Today’s Lesson Is Chemistry

Chemistry is one of the most important things in team sports. Just ask the Dallas Stars and Sean Avery about that.

It’s the one thing that NHL GM’s struggle with during trade talks. There’s something to be said about not disrupting a locker room.

“You have to be careful there,” said Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli. “We went through that in Ottawa where we thought we were getting the best player – and we were – and it just didn’t fit in the mix of things.”

The deal that Chiarelli is talking about involved forward Peter Bondra back in ’04. Bondra managed to put up 14 points in the final 23 games before being held pointless in the Sens’ seven playoff games. He never played for the Sens again.

Chiarelli says that you have to rely on your staff to let you know who will fit and who won’t fit in with the team.

“You talk to your coaching staff at length about the room and how these players will interact and how they will react,” he said. “Your have look at it very carefully.”

“There’s a lot more than just what the player brings on the ice that we look at and discuss.”

A lot more goes in to the selection of a trade than simply who’s the best player. The GM needs to be sure it will be a seamless transition for both parties involved. Teams don’t need a player that is going to come in and take roles away from players that have been there all season long. On the ice is one thing. They’re professionals the players can handle different roles on the ice. But, change the off ice routine of a player and you’ve opened up a can of worms that could cost you a playoff spot or series.

“There’s a lot more than just what the player brings on the ice that we look at and discuss,” said Chiarelli. “You have to be very sensitive to that.”

Panthers’ GM Jacques Martin has made a lot of changes to his team since last June when he shipped out captain Olli Jokinen. So, he knows how important it is to find the right balance of age, skill and chemistry.

“It’s important to get somebody that’s going to fit into the chemistry,” said Martin. “I think that we have a great chemistry as a team. I think we have a good balance of young players versus veteran players.”

The research that GM’s are currently doing will greatly factor in to which players are brought in to an organization. For every deal that happens today a GM has done countless hours of research into how the player will fit in with his team.

No GM wants to have a failure like the one Brett Hull and Les Jackson had to deal with in Dallas earlier this season with Sean Avery.