Tonight the Devils welcome back to arguably the greatest goaltender in modern times, Martin Brodeur, into the line-up. While Scott Clemmensen performed astoundingly well in net for the Devils, nothing beats having a Hall of Fame caliber talent in net to complement a top 10 offense.
Brodeur’s return comes at the most opportune time for New Jersey. The team has only won 1 of their past 3 games, and it was in a shootout versus lowly Tampa Bay. His air of consistency will be a great addition to the team, in essence, an addition without subtraction [with all due respect to Clemmer]. Brodeur is one of the best playoff goaltenders of all time, and in recent times, he has burned out in the postseason. This year, however, that should not be an issue considering he’s been recovering for 50 games.
10:00 PM UPDATE – Marty pitches a shutout. Its like the guy was never hurt. Congrats on #99!
On the trading front, people may say that the first domino fell with Mathieu Schneider being traded to Montreal. Others felt when the Islanders robbed Ottawa of a player and a 1st round pick was the catalyst. Today is the day that will set the tone for the next week.
Chris Kunitz, a fantasy hockey power play dream, has been traded to Pittsburgh for Ryan Whitney. The Pens also received a prospect in the deal.
Kunitz is a great winger with solid potential, and is an invaluable asset on the power play. Whitney really has not been the same player since he came back from his injury in mid December, so hopefully a stint out on the west coast will reset his game.
Hours later, the Canadiens made a minor move trading Steve Begin to Dallas for Doug Janik.
Now, many people flock to hockeybuzz.com to catch “insider” rumors. I’ll save you the time and the obnoxious laughter which would ensue:
Disclaimer: these are rumors from eklund with my comments.
Eric Cole to NJ – Why would the Devils take on a winger worth 4 million when they are stacked at the position? If Gionta is part of the deal then maybe, but both are UFAs. Still, the Devils need a top tier defenseman and Cole doesn’t quite fit that mould. Plus, the move is pretty much is a lateral one. Cole has a better shot, but Gionta is quicker.
Scott Gomez – Phoenix, Edmonton, Florida – wow, where to begin with this one. Let’s start with the Rangers. They are the ONLY team currently holding a playoff position who has more goals allowed than they have scored. Next, Gomez is the offense, heck, he is that team. It sickens me to say that being a Devils fan and all, but the guy IS single handedly keeping the Rangers in it.
Focus now on Phoenix, who would they trade, Jokinen? Jovo? Morris? It just doesn’t make any sense what so ever. Add into it that the team needed to get a loan to pay rent and the lease, why would they take on a salary of ONE player who makes close to $8 million a season.
The Oilers are a possibility if it weren’t for that minor detail called the SALARY CAP. They currently sit roughly $2 million under it, Gomez would put them $6 mil over, who would they get back, Souray? Why not add another overpaid defenseman who doesn’t perform up to his pay? I’m sure Ranger fans would love that. Actually, it does sound like the kinda move that would get Glen Sather excited… it just may happen.
As for Florida, a team struggling to figure out what to do with one All-Star, I don’t see a Bouwmeester-for-Gomez deal although it would work with their cap space. The rangers need help on offense, not defense. There is no spark in that system and they trap way too much. I’m just glad the hypocrisy train has pulled a 180.
Olli Jokinen – Sabres, Hurricanes, Flames – Don’t count on it being the Sabres, regardless of how injured their front lines are, their defense will take them no where. Toni Lydman has more turnovers than Entenmanns Baked Goods, Jaroslav Spacek refuses to shoot on a regular basis, Teppo Numminen is just plain old, yadda yadda yadda. The point is, the defense needs work, and if they want offensive help, there are better players on the market who are FAR more consistent this season than Jokinen. However, the possibility is there that the team and fans have just grown so sick of the Max Afinogenov saga that the rumors could reemerge from the Draft where my sources were confident that Jokinen was heading to the Queen City, before the last minute deal to the desert.
Calgary has already flat out stated they’re comfortable with the team they’ve got. To get Jokinen, it would require more than 1 regular being shipped to Phoenix, why mess with chemistry now?
Carolina is Carolina, very few people will care about rumors about them, heck even fewer cared about their playoff games and run to the cup a few years ago. More focused on that week’s NASCAR race than the parade.
Thomas Kaberle – Sabres – Speaking of Buffalo, while Eklund was sitting at home this afternoon, he set up pictures of all 30 NHL teams on his wall. He took a dart, closed his eyes and said “whatever team this lands on, I’m going to tag as being the destination for Thomas Kaberle.” When he did that, he hit the logo that looked like the banana slug. That story is entirely fictional, although it is very believable. Why else would he pick the Sabres for Kaberle. Now, you might argue that I just stated the Sabres need help on defense, and that is a very fair point. There is just one, teeny tiny flaw with this rumor: HE PLAYS FOR THE MAPLE LEAFS. Last time I checked, bitter rivals, let alone bitter division rivals, generally do not trade with one another. It just doesn’t make any sense. Now if it’s a multi-team deal, okay well then maybe it could happen. But you don’t make teams above you that much stronger when you’ve got a blue chip like Kaberle in your hole. Toronto needs a whole mess of help, so its not that simple to nail down who they would target, but don’t count on it being a goalie. Ugh.
For the last part of my article tonight, I’m going to make some predictions. This list my change over the next 6 days, but as of right now, these are my hunches based upon rumors I have read or logic:
1.) Vinny is going to stay in Tampa. It doesn’t make sense to move him immediately following him agreeing to a long-term deal last summer.
2.) Bouwmeester will stay in Florida. They just beat the Rangers tonight, are a mere 5 points from 5th but 1 point from being out of it. They are in the hunt and with both Vokun and Johnson performing admirably in net, I think they might change their tune and try to make a run beyond the 1 round and out prediction many analysts have made.
3.) Gomez isn’t going anywhere, his contract is too big, and he’s too important of a person in the Rangers game plan. If Sather does make a move, I honestly think Ranger fans will tear down the Garden, and I am not even remotely kidding. I could honestly see a revolution outside of MSG on Wednesday if Gomez is traded.
4.) Sean Avery will not wear Ranger blue this season. Too many teams will do everything in their power to put a claim to him on reentry waivers. He’s the A1 Steak Sauce to the steak that is the Rangers’ playoff hopes. Well, him and Gomez.
5.) The Devils will not move any of their 3 goalies. The best chance they have is if Ryan Miller is out for longer than anticipated. Right now, he still remains day to day with a high ankle sprain. This is one of those predictions that could change.
6.) This trade deadline could be more unimpressive than last seasons. We could very well have seen the biggest moves with Whitney for Kunitz and a prospect. [which, by the way, was highway robbery by the Pens.]
There you have it, my 6 picks for the night. I will add to it later on, but that’s all for now.
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