The trade deadline had it all yesterday.  Players were dealt, prospects and draft picks as well.  It is never fair to really say who winners and losers are for sometimes five to seven years.  Especially with as many draft picks and prospects were dealt yesterday.  The moves that were made are all to help organizations (canadian translation organ-eye-zation) wins the Stanley Cup this year or in ten years.

One team did what they have a history for and they are my first loser of the pack.  I left Nashville of the list of winners because they didn't add anyone after Foresberg.  Peter Foresberg has not played like the Peter Foresberg of Colorada since he was in Colorado.  The Predators are a fast team that didn't seem to prepare for  a marathon as the Detroit Red Wings have now tied the for the second best overall record in the NHL, just one point behind Eastern Conference leading Buffalo.


First winner is  the New York Islanders.  They get a franchise player in Ryan Smyth from Edmonton. but give up essentially three first round picks to get him.  The trick now is to sign him to a long term deal like Edmonton would not.  If they cannot convice Ryan to stay, they will have problems.

The second winner is San Jose.  They traded for Bill Guerin.  He may actually be the best overall forward right now in the NHL.  The Blues were eliminated basically from the playoffs and needed to look at the future.  San Jose may now have the best power play going into the playoffs.

The Third winner is Detroit.  They brought in struggling winger Kyle Calder traded from Philadelphia back to Chicago enroute to a trade to Detroit.  Calder came off the bench to score approxiamtley 6 seconds into his Red Wing career.  The Wings also brought in Todd Bertuzzi from Florida who has been out almost all season with back surgery.  Bert is almost ready to go though. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins got tougher, a lot tougher.  They convinced tough guy, veteran, goal scoring, playoff tested Gary Roberts to waive his no trade clause and also brought in the leagues best fighter Georges Larauque to protect possibly the leagues best player in Sidney Crosby.  These moves may be bigger than all of the above, but don't forget, goaltending wins out and they have a lot riding on Fluery to prove he has more than a great regular season in him, and he has that chance this year.  The Pens may not win it all this year but these are the steps to get there.  The playoff experience will be great for this young team.

Other teams that were close were Atlanta for bringing in Keith Tkachuk not Pascal Dupuis.  Atlanta is ready to make a playoff run adding to their improved line up.  Nashville did bring in Foresberg but that is all.  Five years ago that would have been huge.  But the question remains in Nashville is, will the Preds get the Peter Foresberg of old, or just and old Peter Foresberg? 

Teams that lost were not as clear because of the prospects and future picks acquired are moves made for the future  However I can say that with out a doubt the Edmonton Oilers are losers, clearly.  The irony of Mark Messier night?  Honoring a hero and sending another away, adding in Wayne Gretzky had his coyotes in town was too much for me.  The day they traded the franchise in Ryan Smyth, they celebrate Mark Messier and celebrate with another of their big trades made when they sent Gretzky to L.A. in 1998.  Smyth is often dubbed Captain Canada because he has represented his country on the ice so many times at the world Championship tournament.  He also won gold with Team Canada at the 2002 Olympics.

The Hab nots is what Montreal has become.  They traded away a defenseman two days earlier and stand in the number seven spot in the playoffs in the east tied with the Islanders.  They are still in a strong position to play for the Stanley Cup and decided maybe they shouldn't be.  They made no moves other than subtraction.

The Maple Loafs did it again!  They brought back Yanic Perrault for his third stint in Toronto.  He did have 19 goals for Phoenix this season so far and the Loafs do get Mike Peca back soon so maybe they are going to be just fine.  maybe they can have the respect of being called the Leafs again come playoff time.  Yanic said of his return to Toronto "It feels like Groundhog Day, "I wake up and I'm back in Toronto.  He also said "It's great . . . the fans have always been great."

It is nice to see the trade deadline hasn't lost its luster but had more shine since the salary cap. More players were moved yesterday than any in trades past.  It is also amusing to see the same basic results in standing before and after the cap. Many thought the Wings would falter but had the best overall record by far last season and only one point behind the Sabres for the Presidents Trophy. Some thought this would keep teams like New York from plucking great players from teams, having a huge payroll, and never making the playoffs.....wrong. It all came out who the have and have nots are when it comes to front office supremacy.