March 5th is the trade deadline for the National Hockey League (NHL), and several moves were made in the last 2 days. Probably the biggest trade was between the New York Rangers and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday. They essentially traded captains. Martin St. Louis went to the Rangers, while Ryan Callahan went to the Lightning, along with a 1st and 2nd round draft pick, which could turn out to be 2 first round picks.
St. Louis had asked to be traded recently, after Tampa Bay General Manager Steve Yzerman, who was also the General Manager of the Canadian Olympic team, did not select St. Louis to be part of the Canadian team, although he was added later. In the end, Canada and St. Louis received their gold medals, but apparently St. Louis still had his feelings hurt. He was the oldest player ever to win the scoring title last year at 37, and leaves the Lightning as the franchise leader in assists and points.
Among some of the other trades that happened around the NHL, the Los Angeles Kings acquired some scoring punch with the acquisition of Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Montreal Canadiens also added some offense by adding Thomas Vanek, in a trade with the New York Islanders.
Tuesday was also an active trading day for many teams in the NHL. The Vancouver Canucks finally moved goalie Roberto Luongo, who it seems has been on the trading block for years. He is now a member of the Florida Panthers. Vancouver did receive goalie Jacob Markstrom in the trade. The Minnesota Wild also traded for a goalie, getting Ilya Bryzgalov for a 4th round draft choice from the Edmonton Oilers.
The league leading Anaheim Ducks made 3 trades on Tuesday alone. They traded away a 4th round draft pick to get Stephane Robidas from the Dallas Stars. They also traded goalie Victor Fasth for 3rd and 5th round picks, and Dustin Penner to the Washington Capitals for a 4th round draft pick.
It will be interesting to see how all these trades, of which I only mentioned a few, will affect these teams the remainder of the season. I’m most interested to see how the St. Louis-Callahan trade changes the results of the Rangers and Lightning, especially if they meet in the playoffs. St. Louis is 10 years older than Callahan, but still a high scorer. But when one of your stars is unhappy enough to ask for a trade, you better do it, and get as much as you can in the deal.
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Sports With Frank Thomas
