- As I've done the last two years, I'll be following Jay Onraits hilarious blog on TSN. Recommended.
- My Flames coverage will appear elsewhere, as mentioned. That is, if Sutter ends up doing anything.
- First trade of the day is Antoine Vermette for Pascal Leclaire. Both players grossly underperfomed this season, so it seems a sensible swap. My thoughts? CBJ wins this trade. I have a feeling Leclaire had himself a "Raycroft rookie" year under Hitchcock's system last season and isn't any where near that good in actuality. And you know what I think medicore goalies are worth (nothing).
As for Vermette, he's been a 20 goal guy since he broke into the league, aside from this year. His SH% is 6.38%, whereas it was around 13% previously. He's almost guaranteed to rebound, especially if he lands on Nash's line.
- Oh god, Damien Cox is on TSN today. Coxbloc must be thrilled.
- Another day, another contribution to Cycle Like the Sedins. This time, James asked me what I'd o if I was Sutter at the deadline. Any regular reader of this space can probably guess my moves.
- Stuff is already starting to fly around. James Mirtle and Oilers/Flames Nation are both keeping track of all the moves being made.
Im surprised the Leafs claimed Gerber. I guess he's better than Curtis Joseph and Justin Pogge in terms of being a back-up.
- Dallas claims Morrison off of waivers. Hate to tell you this, Hull, but...Brendan Morrison sucks.
- How is it both Gerber and Morrison were claimed off of waivers, but not Miro Satan? That's craziness - he's by far the most useful player out of the 3.
- It's been said that Deadline day is "Christmas #2 in Canada". To be honest, I think I like today more than Christmas. Does that make me a bad person?
- Rumors are, the Flames have a deal in place for Jokinen: Lombo, Prust and a 1st rounder. Yikes.
- Good to see the EDM Oilers doing absolutely nothing. Actually, I would prefer they go into "buy" mode just to ensure future mediocrity.
- Lots of stuff has happened while I was away for lunch. Here's my quick takes on the trades that stood out:
- Guerin for a 5th round conditional? Really? I mean, the guy hasn't had a great season, but that's absolutely peanuts. Surely he should be worth more than Kevin Lalande? Speaking of which...
Sutter moved Lalande to CBJ for a 4th rounder. An ECHL goaltender for...well, anything is a steal, let alone a draft pick inside the top 4 rounds. I have no idea why Howson would do such a thing.
- Pahlsson to the Blackhawks makes all sort of sense for Chicago. They just got a lot better methinks, with a center who can play the tough minutes.
- The 3-way deal that saw EDM get O'Sullivan was shrewd move on the Oilers part. I think they got the best player in the deal, since Cole was having a lousy year and wasn't going to return anyways. Not sure why LAK gave up on O'Sullivan like that - I mean, Williams is a good player, but really, really, fragile.
- Biggest joke of the day? Derek Morris for three (!) roster players (Kalinin, Dawes and Prucha). Horrible overpayment for pending UFA Morris, who isn't all that great anyways. Sather screws the pooch again.
- How abut those Coyotes? They added Upshall, Kalinin, Dawes, Prucha, Lombardi and Prust today (and whatever they got back for Telqvist) and lost a back-up goalie, Derek Morris, Daniel Carcillo and 41 point-man Olli Jokinen. Now that's how to sell at the deadline.
- The biggest moves may be the ones that didn't happen - namely Bouwmeester stayed in Florida. That's a mistake in my opinion, but we'll see how it goes. If the Panthers lose in the first round and Jay bolts in the off-season...ouch.
