We just passed the deadline deals last Wednesday with 31 deals for role players. So who were the winners in the draft, which team made the biggest improvement?


Coyotes

The easy answer is Arizona. Phoenix to be exact  . The biggest deal they might have gotten was - wait for it - Lee Stempniak. I bet you thought I was going to say Woitek Wolski. But hear me out. Lee can be a terrific player, who will score the goal when you need it the most. Now I know how good Wolski is, but I can promise you Stempniak will be money in the bank. They also got themselves a capable dman in Morris, who will help with the powerplay. Don’t get me wrong, Wolski is a great player. But Stempniak could very well be the missing piece.

Capitals

If there was a team close to the Sharks, it would be the Capitals, who desperately needed another dman with green, and they found one with Corvo. He is an underrated defensemen who has a terrific shot and can be a great number two man on the powerplay. The Capitals also went for grit, and they found their grit; a very gritty winger in Walker who will drive teams crazy. And they also got another defenseman in Jurcina, a great depth move. The Capitals got stronger, which is really kind of scary considering how good they were before the deadline.

I heard a lot of complaints about how boring the deadline was, but before you jump to that conclusion, let me throw out some words of wisdom. (Bear with me and pretend they are okay.) I found it very interesting to watch what the managers are trying to do. It’s the strategy that makes a manager. This is where they earn their money. For example, Boston trading Morris obviously makes room for another player. The most obvious choice would have been Kaberle, but we would never know, because the Bruins never got that extra player.

Flyers

The Flyers are the most interesting team taking a gamble and trading for a goalie. This move was a huge gamble. Can Philly win without a number one goalie, as Emery is out for the season? Can Philly win with Leighton and Boucher? Only time can tell. If I was a gm, I would have picked up a goalie at the deadline, maybe Biron. Not doing so might to their detriment.

Canadians

Sometimes the best trade is no trade, and the Canadian made the right call when they decided to keep Price and Halak. They are both playing very well, which will only help the Habs to have a fresh goalie come the playoffs if they can hold on until their players come back healthy. In my opinion, the Habs made a great choice in keeping their goalies.

Fan Poll

You saw my two winners in the trade deadline. Who do you think won the deadline? Who improved themselves the most?

Issue of the Week

I really would like to have the no touch icing in the League. Mostly because of injuries caused by two players chasing down the puck to stop the icing. I know most people feel it would slow the game down, but I think it might make teams think twice about icing the puck, because it would not automatically stop the clock.

Trying to stop the injuries is always a good thing to me, we have to think about safety once in a while. Stopping the hitting from behind from the boards, or at least slowing it down, would be a good thing.

Until next time, take care.

Randy Workman