Trade Analysis
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Trade Analysis (written for Hockeyleaks.com)
Trade Analysis Marc Valeri Hockeyleaks.com February 28th, 2007
The NHL 2007 trade deadline day was not illustriously dominated by big name, high paying superstars, but nonetheless, many trades were involved with fairly big name players.
- The San Jose Sharks dealing goalie Nolan Schaefer to the Pittsburgh Penguins was a huge deal, in my opinion. From what I understand, Schaefer is a fan favourite in the Shark Tank, and I can totally understand why – the dude is filthy. No, he hasn’t played a game this season, and that is understandable – Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala have been arguably the best goaltending tandem in the NHL, and with the success of the Sharks this season, there was simply no need to use him. In 7 games last year, he went 5-1-0, 1.88 GAA, .920 SV%, stopped 127 of 138 shots, and recorded one donut. Stellar. But now, with the surging Penguins trying to top the Devils in the East, Schaefer becomes a massive upgrade from Jocelyn Thibault. T-Bo has been, well, atrocious with the Pens. In 2 seasons, he is 5-15-5, 3.80 GAA, .889 SV%, and 101 goals allowed in only 32 games. Ouch. Somehow, I feel as though Schaefer will not be used properly with the Pens, especially when Marc-Andre Fleury continues his inconsistent ways guarding the pipes.
- The Sharks were also busy acquiring right winger Bill Guerin. Playing with the hot-and-cold Blues in the West, Guerin is playing like he is 5-10 years younger. A great move by the Sharks – they now possess one of the most potent offenses in the NHL with Thornton, Marleau, Bernier, Michalek, Crowe, and Cheechoo. Lord Stanley, watch out! Just kidding. I doubt very highly that they will win it – they seem to lack the championship mentality that Guerin brings, but one man is not enough.
- The Blues adding Brad Boyes was a great move. They picked up numerous draft picks today, and adding Boyes to the mix of their future can only help. I wag a disappointed finger at the Bruins for giving up on him – he has what many call the “Sophmore Syndrome”, which is when a player excels in their rookie year and struggles the next; sometimes, that struggle remains throughout their career. Barring injury, Boyes should become an elite talent in the NHL. I still can’t believe that they gave away Brad Boyes. That is almost as bad as giving up on Nolan Schaefer. Why…
- The Oil moved forward Ryan Smyth to the Isles. Wow. At least we know that the Isles are in the playoffs. I can’t believe this went down either – after struggling to re-sign Smyth to a deal, the Oil figured that he was simply going to walk at season’s end, and in a panic move, they shipped him off to Long Island in order to get something in return. Nice pickup by the Isles, especially if they can manage to re-sign him as well as Jason Blake, who I am surprised stayed – well, not really, as they probably told him they were close to getting him help. Smyth, with Blake, alongside Miro Satan, the newly acquired defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, and eventually Alexei Yashin makes the Isles a possible underdog team. And I just remembered that they acquired Richard Zednik from the Caps. Ladies and gentlemen, the Isles could be a force to contend with.
- The Buds re-acquiring Yanic Perreault from the ‘Yotes. Great move by the Buds – too bad they could have done it much cheaper than Brendon Bell and a pick had they given a serious run for him prior to the season starting. In the classic Buds @ Habs game the other night, the Leafs allowed 3 PP goals, all off of lost face-offs, and Perreault, statistically the best faceoff man in the NHL, will only make them better. He is, however, far from being a complete player. Still though, with the major move made by the Isles, I see the Buds teeing off from 400 yards away on a par 5 at Angus Glen.
- Bertuzzi heading to Hockeytown from “America’s Wang” (Florida). Like Kenny Holland did with Robert Lang and countless other Red Wings, he manages to get a top line player without giving up a roster spot. Bertuzzi brings much needed physicality and strength to a roster that lacked it. Bertuzzi will bring aggressiveness in the corners and along the boards, and will help Holmstrom to bother goalies in front of the net, and both big men will be boulders to get out of the way. This is all, of course, assuming Big Bert can start playing. He recently suffered a setback in his recovery, and although he has only played 7 games this year, he has a goal and six dimes. I can’t remember a trade in recent history that Kenny Holland has pulled off that really didn’t help the Wings out. Give it some time, and Big Bert should be the dominant force he has always been prior to the back injury.
- And then the smaller deals. Jason Ward helps out the Kings a bit, Normstrom should pick back up in Big D, Parker adds strength to the Avs (as does May in Anaheim), Zubrus counts as an extra body to a depleted Sabres team that is falling in the standings, Saprykin adds some offensive firepower that wasn’t truly needed in the nation’s capital, Mara and Ward help out both of their respective clubs, Laraque and Roberts give the Pens added physicality, both of which are capable of playmaking and putting the puck in the net, Conklin replaces Biron who goes from being a backup on the best team in the NHL to being a starter on the worst team in the NHL, Detroit/Chicago/Philly all benefit from their 3-way deal, Smolinski adds some firepower to an underachieving big-name offense out West with the Canucks, Tkachuk and Zhitnik give the East another reason to worry about the Thrashers, Carter helps out the Canes offensively – and that about sums up everyone that isn’t a prospect or a draft pick.
I just want to add before I sign off, my two cents on the Sens @ Sabres ordeal. Let’s start with the Sens. Firstly, after Chris Drury (who may be the most underrated player in the NHL) was laid out, The Score timed the hit on him from winger Chris Neil, and it was roughly 0.5 seconds after Drury released the puck. That, to me, is a clean hit. By going after Drury, the Sens know that he is the team’s top player, and without him in the lineup, the Sabres are diminished both offensively and defensively. I think that, with the hit, had Drury been hurt for longer than a few games, Ottawa knew that they could go head-to-head with the Sabres in the post-season, either the second or third round, so that would have been a huge benefit for them. For those of you who watched the Ray Emery fight with Marty Biron, Josh McGratton and Andrew Peters, you can tell that Emery can drop the gloves. Even still, letting Emery fight two people one after the other was a stupid idea on the part of the Sens. Fighting is exhausting, it leaves you breathless – making him fight twice consecutively is just stupid, even when considering that Emery is your starting goalie for the upcoming postseason.
Now, for the Sabres. I do believe that Neil got his elbow up, thus launching Drury’s helmet airborne (although a shoulder can do likewise). I do believe that there was mal-intent on the part of the Sens, and I do believe that Drury was aimed at and targeted. I think the Sens were set out to knock him off because of their late streak, they had a shot to contend for the Northeast title. I think that sending Peters, Mair, and company out against Spezza and Heatley was a good move; an arm for an arm, a leg for a leg. Don’t hit my best player if you don’t want us to hit your best player. I have no problems with open ice hits or anything like that, but when you questionable “hit” a man of integrity and class such as Chris Drury, you cross the line. The fact that there was no penalty or suspension or anything is mind boggling – people don’t just have their helmets knocked off, get concussed, and have their foreheads split wide open for no reason on clean hits. To be honest, I think it was a coward move on the Sens part – I think that they know, deep down, even after deadline day, that the Sabres are a better all around team than they are, and that the only way to win is to use their grinders to hit their best players with borderline illegal hits to enforce the greatest possible injury at that time.
Also, the fact that many organizations and companies are paying for Lindy Ruff’s $10,000 fine is noble beyond noble. To see a city come together and pull through to pay for a fine that they had nothing apart of shows ridiculous unity. The city lets the franchise know that they support Ruff and his decision to send out his tough guys. I tip my hat to the city of Buffalo.
If you get the chance to watch Lindy Ruff and Bryan Murray within feet from each other, swearing at each other over clear plastic, it is really a sight to watch. Rob Ray, now working off the ice with the Sabres, is stuck standing between the two men. He is simply staring blankly, stuck in-between to livid coaches.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ulyEnFh9Wvo <- a link to the hit, the ensuing fights, and the hysterical Rob Ray glare. Enjoy.
