Before I get to the trades, a couple of things that were especially painful about last night's home loss to the Atlanta Thrashers:

• 1. Atlanta is a team who is ahead of them in the standings, another quality opponent where a win could have built confidence for this team. Not only that, they were reeling themselves, having gone 2-5-2 in their last 9 before last night's game. They were 8 points in front of the Bruins last night, and this could have been a great win for the team.

• 2. This was one of the Bruins hidden tools down the stretch: a game in hand. One of the reasons I've yet to concede defeat this season is that the Bruins have at least 2 games in hand on nearly every team in front of them. This was one of them, and it was wasted in a losing effort.

• 3. I couldn't watch the game, since my dorm's satellite TV doesn't carry Versus (Sorry, this is more of a personal complaint).

This upcoming game vs. Philadelphia is a must win (aren't they all down the stretch, though?), since this team can barely afford another loss, let alone another one of their infamous mini-skids. The game vs. Florida Saturday night was a lost cause, and fans probably could have sensed this one coming going into the game. It came on the tail end of a long, difficult road trip, and was against a team that the Bruins have struggled mightily against all season. Sure, 7-2 is a bit much of a loss, but a loss is a loss, no matter by how many or how few. I think some of the internet message boards bashing of Hannu Toivonen is unjustified. Yes, he let up 4 goals in 2 periods, but he also faced 33 shots, an amount that most goalies will face in an entire game. Blame should be put on Toivonen for the goals, but he shouldn't bear the brunt of it, as a sieve-like defense in front of him did little to prevent Florida's offensive onslaught.

Chiarelli has finally done the right thing with Toivonen in sending him down to Providence. Joey MacDonald can serve as an emergency backup down the stretch, and Toivonen can continue to develop and play regularly down in Providence. A point was made the other day that Toivonen, had he been an American born player, could be (just as an example) be a starting senior goalie at Boston University this year. He's just a kid at this point, and hasn't gotten the time or chances that he both deserves and needs to develop into the player that he should be.

Now, on to a wild day of trades, and not just by the Bruins. However, since they affect me the most, I'll start there.

Paul Mara (D) to the New York Rangers for Aaron Ward (D): In my opinion, this trade is a wash. I liked what Mara brought to this team. He was a local guy who seemingly wanted to play here. He also brought a little edge to the team, and his fight against Leafs' punk Darcy Tucker remains one of the highlights of the season. Ward is older (34 vs. 27), but brings a lot of experience with his age. He was a member of Carolina's Stanley Cup winning team last year before signing with the Rangers this summer as an Unrestricted Free Agent. He was a member of 2 other Cup teams as well, both times with the Detroit Red Wings (1996-1997 and 1997-1998). The only area where this trade benefits the Bruins is monetarily, as Ward's salary is slightly lower than Mara's ($3 mil. vs. $2.75 mil.).

Brad Boyes (C/RW) to the St. Louis Blues for Dennis Wideman (D): This was a head scratcher for me. I love Boyes, and as a player, he was one of my favorites on the team. There is no denying that he wasn't producing this year, but I think Chiarelli may have given up on him too early. Boyes is a second year player, only 24 years old. Everyone in sports knows of the famed "sophomore slump". Yes, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin aren't suffering from the same slump, but no one would ever suggest that Boyes is of the same talent level as those 2. Wideman is a young guy who has been in the league for a year. I don't really get this trade because of the seeming wealth of young defenseman that the Bruins have in Providence (Matt Lashoff, Mark Stuart, Jonathan Sigalet, etc.). He is listed on TSN as a "career potential" power play specialist. Hopefully he can blossom into a great offensive defenseman, and hopefully Boyes can go on to have a great career for St. Louis. He's a great kid, and deserves the best.

The title of my post comes from the question that I have in my head right now, which is did Chiarelli make these moves just for the sake of making a trade? In most cases, teams are either buyers or sellers at the deadline. The Bruins made a wash of a trade and a questionable one, neither one greatly benefiting the team or giving an indication of giving up. I hope Chiarelli did his research, and these don't end up being mistakes.

This was a HUGE trade deadline around the NHL, with a ton of big name players changing hands. Some that stuck out, just because of the Bruins connection, were made by Pittsburgh. What's the connection? Ray Shero, the Penguins GM, turned down the Bruins job, and in the opinions of some message boards posters, did a great job of ripping off teams to make great deals for the Penguins. They acquired an enforcer to protect Sid the Kid in tough guy Georges Laraque from Phoenix, and added power forward Gary Robers in a trade with Florida. Pittsburgh was on a tear before the deadline, and they seem to be ready to make a playoff push.

Here are some other trades that stand out:

• Keith Tkachuk to the Atlanta Thrashers-- Glen Metropolit, 2007 1st and 3rd round picks and 2008 2nd round pick to the St. Louis Blues: The Thrashers are making a desperate playoff push at this point, seriously mortgaging their future for here and now. Tkachuk gives them another big scoring threat, giving them more firepower to add to Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. Also, St. Louis got a pretty good return for the aging forward, and seems to be arming itself for the future.
• Bill Guerin to the San Jose Sharks-- Ville Nieminen, Jay Barriball and 2007 1st round pick to the St. Louis Blues: "Dollar Bill" Guerin reunites with Jumbo Joe in San Jose, again bolstering an already potent offense. The main interest I have in this trade is again on the St. Louis end, as they got 2 young players and a first round pick in exchange for another aging veteran. Again, arming themselves for the future.
• Todd Bertuzzi to the Detroit Red Wings-- Shawn Matthias, 2007 conditional draft pick, 2008 conditional 2nd round draft pick to the Florida Panthers: Detroit picks up a guy who has the potential to add a lot to their team. The key word in that last sentence, however, is POTENTIAL, and I haven't read into it, but I'm guessing the conditions of the draft picks depend on how many games Bertuzzi actually plays as a Red Wing. The Red Wings already currently have the 3rd most points in the NHL, and a healthy Bertuzzi would make them that much more formidable down the stretch.
• Ryan Smyth to the New York Islanders-- Robert Nilson, Ryan O'Marra, 2007 1st round pick to the Edmonton Oilers: This is a really big trade. Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe actually said "It was probably the most difficult phone call I've ever had to make" when talking about informing Smyth that he had been traded. Smyth was an assistant captain, and one of the most (if not the most) popular player on the team. Apparently, Lowe felt he couldn't resign Smyth, and had to move him. This is also bad news for the Bruins, as the Islanders are ahead of them in the standings and acquired a great player to help them down the stretch.