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Deadline Intrigue

Written by: Jesse Michael on 28th February 2009

Deadline Intrigue | read this item

It’s that time again. Trade deadline season.

It’s a die-hard hockey fan’s equivalent to Christmas – no offence Santa. The anticipation continues to grow everyday it gets closer. Until, finally, the day arrives and nothing else in the world matters.

Two weeks ago the Habs got the ball rolling when they acquired veteran defenceman Mathieu Schneider from the Atlanta Thrashers for what will essentially be a second-round draft pick.

The Penguins and the Ducks picked up where the Habs and Thrashers left off. On Thursday afternoon, the two teams completed a deal that saw forward Chris Kunitz and prospect Erik Tangradi move to the Penguins for defenceman Ryan Whitney.

Could this be the only deal of the entire deadline, going against the usual idea of a trade frenzy that has been built up in previous seasons?

I sure as hell hope not.

We have been spoiled in the past few years, with the likes of Brian Campbell (2008 to the Sharks), Marian Hossa (2008 to the Penguins), and Ryan Smyth (2007 to the Islanders) all being moved on deadline day to new teams.

“If there’s nothing that can be done outside of the list, we’ll stand pat and let the chips fall where they may for the rest of the year.”

Being a Leafs fan for many years, I’ve had my share of up’s and down’s on trade-deadline day (Doug Gilmour in 2003 anyone?), all of which have never paned out into a championship team.

Now that I’m done obsessing over one team and praying that they grab every free agent on the market, my deadline day focus and intrigue has changed quite a bit.

The best part about trade deadline day for me, other than being as happy as a schoolboy watching a new Britney Spears video, is seeing how some General Managers set their teams up a playoff run, and others who focus on building a future winner.

This past week, there were a series of conference calls held with NHL GM’s, many discussed how you go about being in a buyer situation at the deadline, but not mortgaging the future.

Columbus GM Scott Howson agreed that you have to be careful at the deadline not to make any mistakes that could jeopardize the future of your franchise.

“We have a list of people here and assets that we’re just no going to part with,” he said. “If there’s nothing that can be done outside of the list, we’ll stand pat and let the chips fall where they may for the rest of the year.”

Columbus as well as seven other teams in the Western Conference, are vying for the four final playoff spots. In the Eastern Conference, there are as many as six others battling for the four final spots.

This basically means, for the seller teams (Islanders, Thrashers, Lightning, Senators, Leafs, Coyotes, and Avalanche), that their top players will be in high demand, which historically has meant high return.

A minimum of 24 trades have occurred in each of the last two seasons on deadline day, with this year shaping up to be no different.

Hopefully it doesn’t disappoint. And, somewhere out there a kid cheering for his favourite team gets not only what the players dream about, but what Santa can’t even deliver.

A Stanley Cup parade.

For OpenIceHockey.com, I’m Jesse Michael

Topics: Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers, Brian Campbell, Britney Spears video, Chris Kunitz, Columbus Blue Jackets, Doug Gilmour, Erik Tangradi, Marian Hossa, Mathieu Schneider, NHL General Manager, NHL GM, NHL Trade Deadline 2009, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Smyth, Ryan Whitney, Santa, Scott Howson, Stanley Cup parade, Toronto Maple Leafs