A Seller's Market (Part Two)

The deadline has passed, the dust is beginning to settle and the Leafs have proven me wrong by finagling a move after all (and it's a biggie compared to past years). Did my earlier point hold up? Let's take a look and see, because I'm going to provide some probably-worthless analysis. Enjoy.

---

Toronto gets: Yanic Perreault, 5th-round pick in 2008
Phoenix gets: Brendan Bell, 2nd-round pick in 2007

This is excellent news, especially when you look at our injury situation. Perreault is a good faceoff man and a checking forward who can easily fill the boots left vacant by Mike Peca until he comes back, and the cost was surprisingly little. The pick was obviously the main selling point here, as Brendan Bell is a marginal prospect who isn't going to get much better; of the many prospective defensemen - Carlo Colaiacovo, Ian White and so on - Bell is probably the least of them, so this is actually a real steal for us. CBS Sportsline claims Bell is a developing defensemen who'll see more icetime in Phoenix - one part of that sentence is true, guess which.

---

Florida gets: Noah Welch
Pittsburgh gets: Gary Roberts

Really, this is a win-win deal right here. Roberts has the potential to be a great leader for the Penguins, and he might even be the offensive force they need to secure a spot in the postseason - seriously, picture a line of Roberts/Crosby/Malkin and tell me that doesn't disturb you. Welch, unlike Bell, actually IS a good young defenseman with potential, and he can probably learn from Jay Bouwmeester among others - that said, the defensive corps are going to need to shape up pronto because of the bigger trade involving the Panthers...

---

Florida gets: Conditional pick in 2007, conditional 2nd-round pick in 2008 OR Shawn Matthias
Detroit gets: Todd Bertuzzi

From what I'm hearing, the further the Wings go in the playoffs and the better Bertuzzi's performance is, the higher the 2007 pick they give up, which means there really isn't a way this can go wrong for Detroit. Bertuzzi's in the last year of his contract to start with, so if his back proves a problem they can opt not to re-sign him, but if he plays well, the Wings can go further into the playoffs and everybody's happy. There are conflicting reports about what Florida actually got, as TSN say it's a conditional pick and Matthias whereas CBS say it's both picks.

---

Buffalo gets: Dainius Zubrus, Timo Helbling
Washington gets: Jiri Novotny, 1st-round pick in 2007

Overpaying? Novotny was a fourth-line centre in Buffalo and the pick is...well, the pick, and so I really question the wisdom of shipping Zubrus off this easily. The Sabres' pick is going to be a low one anyway and putting Helbling in just unbalances it further. Bad move, Capitals.

---

Ottawa gets: Oleg Saprykin, 7th-round pick in 2007
Phoenix gets: 2nd-round pick in 2007

And the firesale goes on. Phoenix had better hope Peter Mueller develops quickly because at this rate, they're going to be in real trouble next season if they don't make some serious moves in the free agency period. Saprykin had a lot of pressure put on him to perform when Calgary drafted him and nothing really changed when he went to Phoenix, so who knows, maybe he'll flourish when Ottawa don't need him as much.

---

San Jose gets: Bill Guerin
St. Louis gets: Ville Nieminen, New Jersey's 1st-round pick in 2007, Jay Barriball

Remember what I said about the Roberts/Crosby/Malkin line? If that didn't scare you, imagine facing a line made from Guerin, Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo. Or throw Pat Marleau in there somewhere for kicks. Yeah. I have to say, I'm surprised at the cost - I don't know anything about Barriball, but St. Louis got less from this than they did the Tkachuk trade, whereas I expected Guerin to be more valuable, particularly since Nieminen's a free agent at the end of this season as well.

---

Buffalo gets: Ty Conklin
Columbus gets: 5th-round pick in 2007

Philadelphia gets: Martin Biron
Buffalo gets: 2nd-round pick in 2007

These two are grouped together because one directly caused another. Apparently, Biron wanted a move to somewhere where he would get more icetime, and so went to the Flyers; the Sabres obviously needed a new backup goaltender as a result, and traded for Ty Conklin. Let me clarify that - they effectively traded Biron...for Conklin. That faint sound you can hear is the sound of Oilers fans pointing and laughing at Buffalo, and the other sound is the sound of Sabres fans weeping.

---

Phoenix gets: Daniel Carcillo, 3rd-round pick in 2007
Pittsburgh gets: Georges Laraque

Is that Sidney Crosby? Yes, Mr. Crosby, we've found you a bodyguard. I don't know anything about Carcillo, but since the Penguins were only really interested in getting an enforcer, I wouldn't expect him to be anything special. Laraque might provide some extra offense, but they hardly need it and his function is...well, to be a bodyguard and protect the team's young stars. As for Phoenix, the firesale goes on; I can't decide whether it looks more like an auction or a garage sale at this point.

---

Boston gets: Aaron Ward
New York gets: Paul Mara

The Rangers somehow managed to offload Ward and replace him with a younger, more talented version of himself, which makes me wonder exactly why Boston took this deal - I'd hazard a guess at financial reasons, but I don't know what Boston's cap-room situation is so it's all moot.

---

New York gets: Ryan Smyth
Edmonton gets: Robert Nilsson, Ryan O'Marra, 1st-round pick in 2007

Since I didn't know anything real about O'Marra or Nilsson, my first thought when I saw this trade was an indignant "WHAT IS THIS FAGGOTRY?", as now the Islanders have Smyth and look surprisingly dangerous (two words you'd rarely associate with NYI). However, CBS inform me that they are apparently the Islanders' two best prospects, which actually makes Edmonton seem smarter - if they couldn't keep Smyth around, it makes good sense to pillage another team, and now it becomes Garth Snow's job to negotiate so that Smyth stays in Long Island next year.

---

So, did my earlier point hold up? Is it still a seller's market? My first inclination is to say yes, looking at the Smyth and, to a lesser extent, Guerin trades, but there are just as many arguments against it - the farce that saw Zubrus leave Washington, for instance - and some trades that seem to be neutral, like the Roberts and the Perreault ones. If anyone's reading, drop me a comment and abuse me for my views, I'd like to know if you agree or disagree.

Erik.