VoV
– I apologize to my peepulation for not being able to provide live coverage for the 2009 NHL Trade Deadline. I had a unmoveable committment that I couldn’t break, and it was scheduled months ago. Much thanks goes to TSN for providing the stream hosted here.
NHL
– D-Day was huge. Absolute madness. As always, there’s usually a lot more talk than walk, and although nothing epic really happened, there were a bunch of significant deals. Here’s what happened in case you missed it.
OTT acquires G Pascal Leclaire and 2009 2nd round pick from CBJ for F Antoine Vermette.
CAL acquires D Jordan Leopold from COL for D Lawrence Nycholat, D Ryan Wilson and a 2nd round pick.
PIT acquires D Andy Wozniewski from STL for D Danny Richmond.
BUF acquires G Mikael Telqvist from PHX for a 4th round pick.
ANA acquires F Petteri Nokelainan from BOS for D Steve Montador.
CAL acquires F Olli Jokinen and a 3rd round pick from PHX for F Matthew Lombardi, F Brandon Prust and a 1st round pick.
BOS acquires F Mark Recchi and a 2010 2nd round pick from TB for D Matt Lashoff and F Martins Karsums.
PIT acquires F Bill Guerin from NYI a conditional pick.
PHX acquires F Scottie Upshall and a 2nd round pick from PHI for F Daniel Carcillo.
NYR acquires F Nik Antropov from TOR for a 2nd round pick and a conditional pick.
NYR acquires D Derek Morris from PHX for D Dmitri Kalinin, F Nigel Dawes and F Petr Prucha.
BUF acquires F Dominic Moore from TOR for a 2nd round pick.
ANA acquires F Eric Christensen from ATL for F Eric O’Dell.
TB acquires D Noah Welch and a 3rd round pick from FLA for D Steve Eminger.
CBJ acquires D Kevin Lalande from CAL for a 4th round pick.
PHI acquires D Kyle McLaren from SJ for a 6th round pick.
CHI acquires D Samuel Pahlsson from ANA for D James Wisniewski.
SJ acquires F Travis Moen and D Kent Huskins from ANA for F Nik Bonino, G Timo Pielmeier and a conditional pick
CAR acquires F Patrick O’Sullivan and a 2nd round pick from LA for F Justin Williams.
EDM acquires F Patrick O’Sullivan and a 2nd round pick from CAR for F Erik Cole.
EDM acquires F Ales Kotalik from BUF for a 2nd round pick.
TOR acquires G Olaf Kolzig , D Jamie Heward, D Andy Rogers and a 4th round pick from TB for D Richard Petiot.
The deal also had its fair share of signings…
TOR claimed G Martin Gerber off waivers.
OTT re-signs D Filip Kuba to a three-year extension worth $11.1M.
DAL claims F Brendan Morrison off waivers.
BUF re-signed F Tim Connolly to a two-year/$9M deal.
PIT claimed F Craig Adams off waivers.
VAN re-signed F Alex Burrows to a four-year extension.
LA re-signed D Sean O’Donnell and G Erik Ersberg.
As for the rest of the NHL…
– Leafs’ G Vesa Toskala is out for the remainder of the year because of a groin injury.
– Flames F Todd Bertuzzi is out one month because of knee surgery.
Now, for some thoughts. No J-Bo, Pronger or Niedermayer, but still very entertaining. I love the circus that is Deadline Day.
NYR acquires F Nik Antropov from TOR for a 2nd round pick and a conditional pick – As broken here FIRST by Voice of Valeri, Antropov being a healthy scratch was a cue that he was done. New York gets a versatile player who can line up at center or on the wing who also gives the Rangers much-needed size. He was on pace for his best offensive season (21 goals, 46 points) in Toronto, and the 29-year-old is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Good job by Toronto to pull some draft picks in return. Speaking of healthy scratches…
BUF acquires F Dominic Moore from TOR for a 2nd round pick – Without bias, Dominic Moore was a player the Maple Leafs could have used going forward. Although he probably did look better than he was, simply because the Leafs are so bad that any good player sticks out, Moore is a very talented two-way forward. On most nights, he was their most energetic and best player, even when asked to play up one or two lines. Moore has 12 goals and 41 points in 63 games, his best season of five in the NHL by far. The Leafs questioned whether he could be a top-line centre on a rebuilding franchise, but ultimately, contract negotiations were not enough to keep him in town.
TOR claims G Martin Gerber off waivers – Toskala is done for the year, so Gerber will start, with Joseph and Pogge filling in. Something was up this morning when they claimed Gerber, so it was only a matter of trade or injury.
TOR acquires G Olaf Kolzig , D Jamie Heward, D Andy Rogers and a 4th round pick from TB for D Richard Petiot – Toronto essentially became a dumping ground in exchange for a decent prospect. Heward (concussion) and Kolzig (surgery) are done for the year, and Kolzig may even retire at season’s end. The interesting player is the 22-year-old defenseman Rogers, who is big at 6-foot-5, but slow to develop after getting picked in the first round by Tampa Bay in 2004. The Leafs will take their chances with him. Petiot, 26 and has bounced around the minors in the Los Angeles and Toronto systems, but shouldn’t do anything big.
OTT acquires G Pascal Leclaire and 2009 2nd round pick from CBJ for F Antoine Vermette – Should help both teams. Leclaire became expendable once G Steve Mason tore up the NHL. Leclaire goes to an Ottawa team that needs stability in goal. Leclaire, however, is signed for two more seasons, and will probably find himself in a similar situation as he splits time with G Brian Elliott. Vermette fell apart, but is still under contract for two more years.
CAL acquires F Olli Jokinen and a 3rd round pick from PHX for F Matthew Lombardi, F Brandon Prust and a 1st round pick – The Flames finally have the number one centre they’ve been looking for. Olli Jokinen has moved twice now in the last year – from Florida to Phoenix and now to Calgary. As the active player with most number of games (780) without a playoff appearance, Jokinen is definitely headed to the postseason with the division-leading Flames, but is he ready to help lead a team to the Stanley Cup? The Finnish native is still only 30 years old and signed for $5.5M for one more year.
PIT acquires F Bill Guerin from NYI a conditional pick – Isles’ captain Bill Guerin leaves his captaincy on Long Island behind to try to help the Penguins get back into the playoffs. It’ll be interesting to see if Guerin will have that much of an impact with the Penguins.
NYR acquires D Derek Morris from PHX for D Dmitri Kalinin, F Nigel Dawes and F Petr Prucha – Trading partners at the last deadline when the Coyotes and Rangers hooked up on a five-player deal, the two almost did it again Wednesday. The Rangers acquired a key veteran defenceman, while the Coyotes get three potential pieces to their future. Morris, 30, hasn’t filled all that potential he has, but is a steady defender who should help New York secure a playoff spot. Morris may be no more than a rental, however, as he’s due to be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. Kalinin, Dawes and Prucha all have contracts that expire so the Coyotes are basically getting three players – a defenseman and two forwards – who they can take a look at for the final quarter of the season and decide where to go from there.
WINNERS: Phoenix. They gave away nothing they couldn’t afford to lose, and picked up key parts of their future in young talent and draft picks. They’ve got a good shot at the playoffs next season. Calgary also got the defenceman and top-line centre they needed, and both players are top-calibre talents. Edmonton also did well, acquiring O’Sullivan and Kotalik for Cole. Toronto got some great picks, assuming the franchise can do something with them.
LOSERS: The Habs. They didn’t lift a finger, and it’s going to cost them in the form of a first round exit. The Flyers also lost out – they were rumoured to be involved with everyone big, and only managed to get McLaren and Carcillo.
FINAL THOUGHTS:The East should be fun to watch over the last 20-someodd games. I don’t think Buffalo did enough to stay in the playoffs, but it’ll be interesting to see how these deals affect the Rangers. Boston could have added some more, and this could hurt them in the playoffs. Detroit needed a goalie, but that’s what everyone said last year, and look what happened.
MLB
– The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Dodgers have signed OF Manny Ramirez to a two-year/$45M contract. The deal is pending a physical exam and the newspaper speculates that he could be in Dodgers camp as soon as Thursday.
NFL
– The Ravens have agreed in principle to a contract with free agent LB Ray Lewis. Lewis will likely get a three-year deal, but it remains to be seen if it even approaches Baltimore’s initial $24M offer.
– The Cardinals have signed QB Kurt Warner to a two-year/$23M contract. The deal includes a $15M signing bonus. The Cards slightly tweaked Warner’s latest reduced offer and will pay him $19M in 2009. Warner threw 30 touchdowns and 4,582 yards last season. QB Matt Leinart becomes expendable.
– The Bengals have signed WR Laveranues Coles to a four-year/$28M deal.
– The Broncos have signed RB J.J. Arrington to a four-year/$10M contract.
WWE
–For weeks, Hulk Hogan has been rumoured to be a part of WrestleMania 25 in some capacity. Originally, it was though that he’d fight John Cena, but lately, talk has circulated around Chris Jericho. Hogan has again updated his Twitter, saying;
“Yo Maniacs, What are your favorite letters? Currently mine are C & J. Or… Maybe J & C?”
Can C & J mean Chris Jericho, or J & C mean John Cena? Interesting… It’s the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania – my money is on Cena.
– During this week’s WWE tapings, Shelton Benjamin, Finlay and MVP qualified for the MITB ladder match at WrestleMania 25. They join CM Punk, Kane and Mark Henry, leaving two spots open.
– WWE has released ECW superstar The Boogeyman.
– SD! superstar Umaga is out indefinitely after suffering an apparent leg injury – the same leg he had PCL surgery on last August.
NBA
– Pistons’ G Allen Iverson is out two weeks because of a sore back.