The first huge domino has fallen in the 2012 trade hysteria. Jeff Carter was moved last night to the Los Angeles Kings, who fell out of the Rick Nash race presumably due to the high asking price. The Blue Jackets get a first round pick and defenseman Jack Johnson who fortifies the Columbus blue line while giving them another opportunity to pick in the first round. Knee-jerk reaction: the Jackets win this one. The Kings are not deep enough on the blue line to be dealing Johnson, which may come back to bite them. Carter will definitely benefit from a change of scenery after playing his way out of Columbus, which really speaks to the character of the player. Essentially the Kings are getting a 30-goal scorer with character issues while the Jackets get a young, quality defenseman and a mid-to-late first rounder in exchange for a player who never really wanted to play for them anyway. Solid flip by Columbus. Now onto the Rick Nash hysteria...
-I hold firm in my belief that Rick Nash will not be moved before the deadline. Too much magnitude, too many moving parts. The Leafs and Rangers are still considered front runners, but I don't believe either team will want to part with what Columbus is asking--at least not at this time. Columbus needs top notch, young, NHL-ready talent in return and swinging a deal like that will most likely take place closer to the draft.
-The Hurricanes have re-signed Tuomo Ruutu for four years, with a no-trade clause for the first three. This takes him off the trade market for this year, presumably. Jaroslav Spacek and Bryan Allen could still be on the move out of Raleigh, but the Canes are sitting 8 points behind Florida for 8th with a home game against the Panthers tomorrow. The Canes, while not buyers by any stretch, aren't as likely to blow things up as they were a month or so ago. Keeping their core intact seems to the mission of GM Jim Rutherford, so outside of either Spacek or Allen, I don't see Carolina making a big splash come deadline day.
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The Bruins have struggled to score in the abscence
of Nathan Horton. |
-Boston's offense has been stagnant without Rich Peverley and Nathan Horton. This is no secret. But can it be alleviated through the trade market? Antoine Vermette and Ruutu are off the market, so where can they turn? Ray Whitney is rumored to be involved, but the odds are better he stays in Phoenix, especially with the Bruins not wanting to part with any top prospects. Ales Hemsky can score some goals, but the asking price will likely be out of the Bruins league. The knee-seeking missile that is Steve Ott would be a nice fit in Boston and it would certainly be fun to hear Jack Edwards sing his praises. GM Peter Charelli will have some finagling to do, but the Bruins need to pull the plug on any trade that will help jump-start them in their repeat quest.
-Dustin Brown appears to be off the market in Los Angeles. Brown, the Kings captain, has two years left on his contract in LA and it appears GM Dean Lombardi has opted not to move their leader after the Jeff Carter trade. That being said, the Kings aren't scoring goals and anything they can do to facilitate that will catch Lombardi's ear. Ultimately I think that Brown will stay, but it will be an interesting subplot to the deadline frenzy.
We'll have more to come as developments break over the weekend!
GOH
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