Habs Make No Moves On Slow D-Day

22 trades sorted from the most recent, down.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOR acquires G Olaf Kolzig, D Jamie Heward, D Andy Rogers and a 2009 4th round pick
TB acquires D Richard Petiot

A move that helps TB alleviate some of their financial troubles. The Leafs BASICALLY bought a 4th round pick by acquiring all of Tampa's salary throw-outs, and to make it a legit 'HOCKEY DEAL', they had to send someone the other way, so Richard Petiot was basically dealt for Andy Rogers. Don't look into this one any futher than that. WINNER: Tampa Bay

EDM acquires F Ales Kotalik
BUF acquires 2nd round pick

Solid pickup for Edmonton; Kotalik has all the tools to be a 30-goal scorer in this league, however he just couldn't fully reach that potential in Buffalo. With Edmonton, he becomes another trigger-man to take some of the load off of Sheldon Souray on the powerplay. WINNER: Edmonton

EDM acquires F Patrick O'Sullivan
CAR acquires F Erik Cole, 5ht round pick
LA acquires F Justin Williams

What an awesome deal!! I truly love this deal for all parties involved: Erik Cole returns to the team that made him the power forward he is today...now, all he had to do is forget his stint in Edmonton, and get back to his successful, hard-nosed ways. Edmonton in turn gets an L.A. product in Patrick O'Sullivan. Sully was emerging as a decent forward with L.A., and was looking like he was going to get the increased responsibility soon with Alexander Frolov's name being tossed around in many rumors. Well, Frolov stayed, and Edmonton gained. The Oilers acquire a young, highly touted young player who brings a full skill-set and great speed. The L.A. Kings received sniper Justin Williams in the deal. Williams, currently injured, is capable of scoring 30+ goals in this league on a regular basis...he'll just have to catch a lucky break and not get injured. A change of scenery seemed best for Williams, whose current season with Carolina has been an injury-plagued nightmare. In L.A., he can take a great load of stress off of young Anze Kopitar, as they can share the scoring burden amongst themselves and Frolov. Williams quick-release will be a vital asset for a team with soooo much young talent...LA is a team to watch over the next year or two...WINNER: EVERYONE!

SJ acquires F Travis Moen and D Kent Huskins
ANA acquires F Nick Bonino G Timo Pielmeier and a conditional 4th round pick

A divisional coup realized by the Sharks as they pry away some key role players from their rivals the Ducks. Moen brings a more established pedigree at 3rd line center, and will take a load off the not-quite-ready Tomas Plihal in that role. On the backend, Huskins rounds out a solid defensive core consisting of talented two-way youngsters Vlasic and Ehrhoff, veteran cup champions Boyle, Blake and Lukowich. Huskins and Murray become defensemen 6 and 6A, and Alexei Semenov should (thankfully) suffer the most from this acquisition. Both men are UFA at season's end. WINNER: San Jose

CHI acquires F Samuel Pahlsson D Logan Stephenson and a conditional pick
ANA acquires D James Wisniewski and F Petri Kontiola

The unloading continued in Anaheim as the Ducks got rid of their main checking center Sami Pahlsson and a prospect + pick to Chicago. The Blackhawks made it clear prior to the days events that the wanted an upgrade from Craig Adams at the checking center position, and they indeed got it by nabbing a premier checker who really made a name for himself en route to Anaheim's 2007 cup win. He'll be UFA at season's end. In exchange, the Ducks got defensive-turned-offensive defenseman James Wisniewski and prospect Petri Kontiola. Not much is known about the latter, but 'Wiz' brings an element of toughness and offense, and will compliment the injured Beauchemin nicely once he heals up. The loss of Steve Montador earlier in the day made this trade necessary. Wiz was pretty much the odd-ball on a young and uber-talented D-line in Chicago, with the emergence of Cam Barker this season - FINALLY. WINNER: Chicago

PHI acquires D Kyle McLaren
SJ acquires 6th round pick

The Sharks had McLaren in Worcester of the AHL all year due to salary constraints, and now, McLaren finally has the chance to make his way back up to the big leagues. However, Philly is already stacked in both salary and on the backend. Not sure what the Flyers will do here. San Jose simply did well to save money. NO WINNER

CLB acquires G Kevin Lalande
CGY acquires 4th round pick

Depth move at most for Columbus; the loss of Leclaire needs to eventually be filled. WINNER: Columbus

TB acquires D Noah Welch and a 3rd round pick
FLA acquires D Steve Eminger

Eminger's tour of the Southeast Division has already seen three out of five stops already. The Caps draft pick moved to Philly, then to Tampa Bay, and now to Florida. The Panthers acquire a one-time bluechip defensman who never quite panned out to his potential, but showed great progress with his stay in Tampa. The Bolts used him upwards of 26 minutes a game there, and, should he continue his development, can turn out to be a steal for the Cats. Welch, a former Penguins draftee, has been oft-injured but is finally healthy. He, too, was once a bluechipper, but plays a more defensive game than Eminger. WINNER: Florida.

BUF acquires F Dominic Moore
TOR acquires 2nd round pick

Moore's stock really rose with his lay-over in T.O., and the Sabres have now taken a chance on him to center their checking line. Moore also displayed the ability to create plays and finish chances in Toronto...perhaps the emergence of a high-end two-way forward in the making? Time will tell... great risk for Buffalo. WINNER: Buffalo

ANA acquires F Erik Christensen
ATL acquires F Eric O'Dell

Not sure if I like this one too much. Christensen's talent is high-end; he can do things with the puck that make it seem like he's got it on a string tied to his blade. But, he isn't all that great on the ice in a competitve environment. He does have the capabilities to get better, he'll just have to apply them soon. For now, the Ducks basically swapped an apple for an apple by exhchanging Morrison (waivers to Dallas) for Christensen.

NYR acquires D Derek Morris
PHX acquires F Petr Prucha, F Nigel Dawes and D Dmitri Kalinin

Phoenix landed 3 NHL ready players for a defensmen who has just 12 points in 57 games this season. The 30-year old impending UFA heads to New York, where the circus is set to roll in very shortly as Sean Avery will make his return to the Blueshirts (and NHL). Morris brings an agressive touch to the backline and will notably look to relieve Wade Redden of the immense stress he has in the first year of his new 6-year pact. The Coyotes land a pair of solid second-line offensive wingers in Dawes and Prucha. Dawes is more of a speedster, whereas Prucha is slightly the better sniper (although the stats this season don't prove it). Added in is the failed FA signing Kalinin, who in my opinion needed this change to re-discover his game. He can be a solid 3-or-4 defensive d-man. WINNER: Phoenix

NYR acquires F Nikolai Antropov
TOR acquires 2nd round pick and conditional draft pick

The Rangers won the Antropov sweepstakes (wow, Antropov in a SWEEPSTAKES...shows the talent availbe at center this year!) Antropov's task is ahead of him in crystal-clear writing: INFUSE OFFENSE! The Rangers are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league, and would likely be out of a race if it weren't for King Henrik Lundqvist's play. Antropov isn't the best of character guys, but that's not what they need. He'll need to keep it simple: Put up, or shut up, all the while trying to stay HEALTHY. Good luck. WINNER: New York

PHI acquires F Daniel Carcillo
PHX acquires F Scottie Upshall and 2nd round pick

My initial thoughts: Why did they let go of Downie then? The Flyers acquired talented, agressive F Dan Carcillo from Phoenix, only a couple of months after unloading Steve Downie to Tampa...same game shared by those two, exactly (although Carcillo is less of a psycho, he doesn't really take runs at guys). The Coyotes managed to land a great young forward in Upshall, who was in a very crowded forward system in Philly and was never going to excel. Upshall can slide right into a 2nd or even 1st line role in Phoenix, and I expect he reacts VEYR well. WINNER: Phoenix

PIT acquires F Bill Guerin
NYI acquires conditional 5th round pick

Billy Guerin is going to bring his veteran presence to a team that really needs it in Pittsburgh. Kunitz is doing fine (for now) with Malkin, so Guerin may see some action alongside Sid the Kid. His goalscoring ability will help Crosby simplify his game, and focus on what he does best: playmaking. Pittsburgh made the right move today, and may have secured their playoff spot in doing so. WINNER: Pittsburgh

BOS acquires F Mark Recchi and 2nd round pick
TB acquires D Matt Lashoff and F Martins Karsums

The veteran Recchi makes his way onto a talented yet VERY physical team in Boston, a circumstance he may not be all that familiar with. Nevertheless, Recchi brings poise and will be a vital cog to the locker-room relations once the Bruins enter the playoffs. His leadership in the room will surpass any example he manages to set on the ice, and his presence alone may help the young Bruins get by a potentially long series. They part ways with a great prospect in Matt Lashoff, who will make the jump immediately in Tampa to full-time NHLer. He shows signs of a polished two-way game, which will replace Eminger's role. WINNER: Boston

CGY acquires F Olli Jokinen and 3rd round pick
PHX acquires F Matthew Lombardi, F Brandon Prust and 1st round pick

A year delayed, but done none the less. Jokinen finally makes his way to Calgary, as many of us expected at the same time last year. He'll want to forget about his stay in Phoenix, which can be understated as such: DISAPPOINTING. The knock on Jokinen is his character; however, the Flames are all mentally mature, and under Keenan, it won't fly. Jokinen will basically be in boot camp, and I feel that it's going to pay off for the Flames big time. Look for Jokinen to become more aggressive on the ice, and everyone will benefit for it in Calgary. Flames made huge strides out West today. The Coyotes pick up another speedster in Lombardi, and have a power forward in the making with Prust. Great move for them too, but Jokinen is too much to vote against...He'll taste playoff action for the first time in his career! WINNER: Calgary

BOS acquires D Steve Montador
ANA acquires F Petteri Nokelainen

Bruins solidify their defense further with the acquisition of Montador - highly under-rated. Montador showed in Anaheim that he could not only keep puks out of his net, but he can put some in the other, or at least set some up. He saw regular powerplay time and responded very well, and that will be a plus for Boston in the playoffs should a guy like Chara or Wideman lose his groove. Nokelainen is a talented forward going to Anaheim, with his best years ways ahead of him. WINNER: Boston

BUF acquires G Mikael Tellqvist
PHX acquires 4th round pick

Another depth move here as Miller is out with injury. Lalime should see the bulk of starts, but Tellqvist will play his fair share, and finally, for a team that has a fanbase who actually cares.
WINNER: Buffalo

PIT acquires D Andy Wozniewski
STL acquires D Danny Richmond

Depth swap...no biggie. NO WINNER

CGY acquires D Jordan Leopold
COL acquires D Lawrence Nycholat, D Ryan Wilson and 2nd round pick

Jordan Leopold returns to the team he spent 2002-2006 with, and brings with him a cheap $1.5 million tag. Leopold is an under-rated, smooth skating puck moving defenseman who will relieve young Adam Pardy a little bit. He also brings some experience to the playoffs, having played in 40 playoff games, 26 of which came with Calgary back in 03-04 when the lost in the finals in seven games to the eventual champion Lightning. WINNER: Calgary

OTT acquires G Pascal Leclaire, 2nd round pick
CLB acquires F Antoine Vermette

Ottawa gets a solid young goaltender for the first time ever I believe (Hasek's stay wasn't all that incredible). Leclaire had 9 shutouts last season but hasn't played very much this year due to injury. Columbus gets an established and coveted 2-way forward who can play at C or W and in every situation on the ice. Elliott is good, not yet great, so this could be a nice boost for the Senators starting next year, as he will miss the remainder of this season with the ankle injury. WINNER: Ottawa


*Waiver Moves: Brendan Morrison to DAL from ANA; Martin Gerber to TOR from OTT (re-entry), Erik Reitz to TOR from NYR; Craig Adams to PIT from CHI.

** Gary Roberts, Eric Perrin and Miro Satan cleared waivers.


The Montreal Canadiens stood pat on D-day, ultimately deciding that the acquisitions of Schneider and Metropolit sufficed. Also, Tanguay will return soon, he who has been out of action since December 30th. His return will also feel like a free agent signing...it's been that long.