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 the wash-up, who fared well and who bombed out? Here, in Part One, are my 2014 Trade Deadline Winners.
Roberto Luongo: Sure, he’s been traded to the bottom-feeding Florida Panthers – a destination that might normally find a player under the ‘Losers’ column – but when you think about what went on with Luongo in Vancouver over the last few years, anywhere, even Sunrise, Florida, has to be an upgrade.
The centre of a strange soap opera, Luongo returns to the team he left in 2006, part of a complex multi-player trade, just about fed up, you’d imagine, following snub after snub as a member of the Canucks. He was passed over for Corey Schneider in Game 6 of the 2011 Western Conference Finals under former coach Alain Vigneault, and things only seemed to get worse this year, under new coach John Tortorella.
You had the feeling that when Luongo wasn’t given the start in the Heritage Classic game between Vancouver and Ottawa – you know, the outdoor game played under the roof in BC Place – for largely-untested backup Eddie Lack that he was on the way out. And so he is, returning to a part of the world where he’ll find far less press scrutiny than he’s been used to in Western Canada of late.
Regardless of the Panthers’ record in 2013-14, Luongo is a clear winner here. Finally, he’s escaped the circus and could help his new-old franchise improve.
St Louis: The early trade that made us all sit up and take notice – especially if you’re a rival team in the Western Conference. The Blues, looking for their first ever Stanley Cup Championship, traded up in goalies, dealing Jaroslav Halak to Buffalo in return for long-time Sabre Ryan Miller. They also picked up grinding agitator Steve Ott, who figures to be a perfect fit in the St Louis system.
Statistically, Miller is only a slight upgrade from Halak between the pipes for the Blues, but you won’t find a better clutch goalie in the league. His numbers were better than they should have been in Buffalo, considering how bad their defensive corps has been for the last few seasons, so just imagine what Miller can do in front of one of the best defensive units in the entire league.
The Western Conference is unbelievably tight at the moment – not to mention head and shoulders better than the East – and it’s not exactly breaking news to predict that the coming playoff series will be one epic, defensive struggle after another. In those tight games, Miller’s long experience could well be the difference between a chance at Lord Stanley and an early playoff exit. The Blues made a good move.
Minnesota: Ilya Bryzgalov, the polarising goalie whose reputation for craziness grew in Philadelphia in 2011-12 thanks to HBO’s ever-present cameras, obviously isn’t the star-in-the-making that the Flyers thought he would be when they threw big money at the then-Phoenix net-minder in the summer of 2011.
That said, Bryzgalov is far from the worst back-up goalie, and that’s exactly what the Wild need for the remainder of the season. Their starter, Niklas Backstrom, is done for the year, his back-up Josh Harding continues his struggles with Multiple Sclerosis, and, until just before the deadline, the last goalie standing up in the State of Hockey was the just-unearthed Darcy Kuemper.
Obviously, Keumper, promising but still largely untested, can’t handle the net-minding load by himself for the rest of the season. So, for the measly price of a fourth-round pick, the Wild acquire Bryz, whose veteran presence should, at least to a degree, help Kuemper’s maturity and game. A great deal.
Additionally, Torey Mitchell wanted out of Minnesota, so the Wild obliged, sending him and some draft picks across to Buffalo, getting Matt Moulson (a guy with a great scoring touch) and Cody McCormick (a gritty role player) in return.
Hard to not like everything Minnesota’s GM Chuck Fletcher did on Deadline Day.
New York Rangers: As much as the fans – and I count myself amongst them – are disappointed that the team has parted ways with inspirational captain Ryan Callahan, the fact is that General Manager Glen Sather made a smart move in dealing the gritty forward to Tampa Bay for disaffected Martin St-Louis.
Let’s face it, Callahan was asking for a lot of money, more than he probably deserved. He wanted six years at $39 million and though the Rangers came close, there was still enough of a gulf that a deal could not be made, so Callahan was out the door. As much as us fans hated to lose the hard-working captain, Sather saw the writing on the wall as contract negotiations broke down, and secured a pretty good deal for the Rangers.
In comes St-Louis, who was initially snubbed for Team Canada Olympic selection by the team’s general manager Steve Yzerman (also Tampa’s GM) which apparently had Martin viewing his position in Florida as an untenable one. His move to New York will reunite him with old friend/line mate Brad Richards. The two had good chemistry and won a Stanley Cup together not all that long ago.
Make no mistake, St-Louis for Callahan is an instant upgrade. St-Louis is signed through next season at a $5.625 million cap hit, and whilst he isn’t in the top tier of NHL players, the guy still has a lot to give over the next few years. That’s what the Rangers are being built for: short-term success. St-Louis will help.
Montreal: Ridiculous that the Habs have managed to get sharpshooter Thomas Vanek so cheaply from the New York Islanders. On paper, the deal looks like hockey’s version of grand larceny.
Late in the day, as the deadline hour approached, the offensively-starved franchise took advantage of the desperate Islanders, Vanek’s temporary home this season, and picked up the star winger for next to nothing. Great news for the Canadiens, who’re near the bottom of the league in terms of even-strength scoring. Vanek has been good at that this year, notching more than two thirds of his goals with five opposing players skating.
There’s a good chance that the former University of Minnesota stand-out won’t be in Quebec past the end of this season – the rumour is he wants to head back to Minnesota, and link with the Wild – but if you’re in the market for a tall player with brilliant offensive skills, Vanek is exactly the sort of player you’d love to get your hands on.
By way of this deal, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin has done all he can to upgrade his team’s scoring heading down the stretch run to the playoffs.
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