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.

Takeaways From The 2012 WJC

 It almost goes without saying that this year's IIHF World Junior Championship was a magnificent tournament, but I'm still far from being over it, so I'll mention it as much as I can.  Hockey fans of all nations were reeling after every great hockey game put forth in Alberta over the past few weeks.  The competition was full of excitement, and took until the very last moment to be decided.  We all know that Sweden captured their first World Junior title since 1981, that this tournament that the Russians have returned back to prime form as an international threat again, and that U.S. had a more then disappointing showing (and I mean really disappointing,) but here are few more objective points, a "What We Learned", if you will, that must be mentioned following the conclusion if the 2012 World Junior Championship.

RED SCARE COMING TO D.C.

 Anyone with eyes could see Russian forward Yevgeni Kuznetzsov was the most commanding force on the ice for any team at the tournament.  Whether or not they used their eyes by looking at the scoresheet or his actual gameplay is the question. Kuznetsov led the entire tournament in points (13), and was a threat at all times to opponents.  Kuznetsov displayed his finishing touch, Bounty-soft hands, and eagle-like vision countless times, but everyone was so caught up in his performance in the present to recognize what this promising prospect holds for NHL hockey for the next few years...

 Kuznetsov is property of the Washington Capitals (selected 26th overall in 2010), who just happen to have his motherland's most destructive weapon sent overseas since the Cuban missile crisis, Alexander Ovechkin.  Quite convenient, unless you happen to be wearing a sweater that isn't "Rocking the Red".  Now, I'm not saying Kuznetsov is a lock for 52 goals and 54 assists in his rookie season with the Caps, but looking even a few years further into the future and Alex Semin's value fading, the possibility of Kuznetsov playing alongside Ovi on the right wing, or even following up The Great 8 on another line back-to-back would be a devastating combination to face.

Pronger Out / Philly's Options

 Yesterday night, the Philadelphia Flyers dropped a bombshell on the hockey world.  At the recommendation of specialists in Pittsburgh, new captain and sure-fire future Hall of Famer, Chris Pronger, has been shut down for the remainder of the 2011-12 season and playoffs due to post concussion syndrome.  While losing a player of Pronger's caliber for the rest of the year is a huge blow to the Flyers, it does now open up $4.9 million in cap space on their roster and leaves them with many options to fill the void left by Pronger.
 The Flyers, already with an intimidating top four on the blue line without Pronger that consists of Kimmo Timonen, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle, and Braydon Coburn, will look to use the new cash opening to acquire a UFA-to-be at the trade deadline in February or sooner.  Players that immediately come to mind are Nashville's star Ryan Suter and Carolina's Tim Gleason.  As a physical presence and solid puck-moving D-man, Suter would be a fantastic addition to any roster, but Nashville seems hell bent on re-signing him.  So if that trade were to happen at all, it would be right at the deadline, not any time soon.  Gleason, on the other hand, is a member of a struggling Hurricanes club that has been surrounded by trade rumors galore over the past few weeks.  Now with Pronger out, Philadelphia could easily decide to make a move with Carolina, it's just a matter if Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren feels Gleason, or either of the other 'Canes defensemen in the last year of their contracts, Jaroslav Spacek and Bryan Allen, are what the Flyers need.

Ryan Suter would be the grand
prize for Philly, but the Preds may
not give up on re-signing him.

 Other notable defensemen set to become unrestricted free agents are Toronto's John-Michael Liles, Anaheim's Francois Bauchemin, Washington's Dennis Wideman, and Tampa Bay's Pavel Kubina.  Liles is certainly the most intriguing name on the list, but do not expect him to be moved, considering the price Toronto paid to acquire him in the offseason and especially the Leafs' improvement so far this season.  Bauchemin would be a nice fit with Philly, but it would be a matter if Anaheim is selling.  Everyone in the Ducks organization remembers Bauchemin's contributions to their Stanley Cup Championship in 2007, and they may not be willing to trade any more blue liners after already trading Kurtis Foster earlier this week.  If Washington's recent struggles continue, it will probably prompt some roster moves, and Wideman may find himself on the trade block.  Kubina is well out of his prime, but could still serve as a slightly salivating acquisition for a power play unit.

 All of this is speculation, of course, but the Flyers would be foolish not to utilize the $4,921,000 in cap space now available as the unfortunate result of their captain's condition.