The NHL reached its trade deadline yesterday afternoon, and a flurry of moves had serious implications for the entire league.
Hossa, Dupuis to Pittsburgh: The Pittsburgh Penguins made the biggest splash of the trade deadline, grabbing two right wingers, the highly sought-after Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers at the proverbial 11th hour. The Thrashers acquired a huge collection of young NHL talent in Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, junior player Angelo Esposito and a first-round pick in the 2008 draft.
Credit the Pens with stepping up after rumors had the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators bidding for Hossa. The Pens put forth the best package xof players and picks and were rewarded for their efforts with an excellent player.
They will have to extend him to make this trade really work, and it remains to be seen if they can afford to pay Hossa, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby at the same time. If not, it is a steep price to pay for a rental, even for a player of Hossa's caliber. Dupuis is essentially a third-line winger, with just 15 points this season in 62 games.
The Thrashers win this one though, as the Penguins overpaid for Hossa. Christensen and Armstrong are around the 35- to 40-point mark each season and are still young. Esposito, a first-round choice in last year's draft, has accumulated 79 points in 60 games this season.
Once more, the 2008 draft pick will be very useful in this year's deep class. This deal puts Atlanta in a very solid position to build a contender in the next few years.
Richards, Holmqvist to Stars: The Dallas Stars sent centers Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern, goalie Mike Smith and a fourth-rounder to the Tampa Bay Lightning in return for center Brad Richards and goalie Johan Holmqvist.
The Stars get the best player of this year's transactions in Richards, a playmaking center with good size and excellent skill on the power play. Despite a down year, in which he played with mononucleosis for weeks, Richards is a serious offensive weapon and will help the Stars' playoff run.
Holmqvist is a former top goalie prospect and should thrive in a backup role behind Marty Turco. Playing with any sort of defense at all should also help him significantly.
Tampa Bay secures a good goaltending prospect in Smith, but that is exactly the role Holmqvist filled. Jokinen is a grinding center with little ability other than dump-and-chase, while Halpern was a throw-in that Dallas unloaded to free cap space for Richards. However, moving Richards allowed Tampa to resign defenseman Dan Boyle, who will be an important part of more balanced Lightning teams in the future.
Campbell to Sharks: The San Jose Sharks got a shot in the arm by picking up Brian Campbell and a seventh-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres. In return, the Sabres received power right wing Steve Bernier and a first-round pick in the 2008 draft.
Label this a win for the Sabres. Campbell was offered $18 million over three years to stay with Buffalo and turned it down, citing the contract length. Becoming an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, he was sure to walk from Buffalo anyway, so the Sabres did a good job in grabbing power forward Steve Bernier and a high draft choice in an excellent class.
Bernier is quick and strong and has some offensive talent, and at just 23 years of age, he should be a valuable asset to the Sabres for the foreseeable future.
It's not all bad for the Sharks, though, since Campbell is an excellent defenseman who excels at quarterbacking the power play. San Jose's power-play ability sits at 20th in the league, so the addition of an offensive defenseman of Campbell's quality should help in the postseason hunt. If the Sharks are able to sign him to a four- or five-year deal, this trade looks acceptable, but Bernier and a first rounder is a high price to pay for Campbell as a rental.
Prospal to Flyers: The Philadelphia Flyers picked up one of their former draft choices, trading prospect defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in return for forward Vaclav Prospal.
Last year's big seller turns into a buyer as the Flyers acquire Prospal, who has netted 56 points so far this season. The Flyers did not give up anything they weren't willing to lose, as they have relatively good defensive depth at the developmental American Hockey League level. The conditional pick is for the second or third round in the 2008 draft, and for a team that is attempting to contend this season, a mid-to-upper-round pick should not be much of a loss.
Even though Philadelphia obtained the best player, Tampa Bay has to be pleased with this deal, as Prospal's friction with Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella meant that the Czech winger would walk at the end of this season as an unrestricted free agent.
With nearly half its cap space tied up in four players, the Lightning had to prioritize and rebuild. Picard is a puck-moving defenseman with upside, and he's still young. Plus, the pick can easily net a third-line player or a fifth defenseman in the upcoming draft.
