Trades, trades, trades

Trade season is heating up.

We’re just a little more than two weeks away from the NHL’s trading deadline, and it should prove to be an interesting fortnight.

So far, Sean Avery has been traded to the Rangers -- a move which won’t help them into the playoffs, or keep them out of it. We saw some trades Saturday though, which will have playoff impact.

The Nashville Predators made a great depth-deal adding Vitali Vishnevski for Eric Belanger. Vishnevski is the key, as Belanger was traded twice over the weekend. The Preds are going to love Vishnevski. He brings experience to their blue line, and not just regular-season experience. He was a key member of Anaheim’s defense corps during both of their recent deep playoff runs. He is a physical stay-at-home type, and moving back to the Western Conference should be good for him. The Preds play a style similar to Anaheim’s, and Vishnevski will fit right in. He’s also an insurance policy in case the Predators lose any of their young defensemen down the stretch. At this moment, the Predators have the deepest blue line in the Western Conference.

The Calgary Flames also upgraded their defense Saturday, acquiring Brad Stuart from the Boston Bruins. The Flames paid a steep price, giving up Andrew Ference and young forward Chuck Kobasew in exchange for Stuart and forward Wayne Primeau. If Stuart and Primeau seem familiar, they are two of the players Boston acquired for Joe Thornton last season. Stuart is a puck-moving defenseman that has struggled in Boston, but should find his way with the Flames, whose systems are similar to San Jose’s -- where Stuart excelled. Primeau is another strong, grinding forward that the Flames love, and he is an excellent penalty killer. Both players going to Calgary should be able to step out from the shadow of being “the guys we got for Thornton” in Boston. Ference and Kobasew, going the other way, should find homes in Boston’s regular lineup. Though neither player is the missing piece of the Bruins’ puzzle, they were both instrumental in turning the Flames around, and will help turn things around in Boston.

Check back often over the next two weeks for updates on actual trades, and insight on what those trades mean for the teams and players involved.