Winners and Losers
Initial thoughts on the big winners and losers of today’s trade deadline:
Winners
Detroit Red Wings
Ken Holland is a very underrated GM. The conditional draft pick that is the centre of the deal that brings Todd Bertuzzi back to the western conference could be as high as a first rounder, but for that to happen Bertuzzi will have to stay healthy, perform well AND the Wings will have to go deep in the playoffs. That’s about as safe an acquisition as you can make for a guy with the potential to make waves as Bertuzzi.
Pittsburgh Penguins
They got Gary Roberts, they got George Laraque. I now feel they have enough leadership and experience to make noise in the playoffs. I do not feel they will go far in the second season, because I’m not convinced Marc Andre Fleury is ready. However, they will be a bad, bad opponent to face and even if they’re knocked out, the experience they earn this year will make them even more deadly next time around. Oh, and Nolan Schaeffer is an absolute steal for a 7th round pick.
San Jose
I thought Nashville’s offence was scary, with the big three centremen (Forsberg, Arnott, Legwand). Look at the top two lines in San Jose and you’ll see Bill Guerin join Joe Thornton, Jonathan Cheechoo, Patrick Marleau and more. Add to that the veteran addition of Craig Rivet to add some stability on the blueline and one of the best goaltending tandems in the league and you have a very frightening team.
Losers
Edmonton
I understand Kevin Lowe had a tough decision to make, but shame on him for letting Ryan Smyth walk away. Ales Hemsky, Dwayne Roloson and Shawn Horcoff all got rewarded after last season - why not Smyth? And if you did need to trade him, well, they didn’t get enough. If you’re going to throw in the towel, give Anaheim a call to see what they were willing to part with. Edmonton fans will be and should be pissed at what has left this team in less than a year.
Philadelphia Flyers
Martin Biron? Am I missing something? I understand the Flyers made this move with the intention of signing Biron long-term, but was a second round pick not too high a price for a few months monopoly on signing him? Particularly considering that pick will almost certainly be one of the top three picks of the second round.
Montreal Canadiens
Michael Leighton is not the answer for the rest of the regular season. The Canadiens neither shored up their chances of making the playoffs nor got anything for their impending UFA’s.
February 27th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
The biggest winner today (although I’m sure nobody will talk about it since they’re not in the mix this year)was the St. Louis Blues. They got the most out of their UFA’s…giving them 3 picks in the first round in 2007 and 2 in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. They also got a steal in the Boyes trade for a young D-man that STL has plenty of at this point. With last year’s top pick E. Johnson on the way up…the Blues should be tough for years to come. I know, nobody cares…but if we’re really analyzing today’s moves…you can’t doubt what the new Blues’ managament has done thus far.