NHL Trade Deadline '08

I will give the NHL credit where it is due, which is not in many areas, but their trade deadline is probably the second most exciting in the sports world. Major League Baseball is first because there are a lot more buyers and sellers than in hockey, due to the retarded amount of parity combined with an even dumber point system and playoff structure.

Some big names even moved, but unless you actually follow this dying sport closely, you may not recognize who the top performers are.

Brian Campbell, a good puck-moving defenceman was traded to the San Jose Sharks for a prospect and a first-round pick. He's due to become a free agent after this season and demand something bigger than the $18-million, three year extension that Buffalo offered him. He is sure to crumble under the pressure of that deal, pretty much ensuring he'll get a no-trade clause and piss off a team for quite some time.

Marian Hossa, another "rental" player was dealt to the Penguins who look like a surefire cup contender. Boasting Hossa, Crosby and Malkin up front, they could score at will if they mesh. There's still that pesky problem of defence and goaltending that aren't exactly top-notch in Pittsburgh. Atlanta got some good young kids back in the deal but are halfway between the Southeast crown and the top of the lottery — which isn't very far apart.

Brad Richards, who earned a big deal from Tampa Bay after winning the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP on their Cup run, was sent packing along with mediocre goalie Johan Holmqvist to Dallas for Mike Smith, a second-line centre at best (Jeff Halpern) and shootout specialist Jussi Jokinen. This looks and smells like a salary dump with the Lightning out of the running. It makes sense after inking Dan Boyle to his big extension.

The Wild traded for crazy Chris Simon. Why? Who knows...

The Montreal Canadiens — fifth in the East, three points out of first — dealt away their starting goaltender for a second round pick. That was their only move. I would completely understand this had they swung another deal for a new goalie, but now they're left with rookie Carey Price to carry the majority of the workload. This sounds almost as dumb as something Toronto would do.

Speaking of the Maple Leafs, they dealt away three of their mediocre players for four mediocre picks. That's a great way to rebuild guys. They're just good enough to sneak into ninth place still, ruining their shot at a good pick. Also, considering how awful the Leafs are at drafting, were these moves really that smart?

Now with the stretch run at hand, I can safely go back to hardly caring until the playoffs start or some goon does something stupid a la Todd Bertuzzi.

What is wrong with the NHL. Feb. '08 edition

There's a reason that most sports, leagues and teams consistently stray from including no-trade and no-movement clauses in a player's contract. It's because it is dumb. Why would a team willing put itself in a situation where their hands are completely and utterly tied. When should the employee have complete control of a situation over their employer? It makes no sense.

What is a no-trade clause? It's as simple as it sounds. These guys cannot be traded unless they actually want to be moved. So if a player has become more valuable to their team if traded away for, say, some prospects or draft picks because the team's season is all but over.

A whopping 121 players in the NHL have no-trade clauses in their contracts. Compare that to ONE active no-trade clause in the NBA, according to ESPN. That one player is a guy who was willing to waive that clause during the summer as well as being an all-star that the team would be stupid to get rid of, no matter what their situation. It's Kobe Bryant in case you were wondering.

So 121 players in the NHL are at the equivalent of Kobe Bryant? Yeah right. I wouldn't say anyone in the entire league is comparable to what Bryant is doing and has done on the hardwood. There are players like the Maple Leafs' Pavel Kubina or the Bruins' P.J. Axelsson who cannot be dealt without their permission. This guys are mediocre at best and demonstrate how weak the guys running teams are to cave to scrubs demands.

In the NFL, no-trade clauses are a non-factor. There's hardly any trades and many have to demand one to get out of town. With most contracts not even guaranteed, I would severely doubt there will ever be a no-trade clause in the world's best run league.

Major League Baseball, on the other hand, has a stipulation that is interesting regarding a no-trade clause: If a player has played ten seasons and at least five in a row with one team, he gains 5-and-10 status. His loyalty to a team gives him the right to refuse a trade. There are players with straight-up no-trade clauses, but not a wide-spread amount like in the dumbest of all associations, the NHL.

No-trade and no-movement clauses should be allowed only to a certain calibre of players. Why anyone would give this right to menial talents is astounding and another example of what is wrong with the NHL.

What's this? A deadline deal?

In case you couldn't recall, last year's NBA trade deadline was a complete and udder dud. In fact, the headline on this site was "DEADline", because, quite frankly, three deals involving a total of four players (the biggest name being moved was Juan Dixon). This year was quite a contrast.

Cleveland made the biggest move of the day, completing a three-team, 11-player deal at the buzzer to haul in some help for LeBron — and in this writer's opinion, made them the favourite to come out of the East. The Cavs shipped out, namely, Larry Hughes (who's been hugely disappointing for his big money deal), Donyell Marshall and Drew Gooden, the most talented of the group. In return, they acquire Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from Seattle and Ben Wallace and Joe Smith from the Bulls. The Sonics were willing to jetison anyone who doesn't fit into their plan for Oklahoma City (their assumed future home) while the Bulls didn't want Wallace's financial burden any more.

Big Ben is the huge question mark in this blockbuster. He's never been great on offence but is a former defensive player of the year. I wouldn't doubt for a second that LeBron can't motivate Wallace to a return to his past self. If you were to pair up Big Z and Big Ben, they could have a decent match up with some of the twin towers out west when finals time comes around.

They other deals made were comparatively minor:
—Bonzi Wells and Mike James were shipped to New Orleans for Bobby Jackson. This deal gives the Hornets some more depth on their already fine bench and a lot better chance to hold onto their surprising Western Conference lead.

—The Rockets also dealt for Gerald "G-Money" Green. It's too bad that dunkoff success doesn't translate to NBA game success.

—The Raptors, looking for rebounding help, acquired a big man who can't rebound (Primoz Brezec) for a back up guard who is merely a spot-player for Detroit now (Juan Dixon).

—And if you've ever heard of Von Wafer (yes, that's a real guy's name) well you're on the same level as Portland who dealt Taureen Green for him.

So, sure, you could argue that no big deals were made last year at the deadline because there was some moves made weeks beforehand, but the same happened this year with all-star players like Pau Gasol, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Shaquille O'Neal. Let's hope that the years to come have the excitement that led up to and took place this time of year.

Deadline Day in MLB

In what will no doubt be the biggest deal of this year’s deadline, Texas slugger Mark Teixeira will be terrorizing the NL east with the Atlanta Braves. The deal will send Teixeira and reliever Ron Mahay to Hotlanta in exchange for uber-prospect and all-name team catcher Jarrod Saltalamachia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Perez and a player to be named later. This deal should put some fear into the eyes of the division leading Mets and second-place Phillies although they did make some less-significant moves to improve themselves pre-deadline. Both teams brought in new second basemen via trade; the Mets upgrading over Ruben Gotay to Luis Castillo and the Phillies bringing in Tadahito Iguchi from the White Sox to replace the injured Chase Utley while he rehabs a broken hand.

The Braves weren’t done though and also brought in Octavio Dotel to help out in the bullpen for Kyle Davies. Dotel has been injured this season but is a good arm to have, especially if closer Bob Wickman breaks down.

It’s also looking like the Yankees big name acquisition of this deadline is going to be Wilson Betitmet. Pretty weak in comparison to what they’ve done in the past put at least they’ll be filling a need. Well, sort of. Actually, not really, don’t they need help somewhere besides a utility infielder? Anyway, the Dodgers get average reliever from the Yanks in the exchange.

And where oh where will Eric Gagne go? That’s the big question now with several teams in the mix.

**UPDATE**

So it turns out that Boston felt like making an over-the-top move by acquiring Eric Gagne from Texas for Kason Gabbard, David Murphy and Engel Beltre. This move only bolsters what is already the best bullpen in baseball, but honestly, I think it was a move to spite the Yankees who were also persuing the Canadian closer.

Parity is hurting trade deadline excitement.

Ask one of your friends who follows sports, in particular football, when the trade deadline for the NFL is and more often than not, they won't be able to answer. Very rarely are players traded in the NFL and even rarer when it happens midseason. 2006’s trade deadline in the NHL was the first of such since the lockout and ergo, the first with a salary cap in place. While there are usually a ton of buyers and sellers and superstar names often are on the move, there was the least amount of movement in recent years. In the NBA, due to their complicated salary cap/ luxury tax system, it can also be hard at times to make big moves at the deadline or at any time for that matter. Most teams in the NBA are already over their "soft" salary cap which hinders movement. The only league of the "big 4" sports where there is a possibility of multiple big name moves every deadline is in Major League Baseball. It figures that baseball is the only sport of the four without a salary cap, even though it has instituted a nearly laughable luxury tax which only few teams have ever had to pay. Looking at these facts alone, it seems fairly obvious that salary caps are killing the excitement of trade deadlines.

The desired effect of a salary cap and, to a lesser extent, a luxury tax, is to create parity in the league to level the playing fields between the "have" larger market franchises and the "have not" smaller market teams. The leagues want teams in lesser populated areas to have a chance to compete with the gargantuan markets. These salary ceilings limit big name and big money free agent signings in the off-season and also prevent teams from buying out all of the top available talents (even though the Yankees are proving money doesn't buy championships). With most teams seemingly level, playoff races are tighter and it's easy for a team on a well-timed winning streak to justify becoming deadline buyers as opposed to the deadline sellers that they should be. Any economist, or even a person with a regular amount of common sense, could tell you that when a marketplace is lacking sellers, not many deals can be done. The same can be said when buyers are up against their allotted budget; when people can't afford to make a deal, no deal can be done.

With these caps in place, free agency becomes more of a factor than ever. While most player movement is done throughout the off-season now, there is a bigger role that free agency plays in trades. Most teams will either look to take on expiring contracts through trades and buyers will use these contracts as bargaining chips in trades. Players with semi-large expiring deals mean that the team holding them will get that cap-room freed up in the free agency period and be able to put that money towards players they covet. Players with expiring contracts may also be traded away because their team may feel that they will be unable to re-sign them, ergo, lose them and not get anything in return.

Just recently, there were two contrasting evidences in my trade deadline theory. While the NBA had only 3 deals involving 4 players take place, the NHL set a record for deadline movement. Even though the standings say otherwise, it seems that every team in the NBA felt fine with the rosters they had and didn’t feel it necessary to make any splashes in the pond. The NHL, on the other hand, has proven that the GMs around the league have figured out their ways to deal with a cap in place, but many of them still haven’t figured out how to build a proper team.

I remember years ago I would stay tuned to the ticker to see every trade come in on the wire. I was excited to see big names changing postal codes and role players brought onto rosters that lacked ideal depth. There was an immediate on teams who suited up their new players as soon as they could. With free agency, there's nothing like that; there's a wait of an entire off-season to see if the moves work out. There’s also no excitement of deals coming across the board by the hour; days and weeks can come between signings. While I'll never argue that salary caps are a bad thing, they're ruining the most exciting days on the sporting world calendar and that has to be said.

The exact opposite of the NBA Deadline

After the NBA’s trade deadline had expired last week, I had jokingly wrote about huge names relocating in blockbuster deals; this joke cannot be made for the NHL’s deadline because it actually did happen. Here’s a few that caught my eye:

Edmonton’s Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders for Ryan O'Marra, Robert Nilsson and a first-round pick. Edmonton did what they had to do; they traded away a really good player to rebuild. This is a task which is something that some teams in the league still have to learn to do. Word has it that there was no way they could resign Smyth to an extension so they dealt him and got a decent return. I applaud you for looking towards the future.

The Panther’s Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit for Shawn Matthias and two conditional draft picks. Bertuzzi has been injured for the majority of this season and was on a team that wasn’t going anywhere in south Florida. When he comes back, he will play a power forward

The Blues’ Bill Guerin to the Sharks for Ville Neimenen, a prospect and a first round pick. Do you think that a line of big boys like Thornton, Guerin and Cheechoo are going to be stopped in the playoffs? It’s going to be quite the task, especially if they want to roll Marleau out on the powerplay with them. This is a solid, over-the-top move.

The Capitol’s Dainus Zubrus and Timo Helbling to the Sabres for Jiri Novotny and a first-round pick. The Sabres have been fighting off injuries a lot this season and are still winning. Why not pick up some insurance for the playoffs with a fine player like Zubrus?

The Sabres deal Martin Biron and a fifth-round pick then end up with Ty Conklin and a second-round pick. This is how a great GM works. You have a goalie (Biron) who is making $2 M this year for sitting on the bench, backing up the fantastic Ryan Miller. He’s going to leave this summer as a free agent so why not deal him now and then pick up Conklin for a lesser cost? Sure, Conklin isn’t as good as Biron but he is one of the better backups in the league. Not to mention that Buffalo also upgraded their draft pick by 3 whole rounds.

The Penguins beef up by acquiring Gary Roberts and Georges Laraque. Look at that! The Penguins finally got a legitimate tough guy to defend Crosby and Malkin. Gary Roberts is a gritty player that will stand up for the young guys too and can be a good mentor.

The Ducks beef up by getting Brad May. Even though they’ve been fighting injuries, the Ducks didn’t make strong enough plays to land any of the big names this deadline; they will probably regret this come playoff time.

Another thing of note in the NHL

Defensive iron-man Karlis Skrastins’ consecutive games played streak ended on Sunday when he couldn’t play against the Anaheim Ducks due to a knee injury. Quite frankly, up until the story broke that he had tied the streak the only thing I thought note-worthy of Skrastins is that I used to have him on my team in, roughly, NHL 2002. He’ll always be remembered for far more than that feat in my mind now.

Two Questionable NHL Signings

***NOTE: With the NHL Trade Deadline today, expect another post***

Last night I saw two announcements come across the wire and scratched my head as to the logic behind them both. Darcy Tucker had tentatively signed a new deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Fredrik Modin had signed an extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. These two were set to become unrestricted free agents after the season, were sought-after commodities for today’s trade deadline and are currently on non-playoff teams. So what sense does it make not to deal them for the future?

In Tucker’s case, his resigning is bad for both parties. If he had tested the free-agent waters, he would have come home with a much bigger contract. But perhaps he wanted to stay with Toronto and take a “home-town discount” deal. In that case, had the Leafs dealt him today, there would still be a decent chance that Tucker would come back in the summer. Then the Leafs would also have the talent they acquired for him on the roster too.

While I’m not as familiar with Modin’s situation in Columbus, I am aware of two things: A) Columbus is 14th in the West and 20 points out of the playoffs. B) Several teams wanted to trade for the hard-shooting winger with playoff-experience.

These moves make especially less sense after seeing what Dallas and Atlanta gave up for their rental players. But then again, I’m no General Manager, I just play on in video games.

Thrashers pick up Tkachuk

In a move that doesn’t really make a ton of sense, the Atlanta Thrashers traded for one of the premier players available in NHL with the deadline coming up. The thing that doesn’t make sense is that Atlanta is already very talented on the wings and could’ve used a centre more than a winger like Tkachuk. This move does help the Thrashers in the grit department which they have been lacking but what they gave up in this deal, first, second and third-round draft picks over the next two draft and Glen Metropolit, should be considered as mortgaging their future. This is a big splash move but it isn’t enough to bring a championship to the dirty south.

After the deadline

DEAD-line was right, with only three trades involving four players; it was one of the most disappointing trade deadlines ever, especially after the talks of big names like Kidd, Gasol, Carter and Bibby moving. So, with the deadline fizzle and is now behind us, the newest major story has taken centre-stage; Dwayne Wade, last year’s NBA Finals, may have to undergo season-ending surgery to repair his dislocated shoulder. What a huge blow that would be to the defending champs who have already struggled with health issues all season. It does help the other teams in the East however, so go Raptors!

Deadline Deals Galore!

Now there’s the trade deadline excitement I was looking forward too. Tons of big names flew coast-to-coast and landed in places most insiders would never have thought. Kobe Bryant ended up in a Lakers uniform, Kevin Garnett will be playing for the Timberwolves, even LeBron James will be putting on a different jersey next game. In case you, the reader, didn’t notice, the preceding was heavily sarcastic. The deadline produced only two trades to speak of and only included three players.

Fred Jones was traded from Toronto to Portland for Juan Dixon; both of whom should have little impact. Both were back-up guards for their teams and figure to play a similar role with their new ones.

Atlanta traded their second round pick in the draft to Dallas for Anthony Johnson. Apparently, the Hawks like Johnson so much, this is the third time they’ve acquired him. Wouldn’t it be more cost-efficient to re-sign when his contract expires?

While the Intern tells me that deals may have been made but have not been announced yet, more stunning moves may still happen, but I don’t find it likely.

Deadline Day Is Here!

Today is a big day for all of the NBA teams either looking towards a playoff push or looking toward the future of their franchise; it is trade deadline day. While what may have been the biggest deal happened months ago (Iverson to Denver), rumours swirl, like always, about big names moving across the board. Stay tuned for more but until something breaks.

Until then, a few notes from last night:

San Antonio 103, Atlanta 96

Manu Ginobili came off the bench and poured in an outstanding 40 points against the lowly Hawks last night. What’s even more incredible than the fact that Brent Barry got the start over him is that he actually scored 24 of the Spurs points in a row; a feat that is rarely heard of. It sure looks like the Argentinean is making a case for 6th man of the year, but technically, he was the 7th man on the floor for the Spurs (behind Matt Bonner). I’m sure the voters wont’ care though.

Philadelphia 104, New York 84

I finally heard a better nickname for Kyle Korver than simply calling him Ashton Kutcher. In a highlight package I saw last night, the announcer busted out “The Butterfly Effect.” It captures the Ashton-look-a-like theme but also adds a new dimension to it. He didn’t have a bad game last night either. In fact, one would say, he had a really good game. The Butterfly Effect dropped 31 on the hapless Knicks while having afflictions on both of his feet (turf toe on the left, plantar fasciitis in his right). It’s not quite Manu’s 40, but the race for 6th man seems to be heating up.

Forsberg dealt; Leafs beat up on junior team.

Apparently, a loud cheer came from the Maple Leafs dressing room when they heard that, after taking warm ups, Peter Forsberg wouldn’t be playing that night. During the game, the news broke that Forsberg had been traded to the Nashville Predators for Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and two draft picks. The Leafs then proceeded to score three goals in the first period against a goalie that was a back-up in Chicago last season and third string on the Flyers this year. Toronto shouldn’t get too far ahead of themselves and call this a “quality win,” because clearly, Philadelphia is in full tanking mode.

What are more important about this trade are the ramifications for Nashville. Having a player like Forsberg in the lineup can be a tremendous advantage, especially when you figure in the skill that they already have there. Considering that Nashville is already at the top of the league, this may be the move to put them over the top; of course, if Forsberg can stay healthy that is. But the real question is: with Nascar season starting, does anyone in Nashville care?

Interesting NHL Moves

Kings in London

It appears that the Los Angeles Kings will be opening next season with a game in London, England. This follows the news that the NFL will also have England host a regular season game early in their upcoming season. The NHL hasn't had a game outside of North America since the 1997-1998 season when games were played in Japan to promote the NHL players taking part in the upcoming Olympics.

While it's always a good thing to expand your sport and make it more international, wouldn't it be more pertinent to work on strengthening their U.S. fan base? It's only logical to make sure your games are selling out at home before moving games to overseas locales.

The first Domino?

In the first move that can even be close to being considered a blockbuster deal, Ladislav Nagy was dealt to the Dallas Stars what seems like only hours after Wayne Gretzky throwing his hands up and saying, "screw it," to this season. After a disheartening loss on Sunday night, Phoenix has now decided to throw in the towel and trade away some talent for prospects. Going to the Coyotes in the deal was Mathias Tjarnvist and a first round pick. It seems like The Great One didn't know what he was getting into when he signed on to coach the Coyotes; if only his players were as good as he was.

Rumour Mill: Prepare for Full Speed!

As with any trade deadline, except for the NFL one which is always uneventful, the rumours are going to start flying soon for both the NBA and NHL. While I'll let the intern cover the NBA, I'll take a stab at some big names that could / should be on the move.

Peter Forsberg: Stuck on the worst team in the league this season, Forsberg has also been dealing with foot and ankle problems throughout. If / when Peter will be dealt is up to his health and without too many good centres on the block, he could fetch a nice price.

Mats Sundin: The Maple Leafs captain is another marquee centre who could be made available when the deadline rolls around. Even though he's getting up there in age (36 years old), his skills can be a great commodity for a play-off bound team. Even if the Leafs don't fall out of play-off contention, it would still be a wise move to deal Mats, save their cap and get some youth in return.

Nikolai Khabibulin: Chicago has already stated that they would listen to offers for the former play-off hero and will more than likely get some calls from play-off bound teams looking for an upgrade for the play-offs.

Todd Bertuzzi: Despite being injured for a large part of this season, the league already knows what Todd Bertuzzi can do on the ice (Including nearly crippling people). He's one of the better power forwards in the league and would be welcome in at least one dressing room (Phoenix).

Darcy Tucker: Who wouldn't want a good pest on their team? He's one of those players that you hate until he players for you. He bothers his opponents to get them to play down to his level. He is also an asset on the power play and works his best at the side of the net. The Leafs would be better off trading him now as he's set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Ladislav Nagy: With his contract winding down during a fairly unproductive season, the Coyotes may be better off dealing Nagy than keeping him around. Nagy is a proven scorer and may do well again in a change of scenery.