Judgement day is coming
Sunday, February 25, 2007

Posted by Kerrzy

Peter Forsberg’s 12th mesh-tickler of this season was part of a three-point effort on the night and the game-winner against who else, but the Detroit Red Wings. He didn’t score it wearing the slimming purple of the Colorado Avalanche, nor was he wearing the old-school black and orange of the basement-dwelling Philadelphia Flyers. No, he did it in his new digs, the pukey, mustard-yellow thirdies of the Nashville Predators. It was his first of what Barry Trotz likely hopes is a good many for the Predators after they dealt Scottie Upshall, Ryan Parent and some picks to the Flyers for the shifty, oft-injured Swede. But so far Forsberg is the biggest name to move before the deadline. READ MORE...

The Thrashers also visited the Wachovia Center garage sale, offering up defenseman Brayden Coburn to Flyers GM Paul Holmgren for Alexei Zhitnik on Saturday night. By Sunday, the Thrashers also had Blues’ winger Keith Tkachuk in their possession, in exchange for forward Glen Metropolit and a handful of draft picks. The Blues picked up a first and third rounder in this year’s draft and a second rounder for same time next year.

So far the big deals of 2007 have been Mike Comrie leaving the Coyotes for the Sens (and lighting up the nation’s capital) for prospect Alex Kaigorodov, LA dealing Craig Conroy back to the Flames for Jamie Lundmark and a pair of picks, and Calgary getting their hands on much-coveted Boston blue-liner Brad Stuart. Calgary sent Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference to the Bruins for Stuart, Wayne Primeau and a conditional pick. Next up was Ladislav Nagy who also left Wayne Gretzky and the Coyotes, bound for Dallas in exchange for forward Mathias Tjarnqvist and a first-rounder, and the Bluejacket’s Anson Carter joining the Hurricanes for a 2008 fifth round pick (imagine getting dealt for a fifth rounder. Wow).

There have been other deals though: The Oilers got rid of Marc-Andre Bergeron, their highest scoring defensemen, for a player we won’t see until next year (Denis Grebeshkov) because he’s playing in Russia. Are they sellers? Only time will tell. Josef Vasicek found his way back to Carolina after a trade for Eric Belanger who joins the Preds. Nashville turned around the next day and sent Belanger to Atlanta for d-man Vitali Vishnevsky.

Brandon Bochenski went from the Hawks to the Bruins and since joining the B’s, he’s got six goals and five apples for 11 points in 10 games (of his 13 points in 20 games total this year). Kris Versteeg was the other part of the deal, but hasn’t played for the Hawks. The Kings sent mouthpiece Sean Avery to the Rangers along with John Seymour, for Jason Ward, Marc-Andre Cliché and Jan Marek and the latest deal was Montreal moving blue-liner Craig Rivet and an ’08 fifth rounder to the Sharks after Rivet’s 12-years as a Canadien. The Habs get young Josh Gorges and a first-rounder out of the deal.
Leading up to the final day of deals it’s hard to say what to expect. There wasn’t much going on last year, and maybe the “new NHL” is the end of the sneak-out-of-class-to-check-the-internet excitement that is usually associated with the trade deadline.

I guess only time will tell!