Looking back in review, the NHL trade deadline was a major success for the league in all but one circumstance. Obviously the Oilers trade of Ryan Smyth has drawn negative publicity, but the trade itself is not a representation of the state of affairs in the NHL. Many fans have gone so far as to describe the new CBA as a failure, demonstrating that small market teams, like Edmonton, still can't survive, but that notion is simply ridiculous. It was a management decision (albeit questionable), but the fact of the matter remains, Smyth will still be a FA this summer, and the Oilers still have a chance to re-sign him.

I'll get to rental players later,  but for now, the trade deadline itself was a great day for the NHL. A lot of fans familiar with the trade deadline in MLB know how important that day is for the league during the middle of the summer. It brings up major publicity and sparks interest for the strech-run and the playoffs. The same can one day be said about the NHL, hopefully. More teams than ever, are considering themselves "buyers," and, most importantly, those teams include organizations that never before "bought" at the deadline (i.e. Atlanta). The NHL is strong no matter how weak it can be made to appear, but it can continue to improve (I'll save my opinions on relocation/contraction for another date). With smaller market teams trading for "big names" like Keith Tkachuk, this trade deadline really does represent the new era of the NHL, not on the ice, but off of it.

In review, here are some of the winners at the deadline, in my opinion.
Philadelphia - While the Flyers may not be able to re-sign Martin Biron, the potential for reward (a solid #1 goaltender) versus the risk (only a 2nd rnd pick), makes this deal, among other for Philadelphia, a steal. Last I heard, the Flyers had cleared around $24 million incap space, and, if that's entirely true, they are more than prepared to make a HUGE splash in FA. I know everyone will be after Briere/Drury this summer, but with that kind of money, the Flyers should be able to sign at least one of those, re-sign Biron, and make other significant improvements (hopefully the release of Hatcher), and make a run at the playoffs next year.

St. Louis - Without question, a magnificent job done in St. Louis by GM Larry Pleau and Pres. John Davidson. The trades of Guerin and Tkachuk, for multiple 1st round picks and solid veteran players (Niemenen and Metropolit), have created a strong foundation for the future of the Blues. They will have plenty of room to make a splash in FA, though they will most likely spend conservatively, and continue to ensure the long-term success of one of the most successful (at least in the regular season) franchises ever.

Pittsburgh - I'm saying the Penguins are winners for one reason and one reason only, the trade of a 7th round pick for goalie Nolan Schaefer. The promising young goaltender was once the reason the Sharks had plans to trade Toskala or Nabokov, but instead the Penguins steal what could easily be a #1 goalie for practically nothing. Fleury will now have major competition for the starting job next year.

Buffalo - While I didn't like what the Sabres gave up for Zubrus, the fact remains, Biron had to be traded. I normally criticize GM Darcy Regier for his body of work (though the trades for Briere and Drury stand out as epic steals, as well as the underrated deal of Grosek for Dumont and Gilmour a few years back), but he claimed on deadline day, that with the Sabres recent run of injuries and call-ups, the Sabres would've been over the cap by season's end. Biron had to be traded (and not for an NHL player-the salary would've been too much) and Conklin is a capable backup for a team with this talent. For Zubrus, the 1st rounder was a bit much, but Novotny had years to fulfill his potential and shown very little in the way of progress; he will be missed, but if and when the Sabres lose Drury or Briere, Zubrus will most likely still be there to replace one of them.

San Jose - The trades for Guerin and Rivet were perfect for this team. SJ needed another goal-scoring forward to put with Thornton and Cheechoo (and while Glen Murray was earlier rumored to be that perfect fit from their Boston days, many forget that Guerin and Thornton were also very successful together for the Bruins). Rivet will help the SJ PP, and while he's not the caliber of Souray, he is more than capable of running the point himself. That veteran defensive presense and scoring winger were SJ's only two needs.

(Note: I would include Calgary, but they made their acquisitions well before the deadline.)

Some losers on deadline day...
Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto - All these Canadian teams needed to make a move if they wanted to make the playoffs (or make a deep run into the playoffs in Ottawa's case), but they failed to do anything significant. Ottawa's earlier acquisition of Comrie from Phoenix is almost enough to pull them off of this list, but they have major needs and failed to address any of them. For Montreal and Toronto, well I'm sure all you hockey fans have heard enough about them and thier recent struggles enough already (That isn't an insult; thier diehard fans tend to be very vocal and rightfully so).

Edmonton - NOT because of the Ryan Smyth trade, but moreso because if you're going to trade the heart and soul of your franchise, why stop there? GM Kevin Lowe made it clear he was giving up on the season, so why just trade Ryan Smyth (and im my opinion, they got pretty good value for him, considering)? Petr Sykora and other veteran players could've made solid additions for playoff contenders, but instead Lowe decided only to part with Smyth and young defenseman Bergeron.

Chicago/Columbus - I don't even know where to begin. These teams are terrible. Why not follow the pattern set forth by St. Louis and Philadelhia and just sell, sell, and then sell some more? Columbus had some great talent it could've traded but instead, all they did was GIVE AWAY Anson Carter. Chicago did essentially nothing, opting only to trade FOR Jason Williams, and not move anybody.

Rental Players
Rental players are drawing major headlines of late, following the trade deadline, and many "experts" and analysts have gone so far as propose introducing a rule against rental players. While the proposals vary, most analysts would like to see a rule where a rental player cannot re-sign with the team that he was just traded from. For example, this rule would prohibit BIll Guerin from leaving the Sharks at the end of the season and re-signing with the Blues. These new proposals are simply ridiculous. GMs know when they trade for rental players all the risks involved, and no matter how much they give up, they understand that they coud lose these players for NOTHING at the end of the season. Whether or not free agents-to-be are making behind the scenes deals with their teams to get traded to contenders and then re-sign with their former teams is irrelevant. If Ryan Smyth leaves the Islanders and re-signs with the Oilers at the end of the season, this debate will come to the forefront in league meetings, for sure. However, if it is indeed in the best interests of the league for all teams to contend, why would the league introduce a rule that would greatly hinder the rebuilding attempts of last place teams (St. Louis, for example) and take away from the excitement of the trade deadline? Knowing the NHL and Gary Bettman, nothing would surprise me.