So as I said, yesterday was pretty lackluster. The entire trade season was. And you're probably wondering, "what on Earth do Charlie Sheen, LeBron James, and Jerry Seinfeld have to do with the NHL trade deadline?" Welp it's quite simple, actually. Despite the lack of major moves, some teams wound up winning, some teams wound up choking/losing/etc., and some teams just wound up "Even Steven". Unfortunately I couldn't find a clip of Jerry proclaiming how things even out for him, but just watch "The Opposite" and you'll understand where I'm coming from. After the instructional videos, read below to see who falls in to each division. We'll be discussing the deadline even more on tomorrow's radio program at high noon, so don't forget to tune in for that.
Charlie Sheen Division
Los Angeles Kings
Make no mistake about it, the Kings have underachieved all season long. Many, myself included, expected them to be a Cup contender, perhaps even come out of the West. But they couldn't score on a soccer net with Andrew Raycroft in front of it if they tried. So they called up Columbus, and while they didn't get Rick Nash, attained Mike Richards' homeboy Jeff Carter. The cost? A 1st-round pick and Jack Johnson, the no. 3 overall pick in 2005 by Carolina who's moving on to his third organization. Johnson is a -91 for his career, despite playing on some pretty good Kings teams these last several years.
Carter's had a down year, sure, but he's been injured and stuck in Columbus. The change of scenery (again) should reinvigorate his game. Carter once scored 46 goals in a season, back in 2009. Considering what they gave up, it's a no-brainer.
Chicago Blackhawks
Johnny Oduya has got a great name, but perhaps even better game. A cornerstone of the package that the Atlanta Thrashers received for Ilya Kovalchuk once upon a time, Oduya brings depth to a Blackhawks corps that has been porous all season long. Ducan Keith and Brent Seabrook are nice, but adding Oduya to the mix enables them to lengthen their unit by pushing either Keith or Seabrook back to second line D to pair with another less experienced type. The 'Hawks can score with the best of them, but their Cup quest will live and die by what they get defensively and in the pipes. Oduya can definitely be a part of the solution.
Boston Bruins
They barely rocked the boat and they certainly didn't tip the boat over, making a splash that would almost certainly win a medal at an Olympic diving contest. Which is to say, hardly a splash at all. But with injuries to Nathan Horton and Rich Peverley, the B's couldn't afford to stand pat, and made a series of minor moves to bring back Brian Rolston, bring in local boy Mike Mottau, and swap Steven Kampfer for Greg Zanon. None of these names were brought in to put the team over the top, by any means, but if you look at what the rest of the Eastern contenders did (or didn't do, in reality), GM Peter Chiarelli can rest easy.
These moves are even more low key than last years fine-tuning, when he brought in Peverley, Chris Kelly, and the corpse of Tomas Kaberle, but the team didn't need quite that big a splash this time around. And by not trading Tuukka Rask, that is a win in of itself.
Buffalo Sabres
Tough guy Paul Gaustad, who had his face re-arranged by Milan Lucic not too long ago, for a 1st round pick? 7-10-17, -1 totals on the season is suddenly worth a 1st rounder? Jeez. Good work by GM Darcy Regier, collecting a valuable asset to build towards next season, which it clearly looks like Buffalo is doing. Not to mention bringing in Cody Hodgson, who just turned 22 last week, to potentially play on a line with Thomas Vanek. It's been a frustrating year in Buffalo, but the future doesn't look so bad anymore.
LeBron James Division
Columbus Blue Jackets
On the one hand, they ridded themselves of Jeff Carter's contract, which currently runs through 2021. On the other hand, they've now given away Jeff Carter, Jakub Voracek, a 1st round pick, and a 3rd round pick for Jack Johnson and a 1st round pick. Say the first round picks cancel out (which you can't really, because look how valuable a Columbus 1st round pick is these days. The Flyers certainly made out in that one). That's not good for business. Plus they're stuck with an unhappy Rick Nash for the remainder of the season, which will clearly be a lame-duck campaign for him as it's pretty much set in stone he's gone this summer.
Did I mention Columbus is hosting the All-Star Game next season? Said GM Scott Howson on hosting the game without Nash, "We'll just have to have other all-stars". Good luck.
Nashville Predators
I seem to be in the minority here, but....since when is Hal Gill an elite defenceman again? Was he ever even one? And to the tune of a 2nd round pick, no less? You already have Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, on a team that can't score goals....shouldn't that pick go towards, gee I don't know, a goal scorer? So then, the Preds add Andrei Kostitsyn, reuniting him with his brother Sergei. When the two were together in Montreal, that worked out about as well as Pro Sports hiring both Levin's. Volatility much? And to top it all off, they give up a first round pick to acquire Paul Gaustad, who we've already touched on. I like how Nashville is going for it. I don't like how they're going about going for it.
Washington Capitals
If any contender, or pseudo-contender, as these guys have become, needed to make a move, it was Washington. Injuries to Nicky Backstrom and Mike Green have been devastating, no question. And the disappearances of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin would make a great storyline in a throwback Soviet Communism flick. They're in 9th in the East, but only 3 points behind Southeast Division-leading Florida. If any team should have been in on Rick Nash, it's these guys. I fail to see why they were never really linked to him. Maybe the GM disappeared with Ovie and Co. too.
Rick Nash
If you ever want to be taken seriously as a hockey player, get out of Columbus and win a damn playoff game. Supposedly he asked for a trade in January, but it's a he-said she-said deal right now. And he's said in the past he enjoys playing in Columbus rather than his hometown Toronto, where the spotlight is too bright. And you wonder why I named this the LeBron James Division.
Jerry Seinfeld Division
New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks
It's hard to call them losers, because they barely did anything. But it's hard to call them winners either, when they barely did anything. Even Steven! Unlike Washington, neither team is in dire straits, per se. But these teams needed to do something that would rock the Richter Scale, and I don't mean Mike Richter for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist winning the Vezina is about as much of a formality this year as silent films and Iranians were at winning Oscars on Sunday, but that team is struggling to score goals almost as much as the Kings have been. Brad Richards has cooled down since his hot start, and there's really no fearsome scorer on that team other than Marion Gaborik.
As for the Sharks, they've definitely missed the offense provided by Dany Heatley. And granted he hasn't been having the best of seasons in Minnesota, while Brent Burns has been a revelation for San Jose. Aside from Jumbo Joe, Patrick Marleau, Logan Coture, and Joe Pavelski, this team is a shell of it's former offensive self. Which didn't win them any Cups, to be fair. But you can't do a 180 and preach defense when your roster clearly possesses offensive firepower. They addressed the defensive concerns in the off-season, and should have turned their efforts back to adding another scorer. With LA making moves, and the soon-to-be Quebec Nordiques on a hot streak of epic proportions, San Jose may have missed yet another chance.
And there you have it. The teams that jumped out at me got their ink, for better or for worse. I don't think any team magically morphed into the Cup favorite yesterday, but there's definitely some teams that blew it big time by a lack of moves. And that goes for contenders and teams in rebuilding mode. As always, we'll see how it goes.
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