Part I … Looking back at the trade deadline … the movers
The March 1st NHL trade deadline fell well short of expectations, as big names such as Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, Marc-Andre Fleury and Evander Kane did not get moved and most of the deals involved players with expiring contracts.
A number of teams were able to make moves that could have positive impact on their bid for the post-season or winning the Stanley Cup, but just as many did little or nothing to improve their chances or sell rentals for any kind of return.
The NHL trade deadline movers …
Washington Capitals – The Capitals made the biggest splash of the deadline, trading a 1st , 2nd and two minor leaguers for defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. This deal was as much about keeping Shattenkirk away from teams in direct competition (the Rangers and possibly the Penguins) as it was bolstering an already solid defensive corps.
Shattenkirk will quarterback the Caps power play, which should allow John Carlson to see more ice time in five-on-five situations.
Los Angeles Kings – The Kings gave up next to nothing to get Jarome Iginla from Colorado and defensive prospect Erik Cernak to get some goalie insurance in Ben Bishop.
The veteran winger has already paid dividends, scoring a pair of goals in an overtime win over Nashville last week. Iginia is no longer the point-per-game player he was in his Calgary days, but the veteran could provide a key goal here or there like Vincent Lecavalier did a year ago. That could be the difference between the Kings sneaking in or not.
Jonathan Quick appears to be close to 100%, but groin injuries can reoccur, especially with someone as acrobatic as Quick is.
Vancouver Canucks – Canucks GM Jim Benning finally did what many of the Vancouver fan base wanted him to do and sell some veterans for young prospects.
Benning did not move goalie Ryan Miller, because the goaltender market was stagnant, but shipped winger Alex Burrows to Ottawa for promising youngster Jonathan Dahlen and moved forward Jannik Hansen to San Jose for prospect Nikolay Goldobin and a conditional draft pick.
Now if only he had not signed Loui Eriksson to a six-year contract.
Detroit Red Wings – Wings GM Ken Holland is not accustomed to being a seller at the deadline, but he did a decent job in stockpiling draft picks for the expiring contracts of Thomas Vanek, Tomas Jurco, Steve Ott and Brendan Smith.
Now Holland just has to find this generation’s Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk in the late rounds to prevent the Wings from missing the playoffs the next 25 years.
Minnesota Wild – The Wild gave up three draft picks to Arizona for Martin Hanzal and Ryan White, but they were able to do that since they have youngsters like Joel Eriksson-Ek, Jordan Greenway, Kirill Kaprizov and Alex Tuch already in the pipeline.
Hanzal is not a star, but gives Bruce Boudreau depth up the middle after Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal, which will be needed if Minnesota is to get past Chicago.
Michael (@MikeInBuffalo on Twitter) can also be found on HockeyBuzz.com
