It was looking like another slow NHL trade deadline today, but a flurry of moves in the last hour - including a few big ones - changed that in a hurry. Here's what I thought of each move made.
To Tampa Bay: G Ben Bishop
To Ottawa: F Cory Conacher, 4th round pick
Ben Bishop's a promising goalie who finally arrived in the NHL over the past year, and he's a good addition for the Lightning. But I can't believe they gave up Cory Conacher. The diminutive winger is a legitimate Calder Trophy contender and has been lighting it up. Considering Bishop would've been Ottawa's #3 goalie after Anderson gets back, they got a phenomenal return.
To Philly: G Steve Mason
To Columbus: G Michael Leighton, 3rd round pick
Mason simply needed to get out of Columbus, both for his own sake and the team's. It had grown to be somewhat of a toxic situation and with Bobrovsky's play this year, Mason lost the starter's job for good. I'm very surprised they managed to get a third rounder for him, plus a decent backup in Leighton.
To Columbus: RW Marian Gaborik
To NY Rangers: C Derick Brassard, RW Derek Dorsett, D John Moore
This was obviously the big shocker of the day. Columbus was expected to add, not sell, but Gaborik? No one expected them to go after a player of that calibre. I think this is a great deal for both teams. The Jackets have lots of depth up front, but no real star power. Gaborik gives them that, and with guys like Anisimov, Atkinson, Dubinsky, Foligno, Johansen, Calvert, Prospal, etc, they can ice two solid scoring lines. And the Rangers got a great return for a slumping, high-salaried player who had been dropped to the fourth line. While Brassard and Moore were expendable for Columbus, they're good pieces for the Rangers, not to mention Dorsett, who was the most surprising player to move. I know a lot of Columbus fans didn't like the deal for the sole reason of losing Derek.
Ironically, my best friend, who works in the Jackets' front office, is away for personal reasons and didn't know about this. Even he was shocked by the deal when he found out.
Looking at the last two deals, it's funny how things worked out. Last summer, the Jackets traded a star in Rick Nash to the Rangers for a package of three players and a pick. Now they acquire a star from NYR for three players. They're very similar deals, but I would take Anisimov, Dubinsky and Erixon over Brassard, Dorsett and Moore.
Meanwhile, last summer they acquired Bobrovsky from the Flyers for draft picks. Now they send the goalie Bobrovsky stole the starting job from, back to the Flyers for a pick. There's zero question the Jackets won that exchange, as Bob is emerging into a Vezina candidate.
To Minnesota: RW Jason Pominville
To Buffalo: LW Johan Larsson, G Matt Hackett, 1st round pick, 2nd round pick
Another deal I absolutely love for both teams. Pominville is a big-time pickup for the surging Wild, a guy who can put up big numbers and plays an all-around game, and wore the C in Buffalo. He should be a great fit in Minnesota. They paid a huge price, but they could afford to do it because the Wild have built up just a phenomenal group of prospects. Neither Larsson nor Hackett were among their top prospects. They still have the likes of Coyle, Granlund, Zucker, Phillips etc up front, and guys like Brodin and Dumba on the back end, as well as Darcy Kuemper and Johan Gustafsson for goalie prospects. Still, Buffalo hit a home run here.
To Columbus: LW Blake Comeau
To Calgary: 5th round pick
Low-risk, potentially high-reward move by Columbus. Comeau scored 24 goals for the Islanders two years ago and at age 27, I wouldn't be surprised to see him rediscover that form. He'll likely get third line minutes in Columbus. I'm a bit surprised Calgary didn't keep him, give him some of the ice time vacated by Iginla, and see what he could do.
To San Jose: LW Raffi Torres
To Phoenix: 3rd round pick
Torres doesn't need any introduction. Despite the many suspensions and controversial incidents, he can definitely play. I'm not really sure where San Jose is going though, after trading Clowe and Murray but adding Torres and Hannan. I know the former two were pending UFAs, but the Sharks seem a bit directionless right now.
To Toronto: D Ryan O'Byrne
To Colorado: 4th round pick
I felt the Leafs' biggest need was a defensive-minded blueliner, preferably a top four guy. O'Byrne is more of a third pairing guy but he's certainly a stay-at-home type, which is more what Toronto needed than an offensive guy. He fills needs in terms of eating some minutes (19 per game this year), killing penalties (2:32 per game) and just adding some experience and depth. Beyond Phaneuf, the Leafs are a bit inexperienced on the back end, so I like the O'Byrne pickup.
Even more, I like what the Leafs didn't do. Honestly, if not for the length of Roberto Luongo's contract, I would be all for getting him. But it has nine years left, and that's a big burden to take on. It's a big risk. It's just too bad it's not a three or four year deal, as he said today in his presser. As for Kiprusoff, to me he seems like a goalie on a steady decline and anything beyond a platoon and a mentorship role to Reimer would be too much. Not to mention whatever the price might have been.
To Boston: D Wade Redden
To St. Louis: conditional 7th rounder
Similar to the O'Byrne deal, although Redden obviously brings more experience to the table. He's certainly not what he used to be, but you can never have enough D heading into the playoffs. Interesting to see him and Chara on the same team again.
To Anaheim: C Matthew Lombardi
To Phoenix: LW Brandon McMillan
Honestly, I'm surprised Phoenix managed to get McMillan for him. Lombardi was in Toronto last season and, granted, he was coming off a serious concussion, but he really didn't bring much to the table other than his speed.
To New Jersey: RW Steve Sullivan
To Phoenix: 7th rounder
The Coyotes continued to trim the fat, sending the veteran winger (who just played in his 1,000th NHL game) back to the team that drafted him in 1994, before sending him to the Leafs in the Gilmour trade, followed by said Leafs frittering him away for nothing for effing Dmitri Khristich. Ahem... anyway, I can't say I've seen enough of Sullivan lately to say whether he's bringing much to the table, but the minimal return probably answers that.
To Nashville: RW Filip Forsberg
To Washington: RW Martin Erat, C Michael Latta
I'd like to know what George McPhee is smoking. Yes, Erat's a pretty good addition and should help the Caps, but you can't give up a kid like Forsberg for him. Erat isn't THAT much of a difference-maker; he's a second liner with a career high of 58 points. At the very least, if you're going to trade Forsberg, go after a guy like Pominville. Latta seems an average prospect, drafted in the third round and currently in his second AHL season.
I'm not going to do the dumb winners and losers thing, other than to say Columbus was a huge winner. Like I said, the Rangers did get a very good return that will help give them depth, but from the CBJ perspective, Brassard was underachieving and expendable; Dorsett, while a fan favourite and a heart and soul type, is replaceable; and Moore, while he should become a good d-man, is also kind of expendable with the likes of Ryan Murray, Tim Erixon, David Savard, Dalton Prout, Cody Goloubef, etc, also in the system. Columbus also got a great deal on Mason and took a flyer on a decent player in Comeau.
Also, between the Pominville deal today and trading Regehr earlier, Buffalo did an extremely good job of restocking their cupboard with prospects and picks. Kudos to Darcy Regier for that. Getting Hackett from Minnesota also raises the question whether Ryan Miller will be gone this summer and they go with Enroth and Hackett.
