The 2007 NHL trade deadline has come and gone. Huge names like Todd Bertuzzi, Ryan Smith, and Mattais Nordstrom all found new homes. In the end of the bloodbath, there were over twenty-five trades. So, the biggest questions are who won the day, who is left scratching their heads, and who has a nice stock for the future? Here come the answers to those questions and more.Trade Deadline Winner
The trade deadline winner is the Pittsburgh Penguins. The acquisitions of Georges Laroque and Gary Roberts are telling the people of Pittsburgh they are serious about making the playoffs. This helps with the leverage they need to get a new arena, especially with the renewed interest and passion for the team. Not only are the Pens gearing up for a playoff run, but also New Jersey should watch out, the Pens are serious about a division title.
Trade Deadline Loser
By far, the loser of the day is the Edmonton Oilers. Sure, it’s a contract thing, and the old saying, “better to trade him now and get something back, then to lose him in free agency,” applies here, but that trade alone has set the Oil back at least five years. Robert Nilson and Ryan O’Marra are serviceable forwards, but combined they are not equal to the production of Ryan Smith. The first round pick helps, but it’s going to be low with this move, as the Islanders are also going to make a charge for a division title.
Trade With the Most to Lose
The Detroit Red Wings took the biggest gamble. Todd Bertuzzi has been slow to recover from various injuries. On top of his injury threat, Bertuzzi doesn’t exactly have the best temper in the world. If you need further clarification on this, go online and look up the Steve Moore incident. Also, he takes shifts off during a game. On the positive side, if Bertuzzi comes back healthy, the Wings have one of the better power forwards in the game. This will help them around the net, where they are very weak this season.
Best Non-Move(s)
That goes to the Colorado Avalanche. There was a temptation to trade Milan Hedjuk, Ossi Vananen, Marek Svatos, or to go out and get a quality veteran for a playoff race. First year general manager Francois Gigure spat in the face of temptation. The Avs secured their future, by not really doing much. They went out and acquired Scott Parker and Michael Wall. Now, the Avs have a chance to resign Hedjuk before his free agent season. If they can’t resign him by next trade deadline, I wouldn’t rule out a trade.
Worst Non-Move(s)
Los Angles did not trade Rob Blake. Blake is just a shell of what he used to be, and is nothing more then a coach that drains their cap room. There are six million reasons they should have traded him. Sure, they traded Nordstrom, but they still don’t have much cap flexibility. There have been reports that the only takers didn’t have cap room. This is junk. There had to have been teams with the flexibility to bring in Blake. The Kings may have lost out on another first-round pick that could have helped rebuild this team.
Underrated Move
Blood rivals Chicago and Detroit helped each other out when they exchanged Kyle Calder for Jason Williams. Sure, things didn’t work out well for Williams in Detroit. Sure, he should be taking most of the heat for the Wings’ collapse in the playoffs last season. However, Williams is still a serviceable winger in the NHL. He’s a great point player, but his size does hurt him. Meanwhile, Calder is a shifty forward, who plays an in-your-face style of hockey. He’s great insurance if Bertuzzi cannot return to form.
Overrated Move
Yanic Perreault is back in Toronto. Sure, he got all the headlines, after he was signed by the Coyotes eleven games into the season, and then caught wildfire to lead the Coyotes in scoring by the All-Star break. Yet, no one really stopped to think why he didn’t have a contract when the season started. The answer is simple; he’s not a good player. Sure, he led a team that had Jeremy Roenick in scoring, but it’s still Phoenix. I could lead that team in scoring. The same thing that’s happen to Yanic in Toronto the other two times he’s been there will happen again, he’ll be buried on their fourth line, and we won’t hear from him ever again.
There you have it. The way the trading deadline broke down. In all, most of the playoff-bound teams made very good moves to ensure this might be the best playoff season in the history of the NHL, while the teams that are out of it made very smart moves for their future. Now that everyone knows how to work the cap, watch for more trade deadlines like this one.
