My fellow RealGM colleague Adam Sarson has already mentioned every trade that happened during Tuesday?s deadline day and picked who he thought was the winner. Me, I am just interested in the big trades, and how they affect each team going forward. Did the general managers get a good deal? Did someone mess up big time? Did anyone jump from hopeful to contender? Montreal sends: Cristobal Huet Washington sends: 2008 2nd round pick This was the biggest surprise on deadline day and equally as head-scratching. Sure, rookie goaltender Carey Price was knocking on the door as the netminder of the Habs? future, but is he ready now? This is his first season in the NHL, and although he has shown glimpses of what should be an excellent career, this is a team with a legitimate shot at representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. At least they were, now I am not convinced. Price hasn?t played an NHL Playoff game. And when he does, it won?t be just any playoff game, it will be a playoff game for the Montreal Canadiens, arguably the most storied franchise in the history of the NHL. The comparisons are already starting to come out of the woodwork with the names Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy ? two other very young goaltenders to take Les Habitants to playoff glory. Is he ready for that kind of pressure, those kinds of expectations? G.M. Bob Gainey just had the honor of having his jersey number retired by the club, and all those feel-good-fuzzy-feelings could be out the door if Price does not produce down the stretch and in the postseason. I?m just as surprised they didn?t make a secondary move to bring in a veteran to play behind Price and stabilize the situation. I feel this is a really bad deal for Montreal even if they received a relatively good pick in what is a deep draft for a player who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. On the other hand, hats off to the Capitals. They see the light at the end of the Southeast Division tunnel, and, in my opinion, they really set themselves up nicely on Tuesday for a run to the playoffs, something for the city, and Alexander The Great to get excited about (as if Alex needs anything to get him more excited). Yes, they added nice forwards for minimal costs, as well, that should help them this season, but the addition of Huet gives them a much more reliable goaltender than the very-aged Olaf Kolzig. Both goaltenders will likely play toward the end of the season with the coach riding whomever is hot. They are only 5 points back of Carolina in their Division and have played 2 less games. Add that with Hurricanes' captain Rod Brind?Amour missing the rest of the season, and the Capitals have to be the favourite to come away with the 3rd seed in the East. Buffalo sends: Brian Campbell, 2008 7th round pick San Jose sends: Steve Bernier, 2008 1st round pick Campbell will be well missed in the Buffalo dressing room and among fans, but the Sabres were in a lose-lose situation. The penny-pinchers made a very poor attempt to sign Campbell (an unrestricted free agent) to an extension and basically had to trade him or lose him for nothing. Sound familiar? Last season co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury both turned down offers to stay in Buffalo, played out the remainder of the season, and signed elsewhere in free agency for big time dollars that the Sabres were unwilling to offer. Fans were livid, and the organization could not let that happen for the second consecutive year. And you know what? They didn?t do too badly, either. You would think that teams could lowball Buffalo because they had to move him or lose him for nothing. But the fact is, Campbell is an All-Star and was a hot commodity so if a team wanted him, they would have to offer something of significance to beat the top offer. Buffalo receives a talented young scorer in Bernier, who could very well shine offensively as a Sabre if he is more of a focal point and not buried in a bigger attack led by Joe Thornton. He scored 14 goals in only 39 games in his rookie season in 2005-06, but because of the great teams he has been on, hasn?t played more than 13 minutes a night. He is also big and physical so he should become a favourite of new Coach Lindy Ruff. The Sabres also get themselves an additional first round pick in a great draft, and if they scout properly it should net them a very good player even though it is likely to be in the latter third of the round. For the Sharks, this is a no-brainer. Perennially they are touted as a Stanley Cup contender, and perennially they underachieve. This season, they had an enormous hole on their blue-line that they had to fill ? that of an offensively-gifted, puck moving defenseman. Campbell should be a perfect match, becoming an immediate impact player on the power play and should receive many fancy dishes courtesy of new-teammate Thornton. Many ?experts? believe this move puts the Sharks with, or ahead of. Western Conference contenders in Detroit and Anaheim. I am no expert, but I have to disagree that the Sharks are right there with both clubs. With Bernier out of the picture, the Sharks will continue to struggle for offensive support for Thornton. I would send out search parties for the hands of captain Patrick Marleau (coming off of seasons with 86 and 78 points, he has 29 in 58 games this year, and is a -21) and should-be-sniper Jonathan Cheechoo (56 goals two years ago, 18 so far this year in 55 games). But if it truly is goaltending and defense that wins championships, they definitely have a better shot now than they did prior to the trade. Tampa Bay sends: Brad Richards, Johan Holmqvist Dallas sends: Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern, 2009 4th round pick Tampa, being last in their conference, wasn?t looking to load up for a run at the Cup this year. Instead, they were looking to shed some salary after signing defenseman Dan Boyle to a big extension and having offensive powerhouse Vincent Lecavalier on the last year of his contract next season. So they ended up trading the most expensive ($7.8 million per year for this year, and 3 more after it) AND least productive member of their famed Big Three (Lecavlier, Richards, Martin St. Louis), for many useful parts that could see them named winners of the deal down the road. Two months ago it looked like goalie Mike Smith was ready to supplant Marty Turco as the #1 goalie in Dallas, and goaltending has been a big issue in Tampa since Nikolai Khabibulan walked after they won the Cup in 2004. I am a big fan of Smith and think he has the potential to be a solidifying factor in net for the Lightning if Coach John Tortorella doesn?t kill his ego first. Halpern and Jokinen provide some nice offensive depth for the third and fourth lines; however, Jokinen could possibly have 2nd line potential. Right from his rookie season he has been a shootout wiz, but those gifted hands have not necessarily translated to in-game production. He, not Smith, could be the difference maker in this trade, though, if the Lightning are able to get more out of him than Dallas did ? remember, he is still only 24. For the Stars, it?s a positive move for this season and next. Right now, Richards is the best player in the deal, and although he is having an off-year on the ice by his standards (51 points in 62 games), he has also played through a lot of sickness. Yes, the contract is a bit to take on in the new NHL with the salary cap, but Richards is only 27, and should be in his prime for the duration of his contract. In addition, he is a proven playoff performer, winning the Conn Smythe in the Lightning?s Cup victory in 2004. He could play on the wing on the team?s top line with Ribiero and Morrow, or he could center the 2nd unit and make the team deeper down the middle. There is a nice little bonus for the Stars that not many talked about, and that is getting Holmqvist (20 wins, 3.01GAA this year) included in the deal. He will be an unrestricted free agent, but he has been given a plenty of opportunities to gain experience this year and will be a solid backup to Turco for the remainder of the season and possibly longer, if they want to resign him. Dallas was already a team on the rise (now within 5 points of conference-leading Detroit) and look poised to make as deep of a playoff run as possible. Atlanta trades: Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis Pittsburgh trades: Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, 2008 1st round pick This was definitely a big one. Beginning at 11a.m. EST, the belief was that Montreal was the team most likely to land Hossa, but minutes before the deadline buzzer sounded, the Penguins stole him away and at a pretty big cost. Christensen is going to be a good offensive player in this league, and he is only 24 years old. Armstrong is already a good third-line kinda guy who can chip in offensively and play physically down low. He is also known as a character guy and one of Sidney Crosby?s best friends ? hence all the questions about how this affects Sid. In the end, there aren?t many players more focused on the game of hockey and winning than Crosby is, so I believe he sees this deal as a great opportunity for his club this season. The Trashers also received a great prospect who has yet to make his NHL debut in Esposito ? who, if nothing else, could sell jerseys on his name alone. Toss in a first round pick in a deep draft (I am getting sick of saying this, thankfully it?s the last time), and you have to commend Atlanta G.M. Don Waddell on getting an exceptional package for an unrestricted free agent that he was unable to extend and who has been a playoff bust throughout his entire career. For the Penguins, this easily puts them in discussions for the Eastern Conference regular season crown, but does it help them in the playoffs? Hossa, a point-per-game player in the regular season throughout his career, has played in 55 playoff games ? easily a number big enough to analyze ? and has only registered 35 points and is a -9. A number of those playoff games were played when he was on the Senators and played on a line with Daniel Alfredsson and sometimes Jason Spezza. He also played in the postseason last year with Atlanta and Ilya Kovalchuk. So Hossa is no stranger to playing with talented players, but none of them are as talented as Sidney Crosby. Assuming they play on a line together, Hossa should find himself with numerous chances to put the puck in the net thanks in large part to Sid?s incredible ability to see the whole ice at once and make the best pass in any situation. The big question: can the Penguins re-sign him? By my calculations, the Pens have around $39.6 million in committed salary next season with some free agents of their own they would love to resign (Ryan Malone, Ty Conklin, maybe Georges Laraque), and they also have to worry about signing Evgeni Malkin to an extension sometime in the next calendar year that is bound to start no less than $8 million. You have to wonder what kind of deals Pittsburgh may have lined up to shed some salary next offseason to try and keep Hossa because if he signs elsewhere and the Pens don?t win the Stanley Cup, or at least come very close, they gave up a heck of a lot for a rental. Comments are welcome ? nickobergan@hotmail.com