Hockey Whooha
With
Wingnut
Of
The staff of the DFN and VNWR wish to send our condolences to the family of 13 year old Brittanie Cecil who tragically passed away on Monday. Brittanie was struck by a stray puck during Saturday's Columbus Blue Jackets game. Our hearts go out to the family.
Trade'n Time - Ya Got Any 5's?
This week we will cover some of the major trades that took place this week before the trade deadline, which was the 19th at 3 PM.
As expected, there were some big names moved before the deadline this year. The Rangers started the fun and game earlier when they acquired Pavel Bure from the Panthers. It was no surprise that Bure would be moved; this allows the Panthers to free up $10 million bucks to start the re-tooling process of their team. The surprise is that the Rangers are the team that acquired him. The Rangers are teetering on that playoff line, and now that they have spent some serious cash on Bure, they had better make the playoffs. The trade sent three draft picks to the Panthers as well as Igor Ulanov and Filip Novak, this should also help the Panthers in the future.
The next no surprise trade was that of tough guy defensemen Darius Kasparaitis. The Penguins traded him to the Avalanche for Ville Nieminen and Rick Berry. This trade by the Avalanche is a typical type of trade made the Avalanche in the past few years; I wouldn't be shocked if Kasparaitis is playing for another team next season. Darius will add a great deal of toughness to the Avalanche blue line, but also runs the risk of putting them on the penalty kill with his style of play. The Penguins get a great up and coming player with Neiminen; I think the Penguins got the better end of this deal (long term).
The Flyers had to make a move after losing two of the centers this week to injuries, and they made a great move by acquiring Adam Oates from the Capitals for Maxime Ouellet and two draft picks. It's been a tough season for the Capitals who look like they are fading from a playoff spot. The Flyers chance to get further then the first round no longer look as bleak after the loss of Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau to injuries.
In a move to toughen up their blue line, the Red Wings added Jiri Slegr to the roster in a trade with the Thrashers. The trade sent Yuri Butsayev and a draft pick to the Thrashers, which was somewhat of a surprise as the Red Wings are having a near record-breaking season. Butsayev was sent down to the minors after last season and has not cracked the line up this season; his style of play should be a good fit for the Thrashers. Some of the younger Red Wing players have impressed the management of the Wings this season and I would expect some of them to see ice time during the playoffs, although adding Slegr to the line up will diminish much of the time to go around.
