Wednesday was trade deadline day in the NHL…Here are the highlights…
The first deal: The Ottawa Senators made the first deal of the day, trading winger Antoine Vermette to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Pascal Leclaire.
The Calgary Flames did very well. First they welcomed back defenceman Jordan Leopold, re-acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenceman Lawrence Nycholat, defenceman Ryan Wilson and a second-round pick. Then they acquired veteran forward Olli Jokinen from Phoenix in exchange for stone-handed Matthew Lombardi, young forward Brandon Prust and a first-round draft pick.
The New York Rangers got better. GM Glen Sather acquired veteran defenceman Derek Morris from Phoenix in exchange for defenceman Dmitri Kalinen, Winnipeg’s own Nigel Dawes (the only Winnipegger involved in the deadline dealing) and underachieving forward Petr Prucha. Then, the Rangers grabbed forward Nik Antropov from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a second round pick and a conditional pick.
The Edmonton Oilers got better, as well, as they have acquired forward Patrick O’Sullivan in a pair of deals involving four teams. The 24-year old O’Sullivan was originally shipped along with a second round draft pick from the Los Angeles Kings to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Justin Williams. The ‘Canes then turned around and dealt O’Sullivan and the draft pick they received from the Kings to the Oilers. The Oilers were not done there as they sent a second round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Ales Kotalik.
The Boston Bruins acquired veteran forward Mark Recchi and a second-round pick in 2010 from tampa in exchange for two prospects and then Boston picked up veteran defenceman Steve Montador from Anaheim for forward Petteri Nokelainen.
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired defenceman Andy Wozniewski from St. Louis in exchange for blueliner Danny Richmond. Later Pittsburgh got veteran forward Bill Guerin from the Islanders and gave up a conditional draft pick.
The Senators agreed to a three-year contract worth $3.7 million a season with defenceman Filip Kuba taking him off the market.
Philadelphia acquired defenceman Kyle McLaren from San Jose in exchange for a sixth-round pick and then dealt veteran forward Scottie Upshall to Phoenix in exchange for young forward Daniel Carcillo.
The Buffalo Sabres acquired goaltender Mikael Tellqvist from Phoenix for a fourth round pick and then got Dominic Moore from Toronto in exchange for a second round pick.
The Toronto Maple Leafs claimed goaltender Martin Gerber off waivers from the Ottawa Senators, and made a deal with tampa in which they acquired goalie Olaf Kolzig and defencemen Jamie Heward and Andy Rogers.
The Dallas Stars claimed centre Brendan Morrison off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.
Last year, there were 25 deals on deadline day, involving 45 players. This year, just 22 deals involving a record 47 players.
So who were the big winners?
Edmonton did well, getting Kotalik, young O’Sullivan and a draft pick for, essentially, Erik Cole. Antoine Vermette should help Columbus make the playoffs for the first time ever and the Rangers did extremely well, getting Morris and Antropov for Prucha, Kalinin and Dawes. Toronto did alright because it added draft picks (However, by the time those draft picks turn into actual players, we’ll be celebrating the 50th anniversary of “No Cup in T.O.” Good thing the Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto, or the actual existence of the Stanley Cup might just be a rumour to those people.)
Meanwhile, nobody did better than Calgary or Phoenix.
The Flames were big winners because they added Leopold and Jokinen — two solid hockey players — and made themselves much better right now. They’ll be a force in the playoffs.
The Coyotes won because they dumped their second highest paid player, Jokinen at $5.25 million, and their fifth highest paid player, Derek Morris at $3.95 million. They also dumped another $1.8 million in contracts for a total of $10.8 million. In exchange, they added five veteran players who will cost only $6.8 million next season along with three draft picks. Financially, it was a great day for a financially struggling franchise.