Opinion: NHL 2014 Trade Deadline Losers

The trade deadline for 2014 has come and gone, and it was one of the bigger and more shocking in recent memory. Normally, the day comes and goes with a few minor transactions, but this year’s trade period ended with an explosion of talent moving thick and fast, particularly goalies and big-scoring wingers. 

In Part One, I looked at those teams or players who had improved their position in the NHL following the expiration of the League’s trade deadline. Now, in Part Two, I cast an eye on those whose Deadline Day wasn’t as impactful as it might have been, despite the plethora of opportunities, my 2014 Trade Deadline Losers.

Martin Brodeur: The legendary New Jersey Devils goalie has been so desperate to be traded to somewhere where he could regain his starting gig – he lost it to Corey Schneider last summer – that he’s even mentioned it during his media availability of late.

The guy who’s won more NHL games (684) than any other goalie in NHL history obviously isn’t happy riding the pine most nights for the franchise that, basically, he built and carried to Stanley Cup glory three times. He believes he can still be a starter in the league, but the fact that he was linked with a few teams – Minnesota, particularly, where his sons go to school – the trade deadline has come and gone and Brodeur remains a New Jersey Devil.

Sadly for an icon of the game, the message from the rest of the League is resounding and clear: no one wants or needs Brodeur as a starting goalie. Not surprisingly, either: he’s 41 and his save percentage is at .899, down from .901 last year.

Given the deadline snub, I highly doubt that Brodeur plays next year. It might be time for a graceful retirement, safe in the knowledge that his legacy as a legend of the Devils from now until the end of time is well assured. 

New York Islanders: As a Rangers fan, I love reading stories about the ineptness of our cross-town rivals, whose General Manager Garth Snow makes Mike Milbury’s infamous stint as Isles GM seem a downright competent stretch for a franchise that hasn’t seen any sort of success in a very long time.

It seems that it’s a case of new day, new debacle for the team from Long Island. Their botched handling of Thomas Vanek, who came across from Buffalo early in the season, and was so desperately keen to get out of town that he didn’t even dress the night before the deadline, is yet another laughable incident to add to a growing list.

Faced with what could only be termed incontrovertible proof that Vanek was desperate for a trade, why Snow and his team didn’t start burning up phone lines immediately to hammer out a good, beneficial deal for a franchise that’s regressing this year after a playoff appearance a season ago, is beyond me.

Instead, they waited, right til the very end, when most teams in the market for a good winger – let’s face it, this was a buyer’s market, right to the end – had already fulfilled their names. The benefactor of the Islanders’ inaction was Montreal, who picked up Vanek on the cheap (a few prospects, a few conditional draft picks, nothing mind-blowing), and New York’s other franchise continues to be mired in mediocrity, a continuing punching bag for hockey columnists and bloggers everywhere.

Honestly, how does Snow keep his job? 

Ryan Callahan: This one hurts, because I thought the two sides would come to an arrangement here. Callahan asked for a stupid amount of money in respect of his offensive talent, and Rangers GM Glen Sather said no. Six years at $36 million was the last offer made, one which Callahan ultimately declined – he wanted $39 million over the same period. The Rangers used their money to ink a new contract with stand-out defenseman, Dan Girardi.

So, the former Blueshirt captain is on the way out,. Martin St-Louis goes the other way, and is quite happy about it, too. You can’t help but wonder if the Buffalo, New York native regrets not dropping down that three million, for the opportunities it would give him. I’m talking about his position as captain of a from a team just starting to find it’s feet under a new coach, to a Tampa Bay outfit that’s not going to feature in the coming Stanley Cup playoffs.

If Callahan isn’t re-signed by the Lightning, he’ll be forced to test the waters of free agency, and may very well discover that those intangibles that the Rangers found so appealing – his intense work ethic and constantly throwing his body in front of pucks – might not be in such high demand elsewhere. Time will tell. 

Los Angeles: The Kings are a defensively-minded team under Daryl Sutter, and rank almost dead last in goals scored (2.32), but if they’re counting on playing a big part in the upcoming playoffs – you know, like their cross-town rivals, the Anaheim Ducks figure to – it doesn’t take a genius to see that they’d need an injection of offense.

If ever there was a trade deadline where players with scoring ability were available, this was it…and the Kings came up with Marian Gaborik. That’s right, the oft-injured former Minnesota, New York Ranger and Columbus winger, who, a rental through the spring, apparently is keen to remain in Southern California and have a long-term future with the 2012 Stanley Cup champions.

Sure, they only parted with the rugged Matt Frattin and some draft picks (one conditional), but in an environment where there were a bunch of good offensive players up for grabs – the afore-mentioned Thomas Vanek and Matt Moulson, as well as Ryan Kesler and Anaheim’s Dustin Penner – you figure that the Kings could have done more to advance their shaky offensive output. 

This one was a head-scratcher. Whether General Manager Dean Lombardi was sold on Gaborik apparently wanting to stay in LA long term, I don’t know, but the newly-acquired winger’s run of injury-free seasons has come to a grinding halt recently, so this is a decision the Kings front office might live to regret.