It is now less than two days until the National Hockey League trade deadline arrives and, given the frantic activity of the last 2 seasons in which a record 25 different trades were made on both the 2006 and 2007 D-days, and with the many big names that are available to be had this time around, and this year should be very exciting and eventful. These are the players that I believe will be the most likely to get traded, whose names have been the most prominent in trade rumours that in some cases have persisted since the beginning of this season. The big names include Marian Hossa (Atlanta Thrashers); Dan Boyle (Tampa Bay Lightning); Alex Tanguay (Calgary); Rob Blake (Los Angeles); Brian Campbell (Buffalo); Olli Jokinen (Florida); Brad Richards (Tampa Bay). Most of these players, and a few others that might get traded before Tuesday, are loaded with big contracts that teams are trying to unload in order to stay under the salary cap hoping that they can attract interest from teams that are sure to take a long run at a possible Stanley Cup victory. In that sense, I would expect to see teams such as Detroit, Anaheim, Dallas, Ottawa, and possibly Montreal to be active buyers while the non-contenders like Toronto, Tampa, and Los Angeles to be big sellers. Whatever happens, you can follow all the activity on any of Canada's three major sports networks, (TSN, Sportsnet, and The Score), who will be starting their coverage at---get this---8 am on Tuesday and continuing to well past the supper hour. That's over 10 hours of non-stop trade talk and analysis. Needless to say, this would be a good time to call in sick if you have to work that day. In the USA, your best bet might be the NHL Network, a digital channel based in Canada which launched a US version last summer. Another way to keep track of breaking trades is through these websites, which will have extensive coverage of the day's activities, including, in some cases, live video streaming:


TSN (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/trade_deadline/Default.aspx)

Sportsnet (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/deadline2008/)

The Score (http://www.forecaster.ca/thescore/hockey/tradelog.cgi?2007-08)

NHL.com (http://www.nhl.com/deadline/2008/index.html)

SLAM! (http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Trades/home.html)

Yahoo! (http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl)

Are you excited yet? Wait a couple of days and you will be. Then, I'll see you back here and we can talk about all of this. Have fun, people!

Im hoping Montreal gets Hossa and either Tanguay or Sundin.......but, what scares me is, what would they have to give up for "rent-a-players" at a time where their draft picks are just now coming into their own?

Im hoping Montreal gets Hossa and either Tanguay or Sundin.......but, what scares me is, what would they have to give up for "rent-a-players" at a time where their draft picks are just now coming into their own?

Right now, it appears that the most likely Montreal player to be traded would be Michael Ryder. The ongoing rumour has him going to Calgary for Tanguay. Hossa would command a larger and costlier return, especially since Sundin has declared himself off the market. In that case, one of the younger players would have to go, like Christopher Higgins, and that's just for starters. I'm just making an educated guess here. We'll all know better tomorrow.

As it turned out, the only trade Bob Gainey did was to GIVE AWAY Chris Huet for a measly draft pic......So, once again, Montreal goes into the playoffs with no BIG impact players and Slacku Koipoo as their supposed #1 centre
:mad: :barf: @!$#^%#$@!#@$$

Why didnt Gainey take the opportunity to trade Koivu for a bag of pucks? (He certainly would have won THAT deal!) :rolleyes:

Tuesday was a very busy day for trades as, for the third year in a row, a record 25 trades were made involving 45 players and 23 draft choices. It took me a whole day for them to totally sink in but now that I've had a little time to think about them, I would like to discuss them by analyzing the major trades and identifying the potential winners and losers:


ATLANTA TRADES MARIAN HOSSA AND PASCAL DUPUIS TO PITTSBURGH FOR ANGELO ESPOSITO, COLBY ARMSTRONG, ERIK CHRISTENSEN AND A 2008 1ST ROUND PICK

This was the biggest trade of the day and also the most dramatic, since Montreal and Ottawa were considered to be the front-runners to get Hossa and then Pittsburgh stole their thunder literally at the last minute. I'll call this trade in favour of Pittsburgh for now since the Penguins got the best player available at the deadline while the ones going to Atlanta still have to prove themselves of being worthy of the huge gamble that their new team made to get them.

TAMPA BAY TRADES BRAD RICHARDS AND JOHAN HOLMQVIST TO DALLAS FOR MIKE SMITH, JUSSI JOKINEN, JEFF HALPERN, AND A 2009 4TH ROUND PICK

Dallas wins this deal in a big way. The Stars now have another big sniper to go along with Modano, Ribeiro, and Morrow and that's sure to make the other contenders nervous. Oddly enough, other than San Jose trading for Brian Campbell, no one else in the West wound up getting an impact player and that could hurt them in the playoffs unless they feel confident with their teams the way they are set now. This just might be the Stars' ticket to the finals but it's too early, and the standings too close, to make that statement at the moment.

BUFFALO TRADES BRIAN CAMPBELL AND A 2008 7TH ROUND PICK TO SAN JOSE FOR STEVE BERNIER AND A 2008 1ST ROUND PICK

Buffalo is quickly becoming an Eastern version of the Edmonton Oilers, where their better players start leaving for greener pastures and more green cash in their pockets just when they start establishing themselves as good NHL players. At least here, unlike the Briere and Drury situations of last summer, they'll get something back for him. To me, however, they could have done better. Bernier is a good young player but he's not as good as Briere, even at the same age, and the draft pick will probably be somewhere in the 20s. That's not good enough for giving up your best defensemen and the most sought after defender on the trade market. The edge goes to the Sharks here, especially if Campbell can take them far in the playoffs.

MONTREAL TRADES CRISTOBAL HUET TO WASHINGTON FOR A 2009 2ND ROUND PICK

This wasn't the biggest trade of the day but it was the most surprising. The Habs take a big gamble by trading Huet and put a lot of pressure on 20 year old Carey Price by instantly making him the #1 goalie. This tactic has worked well for them in the past (Jacques Plante, Rogie Vachon, Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy) but, in this day and age, it may prove to be too much, too soon. Bob Gainey is hoping that his prized rookie's customary coolness under pressure can last him through the playoffs and inspire his young team, whose best prospects were wisely protected against the rent-a-player syndrome. They did lose out on Marian Hossa which will leave their fans very disappointed for now but they should be all right in the long term or for as long as Price can hold the job. For their part, Washington adds some depth in goal and a veteran to spell Olaf Kolzig who is clearly near the end of his career. Washington may have been the overall winner at the deadline, adding Huet, Sergei Fedorov from Columbus, and Matt Cooke from Vancouver, but in this trade, I would say they just barely come out ahead for now.

These were the biggest deals that were made at the deadline. If there are others that I didn't mention that you want to discuss, let me know.

Habs take a big gamble by trading Huet and put a lot of pressure on 20 year old Carey Price by instantly making him the #1 goalie. This tactic has worked well for them in the past (Jacques Plante, Rogie Vachon, Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy) but, in this day and age, it may prove to be too much, too soon. Bob Gainey is hoping that his prized rookie's customary coolness under pressure can last him through the playoffs and inspire his young team, whose best prospects were wisely protected against the rent-a-player syndrome. They did lose out on Marian Hossa which will leave their fans very disappointed
Disappointed isnt the word, we're PISSED OFF!!!! Go look at the TSN website and see what fans think of Gainey and his latest failure to improve the team! :mad:

Atlanta moving Hossa (who was never going to resign here) for two decent players that can play on their top two lines, a prospect and a first round pick was a good trade. I doubt the Penguins will be able to sign Hossa in the summer anyway.

The Sharks getting Campbell was the best trade in my opinion. The Richards trade will also help Dallas in the playoffs.