from Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star,

Matt Duchene, Wayne Simmonds, Micheal Ferland. The names of players likely to be traded by the NHL’s Feb. 25 deadline are thrown around like stock or cattle, to be moved on a whim.

It’s not pretty, say those who have been through it. It’s just business.

“It’s what you’re treated like — a piece of meat, I guess you can say,” said retired NHLer Mike Sillinger.

“I always looked forward to the opportunity. I always knew wherever I went, I would be getting a fresh start. I wasn’t slotted in a line. You earned where you played.”

Sillinger knows better than most what it’s like to be moved. He played on 12 teams and was traded nine times over a 1,049-game, 17-year career in the NHL.

continued