LS Grades The Trade Deadline.

Our fearless commish from The NHL Arena takes an unabashed look at the deadline..you may not agree with everything but he lays his opinion out there.

Dallas Stars – Grade: A+:

The Stars acquired the successor to Modano’s throne for a back up goaltender and 2 B-listers. The fact that a serious prospect or pick was not used in this deal, was pure genius.

Washington Capitals – Grade: A-:

For a guy that wasn’t expected to do much, George McPhee made some nice role adjustments. Huet for a 2nd rounder still has me scratching my head, the Federov addition is intriguing and Matt Cooke gives the Caps an element they hadn’t had in the past. Basically 3 serviceable pieces for nothing to lose sleep over.

Atlanta Thrashers – Grade: B+:

The jury is still out on whether or not Esposito will live up to his earlier hype, but even without him; Christensen, Armstrong and a 1st is a great return for a playoff disappearing act that had no interest in resigning with the club. If it weren’t for the fact that the Hossa for Heatley deal wasn’t all that long ago, this would have got a better grade.

Tampa Bay Lightning – Grade: B+:

The Lightning success at having a payroll more spread around, by acquiring two top 6 guys in Halpern and Jussi Jokinen. However, we will really get a feel for this deal once Smith can prove to us that he is not another Denis in the making. (I’m sure he will)

Columbus Blue Jackets – Grade: B:

The best things the Jackets could have done, was hold on to their futures. And kudos to Howsen for not going over the top for Brad Richards. The Jackets didn’t get a whole lot for Federov, other than cap space. But they overachieved in the Foote deal.

New York Rangers – Grade: B:

Adding Backman for a 4th and Sjostrom for Hossa makes this one of Sather’s best deadlines of all time. Heh. I’m kidding, but I do like these moves. Everything else was an AHL deal.

Ottawa Senators – Grade: B:

On paper, they did pretty good for themselves. Stillman is the most underrated player in the league, while Lapointe and Commodore bring them playoff experience and grit. And it was nice to see them back down from the Hossa talks once Shero put in his crazy bid. Alas, nothing was done to rectify the goaltending controversy.

Colorado Avalanche – Grade: B-:

If you include the return of Peter Forsberg, adding Foote and Salei makes for a rather serious shake up. And having dealt away nothing off your roster other than ironman Skrastins, a push for the playoffs is in place. I’m not fond of trading away 1st round picks and especially not for vets, but Foote has probably 3 more good years left in him. High risk, high reward deadline for the Avs.

San Jose Sharks – Grade: B-:

You knew that the Sharks were desperate for a QB on the blueline. But I was expecting more out of them. Again, I am not fond of trading 1st round picks and not for guys that are commanding way too much on the open market this summer. I don’t think this makes the Sharks a serious contender and thus they’ve given up too much for the rental. Signing Boucher and adding a 7th rounder for Davison didn’t help matters.

Buffalo Sabres – Grade: B-:

I like the deal that saw Campbell moved out for Bernier and a 1st. Although Bernier’s future is a bit up in the air, I think Carle may have been the better one to go after. And I was disappointed that Regier did not seek out some type of defensive replacement for Campbell. Still, something was done for a player on his way out. The Sabres are learning.

Carolina Hurricanes – Grade: C:

The Canes pick up Eaves and Corvo for two guys they weren’t willing to resign, along with Tuomo Ruutu foe Andrew Ladd. I’d prefer if there was a decent pick in there somewhere, but what can you do? Really, if Corvo and Ruutu can live up to the potential bestowed upon them a while back, this deadline looks a whole lot better.

Chicago Blackhawks – Grade: C:

Tallon didn’t give up any futures, but he really didn’t bring in anything worthy of reporting, either.

Phoenix Coyotes –Grade: C:

Maloney obviously knows what he is in for with Marcel Hossa and Al Montoya, due to his time with the Rangers organization. Sjostrom will be the only departed player than the Yotes might miss, but this deal hinges on the development of Montoya.

New Jersey Devils – Grade: C:

Devils fans will like the hard hitting style of Salvadore. Especially at the expense of their pressbox fighter, Cam Janssens. However, this was not the type of defender New Jersey really needed.

Anaheim Ducks – Grade: C:

I suppose adding MA Bergeron makes him #7 on this defensive depth chart? If the Ducks had any ice time to hand out to him, I’d like this deal better. Otherwise, this was a yawner.

Toronto Maple Leafs – Grade: C:

Not that Fletcher had much choice, but the Leafs could have used a little more help than a 2nd, a 3rd and two 5ths. On the other hand, they didn’t give up on the wrong guys. With what little they had to work with, they did alright.

Calgary Flames – Grade: C-:

It was nice to not see Tanguay offered up, but Jim Vandermeer is all you’ve got to show us? Come on Sutter. I give you more credit than that

Nashville Predators – Grade: C-:

Nashville is quickly becoming known as the home of the journeyman. Neither Hlavac or Bockenski do anything for me.

Vancouver Canucks – Grade: C-:

Obviously Burrows makes Cooke rather obsolete in a Nuck uniform, but really. Something more had to be done today.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Grade: D+:

You have to wonder how this will effect team chemistry. Especially considering that two of the more popular guys in the room have moved on at the expense of Mr Playoff No Show. Meh. I suppose Shero wanted to put his team up against the Senators for best one-lined team in the league. Did I mention adding Gill for a 2nd and a 5th had me in stitches this afternoon?

Los Angeles Kings – Grade: D+:

Lombardi does get a few picks for Stuart and a minor league goaltender, but I suspect he wanted to do much more and couldn’t.

St. Louis Blues – Grade: D:

I believe I alluded to this before when I asked if JD had a stroke. I’m used to seeing the Tkachuks and Weights reel in the 1st round picks and today all i get is Janssen? Not happy with losing Backman for a 4th either.

Montreal Canadiens – Grade: D:

A recipe for disaster.Tease your fans and media about being a big time buyer at the the deadline only to put the weight of those lofty expectations on a 20 year old’s shoulders. Price may indeed be one kid that can handle this kind of pressure, but putting it on him was entirely unnecessary. Even if a deal fell through, Roloson could have been had for next to nothing. Not to mention that trading your starter for merely a 2nd rounder isn’t something to write home about.

Florida Panthers – Grade: D:

Not sure what the thinking was here. Handing out modest picks for (very) marginal veterans does not seem like the type of thing that teams unlikely to make the playoffs should do.

New York Islanders – Grade: D:

About the only good thing Snow manged to accomplish, was getting Simon off the books. But really, this team needed some scoring and didn’t even get a whiff.

Detroit Red Wings – Grade: D:

Beyond adding Stuart, Detroit now relies very heavily on it’s team to be perfectly healthy come the playoffs. Psst.. I think the McCarty thing is a joke, as well.

Philadelphia Flyers – Grade: D:

Maybe if the Flyers didn’t waste all their energy on trying to resign Peter Forsberg, they would have done something more worthwhile today. This is a team that should be continuing to rebuild and instead they acquire a rental player with a questionable attitude. Perfect for all the kids you are currently developing… heh.

Minnesota Wild – Grade: F:

This grade would have been bad enough prior to this last second deal airing after the 3 PM deadline. Simon? Ouch!

Boston Bruins – Grade: F:

The only team in the East that stood pat. Somehow I don’t think Shane Hnidy counts, as it happened back on Jan 2nd. It was good of them to not partake in the Hossa sweepstakes, but to do nothing? Unacceptable.

Edmonton Oilers – Grade: F:

Not even a move was made to try and draw a pick or two back the Oilers way after having lost all of theirs to Anaheim in the Penner deal. I hope the new ownership likes inactivity. Or else Lowe might be looking for a job soon.

About Chris Wassel

Simply I am a sports writer whose first loves will always be hockey and food. As we attempt to fix the site which has fallen into some disrepair (okay a lot), any and all help is always appreciated. For now, everything will channel through on a post by post basis. As always, let's have some fun!

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