It has been fairly busy prior to trade-deadline day, likely meaning that, as usual, trade-deadline day will be uneventful. Here’s what’s been happening.

March 29, 2013

Edmonton Oilers get: Kale Kessy, 20, LW

Phoenix Coyotes get: Tobias Rieder, 20, RW

Rieder is still very young and has been putting up decent numbers in the OHL. Who knows if that will translate to the pros, though.

Kessy is just as young but far less productive (though he is bigger). So basically the Oil traded talent for grit, but both were fourth round picks. Likely a wash.

March 30, 2013

Detroit Red Wings get: 2014 conditional pick

Philadelphia Flyers get: Kent Huskins, 33, D

In the most exciting trade of the deadline, the Flyers add another depth defenceman who doesn’t really play for not much of anything.

Buffalo Sabres get: 2nd round pick, conditional 5th round pick

St. Louis Blues get: Jordan Leopold, 32, D

Leopold, when healthy, was the #2 D on the Sabres this year. Now, that’s not saying much since the Sabres are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, but it does seem like a pittance to give up for a guy playing close to 22 minutes per game. As the Iginla, Morrow, and Murray trades showed, it is a buyer’s market for sure. Yes, he’s a free agent this summer. But it wasn’t that long ago that the Leafs were giving up the equivalent of 4 picks each for 35+ defencemen who were soon to become UFAs. Times have changed. Have to think the Blues win this.

April 1, 2013

Chicago Blackhawks get: Michael Handzus, 35, C

San Jose Sharks get: 4th round pick

Zus was playing the least minutes of his career and having far and away the worst offensive season of his career, at least partially as a result of that lack of ice-time. So what seems like a steal for the Hawks on paper looks totally sensible for both teams when his performance is factored in.

Anaheim Ducks get: Harry Zolnierczyk, 25, LW

Philadelphia Flyers get: Jay Rosehill, 27, LW

Mr. Unpronounceable appears to be a clear career AHLer who the Flyers gave a few cups of coffee to so he could prove himself as an NHL goon. The Flyers get back a far more tested goon who doesn’t appear to have played this year. A wash.

Buffalo Sabres get: two 2nd round picks (2014, 2015)

LA Kings get: Robyn Regehr, 32, D

Regehr’s game has suffered since the first lockout. This seems like a fair price to me for someone who is overpaid but may yet play a role in the playoffs. Sabres aren’t getting much in their fire-sale though.

Calgary Flames get: Mark Cundari, 22, D; Reto Berra, 26, G; conditional 1st round pick

St. Louis Blues get: Jay Bouwmeester, 29, D

Whatever you might think of Bouwmeester, he was the #1 D on an NHL team. Now, that team might be the second worst defensive team in the league, but that’s not all on Bouwmeester. The Flames have to hope that the Blues falter and barely sneak into the playoffs this year, because otherwise they are not getting much out of this. That first round pick gets worse and worse the farther the Blues make it – if they don’t make it, it becomes a 2014 pick – Cundari looks to be a depth defensive D at the very best, and Berra is still playing in Switzerland. Ouch.

This is a bad trade for the Flames – unless, of course, they somehow get a future NHL Top 6 forward or Top 4 D out of it.

April 2, 2013

Carolina Hurricanes get: Marc-Andre Bergeron, 32, D

Tampa Bay Lightning get: Adam Hall, 32, RW/C; 7th round pick

Bergeron was barely playing for the Bolts so his price had definitely fallen. But wow: Hall is a reserve forward and the 7th round pick isn’t much of anything. I haven’t seen Bergeron play this year, so maybe he has been a disaster and I don’t realize it, but I have a lot of trouble thinking that the Bolts enough back for a guy who could conceivably top 4 minutes for the Canes in the playoffs, if he is healthy.

It’s a buyer’s market.

Dallas Stars get: Kevin Connauton, 23, D; 2nd round pick

Vancouver Canucks get: Derek Roy, 29, C

Connauton appears to be a possible depth defenseman at the NHL level, if everything breaks right. Roy is not having the best season of his career but not that worst either. It seems like not a lot of a haul, except for the fact that he’s a rental.

I have to think that the Canucks win this simply because they get a legit NHL player for not a lot. Obviously if Roy walks as a free agent and Connauton or the pick turns into an NHL player, the Stars win it, but do we think that is going to happen?

Phoenix Coyotes get: Matt Clackson, 27, LW

Washington Capitals get: Joel Rechlicz, 25, RW

This amounts to a swap of AHLers. It’s a wash. Phoenix’s farm team does slightly better than Washington’s, not that we care.

Boston Bruins get: Jaromir Jagr, 41, RW

Dallas Stars get: Lane MacDermid, 23, LW; Cody Payne, 19, C; conditional 2nd round pick

• The condition is the pick becomes a first round pick if the Bruins advance to the Conference Finals.
• Jagr is enjoying the third worst season of his career but that means nothing because we are talking about one of the few greatest RWs of all-time. He is leading his team in points though (barely).
• MacDermid looks like he might be a goon in the future, maybe.
• Payne is young, but he has some pretty unimpressive OHL numbers.

The Stars have to be hoping the Bruins make the Conference Finals for this to be anything more than a blemish. I guess the reasoning is that Jagr would have walked this summer. So they got assets back.

The problem is that they aren’t very good assets. Wouldn’t someone have paid more if they had waited until today?

Edmonton Oilers get: Garrett Stafford, 33, D

Washington Capitals get: Dane Byers, 27, LW

Stafford is an AHL D, Byers is an AHL forward who has occasionally managed to put up points. A wash.

LA Kings get: 5th round pick

Montreal Canadiens get: Davis Drewiskie, 28, D

Montreal has acquired a reserve D (a warm body essentially) for a 5th round pick. I would say this is one of the few trades that feels like the seller won. I would have said he was worth a 7th.

Colorado Avalanche get: Tomas Vincour, 22, RW

Dallas Stars get: Cameron Gaunce, 23, D

• Despite middling WHL numbers, Vincour has managed to score in the AHL. He hasn’t succeeded in the NHL yet, but he is still young and might surprise.
• Gaunce looks to be a legit NHL prospect at this point (although not a great one).

Have to think the Stars finally won one, albeit barely.

New York Rangers get: Ryane Clowe, 30, RW

San Jose Sharks get: 2nd round pick, 3rd round pick, conditional 2nd round pick (2014)

Clowe has fallen off a cliff. Playing the third-least minutes of his career he is having his worst offensive season since his first (quarter) season in the league. It makes sense that San Jose are willing to give him up for so little. If this trade had been made last year it would have been an outright steal for NY, but now it seems like an okay move for both teams:

• SJ gets assets and gets rid of a pending UFA who can’t score,
• NY gets a guy who could potentially play a Top 6 role in the playoffs for not a lot in the way of picks.

Chicago Blackhawks get: Kirill Gotovets, 21, D

Tampa Bay Lightning get: Philippe Paradis, 22, LW

Gotovets is probably not much of a prospect, and Paradis is reaching bust territory at this point. [The post I linked to has been deleted.]

A wash.

April 3rd, 2013

Boston Bruins get: Rob Flick, 22, C

Chicago Blackhawks get: Maxime Sauve, 23, C

• Flick has put up very unimpressive numbers in the AHL so far, but he is still fairly young.
• Sauve, though slightly older, has put up significantly better numbers in the same league.

Has to be looked at as a very minor win for Chicago.

Nashville Predators get: conditional 7th round pick

San Jose Sharks get: Scott Hannan, 34, D

This is a head-scratcher. Yes, Hannan is playing the least minutes since 2001, but he was still the #4 D on an average defensive team. Why the Preds gave him up for so little boggles my mind.

Theoretically a steal for the Sharks. Of course the Sharks will choke in the playoffs, so not really.

Edmonton Oilers get: Jerred Smithson, 34, C

Florida Panthers get: 4th round pick

Somehow Smithson, who plays 10 minutes a game, is worth more than Hannan, who plays nearly 20. I will never completely understand how NHL GMs assess talent.

Smithson in no way improves the Oil’s chances as far as I can figure, but what do I know?

Incidentally, Smithson is also worth more than Jussi Jokinen. That or the Oilers are totally crazy. (Smithson is a 54% FO guy, but he takes less than half of the amount that a Top 6 centre would take.)

Carolina Hurricanes get: conditional 7th round pick

Pittsburgh Penguins get: Jussi Jokinen, 30, LW/C

Jokinen is in the midst of the worst season of his career. That being said, he will likely be playing with Crosby or Malkin at least some of the time, which should fix that. He is also deadly in shootouts, as we know.

The Penguins continue to pickup guys for less than they are worth. I’m not saying they are going to win the Cup, but they should win the Cup at this rate. They have more forward depth than the Avalanche and the Panthers combined…

Ottawa Senators get: Cory Conacher, 23, LW/C; 4th round pick

Tampa Bay Lightning get: Ben Bishop, 26, G

• Conacher appears to be a legit prospect, despite never being drafted.
• Bishop is in the middle of the best season of his career so far, but apparently was the odd man out in Ottawa.

Whether this was the right move or not for the Senators will depend on how Lehner turns out, but they got back more for Bishop than most other teams got for anything they shopped, so they have to view it as a win, especially in this market.

Columbus Blue Jackets get: Michael Leighton, 31, G; 3rd round pick

Philadelphia Flyers get: Steve Mason, 24, G

• The Flyers’ playoff hero of 2010 has been more of an AHL goalie since then. The Flyers don’t need him, even though they perennially need goal-tending.
• Mason is having a slight bounce back year this year now that the world has forgotten about him being the league’s next great goaltender.

This is a good trade for the Flyers. They get a young backup who might conceivably be better than their starter – who they are committed too for way too long, and likely cannot trade – and they give up not a whole lot for him. The Blue Jackets already have Mason’s replacement anyway.

Columbus Blue Jackets get: Marian Gaborik, 31, RW

New York Rangers get: Derek Brassard, 25, C; Derek Dorsett, 26, RW; John Moore, 22, D; 6th round pick

This is the second worst season of Gaborik’s career. I’m sure the Rangers are happy to get rid of him. The Blue Jackets should have been more wary; they are giving up prospects yet again for another problematic player. This time, that player is over 30, which is even worse. Who’s to say he will improve with a change of scenery? He might, but he might not. And he only has one year left anyway.

• Brassard appeared to be the future of the Blue Jackets back in 2011, but he has regressed since then.
• Dorsett appears to be third liner, and nothing more.
• Moore, on the other hand, is a legit NHL prospect.
• The 6th round pick is likely nothing.

So, though the Rangers don’t get much beyond Moore in terms of top prospects, they do get a big haul. I think the Blue Jackets lose this one.

Buffalo Sabres get: Matt Hackett, 23, G; Johan Larsson, 20, RW; 1st round pick; 2nd round pick (2014)

Minnesota Wild get: Jason Pominville, 30, RW; 4th round pick (2014)

• Hackett appears to be a decent goalie prospect.
• Larsson is rated as a decent forward prospect who projects as a third liner.
• The Wild’s 1st rounder this year is set to be fairly low.
• But Pominville is in the midst of his worst season in about a decade. Sure, he is under contract for one more year, but this is a lot to give up.

This looks to me to be one of the few trades of the day where the seller actually got more than they should have. A good haul by Buffalo.

Calgary Flames get: 5th round pick

Columbus Blue Jackets get: Blake Comeau, 27, RW

Comeau, who is former waiver trash, is having a pretty bad season. Hard to see why it was a 5th and not something lower. Columbus remains crazy.

Phoenix Coyotes get: 3rd round pick

San Jose Sharks get: Raffi Torres, 31, LW

The notorious loose canon is actually having his best season in a few years while playing about the same amount of minutes as usual. A good pickup by the Sharks provided he doesn’t do anything too stupid.

Colorado Avalanche get: 4th round pick

Maple Leafs Leafs get: Ryan O’Byrne, 28, D

Since I am not currently going crazy demanding the Leafs tank – it appears to be too late to properly rebuild at this point, with our first playoff series in close to a decade looming – I will not devote a separate post to this trade.

O’Byrne is a free agent after this year, so this is a pickup in case of injuries in the playoffs. O’Byrne is the #5 D on one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

I’m pretty okay with this. He’s still reasonably young, he’s just a warm body, and all we gave up was a 4th rounder. It doesn’t make me crazy like my brother suspected it would. I’m glad it wasn’t anything higher.

Boston Bruins get: Wade Redden, 35, D

St. Louis Blues get: conditional 7th round pick (2014)

How the mighty have fallen. Redden is playing his first NHL games in a few years, after his disastrous fall off the face of the earth after he signed with the Rangers. He was utterly replaceable on the Blues, as he was a reserve D.

The Bruins gave up virtually nothing to see if he could regain his form of 6 or 7 years ago. That isn’t going to happen, but the risk is beyond minimal.

Anaheim Ducks get: Matt Lombardi, 31, C/LW

Phoenix Coyotes get: Brandon McMillan, 23, LW

The Coyotes get younger and get rid of a bad contract – Lombardi gets traded constantly because of his contract – and the Ducks maybe get a decent reserve forward.

I don’t know why this trade happened for the Ducks, actually. Not that McMillan was anything.

New Jersey Devils get: Steve Sullivan, 38, RW/LW

Phoenix Coyotes get: 7th round pick

Sullivan is pretty much done at this point; this is far and away the worst season of his career, but he’s also playing the fewest minutes of his career since the Leafs gave him away for free. He goes back to the team that drafted him. They don’t give up very much.

Good trade for veteran depth.

Anaheim Ducks get: Future considerations

Minnesota Wild get: Jeff Deslauriers, 28, G

Wild get a 3rd string goalie for nothing. Makes sense.

Nashville Predators get: Filip Forsberg, 18, RW

Washington Capitals get: Martin Erat, 31, RW; Michael Latta, 21, C

• Erat is having one the worst seasons of his career and he is not known for his playoff performance.
• Latta, on the other hand, has a good chance of becoming an NHLer (albeit likely a 3rd liner).
• The Preds get back a high-end prospect.

It’s a very odd deal for the Capitals to make. It’s like they think they’re making the playoffs. Bad deal for them even though Erat isn’t a rental. (If Latta turns into a better player than Forsberg, that changes things, obviously.)

Columbus Blue Jackets get: Patrick Killeen, 22, G

Pittsburgh Penguins get: Future considerations

Killeen has some bad ECHL numbers so hits hard to know why the Jackets want him. But they gave up nothing.

That’s it. I’d say the favourites are now the Pens, but if they come up against a hot goalie it could be anybody’s Cup. Interesting that Chicago did nothing. Rangers are looking strong too. I still haven’t seen Anaheim enough to take them seriously.