Eklund recently posted the names and potential destinations of several players whose names are popping up in the rumor mill. Here’s his list and my take. Enjoy!
Sopel to Ottawa. Given the Sens desire for more defensive depth that has some possibility, provided the already cap-squeezed Senators can move enough salary to fit in Sopel’s.
Sanderson to Vancouver, Nashville. The Canucks tried the Sanderson experiment three years ago and it didn’t work out as well as hoped, so I doubt they’ll do a redux. Reports I’ve read out of Nashville suggest the Preds might seek an experienced blueliner.
Tucker to Detroit, Edmonton , St. Louis. As long as Tucker’s sidelined and the Leafs have a shot at a playoff berth, he won’t be moving. If he did, I could see Detroit, but not Edmonton or St. Louis. The Oilers primary search right now is for a puckmoving blueliner, and if the Blues make a move, it’ll be for picks, prospects or young NHL players.
Zherdev to Montreal , Rangers. The Rangers, I could see. Not the Habs, who need a scoring center, which Zherdev, a winger, isn’t.
Avery to Tampa , NY Rangers. Again, the Rangers, I could see this for the grit he'd bring, but only after they've addressed their need for more scoring depth. Not Tampa Bay, as they’ve been long interested in more defensive depth (read: defenceman, defensive forward or goalie).
Leetch to Atlanta. He’s retired in all but word. I suspect if he were to play this season he would've made the decision much earlier than this.
Stuart to Ottawa , Edmonton , San Jose. Yes to all three, although I also wouldn’t rule out the LA Kings, as I think Dean Lombardi, who drafted Stuart back when he was the Sharks GM, would like to land him.
Zhitnik to San Jose. Don’t see him moving anywhere. I think the Flyers will hang onto him.
Knuble to Columbus. Ditto.
Hatcher to Detroit. Why would the Wings want an aging, overpaid blueliner who hasn’t been the same since the new rules were introduced last season? Besides, the Wings primary need is for a scoring winger, not a defenseman.
Morrison to NY Rangers. The Canucks would probably shop him if they could get a quality center in return. The Rangers don’t have that to offer.
Gerber to Tampa. Given Gerber's performance this season, he wouldn't be a significant upgrade over Denis. Given the Bolts improvement over the past month, I don't them doing this.
Smolinski to Montreal for a prospect or pick makes the most sense to me. Montreal desperately needs a center who can play both ends. Koivu currently ranks in the bottom decile of forwards in +/- and in the bottom decile of first line centers in scoring. Gainey tried to remake Montreal's offense but though the names have changed, the results are the same. The strong powerplay is not the result of personnel, but entirely due to Carbo's coaching.
Why are so many people (as in media and rumor mongers) ignoring the fact that Knuble just signed a two year extension with the Flyers? Obviously he didnt want to leave Philly and they wanted him to stay. Not to mention a little over two million for him is a good price.
Also, what about Sopel to Edmonton? Not sure of their cap situation, but he could be the puck moving dman they are looking for.
Last edited by 2ManAdvantage on January 31st at 6:27 AM.
The thought of anyone wanting to trade for Hatcher is ridiculous, but I think Eklund missed the main argument against this deal ever happening: Hatcher ended up with the Flyers because the Wings bought him out after the lockout.
Now why in the world would they buy out a D-man who was already making too much and then bring him back a year and a half later while he still makes too much money and had proven to be ineffective with the new rules?
Tucker would make more sense as an addition, although even that move is one I don't know if I really see happening.
I must be one of the only people who thinks that a change of scenery might be just what Hatcher needs to help regain his form as one of the premier defensive defensemen in the league (as he once was). I don't think that bringing Hatcher to Detroit would be a mistake, however, I do think that the Wings might benefit more from a scoring winger.
I've said it before - speed is great, but positioning is more important. I'd rather have a slow-footed d-man who knows what he's doing out there & can read the plays (example: Chelios, Larry Murphy) than a faster guy who is a defensive liability (Ozolinsh, Tverdovsky, Coffey, etc.)
Perhaps if Detroit were to reacquire Hatcher, they might move another one of their blueliners elsewhere in a trade for that scoring winger they need?
disciple: Certainly more than one player in the past has been helped by a change of scenery, but I don't think it'll help Hatcher. Even before the lockout when we were subjected to the old rules, Hatcher looked slow, out of place, and ineffective playing for the Wings.
Yes he only played 27 total games (regular season and playoffs) because of a knee injury that year, but he looked equally as bad before and after. I was excited when we first brought him in because I knew what he was capable of, but in the end it turned into another Uwe Krupp scenario for the Wings: Big contract, miniscule return.
Buying Hatcher out was a smart move on Detroit's part, they won't bring him back.
Spector, why would the Kings trade for Stuart when he is going to be a UFA after this season? Sure, it would be nice to have a couple months where only we can negotiate with him, but it won't be anywhere close to worth it because there will be a lot of competition from a lot of teams that are in the playoff hunt and need someone like Stuart.
I make the suggestion because Dean Lombardi drafted Stuart when he was GM of the Sharks. Since Miller and Sopel are also UFAs, it's likely one or both could be lost to the free agent market this summer. They could become trade bait by the end of February.
Thus, there would be enough cap space for the Kings to re-sign Stuart. It's also rumoured that Stuart's wife, a San Jose native, wasn't happy on the East Coast and would prefer her husband return to a California-based team. That could also be an incentive for Stuart to sign with the Kings.
What do you think the chances are that Stuart would resign with San Jose? If they had the cap room to absorb Malakhov's $3.6mm contract for this year, would they have the room to take on Stuart once more? Same with Sturm should he become a UFA.
I happen to think it would be wise to trade for Stuart not just for the exclusive negotiating rights, but also to see how he plays with the Kings. That can go a long way in any decision Lombardi might have in trying to sign him and Stuart playing for the Kings for a few months might entice him to stay. I think Crawford's coaching style would be very attractive to a player like Brad Stuart. The guy wants to be on the West Coast and I wouldn't mind him playing for the Kings right now.
Last edited by KingsFan4eva on January 31st at 1:17 PM.
The thing is though, Spector, the bidding war could get pretty high and there's no way we would get Stuart just for a pick. Maybe Sopel or Miller + a pick but even that is a lot for someone that will be testing the market. Even that would be a lot for someone who might not even stay with the team. I think we would be better off either trading both of those guys or maybe Norstrom for young players/picks although I like the way Miller has been playing lately and DL did say that he sees Miller as a good 5/6 D-man so he will probably consider re-signing him in the offseason.
As a Kings fan I would not be sad to see Miller go. He has never been the same player sence the Wrist injury. I have missed one home game tis year and his shot is very weak from the point and usually right to the keeper. He is not the same player he was 3 years ago. Get what you can for him now. I think you could at least get a 3rd rounder for him.
Sopel might get a 2nd rounder for him and a young lower level player. I could see him going to the Rangers.
I am the only Kings fan here that would not want to see Brad Stuart come to Los Angeles. This team is quickly becomming San Jose south. I would much rather see Sheldon Soray. Stuart is a #4 d-man at best. We already have a one in Lubo and a 2 in Blake, and a #3 in Matty. and a #2 in the Wings with Jack Johnson. Adding Soray would give Lubo a great partner on the Power play and make a pretty good top 4 for next season. With Miller moving on it's to open a spot for Johnson not for Stuart
Last edited by True_kings_fan on January 31st at 6:30 PM.
a lot of these trades don't really make sense, I don't see too many big names moving anymore, but I've been wrong before.
Spector, what do you think about the flames, people were saying we should go after Gelinas because of his great attitude and such. Well we just got Conroy (NICE) and everyone says he has one of the best attitudes in the locker room and is an all around player. Why should we trade anything away for, no offense to him, a washed up player.
There is some room for tinkering the lineup right now, we have around 1.6 sunk in on friesen and I think I could play better then him right now, 1.325 on a constant healthy scratch in zyuzin, and 1.2 on kobasew. Now I'm not saying all of these players are garbage by any means, but we could do a lot better.
We do need a backup, and maybe one more X factor player....what do you think?
I concur with your take on the Flames. They've addressed the "morale/offensive forward" issue with Conroy so I don't see Sutter going after Gelinas or another player of his ilk. I also don't see them pursuing a backup since Kipper is, like Brodeur in NJ, a workhorse. I could see Sutter making perhaps one more small trade for a depth forward but that's about it.
Stuart is a much better all-around defender than Souray. Souray's defensive weaknesses are no secret and his strong offensive numbers shouldn't be taken in by anyone about this. I'm pretty sure he will leave Montreal in the summer but the Kings would be better off with Stuart... Indeed I can see Souray going to L.A. but I think that it would not be so good.
To all of the Kings fans...I am not so sure that Stuart is a better fit than Souray. Souray may not be as defensive as Stuey, but he can bring that point shot on the PP, that Rob Blake can't do consistantly. Don't get me wrong, as a log time fan of the Teal, I always enjoyed watching Blake, but he is not the player he used to be. Souray maybe a better fit, and with his well documented personal situation, he could be a long term fi for LA. As for SJ, I think the fans would love Stuart back, but I am not so sure about he team. The Blue line isn't that bad, and with the growth of Erhoff, Caryle, Gorges, Murray, Davison and M-E Vlassic, and Ty Whisenhut in the wings, is Stuey the guy they need? Too bad we couldn't get someone with a mid 20's body and Brian Leetch's knowledge (LOL). I think SJ will look to unload Mark Bell or Villie Niemanan. Those two seem to be in the "doghouse". I am not sure whether or not I like going into a potential playoff (they need to start winning again) with their current lines. I worry with Marleau and Thornton on one line, we don't scare teams like we did last year with our two dangerous lines.
Spector, how does a guy like Eklund have a site that gets so many hits? It's amazing how 99.9% of his rumors end up to be #### and don't even make sense. One can do better by randomly picking names out of a hat, yet this guy is constantly getting quotes in every NHL fan forum. It's pretty sick actually lol.
My read on the Brad Stuart situation is that unless he winds up directly in Vancouver or one of the California teams, whoever gets him at the deadline will be picking up a short-term rental and he'll be off to one of those four clubs in the off-season. Which is complicating the deal-making process now because the rental trade value for Stuart to the rest of the league is far less.
If I'm Kevin Lowe, I'm not going to part with Raffi Torres for a guy that'll be in my line-up for only a couple of months and then be moving on. (Frankly, I'd hate to swap Torres period because he can be a game-breaker as was shown in the San Jose series last year.) A rental like that is more in the range of Brad Winchester and a draft pick.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
