Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Trade, The NHLPA And The Siting Of Players

02/18/2023 at 5:40pm EST

from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

- This was Toronto GM Kyle Dubas slipping into the guise of the Tom Cruise character, Joel, in the classic movie “Risky Business.”

This was Dubas going, “Sometimes you gotta say, ‘What the f–k, make your move.’ ”

The arms race in the powerhouse East escalated late Friday when Dubas and the Maple Leafs paid a rather heavy price in future draft capital to obtain Cup-winning, character-guy, 200-foot forward Ryan O’Reilly and fourth-liner, in-demand Noel Acciari from the Blues. Both are rentals.

If this is not now-or-never for the Maple Leafs, it is as close as it will ever come. The 32-year-old O’Reilly is having a down year in St. Louis, just as Vladimir Tarasenko was before he was traded to the Rangers. But O’Reilly has been one of the league’s most respected two-way centers for more than a decade....

- Marty Walsh, officially named the NHLPA’s executive director, is going to get on the road when he officially takes command in a month in an effort to energize a membership that has grown apathetic and complacent.

It is, unfortunately, the wrong time of year for this, with players homed in on the stretch run in advance of the playoffs. The best time for union tub-thumping is in the offseason if the players would give up a few days of R&R to participate in summer meetings. That has not been the case going back for years, probably since the league — with aid from enemies within — all but broke the union in 2005...

- So Arizona and Columbus — limited to those two franchises at the moment — have somewhat cleverly found the way to tank in plain sight by scratching high-profile trade candidates weeks ahead of the deadline with no imminent deal in sight in either case....

more on all of the above topics plus a few more too..

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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