Ottawa Busy On Deadline Day

The trade deadline has come and gone and the Ottawa Senators have achieved what they have tried to do since the team was granted a franchise...get a number 1 goalie...we hope. Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick has been acquired for Antoine Vermette. Right now I see this as good deal, that being said I thought that the Gerber deal was good at the time so I am going to let some time pass before passing judgement. I like the idea for a french Canadian goalie with a Hockey Canada background. My only concern is that he was very good in Columbus and posted many shutouts, then got hurt....then Steve Mason came in and started posting shutouts. I just hope he is not just a beneficiary of being in a good system. Vermette always seems to have been on the block at the deadline and this year the shoe finally dropped. I like the fact that there was a draft pick involved as well which is always good.

The Filip Kuba 3 year contract extension came as a big surprise and I don’t think that that is a great deal. Seems like an awful lot to be giving a player of his ability, both in dollars and in term. $3.7M is ok but 3 years may be too long and I wonder how much money is left going forward. I was expecting that his signing was going to be part of another deal but apparently that is not the case. With a defence corps that is basically the same that is was with only the addition of Campoli I question. I saw that former Sen Tom Preissing was on waivers and would have probably taken him on as a waiver pickup and flipped Filip for youth or picks.

The fact that Ottawa didn’t deal Chris Neil was also a shocker. I was all for shipping him out and getting anything possible for him, even if it ended in a 6th round pick. I don’t think that he is as valuable as people think he is and perhaps the Senators have over valued him.

I was also a little surprised that Christoph Schubert or Jason Smith wern't on the move. There are a lot of bodies on the blue line but none that can be considered a number 1 or 2 offensive guy.

With what happened today it could make this years draft day a little more interesting, especially if Murray wants to change the culture a bit within the team. We will all keep an eye a see what happens.

NHL D-Day...What Dealings Wil Be Done And By Whom?

With 3pm looming March 4th there has been little or no movement on the trade front. 1 Minor deal yesterday but other then that it has been quiet...perhaps too quiet. Today and yesterday there were a lot of players that were put on waivers. This will give teams the chance to bury some cap money in the AHL and free them up financially to pull the trigger on a deal. This may allow for more player- for-player deals then just players for draft picks.

What do teams on the cusp do, St. Louis and L.A. both potentially could make the playoffs but is that worth grabbing a player only to get pounded by San Jose or Detroit in the first round or get 1 last solid draft and stockpile prospects that you can move in the summer for perhaps an established point producer or 1-2 defenceman...guess we will know in a few hours!

More in hockey then any other sport deadline day has become a beast upon itself, buyers sellers and those who choose to stand pat. there seems to be a lot more teams this year that could be potential buyers but the leagues are so tight that it is tough for GM to decide to unload or load up. It looks like there will be the potential for more minor deals and role players being moved, I wouldn’t expect too many big name players being moved.

The hometown Senators are sellers for the first time in recent memory and it is up to Bryan Murray to shop some players who may fit into long term plans and try to get back some prospects to help out the depth in Binghamton, bolster the team going forward and or stockpile some all important draft picks in this salary cap system that they are in. Just a few rumored to go are Chris Neil, Filip Kuba, Christoph Schubert and again this year Antoine Vermette.

We will have to keep an eye on the ticker and stay on top of the happenings as teams begin to make their moves.