traded away a young d-man in Josh Gorges and a 1st round pick. They then made their biggest acquisition when they acquired Bill Guerin at the deadline. In Guerin they get a very good, offensive, veteran forward. San Jose already had a very good offensive team, but with the moves they made they are even better and should be able to make some noise in the playoffs.

New York Islanders
February 18th the Islanders began making a push towards a playoff spot when they acquired the fairly young (and much maligned) defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron from Edmonton. Bergeron, although at times a liability defensively, is an offensive minded defenseman and was definitely a good depth move by the Islanders since they parted with a prospect defenseman who is currently playing in Russia. On the day leading into the deadline the Islanders deepened their forward lines when they added Richard Zednik from the Capitals. Again they did not have to part with anyone from their roster, giving up a second round draft pick. Then in the final minutes leading into the deadline, Garth Snow (former backup goaltender and current G.M.), made the biggest trades this year when he acquired, long time Edmonton Oiler, Ryan Smyth. Adding the all-star forward made a good team even better and potentially made the Islanders a sleeper pick to make some noise in the playoffs.

Nashville Predators
The Preds made their team even better in recent weeks and it started on the 10th when they became deeper on defense by adding Vitali Vishnevski. Not exactly a blockbuster, but being in first place it was definitely a good "tweaking move". Less than a week later Nashville made one of the biggest moves (if not the biggest) of the season when they acquired perennial all-star Peter Forsberg. When healthy Peter is one of the best two way talents to ever play the game. Health is the key though because he has suffered many injuries over the years and has had a nagging foot injury this year. If he is able to stay healthy, the Predators will definitely make a lot of noise in the playoffs and could very likely be hoisting a Stanley Cup this year.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Already one of the most exciting and surprising teams in the NHL, the Penguins were fairly active and greatly improved their chances of Playoff success. Being a young team with exciting young stars like Crosby, Staal and Malkin, the Penguins were really in need of grit and leadership if they wanted to make a long playoff run. Ray Shero didn't disappoint on deadline day when he was able to acquire veteran, gritty, forward Gary Roberts and the king of heavyweight enforcers in Georges Laraque. Gary Roberts should be a great influence on the young talented scorers in Pittsburgh and Laraque will be able to make sure no one takes liberties with them. The Penguins also made a couple small depth moves at the deadline by adding defenceman Joel Kwiatkowski and goaltender Nolan Schaefer.

Atlanta Thrashers

Leading into the deadline the Thrashers were able to sure up their defence by acquiring offensive, veteran defenseman Alexei Zhitnik. In doing so they did part with young prospect Braydon Coburn. The very next day the Thrashers were able to trade for Keith Tkachuck. Getting Tkachuck not only bolstered their lineup from an offensive point of view, but also gave them some valuable veteran leadership. The Thrashers definitely gave up quite a bit of potential to be able to compete now. Rolling the dice as they did could either get them deep into the playoffs or turn them into a disappointment.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers have been battling for last place overall for most of the season. What could they have done that was at all significant. Well, they became the biggest sellers in the league. Although they did nothing to save their season, they were able to make their future a lot brighter. Their first big move was to trade away Peter Forsberg. For him they were able to acquire two top prospects in Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent and also 2 picks which included a 1st rounder. In their next big move they were able to unload Alexei Zhitnik for a great young defenceman in Braydon Coburn to further bolster their wealth of young talent. In a three way deal they also got another great young defenceman in Lasse Kukkonen and a 3rd round pick for underachieving forward Kyle Calder. Then on deadline day the Flyers were able to get their hands on a great, proven goaltender (which has been lacking in recent years) Martin Biron for only a 2nd round pick. Long term the Flyers may prove to be the biggest winners among all of the teams who made trades in 2007.

So what do all of these deals mean? Who are the biggest winners and who are the biggest losers? Only time is going to tell. The measuring stick for these teams, and the others who made deals, is a Stanley Cup or at the very least a long promising playoff run. For the teams that were sellers? The results of these trades may not be seen for another 3, 4 or even 5 years, but it will definitely be interesting to follow. Of all of the teams that made deals, I think that the Predators should definitely be dynamite and a real contender to come out of the west, and the Penguins may end up being the biggest surprise in the East and may even make it as far as the conference finals. It is definitely shaping up to be an exciting stretch drive and very likely an awesome post season. LETS PLAY HOCKEY!!

OA83