Nice doing business with you – an NHL trade deadline round-up
The trade deadline has passed for another NHL season; General Managers can do no more to help their team to the Stanley Cup.
Deadline day brought about a typical flurry of deals as clubs sought to add the vital pieces to the puzzle that might get them into the playoffs or be key factors in them making a run to the finals.
Perhaps the biggest story of the deadline was a trade that didn’t happen, Rick Nash’s agent had publicly stated that Nash wanted out of the struggling Blue Jackets but in the end the price to get him from Columbus was too high for those interested. The Jackets were natural sellers as the league’s basement team and they did end up shipping one of their stars, but it was Jeff Carter who went to the LA Kings in return for Jack Johnson and a first round pick in either 2012 or 2013. For me this is a great move by them, shifting Carter and his monster contract whilst acquiring an excellent defenseman as well as the pick. They also flipped Antoine Vermette to Phoenix for goaltender Curtis McElhinney and two more picks.
One team that was surprisingly active were the Vancouver Canucks, who added a grinding center in Samuel Pahlsson from Columbus as well as defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani and rookie wing Zack Kassian from Buffalo. Surprisingly, they traded away one of this year’s leading rookie scorers in Cody Hodgson as part of the Gragnani/Kassian trade with the Sabres, but Pahlsson’s addition most likely pushed Hodgson out of a centerman spot. The Canucks have certainly improved themselves in the short term and are cup contenders.
Nashville were another team to bolster their playoff chances after making some smart moves, picking up Paul Gaustad to add some size and presence in return for a first rounder. They also got veteran defenseman Hal Gill and Andrei Kostitsyn whilst giving up picks and prospects in two separate trades with Montreal. This won’t phase the Predators seeing as they are a young team anyway and are now a dangerous playoff opponent for any team.
Blueliners as always were a valuable deadline commodity and some big contenders made interesting and potentially significant pickups. The Philadelphia Flyers acquired Pavel Kubina for veteran presence; Chicago got Johnny Oduya for toughness but the biggest move was Marek Zidlicky from Minnesota to New Jersey for three players and two picks. Sounds bad on paper, but the Devils only lost underperforming or fringe players and got a very good and consistent top line d-man in Zidlicky. Detroit were also involved and picked up Kyle Quincey from Colorado via Tampa Bay in a three team trade.
The Avalanche sent Quincey to Tampa for Steve Downie then the Lightning immediately flipped Quincey to Detroit for a first round pick and Sebastien Piche. Colorado got further involved by sending Daniel Winnik and TJ Galiardi to San Jose for Jamie McGinn and prospects. The Sharks got a couple of hard-working gritty forwards here and whilst the Avs got even younger, they did improve their future offensive upside.
No blockbuster trades to report this year, perhaps suggesting some major signings during free agency when a list of stars headed by Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and Alex Semin could hit the open market. As for this season, the playoff race in both conferences is as tight as always, time will tell if any of these deals are key in a team nicking a spot.
