Giography
Giography

What started out as a quiet trade deadline, ended with a flourish of last minute deals.  Although they were not earth shattering deals, and weren’t that abundant, the late deals did give fans some excitement.  Here is a short breakdown of how I feel each of these key deals will work out.

The first being, the big news that Roberto Luongo was not dealt.  Although there was numerous talks with the Toronto Maple Leafs no deal was worked out.  Now this leaves Luongo lost on the bench watching, and collecting a huge contract.  Well what happens now?  The Canucks can’t have this huge salary eating on them for years to come.  What will the Canucks do?  Buy out his salary, or trade him for basically nothing.  I think the Canucks will be hard pressed to find a team to take on that crazy long contract.  This topic will not die, and will be the talk of the summer.

One deal that did happen was the trading of Marian Gaborik from the New York Rangers to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Derek Brassard, defenseman John Moore, forward Derek Dorsett, and a 6th round draft pick in 2013.  Well this looks like a great deal on paper, and one that has Columbus excited.  So excited that John Davidson is flying on a private jet to pick him up.  Well my thoughts are the exact opposite.  Gaborik is a supreme under achiever.  His career has had flashes of brilliance, and the guy can flat-out fly.  The problem is that Gaborik has a tendency to not want to give a full effort, and is often injury prone.  I think Columbus will have a great Gaborik for the remainder of this season, and then next year the typical lazy non-producing Gaborik will show up.  I guess time will tell.

Wade Redden was traded from St. Louis to Boston for a 7th round draft pick in 2014.  Probably not an impact move for either team, but is interesting that Redden went from being buried in the American Hockey League, to the Stanley Cup hopeful St. Louis Blues, now traded to a true cup contender in Boston.  A lot of crazy changes for one year.

The most important trade of deadline day was Jason Pominville and a 4th round pick in 2014 being traded from Buffalo to the Minnesota Wild.  The Buffalo Sabers in return get goalie Matt Hackett, forward Johan Larsson, a 1st round draft pick in 2013 and a 2nd round draft pick in 2014.  Well the Wild are definitely getting an impact forward in Pominville, but did they give up too much to get him?  My thoughts are yes.  If the Wild win the cup I will be totally wrong, but I do not see that happening.  On the surface this looks good for the Wild, but deep down this is just what the doctor ordered for a rebuilding Buffalo Sabers.  These draft picks will pay huge dividends in the future for the Sabers.  The Wild gave up two important picks.

Goalie Ben Bishop will finally get his chance as a starter now that he has been traded to Tampa Bay from Otttawa.  In return the Ottawa Senators receive forward Cory Conchar and a 4th round draft pick in 2013.  This looks like a great trade for both teams.  It is yet to be determined that Bishop will survive as a starter in this league.  Conchar brings another young player to a up and coming Ottawa Senators team.  We won’t know who is the winner of this one for a few years.

The Pittsburgh Penguins continued to stock the shelves with another great player.  The Pens acquired forward Jussi Jokinen from the Carolina Hurricanes for a conditional 7th round pick in 2013.  Wow, is this team going to be deep now.  Even with the injury to Sidney Crosby.  Jokinen will now help fill a roster spot while Crosby is out.  When Crosby returns Jokinen will add depth to an already deep, deep team.  The Penguins have definitely shown the hockey world that they are going for a Stanley Cup in 2013.