December 22 was a day that will forever alter the course of KL history. Three teams in contention agreed to a blockbuster trade involving three teams, nine players and two draft picks. Another team added a free agent and almost derailed the trade. Details below.
12/22/2010 FA Mackhawks drop: D Jamie McBain (CAR) add: D Dan Girardi (NYR)
12/22/2010 FA Mackhawks drop: D Jamie McBain (CAR) add: D Dan Girardi (NYR)
Analysis: McBain has 9 points in 32 games this season - definitely a disappointment after last season where he surprised with 10 points in 14 games. Girardi has 19 in 35 - remarkable because in three complete seasons with the Rangers, he has never scored more than 28 points. And that was his first year - he's only gotten worse since.
Reasonable minds will differ, but I'm not seeing eye to eye with the Mack here. I think McBain will have a strong second half, and Girardi's first 35 games, like the Rangers' success, will prove a fluke. McBain is only 22 as well. But in this pool, a couple of points can make a huge difference in the standings, so there is a lot of incentive for GMs to make roster tweaks even if the potential gains are small.
Notably, this free agent pickup request arrived exactly nine minutes before a blockbuster three way trade request (below) arrived, the last step of which involved picking up Dan Girardi. Things almost derailed before Girardi was substituted for Brett Clark.
12/22/2010 TRADE
Dicklas Lidstroms to Calgary Wittmen:
F Ryan Kesler (VAN)
G Antti Niemi (SJS)
5th round pick 2011
Calgary Wittmen to Dicklas Lidstroms:
F Jason Spezza (OTT)
G Miikka Kiprusoff (CGY)
4th round pick 2011
Dicklas Lidstroms to Powder Rangers:
G Kiprusoff
F JP Dumont [dropped for free agent F Teddy Purcell (TBL)]
D Michal Rozsival (NYR) [dropped for free agent D Brett Clark (TBL)]
Powder Rangers to Dicklas Lidstroms:
G Michal Neuvirth (WSH)
F Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
D Ed Jovanoski (PHX)
Analysis: Where to begin? This is by far the biggest trade the KL has ever seen. I hesitate to do a critical analysis because obviously each GM thinks they made a smart trade. The Wittmen I think do really well here to pick up Kesler (75+ points). They had to give up Kipper but when Kipper is your second goalie that's not a problem. Team Dicklas made a significant upgrade in goaltending to get Neuvirth. With Spezza they have a home team player to cheer for - likewise for the Wittmen with Kesler. And the Powder Puffs finally get a consistent (if despised) goalie who will get a few shutouts. Everybody wins. Is that possible? If you believe in miracles. Christmas miracles.
Notably, this free agent pickup request arrived exactly nine minutes before a blockbuster three way trade request (below) arrived, the last step of which involved picking up Dan Girardi. Things almost derailed before Girardi was substituted for Brett Clark.
12/22/2010 TRADE
Dicklas Lidstroms to Calgary Wittmen:
F Ryan Kesler (VAN)
G Antti Niemi (SJS)
5th round pick 2011
Calgary Wittmen to Dicklas Lidstroms:
F Jason Spezza (OTT)
G Miikka Kiprusoff (CGY)
4th round pick 2011
Dicklas Lidstroms to Powder Rangers:
G Kiprusoff
F JP Dumont [dropped for free agent F Teddy Purcell (TBL)]
D Michal Rozsival (NYR) [dropped for free agent D Brett Clark (TBL)]
Powder Rangers to Dicklas Lidstroms:
G Michal Neuvirth (WSH)
F Patrice Bergeron (BOS)
D Ed Jovanoski (PHX)
Analysis: Where to begin? This is by far the biggest trade the KL has ever seen. I hesitate to do a critical analysis because obviously each GM thinks they made a smart trade. The Wittmen I think do really well here to pick up Kesler (75+ points). They had to give up Kipper but when Kipper is your second goalie that's not a problem. Team Dicklas made a significant upgrade in goaltending to get Neuvirth. With Spezza they have a home team player to cheer for - likewise for the Wittmen with Kesler. And the Powder Puffs finally get a consistent (if despised) goalie who will get a few shutouts. Everybody wins. Is that possible? If you believe in miracles. Christmas miracles.
I think its obvious that this year Kesler is likely to score more points than Spezza. However, Spezza has a history of snapping out of slow starts right around the January-February mark. I am really starting to respect Kesler's offensive game, but I honestly believe that this is as good as he gets on the attack. Spezza is having an off year but his ceiling (as proven by 100+ campaigns and top 7 finishes) is much higher.
ReplyDeleteLundqvist is proving to be a top 3 goaltender in the KL and with the scoring system as it is, the only benefit of a second goalie is injury insurance. In that respect, Neuvirth is just as good (if not better) than Niemi as that insurance. On top of all this, I get obvious improvements at D and F with Jovocop and Bergeron respectively.
Anyways, thought on such a big deal people would want to know my thinking. Another motivation for the trade was to mix it up, so I look forward to trash talk and reasonable commentary on the above.
Christmas came early for Dickie. Wittman has a screw lose. More to come...
ReplyDeleteIt was a pussy move for me - it's possible that Neuvirth takes the reigns in Washington, but Kipper has a guaranteed 40 starts left in him this year. Kipper is also good for more SOs than Neuvirth, as the Caps like to win 5-3. For a slight downgrade at forward and what I consider to be a lateral move on D, I get security at the all-important goalie position. I think it is a boring, risk-averse, but ultimately smart trade for me. I think we all come out ahead, but I think that Stefan is the winner.
ReplyDelete