NHL Trade Deadline

Sorry it has been awhile folks. It has gotten a little busy here at school. Don't be scared though because I'm back and ready to share my knowledge!!

Anyways, the NHL trade deadline came and went today with about 30 trades completed today alone. No wonder this is pretty much a national holiday in Canada. How exciting is that? 30 trades sending players everywhere. It's crazy! Names like Bill Guerin, Todd Bertuzzi, Gary Roberts, Martin Biron, and Keith Tkachuk all were moved.

Who were the big winners you ask? Well I will tell you. The big winners were the San Jose Sharks. Adding a big name forward like Bill Guerin will only help this team. Not only can he still score goals, but he will provide much needed leadership for all of the young players on that team. On top of adding Guerin, they added veteran defenseman Craig Rivet. Rivet adds a much needed veteran blue liner who will stand up for his teammates and play a solid game in his own zone. Another big winner had to be the New York Islanders. Anytime you can add a player like Ryan Smyth you are automatically a winner. Like Barry Melrose said on ESPN, Ryan Smyth was the Derek Jeter of his team. The Edmonton fans must be shocked. Although he is probably just a rental player, Smyth and the acquisition of Alexi Zhitnik make this team a cup contender even if they are at the bottom of the conference right now.

When there are winners there are always losers. The big loser today had to be the Anaheim Ducks. I understand completely not wanting to give up your young players, but they needed to make a move and GM Brian Burke didn't get it done. This team was cup favorites at the beginning of the season and now they are probably 4Th or 5Th in their conference. Another big loser had to be the Montreal Canadians (what else is new?). They didn't make a move to solidify their goalie position and they didn't do anything with Sheldon Souray and Andrei Markov (both unrestricted free agents at the end of the season). The team didn't get better and didn't make things any easier for themselves in the offseason.

On a more local note, the Bruins made two moves acquiring defenseman Aaron Ward from the New York Rangers for defenseman Paul Mara, and acquiring defenseman Dennis Wideman from the St. Louis Blues for center Brad Boyes. I'm not really sure how I feel about these moves yet. They definitely solidify the defensive corps. for this team not only this year but next year. They also did save a little over a million dollars against the salary cap (maybe to make a run at a Chris Drury or Ryan Smyth type player?). However, I see these moves as giving up. They are only 8 points out and have 4 games at hand against Montreal. Their run isn't over yet. Yeah they had to do something about their defense but they need someone who will score goals consistently. I guess we will have to see how these moves play out.

Hope you all enjoy boys and girls. American League and National League previews division by division coming up soon!! Take care