Trades The biggest trade of the weekend was consummated by the host Pittsburgh Penguins, shipping former Selke nominee Jordan Staal to the Carolina Hurricanes for third-line center Brandon Sutter, prospect Brian Dumoulin and the 8th pick in the draft. Carolina obviously gets the best player in the deal, and wins the deal easily. But credit Pittsburgh for what they received in light of the fact that Staal had just turned down a giant 10-year, $60M extension and was poised to test free agency in one year. It was known league-wide that Staal was determined to play with one of his brothers, and now he gets the chance to play with Eric. The odds of Carolina being able to keep Jordan with an extension is much greater than Pittsburgh’s chances, and that is why they were willing to pay a decent price for what they do not believe is a one year rental. Staal is coming off a career year with 50 points in only 62 games. Forced into a third-line role in Pittsburgh, he should get the chance to flourish as a first or second line center. I think he is capable of 30 goals and 70 points with increased responsibility, while maintaining his excellent two-way play. The guy who will be replacing him in Pittsburgh, Sutter, gives the Penguins a solid replacement as a third-line center, but doesn’t possess the offensive upside of Staal. While consistent, durable, a good penalty killer, leader and faceoff guy, Sutter’s best offensive season came three years ago when he notched 21 goals and 40 points. The prospect the Pens receive is a Boston College defenseman with good size (6’3”, 200lbs) and a decent offensive upside (83 points in 123 games over three seasons). He definitely has a chance to crack an NHL roster within two years. Getting a top ten pick out of the deal is also a good haul by Shero given the circumstances surrounding the reasoning for the trade. With it they selected defenseman Derrick Pouliot, known for his smooth skating and offensive upside (59 points in 72 games in the WHL), though he was pegged to go in the 20’s. Grade for Carolina: A Grade for Pittsburgh: B+ The Columbus Blue Jackets made a trade, but it didn’t involve Rick Nash. It was no secret they needed improved goaltending, and there were some decent young candidates around the league for them to target. They could have made a huge offer for Cory Schneider, or dealt for the promising Jonathan Bernier, or one of Washington’s plethora of youngsters. Instead they sent three draft picks to Philadelphia for Sergei Bobrovsky. For the Flyers to get a second round pick and two fourths for a goalie coming off a season where he posted a 3.02 GAA and .899 SV% could be considered larceny. That said, Bobrovsky will just turn 24-years-old in the fall, and had a decent rookie year in 2010-11 (2.59 GAA, .915 SV%), though followed that up with a horrendous playoff (3.23 GAA, .877 SV%). Did Columbus improve themselves with this deal? Right now, it only appears they have done so marginally, despite better options on the market. Grade for Columbus: C+b> Grade for Philadelphia: A+ Washington made a clever move to fill their ever-vacant hole for a number two center by trading for Mike Ribiero from Dallas. The crafty and skilled pivot has three 50-assist seasons, and has notched at least 50 points in each of his last eight seasons with Dallas and Montreal. In Dallas’ run to the Conference Finals in 2008, Ribiero notched 17 points in 18 games. Dallas’ goal is to get a younger core group together, and the 32-year-old forward didn’t fit the long term plans, so they decided now was the best time to trade him instead of the trade deadline. It was the best course of action, as is in the final year of his deal and is worth more for a full season than half of one. In return, the Stars received 21-year-old center Cody Eakin, who had 8 points in 30 games as a rookie last season. He was a third round pick in 2009 and had a productive WHL career before turning pro last year. In addition to his brief NHL experience, he produced 27 points in 43 AHL games as a rookie. Dallas also got a second round pick in the 2012 draft, which theoretically adds a decent piece to their prospect pool. Grade for Washington: A- Grade for Dallas: B+ The New York Islanders, always with holes on their defense, smartly acquired veteran Lubomir Visnovsky for a second round pick. Lubo is one year removed from leading all defensemen in points with 68 points, one of five times he exceeded 40. Additionally, his $5.6M cap hit (with only one year remaining) should help the Islanders in their quest to reach the salary cap floor without any free agent interest. If that wasn’t enough, he is only to be paid $3M in real money, which is really important when your owner is super cheap and doesn’t care about the success of your franchise (I feel real bad for Islanders fans). Anaheim underachieved greatly last year and changes needed to be made, and surely they aren’t done yet. This move nets them a prospect and cap room to address other holes in their lineup. That said, I am surprised Visnovsky, with only one year on his deal, was only worth one second round pick. Hal Gill netted more when he was a two month rental. Grade for New York: A+ Grade for Anaheim: B- Saturday, two veteran GMs pulled the trigger on a trade that had been rumored for seemingly all of last season: Toronto traded Luke Schenn to Philadelphia for James van Riemsdyk. Its what people like to refer to as a “pure hockey trade”; two youngsters with high expectations that have failed to live up to them get a fresh start. One team addressed a need on defense, another a need on offense. van Riemsdyk was the 2nd overall pick in 2007, while Schenn was the 5th pick in 2008. and both are locked into relatively cap-friendly contracts (Schenn has four more years at $3.6M, JVR has six years left at $4.25M). I still believe Schenn possesses the talent to be a physical, top-four shutdown defender, while JVR has the hands and skill to be a power forward capable of 25-30 goals a season. Neither player could get out from under the microscope in their current franchise, and it’s a win-win deal for both teams. Grade for Toronto and Philadelphia: A Nick is RealGM’s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan