Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Trade Deadline Day Post Mortem:Who Won/Lost




1) Its conventional for any hockey blog, especially one like ours that specializes in trade talk/discussion/rumors, to analyze the days events and try to discern who helped themselves, and who did not.


  • Montreal: Our first reaction was" What the hell is Gainey thinking!?! Now a full 24 hours later our position is " What the hell was Gainey thinking!?! Why did BG feel he needed to move his # 1 goalie a few weeks before the playoffs? If Price is ready, great, but wouldn't it be nice to have a veteran with impeccable stats there to back him up? Its not like the Caps gave up a king's ransom to acquire Huet. Will that late 2nd round pick make such a difference? Sorry, unless Price leads the Habs to at least the conference Finals(2 playoff series wins) this deal will prove to be a loser in Montreal. Additionally, they couldn't land Hossa and didn't trade Ryder. The Canadiens overall are no stronger, and we feel overall are weaker today than they were yesterday



  • Pittsburgh- OK, we can't argue with the Hal Gill pick up. They needed a guy like him on the back line. However, and from what we've read so far we're a minority in this opinion, the Hossa deal will be a bust in Pittsburgh. Was the Penguin weakness in scoring? If not, how will Hossa make them much better? In our opinion losing guys who are hard working role players who can chip in offensively/are well liked by team mates is an intangible negative that shouldn't be overlooked! Has Hossa in his NHL career shown to be a clutch playoff performer? Almost all agree that this is merely a rental. If he fails in the post season (at least the Conference Finals) it was a colossal blunder! Marion may suddenly turn out to be the missing link, but we wouldn't bet on it!



  • TampaBay- Probably their biggest move was the one they didn't make(yet): The firing of John Tortorella. Its no secret that about 75% of the team would murder him if they knew they could get away with it. He needs to be replaced. Torts is the primary reason that Vaclav(Vinny) Prospal needed to be dealt. The Boyle contract is another head scratcher. Yes, Dan is a very good offensive defensemen that would be hard to replace, BUT at 6.6 mil for another 5 years, he will have a hard time living up to that money. As a result Feaster was forced to deal Richards. We feel what he received back for the star forward is a mere pittance of what he should have received. Perhaps Mike Smith will become a legit starting goalie, but if not, the deal was a huge bust!


  • Dallas- (See above) The Stars improved their offensive depth considerably with the Richards signing. They already were one of the better scoring clubs, and now they are officially a playoff threat!


  • San Jose- The missing piece of the puzzle as they say for the Sharks was a legitimate puck moving defensemen who can quarter back their power play. With the reemergence of Cheechoo, the Sharks seem to be poised to challenge the Ducks and the West


  • Washington- First the positives (Its 90% good). Excellant swindle (see Montreal above) of the Habs for a younger, better option to start in net. Kolzig, despite his recent surge has not been the same goalie he's been in DC the past decade. This acquisition shocked almost everyone in the NHL. Not the least of which were caps fans accustomed to deadline snooze. Additionally the addition of Fedorov should bolster a forward lineup that was hurt by the Nylander and Clark injuries. It remains to be seen how much 'Feds' has left in the tank. Another positive is the Cooke addition. He's a player who has an edge. An aspect the team was missing. The only negative is the 3 goalie situation is going to be awkward. Huet will have to play the lions share of remaining games. Can Ollie be effective as the #2 guy? GMGM should have dealt him as well to dispell any potential locker room issues!


  • Colorado- Some have whimsically thought that the Avs were trying to reassemble the 2001 team with the additions of Forsberg and then Foote. Had they been able to land Blake it may have been a bigger story and room for additional conjecture of when Roy and Bourque would return.; ) Seriously, the Forsberg addition got the most ink, but the additions of both Foote and Salei are the biggest moves the Colorado sextet made yesterday. It solidifies their shaky backline and together with a healthy group of forwards should propel the team into the playoffs where they will go as far as their goaltending can take them.


  • Buffalo- They got the SJ first round pick and a solid young forward in Bernier, but its NOT enough to alleviate what fans in Buffalo must be wondering. Can we ever really compete? They have now lost Briere, Drury and now Campbell in less than 8 months. Wasn't the salary cap supposed to allow small market teams to compete? Guess that's not how it works?


  • Anaheim- Picked up a couple of French hyphenites in M-A Bergeron, and J-S Aubin. Both are merely depth players who will see limited action barring injury. The biggest thing Burke did was nothing. Like last year he resisted the urge to make a big splash in the rental sweep stakes. It worked for him last time around, why not take this approach again. Therefore after all is said and done we feel the Ducks are still the favourites to win the Cup.

12 comments:

Antzmarching said...

I am personally shocked by the positive analysis of the Hossa trade by the NHL pundits in the favor of the Pens... This guy has NEVER accomplished anything after April 3rd... Ask any Senator fan if they would take Hossa back for Heatley NOW... Wasn't Ottawa the team that would collapse in every playoff series, with Marian basically doing nothing after a great regular season? And, didn't that happen AGAIN last year versus the Rangers? Hossa is overrated as a big time player - the stats are there, but the successes are definetely not... Pittsburgh got rid of a lot of youth and grit - did they need more scoring? Are Crosby and Malkin not enough? I am sure people will disagree with my take, but Hossa's body of work suggests LOSER!

I thought the Caps did VERY well yesterday... Huet, Fedorov, and Cooke for a draft pick, a minor leaguer, and Matt "Two Goals" Pettinger... Good job by GMGM... I am curious, however, what will become of either Olie Kolzig or Brent Johnson...

Faux, you forgot about Claude Lemieux... The Avs are anxiously awaiting his return as well...

Antzmarching said...

Habs fans: Are you guys happy with the Huet deal? Whether or not he's capable of taking you to the next level, did you get enough back? From a Montreal perspective, I am confused...

jrix68 said...

antz, Hossa did score 16 points in 18 games for Ottawa in the 2003 playoffs. And he'll have Crosby to play with. Put extraordinary talent with a likeminded player and good things will happen.

Armstrong and especially Christensen are no big deal to replace on the ice. The bigger worry, as the Faux pointed out, is the lockeroom/chemistry ramifications.

Also, the Pens have some recent late round prospects (Dustin Jeffrey and Luca Caputi) that no one has heard about that are ripping up the OHL. Sacrificing Esposito and a late 1st rounder isn't that big of a deal to the organizational depth either.

I think Faux is right though; this probably is a rental so the bottom line for success or not will be how deep of a run that the Pens make.

They're a more talented, dangerous team post-deadline but Shero has taken a huge risk. We'll see if it pays off.

Jibblescribbits said...

I love the Avs deals, and I'm fairly happy with what they did. Good analysis Faux, and thanks for laying off the "bringing them all back" jokes

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) Antz: Yes, we like the caps deals as well, EXCEPT that they needed to deal Kolzig. yes it would have been difficult to trade the franchises face for the last decade (Its Ovechkin now), but having he and Huet in there, as we said, creates at the very least awkwardness and even possible locker room division
2) Hooks: Yes, the pens have a few guys who can now try to step up and be the 'role type players' that they lost. It remains to be seen if the addition of Marion is the missing link, or if he upsets chemistry. We won't have to wait too long to see if this deal was brilliant or Shero's first blunder
3) Jibble: Its an easy story line to try to link the 2001 team to the 2 guys they brought in, so it was inevitable. Its really not uncommon for teams to trade for players they have gone to war with in the past.

Sean Leahy said...

The title is "Draft Day" post mortem....am I missing something? :) Looking ahead I see?

FAUX RUMORS said...

1)Sean: Thanks!! LOL Surpised no one else mentioned that Faux-pas. ; ) We will rectify. Thanks again!!

Jibblescribbits said...

Also as someone who casually follows the Sharks since their in my area, (and I hate the Ducks and Stars) Brian Campbell is EXACTLY what the Sharks needed. It was a big deal, but was overshadowed by the Hossa and Richards deals but he makes the Sharks cup contenders.

Also It's only been 2 games but one thing Foote provides on defense for the Avs is leadership. Their defense is good, but Hannan, Leopold, and others aren't leaders. Foote is and it has showed in 2 games already.

So I guess what I'm saying is, be afraid Western Conference foes

FAUX RUMORS said...

1) There is NO doubt that 2-3 very good teams out West will either not even make the playoffs or lose in the first round.
2) Meanwhile in the East there is no clear cut favourite/team that one can point to and say" Thats going to be a Cup challenging team".

Antzmarching said...

Hooks, while I respect your comments, Hossa is simply not a winner... If he stays with the Pens for any length of time, his playoff mettle will be tested and no one will be impressed... And, let's face it, Crosby and Malkin can make ANYBODY look great... Now, we shall see if Hossa makes them look human... He has the ability to do that... Having said all that, I believe the Penguins will be winning a Cup in the near future, with or without Marian Hossa...

Joseph said...

I would have liked the Habs to have maybe got a body instead of a pick for Huet, but hey as of last night the Habs are in first in the East....so at this point I could care less if Huet is a Cap or not. The Habs play with more confidence in front of Price, the kid is a winner.

Lyle said...

I'm on board with my fellow Habs supporter Joseph. Price has been eased well into the lineup this year. I'd say he's ready. Could Bob have held out for more? Probably, but Huet wasn't coming back next year so why not cut bait sooner and get something?

 
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