dude..
its that time.. the silly season is in full swing for the nhl.. with the trade deadline looming, many failing franchises are gonna unload salary and free up cap room or collect draft picks for next season... teams on the cusp of the playoffs are gonna be looking to pick up that next piece of the puzzle to vault them into a post-season berth.. the big name this february is rick nash.. needs outta columbus bad.. really bad.. look how well rostislav rusty klesla has played in phoenix since being delt by the blue jackets..
los angeles kings..
im sure dean lombardi has the kings in the mix... rumor has it that a pkg deal including team captain dustin brown could be offered up as trade bait for the potential high-scoring left winger.. thatd be too bad..
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| mike richards genuinely happy |
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| mike richards not so genuinely happy |
lombardi has already given away a lot of the kings future in order to win now only to see the team fail even harder... remember marco sturm.. dustin pancakes penner is the most obvious example.. simone gagne, but mike richards as well.. hes still so obviously butt-hurt about being traded away from philly that i dont think the kings can reasonably hope to get anything out of him moving fwd this season... he has a big cap hit too... you can see it in his demeanor during interviews... he was the man in philadelphia... the captain, the franchise player, the next bobby clarke or keith premieu.. he was gonna lead the flyers to their third and (and perhaps more) stanley cup championship in 40 yrs.. and paul holmgren traded him in a really shitty way.. could be worse... jeff carter got exiled to columbus for jeebus sake...
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| jeff carter scores a goal for columbus |
if the kings are gonna send the hardest working guy on their team to failure in ohio, at least go after a player that will have a positive impact on the the team and make mike richards a better player... trade for jeff carter.. not rick nash... there isnt anyone on the kings roster at fwd that has the wheels or work ethic to play with rick nash and create an immediate impact.. except for dustin brown and prolly jason williams..
i think if the kings are gonna trade dustin brown.. and to be fair.. ive kinda seen this coming for a while.. i was surprised when he was named captain.. not because he doesnt deserve it - HE SO DOES - but because i figured that going fwd he was the only serviceable kings fwd that could be bait to land a top line winger.. and he never really lived up the the expectations when he was drafted as an expected high scoring fwd...
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| travis moen |
id really hate to see him traded but i think its inevitable.. that being said, trade him if you must but trade him to a decent franchise that has hit a skid, not a wasteland that will prolly fold or move or both before the next cba expires... trade him to montreal for travis moen..
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| two peas in a pod |
- brown for moen and a second round draft pick.. first round if travis doesnt resign for next season.. it could be a straight up swap, but moen is an ufa at the end of this season and brown has several yrs left..
- brown to columbus for jeff carter... even swap..dustin will be crushed and the team will miss his leadership, his work ethic, and his never-say-die loyalty to a failed franchise... perfect for columbus but sucks for him.. carter would be re-united with his bosom buddy richards and together they could make magic on the ice.. either that or be butt-hurt together..
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| jeff carter & mike richards happy days |
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| dustin brown on the move |
i have to say though.. i think of all the rent-a-players currently being shopped before the trade deadline salary dump begins, travis moen is the guy that would help the kings the most..
pittsburgh penguins..
i was hoping hal gill would get traded back to the burgh.. nope.. hal done gone to nashville.. makes sense though, when you consider that ryan suter and/or shea webber are not gonna be predators after july 1st ish..
idk.. ryan malone maybe.. the penguins top priority is to resign james neal.. so.. what to do.. with all the uncertainty surrounding sid-the-kid and his cap hit.. the potential cap hit for neal and the fact that they are doing remarkably well considering all the man-games lost to injury.. paul martins ongoing fail at playing defense.. idk if ray shero is gonna be able to swing a deadline deal that doesnt blow up the core of the team..
they may not make a serious challenge for the cup this season if crosby doesnt return for the post season.. but as is they are a solid playoff team.. tinker if you must ray, but maybe the off-season is a better time to deal..
the hated really really dont like.. k, cant stand.. hope they never win another game philadelphia flyers..
..need a decent goal tender.. riding bobrovsky and a backup to be named later into the post season wont cut it in philadelphia.. i wonder, if paul holmgren had it to do all over again, would he still make the deal that landed bryzgalov in net knowing what we all know now.. id like to see ryan miller play for a contender but buffalo isnt about to move him.. especially to a conference rival.. jonathan bernier? depends i suppose on what the kings would get in return.. do the kings even have a decent backup guy in the system? expect the flyers to make a play for nikolai khabibulin or evgeni nabokov..
washington capitals..
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| oh so sexy sasha semin |
need to win hockey games..
what to do with oh so sexy sasha semin.. i suggest the trade him.. send him to nashville as part of a pkg to land ryan suter or shea weber.. if suter decides to bail the preds and head into free agency, washington needs to do whatever it takes short of trading the great 8 to make the cap room to sign him.. what the crapitals really need is a decent goaltender.. too bad they have three backup guys that just cant cut it.. adding a great no. 1 defenseman will go a long way to making tomas vokoun a better net minder.. how long is gm gm gonna wait for mike green to get healthy and stay that way.. im thinking that greeny is made outta balsa wood, tissue paper, and elmers gloo... i thought olaf kolzigs rather candid remarks regarding ovenchickens rockstar lifestyle were right on the money.. i still think a more mature, older, seasoned veteran with proven leadership skills would be a better captain for this flailing franchise..
anaheim ducks..
the. ducks. could. go. all. the. way. to an early exit and a long summer playing golf, throwing farewell parties for teemu selane and trying to figure out what to do for next season.. they are mad rolling right now and i suppose they could sneak into the playoffs in the eighth spot.. a lot depends on the 5 other teams in the mix.. phx, minn, los, col, dal, cgy.. it would be quite a second half run for the mighty ducks to make the post season.. good thing all their fans are praying to um.. god? that his divine plan includes another cup run for the local hockey franchise..
if the ducks could add zach parise in the off season the loss of teemu selanne wouldnt hurt quite so much..
cheers.. david
