Wild Trade Deadline's "Biggest Loser"
The Wild needed a “shot in the arm,” and more than what Marian Gaborik will theoretically provide them in the last few games of the season. Losers of four straight, Doug Risebrough needed to draw a line in the sand in either direction. Either be buyers or sellers. Instead, he did what he always did and played it safe; drawing a line in the sand on either side of him and standing right in the middle, doing nothing.
Now I have always been very forgiving of the Wild’s management for a few reasons. First, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Risebrough and found him to be a very sincere, kind person and, on a personal level, I think he’s a great guy. Second, I know that no one knows the goings on behind the scenes. No one knows what deals were on the table, what the hang ups were, what the circumstances surrounding the deal may have been. We can only speculate. Unfortunately for the management, however, they have been very forthcoming as to what could have been for the Wild over the past few seasons.
Last season, they were in the running for Peter Forsberg right up until the end and lost out. They were also in the running for Olli Jokinen but didn’t want to give up what the Panthers were asking. Over the summer, they threw their name in the hat of a plethora of free agents. They were in until the end on Marian Hossa, put an offer in for Mats Sundin and also extended offers to Kristian Huselius, Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund; all signed with other teams. Assistant GM Tom Lynn also told Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune that the Wild had a big deal on the table up until yesterday morning, when it fell through.
The old adage says that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while. This begs the question that isn’t it about time that Risebrough finds one?
The Wild are free falling right now. They needed help. They needed grit on their blueline and a scoring presence up front. Instead, the team stood still and made no moves; not even minor moves.
Why were they unable to make any moves?
Simple. They have no appreciable assets. Risebrough has categorized their young players (James Sheppard, Colton Gillies and Tyler Cuma) as untouchable, and rightfully so. It is also widely known that the Wild’s most productive players (Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns, Pierre-Marc Bouchard) are untouchable as well. This doesn’t leave the team with many valuable assets. The two most valuable assets that they had available were Marian Gaborik and Josh Harding. Gaborik’s value to the league has taken a large hit this season due to his injury status and the team will likely have to trade his rights before July 1 or lose him for nothing. Harding, on the other hand, will likely have much greater trade value after the season is over due to a very thin goalie crop this upcoming off season. In terms of prospects, the Wild have mortgaged their future in order to win now. Ryan Jones and a second round pick went to Nashville for Marek Zidlicky and a third round pick went to Anaheim for Marc-Andre Bergeron (it should be noted that both Bergeron and Zidlicky have provided a great deal of offense from the blueline for the team, but leave much to be desired on defense).
This left the team with very few draft picks to offer out a the deadline. This, combined with the team’s less than stellar draft record after the first round has left the cupboard bare.
What does this mean for the team?
In my opinon, this trade deadline was time for Risebrough to put up or shut up. The team is floundering and something needed to be done to elicit results. Instead, the team did nothing. Risebrough’s answer to this?
“This is our team.”
The bottom line is that, due to mismanagement of resources and assets, the Wild were handcuffed this deadline. They could do nothing but watch as other teams acquired players that genuinely could help the team. Patrick O’Sullivan, Ales Kotalik, Olli Jokinen, Erik Cole…Any one of those four could have helped. Steve Montador, Derek Morris…Either one of those two could have helped. Instead, a lack of assets had the Wild playing the role of the awkward kid standing in the corner during the school dance with his hands in his pockets.
This summer is quite possibly the most important summer of Doug Risebrough’s career. Not only does he have to show the fans something in his free agent class that he brings in, he also needs to do something to improve the team’s stock of prospects. If he can’t do these two things, the team will continue to be on the outside looking in when it comes to the talks of the Stanley Cup.
Trade Deadline Winners and Losers
I’ll get to my thoughts on the Wild’s trade deadline in a little bit, but I figured that I would start with some of the NHL’s winners and losers of this trade deadline.
Winners
New York Rangers: The Rangers snagged two big prizes in Derek Morris and Nik Antropov. Morris should help the team’s blueline, which has struggled for most of the year. Morris has consistently been approximately .5 point per game producer in his career (just a hair under) and is a physical player as well. He’s a minute eater, so he should help augment a Rangers blueline that has been very underwhelming this season. Antropov, on the other hand, has been a chronic underachiever in his career but he has started to come into his own over the past year or so. He’s big and he’s young and will help give the Rangers depth up the middle. He should also help take the pressure off of Brandon Dubinksy, who the team hopes can regain his early season form.
Boston Bruins: The Bruins added a cagey veteran in Mark Recchi and a very underrated defenseman in Steve Montador. Rex was having a resurgent season with the Lightning this season and has more playoff experience than most of the Boston roster combined. A proven performer, Recchi definitely makes this team harder to play against and gives them a proven playoff contributor as well. Montador isn’t anything flashy, but has really come into his own over the last two seasons and has supplemented his physical game with a good, solid puck-moving game as well. He’s been terrific for the Anaheim Ducks this season and there’s no reason to think that he won’t be able to slide right in on Boston’s blueline.
Calgary Flames: The Flames are easily the winners of D-Day in the NHL. This is a team that was already good and made themselves better by acquiring Jordan Leopold (be honest, a blueline of Leopold, Phaneuf, Regher and Sarich scares you just a little bit) and Olli Jokinen. Leopold was a huge part of Calgary’s cup run in the ’03-’04 playoffs and has really gotten a raw deal since leaving Calgary. He’s an extremely talented defenseman and knows the Flames quite well and should be an excellent fit on their blueline. Jokinen is more of a question mark, as some are questioning his locker room presence. Re-uniting the Finn with “Iron Mike” Keenan, however, might be the best thing that could happen to him and there are no doubts in my mind that he will be put in his place quite quickly.
Edmonton Oilers: Patrick O’Sullivan would have been prize enough (Gagner, Cogliano and O’Sullivan? Easily the best young line up in the game right now), but to add Ales Kotalik as well? Let’s just say that the Oilers just got a lot harder to beat and should be contending for the 5th and 6th seeds as opposed to the 7th and 8th seeds.
Losers
Minnesota Wild: My thoughts on this will be in my next blog, so I’ll forego it for now.
Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning easily made some of the strangest moves of the day, further cementing their front office’s legacy of running the team like a fantasy hockey team. Question mark number one. Trading all of those players for Richard Petiot? Really? Question mark number two. Flipping Steve Eminger for Noah Welch? Wasn’t Eminger a big piece of the Matt Carle trade? Question mark number three. Mark Recchi didn’t find out that he’d been traded until he went on The Fourth Period and read it? Man…They need to take a good, long look at how they’re running their organization.
Anaheim Ducks: These were some interesting moves. The Ducks didn’t go into all-out sell mode, but didn’t go into all-out buy mode either, opting to just move role players for role players after acquiring their big prize of Ryan Whitney. Time will tell how this will work for them, but trading character players like Travis Moen and Kent Huskins could come back to bite them later on.
Trade Deadline Podcast
From our friend at HockeyPrimetime.com and Hockeybuzz.com, Sam Woo, we have a trade deadline podcast for your enjoyment. Follow the link to listen in! It can also be found on Hockeybuzz here.
Trade Deadline '09 Live Blog
So here we are…D-Day. The day where teams can be made or sold off in the matter of minutes. There are a lot of big names in the rumor mill so far today, but we’ll be trying to keep up with all the rumblings and grumblings, as well as the actual moves today, so keep it tuned here!
7:05 am CST - The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks have taken Chris Pronger off the market and that the Detroit Red Wings are actively searching for a goaltender. Josh Harding anyone?
7:07 am CST – TSN.ca‘s Bob McKenzie reports that Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is actively shopping Scott Clemmensen now that Brodeur has returned. Clemmensen could be very tempting for anyone looking to upgrade in net.
7:32 am CST – Everyone’s favorite rumor mongor on Hockeybuzz is linking Pascal Leclaire to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
7:37 am CST - Multiple sources (The Fourth Period, Hockeybuzz, TSN) report that the Sabres are closing in on an extension with Tim Connolly. Dinks everywhere rejoice.
7:39 am CST - Jay Onrait of TSN.ca reports that Bryan Murray will be looking for picks and prospects for players such as Antoine Vermette, Chris Neil and Filip Kuba and that “he doesn’t want to bring any money back.”
7:45 am CST – Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski reports Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks as a name that was popping up in the rumor mill last night.
7:51 am CST - The Fourth Period’s Dave Pagnotta is reporting that the San Jose Sharks are going after a depth center, with Jeff Halpern and Dominic Moore squarely on their radar. He also speculates that a deal for Coyotes defenseman, Derek Morris, will be completed shortly as the ‘Yotes went to sleep on a deal last night and that the Ducks will move Pronger if the deal is good enough.
One thing’s for sure. The rumor mill is certainly starting to pick up. As of yet, though, no trades have been completed.
7:56 am CST – TSN’s Pierre McGuire speculates that it will be Nick Boynton, not Jay Bouwmeester, that will be moved today from the Panthers. Boynton has got to be an enticing option for anyone looking for help on the blueline.
8:00 am CST - One hour in, no moves yet, but the rumors are certainly picking up. For those of you keeping track at home, the NHL website has a fantastic list of each team’s available draft picks. Good stuff if you’re looking at assets that could be moved.
8:01 am CST - The Fourth Period reports that Ryan Smyth continues to garner interest. Where Dave Pagnotta was once skeptical, he now says that he’s “no longer surprised if he’s dealt.” Keep in mind, however, that Smyth has a No Movement Clause in his contract.
8:08 am CST - Interesting news coming from The Fourth Period. Dave Pagnotta reports that Ryan Malone was offered up to Pittsburgh yesterday, but the Pens balked at the price. I no longer think that anyone on the Lightning roster is safe. We may even see Wes Walz traded to the Wild for Mario Tremblay…That’s a definite e3…
8:13 am CST - ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun reports that Garth Snow is making one last ditch effort to get his original trade for Bill Guerin done. He goes on to say that, if it isn’t completed soon, he may move on to his Plan B, which I can only assume involves Rick DiPietro and a secret government plan to turn him into the 6 Million Dollar Man.
8:16 am CST - On Puck Daddy, Greg Wyshynski has a list of teams he’s strangely obsessed with today. I do have to admit Wysh…It’s strange to hear that anyone is obsessed with the Florida Panthers any day.
8:18 am CST - Per The Fourth Period, Sean O’Donnell has been inked to an extension by the Kings. Also, the Habs have recalled goalie Marc Denis from the AHL.
8:37 am CST - Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy has warned people not to read too much into the recall of Marc Denis. Apparently Jaroslav Halak has the flu.
8:41 am CST - On TSN, Cory Woron reports that he has been told by Brian Burke that there have been multiple offers for Nik Antropov.
8:53 am CST - From Andy Strickland on Hockeybuzz, apparently the asking price by Anaheim for Pronger in negotiations with the Blues was T.J. Oshie. As Strickland said, it “was never going to happen. The Blues consider Oshie untouchable.” Also from Hockeybuzz, Filip Kuba has re-signed with the Ottawa Senators. 3 years, $3.75M per.
8:56 am CST - Per Puck Daddy and TSN, the Sabres have offered everyone’s favorite dink, Tim Connolly, a 2-year deal, reportedly worth over $4M per year.
9:00 am CST - Per TSN and TFP, Pascal Leclaire has been traded to Ottawa for Antoine Vermette. Big trade for both teams, as it fills in needs both places. The Jackets needed a center and Ottawa needed goaltending. More to come on this in a bit.
9:03 am CST - Sounds like the trade was Leclaire and a 2nd to Ottawa and Antoine Vermette to Columbus. Vermette definitely adds a new wrinkle to the Blue Jackets team and it was pretty obvious that Leclaire was going to be the one on his way out after Steve Mason’s emergence.
9:19 am CST – Per TFP, Tim Connolly was signed to an extension. Details forthcoming. I am heading into a meeting, so I will update when I return!
9:46 am CST – Back from my meeting and there’s quite a bit to report so far. From TFP, Dave Pagnotta is reporting that the Predators are looking for an inexpensive scorer (about $2M worth), the Capitals are looking for a 2nd line forward or 2nd pairing defenseman and the Leafs are waiting on a counter offer they’ve made. Hockeybuzz is reporting that Jonathan Cheechoo is not in play and that Chris Neil is being shopped to San Jose. Also that San Jose is looking at either Ryan Smyth or Milan Hejduk, but it is importat to note that both have No Trade Clauses. More meetings upcoming, so I’ll update once I’m out!
9:56 am CST - With just over 4 hours remaining until the deadline, Dave Pagnotta from TFP is reporting that talks appear to be heating up involving both Olli Jokinen heading out of Phoenix and Mark Recchi heading out of Tampa Bay. Apparently the asking price for Recchi so far has been a prospect and/or a 2nd round pick.
10:16 am CST – More from TFP. According to Pagnotta, Chicago is pushing hard for a center, while the Flyers are targetting either Derek Morris or Jay Bouwmeester. Also, Boston is working the phones trying to get a “high-impact player.” Also, from Hockeybuzz, Dan Tolensky warns buyers to be careful what they wish for. On Puck Daddy, Wyshynski is speculating that Connolly’s signing and Vermette’s trade could cause Jokinen’s price to jump.
10:30 am CST – Scott Burnside of ESPN.com speculates that the Red Wings could make a run at Chris Neil if the Sens can’t get him signed before the deadline.
10:32 am CST - TFP reports that the Canucks are shopping Mason Raymond as trade bait and TSN is reporting that the Flames are close to acquiring Olli Jokinen.
10:33 am CST - Hockeybuzz is reporting that the Canucks have interest in Michael Nylander in a multi-player deal. Could this be part of Raymond being shopped?
10:35 am CST – Puck Daddy is saying that the Maple Leafs could be overvaluing Dominic Moore a tad.
10:40 am CST - In small deals, Sportsnet.ca is reporting that the Blues have traded Andy Wozniewski to to Penguins for Danny Richmond.
10:44 am CST - Per TFP, Colorado has traded Jordan Leopold to Calgary. No more news yet on details, but Leopold was a key part of Calgary’s Cup run a few years back. Great move for the Flames.
10:53 am CST - The trade was for Lawrence Nycholat. The Flames get Leopold, the Avs get Nycholat.
10:59 am CST – Pierre McGuire of TSN loves the Leopold trade for the Flames, saying “Jordan Leopold is a better player than Derek Morris.” He also would be “shocked” if Kevin Bieksa got traded. I have to say, I agree on both counts.
11:05 am CST – Mark Christopher of Hockeybuzz has stated that talks with Chris Neil are all but dead and speculates that the team has set a soft deadline of 1pm EST (one hour) to decide what to do with him.
11:09 am CST - Sportsnet reports that the Flyers are no closer to acquiring either Derek Morris or Jay Bouwmeester. They also report that the Oilers are pursuing Atlanta’s Slava Kozlov and Colby Armstrong, noting that it would kill two birds with one stone; a top line winger and sand paper for a soft line up.
11:11 am CST - Waiver claims galore from TFP. The Leafs claim Martin Gerber and Erik Reitz, Dallas claims Brendan Morrison and Pittsburgh claims Craig Adams. From Hockeybuzz, Gary Roberts clears waivers.
11:13 am CST - More from TFP. Phoenix trades Mikael Tellqvist to Buffalo for a 4th Round pick.
11:19 am CST – Per Hockeybuzz and TSN, the LA Kings have signed Erik Ersberg to a 2-year extension. Somewhere, Jonathan Bernier just kicked a puppy.
11:21 am CST – TFP has updates on the Calgary/Phoenix situation. Apparently the offer on the table is Olli Jokinen to Calgary for Matthew Lombardi and a 1st round pick. Also, apparently Nik Antropov has been agreed to as part of a deal. The question now is did Brian Burke or “brian burke” approve this deal.
11:36 am CST – Per TFP, Olli Jokinen has been traded to Calgary. No word on the final deal yet though. Also, the Thrashers are in talks for Kari Lehtonen, Marty Reasoner and Slava Kozlov.
11:38 am CST - Per TSN, the Jokinen trade is only a rumor at the moment; however, they did mention that a team that was in the running for Jokinen has now been told that he is no longer available.
11:47 am CST – A lot of trades sound to be in the works right now. I’m pushing off for lunch, but I’ll be back aroudn 12:30 CST with all of your updates for you!
11:49 am CST - Just kidding. One quick hit before I go. Boston has acquired Steve Montador from Anaheim in exchange for Petteri Nokelainen and the Calgary deal has been finalized. Olli Jokinen to Calgary for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a 1st Round Pick. Let the Antropov Wars begin!
12:43 pm CST - So I’m back from lunch and it looks like I’ve only missed one deal. That deal would be, heading to Boston is Mark Recchi and a 2nd Round pick in the 2010 Entry Draft and heading to Tampa Bay is Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums. It looks to me like Boston is stocking up for a solid run, as they have added Montador (who is an extremely under-rated d-man in my books) and Recchi so far. TFP has reported that they have heard Phil Kessel’s name being bandied about, so Boston may not be done and may be working on something bigger.
Also, from TFP, Dominic Moore has been traded to Chicago, but it has not been released as to who is coming back to Toronto.
12:49 pm CST - The first real Wild news of the day. Hockeybuzz has reported that the Wild are in talks with both Vancouver and LA in regards to Gaborik. I have a hard time believing Vancouver, as I doubt the Wild would make a trade to their own division, but if he is indeed being shopped, this could mean that the Wild go into sell mode, especially after dropping three in a row.
12:52 pm CST – Interesting tidbit from Mike Russo at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Apparently Bill Guerin was nearly dealt to the Capitals a few days ago, but the Capitals were unable to unload Michael Nylander, so the trade fell through.
12:55 pm CST - Per Puck Daddy’s blog, Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province is on twitter (don’t worry, it’s Jason Botchford and not “Jason Botchford”) and has said that a deal is almost worked out that would send Jay Bouwmeester to the Canucks.
More on Bouwmeester rumour mill: Florida wants Vancouver to add hodgson (no chance) or Bieksa to Raymond and a first offer #nhltrade (18 minutes ago)
Bouwmeester rumour mill: Flor and Canucks have agreed to Raymond and a first, but the Flor wants something significant added #nhltrade (8 minutes ago)
1:02 pm CST – Breaking news out of Pittsburgh. According to Sportsnet.ca, Bill Guerin has been traded to the Pens. Still awaiting word of whom for, but that is a huge piece added to the Penguins.
1:05 pm CST - Confirmation from TSN. Billy G is now a Penguin.
1:07 pm CST - TSN is now reporting that the Dominic Moore to the ‘Hawks deal is no longer a done deal and that the deal may have fallen apart. Updates will come as soon as I know anything.
1:09 pm CST - Confirmation from TFP that the Moore deal isn’t done. Moore’s still in the mix, it just hasn’t been finalized. Also, Tampa Bay isn’t done dealing, according to TFP and the Avs continue to field calls for Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos.
1:12 pm CST - E.J. Hradek of ESPN reports that the Derek Morris sweepstakes are heating up, with Washington, Philly and the NY Rangers as the frontrunners.
1:14 pm CST - Sportsnet.ca is reporting two things of interest. First, Bill Guerin was traded for a conditional draft pick and second, the Flyers have dropped out of the running for JayBo.
1:18 pm CST - Per Andy Strickland of Hockeybuzz, there may be a deal in the works with the Blues involving Keith Tkachuk.
1:22 pm CST - From Mike Russo at the Minneapolis Star-Trib:
I am told by a very good source that Marian Gaborik is in play right now, meaning the Wild’s working the phones.
Very interesting indeed.
1:27 pm CST - Per TFP, Chris Neil has been dealt to Florida. No word as to for whom yet, but I can only assume it’s not for JayBo.
1:30 pm CST - Hockeybuzz, vaugely as usual, is now saying that Edmonton has a major deal in the works. Also, Montreal is now in the Gaborik picture.
1:35 pm CST - Less than a half-hour left until the end of the world trade deadline is up. Things are really starting to heat up now. Also, keep in mind that trades can be made after the deadline as long as they were submitted to the league offices prior to the deadline. All trades are subject to league approval, and they will approve or deny trades submitted up until the deadline.
2:00 pm CST - Back from another meeting and the deadline is officially up. Three trades have occurred in the last 20 minutes. Per Sportsnet, Daniel Carcillo was traded from Phoenix to Philadelphia for Scottie Upshall and a 2nd round pick, Toronto traded Nik Antropov to the Rangers for a 2nd round pick and a conditional pick and Derek Morris was traded from Phoenix to the Rangers. I’ll keep updating (though probably not as frequently) now that the deadline is up, because as I mentioned deals can still get approved.
2:36 pm CST – From Mike Russo’s blog:
I think what this tells you is exactly what’s been reported the past few days; it’s been, to quote Doug Risebrough, “surprisingly quiet” for the Wild.
The team maintains that it will not trade its core players like Mikko Koivu and Brent Burns or its young talent like James Sheppard, Colton Gillies and Tyler Cuma.
What that left were UFA’s like Stephane Veilleux and Marc-Andre Bergeron, and there clearly wasn’t a market or the Wild would have likely moved them. This has been the quietest trade deadline leaguewide I’ve ever seen.
It clearly has to do with how many teams are close to the salary cap ceiling and how uncertain the economic future is in the league. Teams are also not willing to give up prospects and high draft picks unless it’s guaranteed they’re going to go far.
I was told by a very good source that Marian Gaborik was in play, but clearly the Wild wasn’t able to find a market.
Assistant GM Tom Lynn said the Wild was in a “major deal” up until this morning, and then it fell through.
This is pretty telling of the deadline in general this season. Very, very quiet. A lot of talk and not a lot of action on a whole. We may continue to see a few move trickle down after the deadline, but on a whole, the wheeling and dealing is done.
2:38 pm CST - According to TFP, the NHL Central Registry is fairly backlogged at the moment, so trades will likely continue to come in. Also, Tampa Bay traded Steve Eminger to Florida for Noah Welch and a 3rd round pick, Buffalo traded a 2nd round pick to Toronto for Dominic Moore, Atlanta traded Erik Christiensen to Anaheim for Eric O’Dell and Calgary traded Kevin Lalande to Columbus for a 4th round pick.
2:41 pm CST - Trades continue to roll in. Kyle McLaren was traded from San Jose to Philadelphia for a 6th round pick and Anaheim traded Sammy Pahlsson to Chicago for James Wisniewski.
2:45 pm CST - San Jose gets Travis Moen and Kent Huskins from Anaheim. No word on what is coming back the other way yet.
2:51 pm CST - Big trade coming to Carolina. Patrick O’Sullivan has been traded from LA. No word on who is coming back. The others involved in the Anaheim/San Jose deal are Nick Bonnino, Tim Pielmeier and a conditional pick going to Anaheim.
3:10 pm CST - Interesting development in the O’Sullivan trade. Carolina traded Justin Williams to LA for O’Sullivan, then turned around and traded O’Sullivan and a 2nd Round pick to Edmonton for Erik Cole. Also, Edmonton traded a 2nd Round pick to Buffalo for Ales Kotalik.
3:15 pm CST – Per Hockeybuzz, the return for Derek Morris was Petr Prucha, Nigel Dawes and Dimitri Kalinin.
3:18 pm CST - Wow…Here’s the minor trade that Toronto made with Tampa that there were some rumblings about. Toronto’s getting Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogerd and a 4th round pick and Tampa is getting Richard Petiot. A huge salary dump by Tampa Bay. Petiot’s total NHL experience? 2 games.
3:20 pm CST - Sportsnet is reporting that Vancouver was in it until the end on JayBo, but the final price was just too high for GM Mike Gillis to pull the trigger.
Well, it’s been real and it’s been fun…Heck…It’s been real fun today! I’m shutting down for the day, but I will be back on later today with some analysis on how the day went. Until then, if you have any questions, comments or verbal abuse, you can reach me at blake.benzel@gmail.com.
