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.

Rick Nash: Need I Say More?

 A few days ago, Columbus Blue Jackets' GM Scott Howson dropped a bombshell on the hockey world by changing his public position on moving franchise winger Rick Nash from "never gonna happen" to "we'll consider listening of offers".  Whoa!  Let the internet rumors soar!  Everyone who had ever heard of #61 quickly went into a frenzy trying to figure out where he would be traded to.  New York!  Los Angeles!  Toronto!  Vancouver!  Boston!  Pittsburgh!  Hartford!!!
 Now, a few days later after the dust Howson stirred up has settled, a lot of the rash conclusions people had jumped to in order to acquire Nash have disappeared, but a new nuisance has arose.  Fans, bloggers, and columnists alike seem to be challenging Rick Nash's worth.  Let's get one thing straight, if you don't think you are willing for your team to pay the price to add a player like Rick Nash, that's one thing, but do not question this guy's ability to dominate the game.  He's a former 1st overall pick, the face of a franchise ever since, been a top 10 player in this league (probably up until the atrocious season his team has had this year,) a key to Canada winning Gold in 2010, and been a class act the whole way.  You don't exactly find these players roaming the streets.

Duck Hunt

 The Anaheim Ducks, by far the greatest disappointment of the first half of the 2011-12 season, have been the subject of many bold trade rumors since their slow start to the year looked to be like something far greater than just a slump.  The Ducks seemed destined to be big time sellers at the trade deadline, and the debate became not only what superstar players would be on the move, but how many juggernauts' days were numbered in Anaheim.  BUT WAIT!  Now, suddenly the Ducks seem mighty once again, barrelling through opponents with wings of fire like they're out to prove that they are the talent-riddled team that everyone had believed them to be.
 The Ducks are 8-2-1 in January, their best players have lived up to the old hockey cliché and have been the team's best players, Jonas Hiller hasn't been a deadbeat between the pipes, and, although they still reside in the basement of the Pacific Division, just might pull off a miracle when it comes to a playoff push.  Even though Anaheim's General Manager, Bob Murray, is surely excited by his squads recent success, he's now left with some difficult decisions to make as his team approaches the trade deadline.  Should he be a buyer, and add to a hot team?  Should he consider a storybook run to a playoff berth too improbable to reach for, and sell at the deadline?  The smart decision for Mr. Murray to make here is a combination of both.