The NHL Trade Deadline came and went without any stars changing teams, but a few playoff teams bolstered their lineups for a late-season push.
The Washington Capitals and Los Angeles Kings came out of the deadline much-improved in their chances for a long post-season run, while the Florida Panthers cleared out some contracts, and the Edmonton Oilers added some more assets. Meanwhile, the big fish (Brad Richards) stayed put.
The biggest name to be moved today was Dustin Penner, as the Oilers sent him to the Kings in exchange for prospect Colten Teubert, a 2011 first round pick, and a conditional draft pick in 2012 which will be either a second or third round pick.
The Kings entered the season as Stanley Cup contenders, but have had a very inconsistent season. They are very much in the playoff picture in the cluttered Western Conference, but the need for additional top-line scoring was talked about since the first game of the season.
Penner will provide that much needed offensive boost; he has 21 goals in 62 games this year after a career-high 32 goals and 63 points last year. This marks the fourth time in five seasons he has surpassed 20 goals, and he has a few more years of his prime left, being only 28-years-old. Penner, a Stanley Cup winner with Anaheim in 2007, is signed through next season at a cap hit of $4.25M.
Grade for Los Angeles: A
The Oilers, heavy on offensive prospects, got a much needed defensive prospect in Teubert. The 6?4? Canadian was a first round pick in 2008, and is currently playing more-than-adequately in his first AHL season. While he isn?t likely to be a star, he is projected to be a very solid second-pairing defenseman. Getting another first rounder this year is certainly a coup for their rebuilding plan, and an additional pick is always nice for European prospects or to dangle in a trade.
Grade for Edmonton: A-
Washington added a couple of ?B-list? pieces to their formidable roster that now looks almost as deep as any contender in the Eastern Conference. They traded 28-year-old David Steckel, who has never scored 10 goals or achieved 20 points in his four NHL seasons, along with a second round pick for Jason Arnott.
Grade for New Jersey: A-
While Arnott isn?t having a great year (13-11-24 in 62 games), he brings Washington some real solid two-way, and more importantly Stanley Cup experience (106 playoff games, 66 points, one Stanley Cup). The 36-year-old should provide a calming influence in the young-ish dressing room and gives the Caps some depth down the middle.
Additionally, Washington added to its back-end by adding Dennis Wideman of the Florida Panthers. Washington has been conscious all season of improving their team defense after a first round playoff loss last season, and it started with the addition of Scott Hannan earlier this season. While Wideman hasn?t been the offensive dynamo he was in 2008-09 (13 goals, 50 points), he is still more than capable of anchoring a second power-play unit and may thrive playing for a contender once again. He carries a $3.9M cap hit through next season.
Grade for Washington: A+
Florida, meanwhile, sold off as much as they could. They aren?t going to make the playoffs this year, so there was no real reason to keep any big dollars on their payroll for the remainder of the season. They didn?t get a whole lot of quality, but you have to give them credit for selling, and maintaining financial (and cap) flexibility going forward.
Hauswirth is a big forward, but one who may not be an NHL-er. He is already 23-years-old, old for a prospect, and is only rated as a 5/10 by hockeysfuture.com. They did get a third round pick in 2011, though, giving them three after they also got one in the Bryan McCabe trade on Saturday. GM Dale Tallon also got a third rounder in 2013 from Vancouver for Christopher Higgins, which is probably more than he is worth.
Tallon did veteran forward Radek Dvorak a favour by dealing him to the Atlanta Thrashers, who at least have a fighting chance at a playoff spot. The coup for Florida in this deal was getting 23-year-old forward Niclas Bergfors, who Atlanta previously acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk deal. Last year, Bergfors had 21 goals as a rookie, but only has 11 this season. He was a healthy scratch on numerous occasions, as it didn?t seem the new coaching staff and front office had much confidence in him. Is Bergfors coachable, committed? Only time will tell, but a great job by Tallon on getting a young player with upside for a 15-year veteran.
They also traded away 30-year-old defenseman Bryan Allen, previously acquired in the Roberto Luongo trade, to the Carolina Hurricanes for Sergei Samsonov. This is essentially a salary dump, as Allen has one more year left on his contract at $2.9M, while Samsonov is an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Hurricanes were light on the back-end so getting a second-/third-pair defensemen for a playoff push was a nice haul for them.
Grade for Florida: A-
Grade for Carolina: B+
Vancouver Canucks, the NHL?s top team thus far, added some third-/fourth-line depth by acquiring forwards Christopher Higgins and Maxim Lapierre in two separate deals. There are a lot of forwards vying for spots on the third and fourth line now, and Vancouver has bolstered their chances at a Stanley Cup Finals berth.
Grade for Vancouver: A
An odd trade happened between conference foes Phoenix and Columbus at the start of the day. Phoenix sent grinding winger Scottie Upshall and depth defender Sami Lepisto to Columbus for a solid second-pairing defender in Rostislav Klesla. Phoenix unquestionably improve themselves defensively with this trade, as Klesla has routinely been a 20+ minute guy throughout his prime years.
Columbus did improve their offense a bit, as Upshall has 16 goals so far this season, which already places him third on the Blue Jackets. But the odd thing is that Columbus GM Scott Howson has routinely spoke of needing another defenseman. So seeing him upgrade his offense marginally by taking away one of his better defenders is puzzling.
Grade for Phoenix: B+
Grade for Columbus: C+
One of the teams that could have used a lineup infusion was the Montreal Canadiens, but they stood pat so I give them an F. They just aren?t healthy enough and deep enough to make an impact in the postseason as currently constructed.
While not quite an F, I am going to give the San Jose Sharks a C- for standing pat today. Yes, they added Ian White last week and have been excellent lately, but I think they still needed another defensemen and perhaps a depth forward ? at minimum to keep that forward from going to Vancouver.
I also would give the Buffalo Sabres a solid A+ for acquiring winger Brad Boyes from the St. Louis Blues at the end of last week. They are not out of the playoff picture yet, and the new owner makes an immediate statement by acquiring a player with a cap hit of $4M through next season in an attempt to add some offense to a team that has given up more than they have scored. Boyes only has 12 goals this year, but from 2007-09 he had 76 goals in two season.
Also getting an A is Ottawa Senators? GM Bryan Murray. Murray may not be employed in Ottawa after this season, but he sure helped stock the cupboard by dealing six players in total over the last month, and acquiring six draft picks. He could have gotten an A+ if he could have convinced Chris Phillips to accept a trade and help the team get another asset, telling Phillips he could sign back in the offseason.
Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan
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