The End of an Era?

 Approaching July 1st, the first day of free agency in the National Hockey League, everybody knew there would be some exciting storylines. Stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter may find a new home, Justin Schultz' highly anticipated decision as to where he'll start his NHL career, who will bite on Islanders' emerging playamaker P.A. Parenteau, just to name a few. But nobody could have anticipated the end of an era for one of the most legendary players in hockey history.
 A few months ago, the possibility of Martin Brodeur playing his final year(s) in the NHL for someone other than the New Jersey Devils would have sounded perposterous. But due to limited talks with Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and lingering ownership issues, it may become a bizarre reality soon. Yesterday, Brodeur hired one of the best agents in the game, Pat Brisson, and TSN's hockey insider Darren Dreger reported Marty's interest in exploring the free agent market. There is no guarantee that Marty will opt out of the Garden State, but the fact that he is even considering donning a sweater other than the red and black sent shock waves throughout the hockey world and the twitterverse. The fact of the matter is, though, despite Marty's legendary status, he isn't exactly a perfect fit with all 30 teams in the NHL. In fact, there are very few possible clubs who can make a respectable proposal to Brodeur and have the move make sense...

Evaluating the "Downie Deal"

 The trade deadline's annual chaos kicked off 6 days early this year, as Steve Yzerman and the Tampa Bay Lightning were busy molding what will most likely go down as the most wild deal of 2012.  The Bolts came to terms with the Colorado Avalanche on a deal that sent agitator Steve Downie to the Mile High City and solid puck moving defenseman Kyle Quincey to Tampa Bay.  Solid trade for both sides, I suppose, but while everyone was still trying to figure out how they felt about the move, Tampa's GM Yzerman was not done.

Yzerman is on his way to taking the steps necessary
to improve his team after this year's disappointment.

 Minutes after the Downie deal broke, TSN's Bob McKenzie quickly went to Twitter and made it known that he was already hearing that Quincey was on the move again.  Sure enough, the Lightning traded Kyle Quincey to the Detroit Red Wings in return for a 2012 1st round draft pick and some no-name prospect.  It's not every day that an NHL team turns right around and trades a new acquisition within the same hour they got him to begin with, but that's exactly what happened here, and it was GM masterclass on Yzerman's part.
 Look at it this way, when Tampa moved Downie to Colorado, then dealt what they got in return for a 1st round pick in a separate trade, the Lightning essentially traded Steve Downie for a 1st round draft pick.  Let that sink in for a moment... and read it with an underline: The Lightning traded Steve Downie for a 1st round draft pick.  If you told me Stevie Y could have moved Downie for a 1st rounder 3 hours ago, I would have called whatever chump on the other end of Yzerman's phone line a moron.  But here we are now, approving the bravado of the Bolts' bold back-to-back deals in order to bolster their draft picks.
 Now, just because Tampa was able to put together a brilliant series of moves, do not take the Avalanche and Red Wings for fools either.  Colorado clearly felt they needed the services of Downie to improve their on-ice product if they were willing to move Quincey for him.  Detroit lands a solid blue-liner and former Wing who the organization feels they can trust if they lose Brad Stuart to free agency over the summer or the legendary Nicklas Lidstrom retires.  Seeing that everyone on all sides of these trades look like winners, the question has to be asked, why don't these moves happen more often in the NHL?
 The three-way trade or the back-to-back transaction is very rare in hockey.  Two in one season happens probably as frequently as a Haley's comet!  Looking at the results of the Downie deal, GMs should take a page out of Yzerman's book and put the pieces in place for these puzzle trades and make their own "Steve Downie for a 1st rounder" deal.