Two rather significant trades occurred in the early morning hours today...
The St. Jewish Blues trade Henrik Sedin to the Dicklas Lidstroms for Jonathan Toews and a 2012 2nd round pick.
Analysis: Rumour has it there were at least four GMs bidding for Henrik Sedin, at least three of which are die-hard Canucks fans. But Mr. Dickie’s trade philosphy is “not to fuck around. Offer fair value and get it done or why bother.” According to Mr. K-blat, he “really stepped up to the plate.” That’ll teach those Canucks fans. Henrik joins fellow Swedes Lundqvist and Alfredsson on an already dominant first place roster. This is not an injury replacement, it’s just a straight upgrade. But it’s not a huge upgrade. Both these guys are models of consistency - Toews at a point per game, Sedin at slightly better. The difference is Toews is eight years younger.
The Milan Micahleks trade Matt Duchene to the Joshfrey Krupuls for Marty St. Louis and a conditional pick: If St. Louis retires before the 2012 KL draft, the Krupuls give their 2012 2nd rounder; otherwise the Krupuls give their 2012 5th rounder.
Analysis:
Duchene is out for “minimum four weeks” and the Micahleks need to fill that roster slot to remain competitive. St. Louis is 36 years old but still producing incredible numbers. Neither party expect St. Louis to retire after this season, but the clause is there just in case. Duchene has had a disappointing season (as have most of the Avalanche not named Landeskog or O'Reilly), but he was projected at 68-75 points this year will get another shot at those numbers next year. He is just 21 and scored one of the goals of 2011. (Having watched that clip many times, I can tell you the best part is how Brooks Orpik tries to defend it.)
