Trade talks to heat up
The NHL trade deadline comes
up on February 28; however, the
Toronto Maple Leafs have gotten
the deals rolling early.
The Leafs are basically revamping their roster in hopes of making a late-season charge. The team just traded Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia Flyers for first- and third-round picks in this year's draft.
They aren't the only Canadian team making trades already. It would appear that no one is safe in Ottawa; the Sens shipped centre Mike Fisher to Nashville to be with his wife and got back a first and a conditional draft pick in return. Ottawa then dealt Chris Kelly to the Boston Bruins for Boston's second-round pick in the next draft. It would appear both the Leafs and Sens are joining the Edmonton Oilers in the rebuilding phase.
With the trade deadline coming up, there will be more deals to come. I would look for the Vancouver Canucks to trade for a defenceman or four as injuries on their blue-line keep mounting up. The Canucks are without four regular defencemen.
Last week in the NHL saw a lot of fights and suspensions handed down. The Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens got the fights going early in the week with two line brawls and a goalie fight. This was outdone by the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins who, for the second time in two weeks, saw a bench-clearing brawl and goalie Brent Johnson fight another Islander. Johnson is now up to two fights on the year, and is becoming the toughest goalie since Ray Emery.
Despite the fighting, there was some hockey played last week, and that leads up to the three stars of the week. Two of the stars are from teams not known for their superstars. This week's third star is Ilya Bryzgalov who had a 3-0-0 record last week with one shutout. The second star of the week is Buffalo's Drew Stafford who recorded two hat-tricks last week, which now gives him four on the year. The first star of the week is New York Islander Michael Grabner. He recorded a hat-trick against the Buffalo Sabres and scored 8 goals and 9 points, as the Islanders won three of four games last week.
The big three games coming up this week are:
Ottawa and Toronto: The battle of two teams attempting to rebuild will battle at the ACC on Saturday. Look for lots of goals as players try to prove their value to their respective teams.
Toronto 6-4
Montreal and Calgary: This is the Heritage classic that will be played outdoors in Calgary. Both historic franchises will look to put on a show for the fans. The teams are rolling right now.
Calgary 3-2
Toronto and Montreal: A classic battle and the second in two weeks will see the oldest rivalry in the NHL to get back at it. Look for the Leafs to score this time.
Toronto 4-1
The Leafs are basically revamping their roster in hopes of making a late-season charge. The team just traded Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia Flyers for first- and third-round picks in this year's draft.
They aren't the only Canadian team making trades already. It would appear that no one is safe in Ottawa; the Sens shipped centre Mike Fisher to Nashville to be with his wife and got back a first and a conditional draft pick in return. Ottawa then dealt Chris Kelly to the Boston Bruins for Boston's second-round pick in the next draft. It would appear both the Leafs and Sens are joining the Edmonton Oilers in the rebuilding phase.
With the trade deadline coming up, there will be more deals to come. I would look for the Vancouver Canucks to trade for a defenceman or four as injuries on their blue-line keep mounting up. The Canucks are without four regular defencemen.
Last week in the NHL saw a lot of fights and suspensions handed down. The Boston Bruins and the Montreal Canadiens got the fights going early in the week with two line brawls and a goalie fight. This was outdone by the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins who, for the second time in two weeks, saw a bench-clearing brawl and goalie Brent Johnson fight another Islander. Johnson is now up to two fights on the year, and is becoming the toughest goalie since Ray Emery.
Despite the fighting, there was some hockey played last week, and that leads up to the three stars of the week. Two of the stars are from teams not known for their superstars. This week's third star is Ilya Bryzgalov who had a 3-0-0 record last week with one shutout. The second star of the week is Buffalo's Drew Stafford who recorded two hat-tricks last week, which now gives him four on the year. The first star of the week is New York Islander Michael Grabner. He recorded a hat-trick against the Buffalo Sabres and scored 8 goals and 9 points, as the Islanders won three of four games last week.
The big three games coming up this week are:
Ottawa and Toronto: The battle of two teams attempting to rebuild will battle at the ACC on Saturday. Look for lots of goals as players try to prove their value to their respective teams.
Toronto 6-4
Montreal and Calgary: This is the Heritage classic that will be played outdoors in Calgary. Both historic franchises will look to put on a show for the fans. The teams are rolling right now.
Calgary 3-2
Toronto and Montreal: A classic battle and the second in two weeks will see the oldest rivalry in the NHL to get back at it. Look for the Leafs to score this time.
Toronto 4-1
