KK Members Blog

KK Members Blog

Analyzing Todays Trades

03/04/2014 at 6:53pm EST

Today is shaping up to be a relatively busy day with some rather surprising moves. Here is a re-cap of todays moves, as well as what each move means for the teams involved.(Trade details found at TSN.ca)

Montreal trades 5th round pick in 2015 to Florida in exchange for Defenseman Mike Weaver

A minor deal where Montreal acquires some defensive depth that they lost when they traded Rafael Diaz. This deal will have little effect on both teams.

Washington trades 4th round pick in 2014 to Anaheim in exchange for Forward Dustin Penner

This trade came as a bit of a surprise to me. Penner returned to his first NHL team last summer when he signed a 1 year contract with the Anaheim Ducks. The last time he played there, he won his first Stanley Cup and had his best regular season to date. Since than, he has been an enigma to say the least. Things started off very well this season with the Ducks, and although his inconsistency can be frustrating, his point production was still pretty good. Unless Anaheim has a deal in the works to bring in another top 6 forward, this one confuses me and I think that Washington wins the deal. But, time will tell if Washington gets 20 goal scorer Penner, or the Penner that shows up to play when he feels like it. Either way, a 4th round pick is not much to surrender.

Anaheim trades a conditional 4th round pick(acquired in Penner deal) to Dallas in exchange for Defenseman Stephan Robidas

Essentially, the Ducks move Penner for Robidas. Penner has played in Anaheims top 6, and they add a 4-5 Defender at his expense. The Ducks have a pretty good D-core, so we will see when Robidas is healthy what kind of role he plays. This, in my opinion, is a fair deal for both Anaheim and Dallas, im just confused about the direction the Ducks are going as we approach the deadline.

Edmonton trades Goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov to Minnesota in exchange for a 4th round pick

Ill keep this one short. If the Wild were trying to stabalize things in net with this one, they struck out. Sure, a 4th round pick is not a lot to give up, but name Bryzgalov is antonymous with stability.

Edmonton trades 5th round pick in 2014, 3rd round pick in 2015, to Anaheim in exchange for Goaltender Viktor Fasth

I like this deal alot for the Edmonton Oilers. Obviously, Fasth has been injured all year so that creates somewhat of a question mark, but to only give up a 3rd and 5th round pick for a guy who showed he was capable of being a starter last year, I like it. It comes as a surprise to me that the Ducks couldnt get more value.

Philadelphia trades 3rd round pick in 2014, 2nd round pick in 2015 to the Islanders in exchange for Defenseman Andrew Mcdonald

If Mcdonald can prove that this year is not a fluke for him and his performance, this could shape up to be a fair deal for both sides. The tricky thing for Holmgren and co will be getting him inked to a deal they can fit into their mess of a salary cap situation. Considering the insanity we have seen over the years in Philadelphias front office, this one is palatable.

Florida trades Forward Shawn Matthias, Goaltender Jacob Markstrom, to Vancouver in exchange for Goaltender Roberto Luongo and Forward Steven Anthony(Vancouver retains 15% of Luongo salary)

Wow. This one absolutely shocked me. Why couldnt this deal happen last year? If I am a Vancouver Canucks fan, im banging my head against the wall(thank god im not). There is a chance that Markstrom develops into the starter everyone has expected him to, and with the strong play of Eddie Lack, Vancouvers goaltending isnt in too bad of shape. But let me be clear, this is not an upgrade in any way. Vancouver has traded two strong starting goaltenders in less than a year for Shawn Matthias, Jacob Markstrom, and a 1st round pick. Thats where the problem is. Honestly, it looks like a case of poor, poor management. If they are going to re-build, I think ownership might want to consider having a different man at the helm.

For now, thats all I've got. I hope for a very busy day tomorrow, my favorite day of the year. Hope you enjoy.

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