Round two, part two

Detroit Red Wings (1) vs. San Jose Sharks (5)

Way back in 1994, the San Jose Sharks were making their first-ever playoff appearance, and they shocked the favoured Red Wings, winning the seven-game series. The Wings won the only other playoff meeting between these two teams, and 12 years later, we finally get the rubber match.

The Red Wings have talked a lot about their improved grit. They now roll guys like Kyle Calder and Todd Bertuzzi out to wear down the opposing defensemen. That’s in addition to grinders like Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby, and crease-crashers Johan Franzen and Tomas Holmstrom (day-to-day with an eye injury). Mix in high-end talent from Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, an all-world defense corps, and one of the best goaltenders the league’s ever seen, and the Wings start to look very formidable.

But the Sharks are not to be outdone. They have last season’s points and goals leaders in Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo. Young sniper Milan Michalek enjoyed a coming out of sorts in the first round (four goals in five games), and captain Patrick Marleau leads the way with 43 points in his last 45 playoff games. The Sharks don’t have a Nicklas Lidstrom on defense, but they run a tight ship, and the forwards love to help out.

Speaking of Lidstrom, he will likely draw the Thornton line as his checking assignment, leaving Marleau’s line to try their best to run roughshod in the offensive zone.

Both the Wings’ Dominik Hasek and the Sharks’ Evgeni Nabokov are known for their temperament, but the Sharks have a failsafe in goal with Vesa Toskala should Nabokov falter.

And if you thought Calgary’s fans gave the Flames a boost at home, wait till the Wings get a load of the fans at the HP Pavilion. All signs point to Sharks in six.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs. Ottawa Senators (4)

Ottawa dispatched Pittsburgh with relative ease in the first round, showing more grit than we’ve come to expect from the Senators. And everyone in Ottawa is feeling good about Ray Emery in goal. These grittier Senators will once again have their hands full with the always gritty Devils.

New Jersey overcame early adversity to knock off Tampa Bay in the first round. The Bolts got to Martin Brodeur early in the series, but Brodeur found his groove, and shut the door in three consecutive wins. As always, everything the Devils want to do comes down to Brodeur. Despite having no real offensive depth after Scott Gomez, Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta and Zach Parise, the Devils continually find ways to score, and give Brodeur the lead. From there, it’s usually academic.

The Devils do have a hole in their defense. Brian Rafalski picked up seven points in the first round, but the Devils have relied heavily on rookies Andy Greene and John Oduya. Ottawa will have to find ways to exploit the youngsters, which may mean juggling lines to get their big guns away from the Devils’ checking unit. Ten Ottawa forwards played in all five of their first round games, and they all recorded at least two points. They will have to continue with that kind of scoring balance to get past the Devils.

One area of note: Ottawa’s big guns Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were both minus-2 in the first round. The Devils play a strong transition game, and will look to exploit Spezza and Heatley’s defensive weakness.

Almost entirely because Emery left practice with an injury earlier in the week: Devils in seven.

Stanley Cup playoffs, round two

Quick housekeeping note before I get started here: is it just me, or do the labels “conference quarter finals” and “conference semi-finals” et al completely and utterly lack any pop? Frankly, I prefer to call them by the round number. It’s simple, and in my mind, whenever I saw “Round one,” all I can here is the Mortal Kombat voice. Maybe it’s just me though.

I went a pitiful 4-for-8 in the first round, and it’s time to rectify that. So, round two (conference semi-finals).

Anaheim Ducks (2) vs. Vancouver Canucks (3)

I’m just going to say it. The Canucks are overmatched here. They could barely score goals against Dallas, and now they have to contend with two of the best defensemen in the game. They may take game one, and catch the Ducks off guard, but after that…

While I’m not a big Chris Pronger fan, even I can’t ignore the performances he’s offered this post-season and last. He’s been one of the best, and single-handedly made up for all of Jaroslav Spacek’s attempts to derail the Oilers last year. When Pronger’s not on the ice, Scott Niedermayer is. Niedermayer is the only defensemen not named Lidstrom to win the Norris Trophy in the last five years, and the Ducks captain is essentially as good as it gets on defense. They defend a goal tended to by either Ilya Bryzgalov or J-S Giguere, both of whom do so very well. Up front, the Ducks have Teemu Selanne, still playing like he’s 10 years younger than he is, and his sidekick Andy McDonald. Young guns Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are always a threat, and the eight other forwards will grind poor Kevin Bieksa and Willie Mitchell nearly through the boards.

So where does that leave the Canucks? Well, it doesn’t look good. The best thing they have going for them is Roberto Luongo, whose international tournament experience seems to have prepared him well for the NHL playoffs. That said, the Canucks were overly reliant on Luongo in the first round, and will have to try hard not to fall back into that habit against the Ducks. Daniel and Henrik Sedin have found great chemistry with Taylor Pyatt, but Markus Naslund has to find the back of the net if Vancouver has any chance to win this series.

The Canucks were pushed around by Dallas, and the Ducks are a much more physical team. So while the Canucks may not be pushovers, Anaheim in five.

Buffalo Sabres (1) vs. New York Rangers (6)

The Rangers are a trendy pick in the second round. They dismantled Atlanta, playing just the minimum, and ran up a lot of goals. Talking heads are picking the Sabres apart for not playing a perfect series against a very tough, and very well-coached Islanders team in the first round, and as such, the Rangers have become darlings.

But make no mistake. The Sabres are the best team in the NHL, and have been all year. In their five-game series with the Islanders, 10 Sabres had three points or more, just four players have minus ratings, and Ryan Miller is still one of the best goalies in the NHL right now. Lindy Ruff is a proven head coach, and one of the best in the game, while even Sports Illustrated had to give captain Chris Drury his due for just knowing how to win. With great leadership, four lines that can score, a very reliable defense corps, and an All-Star goalie, the Sabres are simply tough to beat.

That said, the Rangers match up pretty well with Buffalo—assuming Jaromir Jagr comes to play. When Jagr has the puck, and wants to keep it, the Rangers defensemen get a rest. He can keep the play out of their defensive end for entire shifts. He is the catalyst for everything the Rangers want to do offensively. But his teammates have to step up. Michael Nylander collected eight points against Atlanta, and the Rangers won easily. Brendan Shanahan held up his end of the deal, and played very well in the first round, and even Sean Avery picked up five points, while completely throwing Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk off his game. Henrik Lundqvist posted sparkling numbers, and seems to have found his groove (which was lost most of the season). The defensemen in front of him are playing very well, and head coach Tom Renney is rarely out-coached.

But as good as the Rangers have been lately, and as thoroughly as they dismantled the Thrashers, they’re the same streaky team we saw all season. Any time they win four in a row, a three-losses-in-five-games stretch could be right around the bend. Buffalo in six.

Tomorrow the previews and picks for Detroit-San Jose and Ottawa-New Jersey.

And the stragglers

While the trading deadline is 3 p.m., the league has to approve all trades. Final approval sometimes takes an hour or so after the deadline. So, some trades trickle through between 3 and 4. Among those trades…

Scott Parker back to Colorado from San Jose for something to be named. Parker’s a fighter, and he wasn’t fitting in with the Sharks anymore. He’ll find a home in Colorado and he’ll be a good leader as that team moves forward.

The Boston Bruins sent Brad Boyes to St. Louis for Dennis Wideman. Couple of third-line guys who may or may not flourish with new surroundings.

Mattias Norstrom is on his way to Dallas. The Stars made a good move to upgrade their defense, adding the L.A. Kings’ captain. Norstrom is a no-nonsense, stay-at-home, defense-first guy, who instantly makes the Stars defense corps better.

Ryan Smyth, in probably the most surprising move of the day, has been traded to the New York Islanders. Just a day ago, I was telling some friends that these Islanders are a sneaky bunch, and they aren’t getting much ink. They’ve quietly moved into a position to make the playoffs, and they made serious upgrades this week with Smyth today and Richard Zednik yesterday. The Islanders quickly made themselves serious contenders on paper in the last two days. They have at least as much offensive punch as anyone else in the East now (save for the Penguins), and they play great team defense. The Islanders are officially contenders now. For their part, the Oilers got a first-round pick, and two prospects Robert Nilson and Ryan O’Marra -- both former first-round picks.

That looks like the end of trade deadline day. It’s easy to guess about winners and losers right now, but we’ll have to wait until the middle of June to find out for sure. And even then, with prospects like Nilson and O’Marra, Jiri Novotny, Brendan Bell, Lasse Kukkonen, Josh Gorges, Braydon Coburn, Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent on the move, we may not know all the winners and losers for many years.

Let's play three!

Coming fast and furious now.

New York has sent forward Pascal Dupuis to the Atlanta Thrashers. This is a good pickup for the Thrashers. Dupuis is a fast winger, who’s played just six games with the Rangers after their trade with Minnesota earlier this year. He does have just 14 points this season, but he flies down the wing and should be a good fit with the Thrashers. The Rangers have acquired a prospect to be named.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have once again picked up a former Leaf at the deadline. This year, it’s Yanic Perrault. Perrault is the best faceoff man in the league, and by miles. He is also seen as a great dressing room leader, and he’ll be a nice fit for the Maple Leafs. Going the other way, Phoenix gets a second-round pick and defenseman Brendan Bell.

And the third deal that came along all at once has Dainius Zubrus moving from Washington to Buffalo. Zubrus is a fleet-footed winger with good offensive instincts. Going the other way, the Capitals picked up a first-round pick and highly-touted prospect Jiri Novotny. A great trade for Washington, and a warm body in the lineup for Buffalo while they try to limp into the playoffs.

Big wheel for the winged-wheels.

Yesterday I blasted the Red Wings for picking up Kyle Calder, but today I have to praise them for acquiring Todd Bertuzzi. They’ve completed a deal, which is pending league approval and a physical, which will send a conditional draft pick and prospect to Florida. Adding Todd Bertuzzi is always a good thing. Now, Bertuzzi has only played seven games this season, but he registered seven points, and is seen as a prototypical power forward. Bertuzzi has 224 goals and 536 points in 717 career games, and more than 1000 PIM. He is a minus player throughout his career, and there was the whole Steve Moore flop. But, two cities removed from that now, and under a great coach in Detroit, if he’s healthy, Todd Bertuzzi is going to be enormous for the Red Wings in the playoffs.

Ducks getting tougher

Brad May is shipped to Anaheim from Colorado in an effort to add just a little more toughness to an already tough and deep Duck lineup. May has played just 10 games this season because of a shoulder injury, but he is back from the disabled list, and he brings a sturdy 11 minutes a night to the Ducks lineup.

See you later, Ottawa

Ottawa added Oleg Saprykin from Phoenix, and the teams swapped draft picks. Saprykin will be the ruin of the Senators.

Rangers and Bruins swap defensemen

The Rangers sent defenseman Aaron Ward to the Boston Bruins today. Ward is a very good defenseman, and a vocal leader in the dressing room. He comes to Boston with a Stanley Cup ring from last season, and becomes the Bruins number-two defenseman immediately. Paired with Zdeno Chara, the Bruins now have a big, physical and mean top defensive pairing. Ward is a good puck mover, and should help Boston’s play five-on-five and the power play. Going the other way, Paul Mara. Mara plays a similar game to Wards, but with more offensive flair. Mara joins the rush very well, though neither defenseman played to expectation this season. Mara should fit very nicely with the Rangers, as they continue to put together a fleet-footed puck-moving group of defensemen. A good player-for-player trade for both teams, as they look to shake up their rooms in their push for the playoffs.

Pens send spare part to Minnesota

Dominic Moore to the Minnesota Wild. Not exactly a blockbuster trade, but Moore is a good defensive forward that will fit into Minnesota’s team concept. He’s fast and has pretty good hands. He could see time on the second line in Minny, but probably will play regularly on the third or fourth line. The Pittsburgh Penguins will receive a third-round pick.

Less than three hours to go

Catching up on yesterday, I forgot all about Richard Zednik being moved to the New York Islanders. That’s an excellent pick up for the Islanders, as Zednik is a potentially explosive offensive player. The Washington Capitals get a second-round pick out of the deal, and the Islanders continue to load up for a run at the playoffs.

An update to one of yesterday’s trades: the Vancouver Canucks sent a second and fourth-round pick, not a conditional pick as I’d previously written. Still a good deal for the Canucks.

Shifting back to today, it’s been a busy morning with less than three hours to go.

Gary Roberts agreed to waive his no-trade clause and is heading to Pittsburgh for a pick and a prospect. Roberts is over 40, and very much in the twilight of his career, but he brings grit and playoff experience to this young Penguins team, and will help them a great deal as they push for their first playoff run together.

The Buffalo Sabres finally moved Martin Biron, though a year late, and for very little return. They shipped Biron to Philadelphia for an undisclosed pick, which does not equate to a warm body on the short Sabres bench. It’s an interesting trade, and most of the hockey world will finally get to see what Biron can do as a team’s number one goalie.

In response, the Sabres picked up goalie Ty Conklin from Columbus to back up Ryan Miller. The Blue Jackets get future considerations for the backup netminder.

Criticized for a lack of toughness, and a lack of protection for their young stars, the Penguins made another deal today acquiring Georges Laraque from the Phoenix Coyotes. Laraque is widely considered the best fighter in the NHL, and will be asked to protect Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Penguins’ stable of young guns. Laraque is also a very good defensive forward. His plus-7 rating was second-best with the woeful Coyotes this season.

And the most recent deal of the day saw Bill Guerin go to San Jose for a first-round pick, Ville Nieminen and a player to be named. Guerin is an offensive force when he wants to be, and the Sharks love Guerin’s playoff and Stanley Cup experience. Guerin is a good defensive forward, and shouldn’t hurt the Sharks in their own end (like some of their other forwards do). Playing on the second line with Patrick Marleau, Guerin should flourish in San Jose and will be a key cog in the Sharks machine this year as they look to erase past playoff failures.

That Peter Griffin... errr... Dave Nonis is turning into a pretty good GM

Monday was full of trades, and I’m looking forward to offering thoughts on the rest of this season’s deals as they come down the chute today. Without further ado, and starting with Sunday’s Montreal-San Jose trade, he we go.

Craig Rivet is a nice pick-up for the Sharks. He’s been a very useful, and generally a good defenseman for Montreal for a long time. The Sharks packaged a prospect and a (probably late) first-round pick for the sturdy blue liner. Rivet brings more than 600 games of experience, and is an everyday right-handed shot on the blue line. He has decent offensive instincts, and is very sound in his own end. He can be beaten man-to-man, but should be able to thrive in the Sharks’ system.

The Capitals and Senators swapped farm hands. Lawrence Nycholat went to Ottawa, and could be a useful spare forward down the road.

Vancouver pulled off two excellent deals today, sending a pair of conditional draft picks to Chicago and Los Angeles for Brian Smolinski and Brent Sopel. In Smolinski, the Canucks get a very good second-line centre who can play the wing, and is defensively sound. Smolinski will relieve some of Brendan Morrison’s defensive responsibilities, which should help Morrison open things up and get back on track offensively. Sopel is a former Canuck, who plays with a lot of sandpaper in his own end. He played very well in his time with Vancouver, and should be able to slide back into the system seamlessly. Sopel also brings 23 points with him, and it never hurts to get extra production from the back end.

The final trade of the day was a wonderful example of a lost art. Like the backhand, the three-way trade is a rare sight in the NHL, but Detroit, Philly and Chicago got down to business on one today. To my mind, the Flyers came out as the winners of this deal. They picked up a pick, and defenseman Lasse Kukkonen. Kukkonen has played 54 games with the Blackhawks this season, and has been one of their better defensemen. He’s a skilled defenseman with tremendous upside. With Kukkonen in the fold, the Flyers now have five defensemen born after 1981 on the roster, and are positioned to have a wonderful crop of blue liners in the next couple seasons. Meanwhile, Chicago probably will end up in the middle of this deal. They lost Kukkonen, but already have a stable full of defensive prospects. They added a heart-and-soul guy in Jason Williams. The strong third-liner has 26 points this season (well off last season’s 58), but is seen as having some upside remaining. He should fit in well with the Blackhawks’ youth as they move forward in their rebuilding. He has playoff experience with the Red Wings, and also brings some of that Red Wing pedigree. At the bottom of the barrel, the Red Wings got a little tougher, to quiet some of the criticism they’ve faced this season for a perceived softness. That said, they’ve picked up a player that’s been dogged by criticism most of his career, and has a sterling minus-31 rating with the Flyers this year. Calder has one plus season in his career, and has averaged just 0.05 points a game more than Williams has. Williams has never been a minus player. The Wings may have added some toughness, but they’ve added a defensive liability, and ended up losing five points in this deal. Hard to call it a good one.

Continue to check back Tuesday as we move toward the 3 p.m. deadline.

Come visit the south

A week after the Nashville Predators offered Peter Forsberg some southern comfort, the Carolina Hurricanes offered the same to Anson Carter, who played very well in his Hurricanes debut last night. Now the Thrashers are joining the party, acquiring Keith Tkachuk and Alex Zhitnik over the weekend.

Going back to the Carter deal, the Canes gave up a fifth-round pick for Carter, who will make an impact in Carolina. With just 18 games remaining, Carter brings size, grit and a deft scoring touch to the table. Shame on every other team in the league for not even kicking the tires on this one.

All season long, the Blues have been demanding a king’s ransom for Tkachuk, and they found the suckers to pay it. Tkachuk heads from the Blues to Blueland in Atlanta for Glen Metropolit and three draft picks. Tkachuk is enjoying a much better season this year than last, and he’s collected 43 points in 61 games. He still has the potential to be an impact player, but he’s certainly not worth the package the Thrashers gave up. But Tkachuk is a name player, again, with the potential to be a difference maker down the stretch and into the playoffs. It’s a move Thrashers’ GM Don Waddell thought he needed to make, and good on him for making it.

A move he probably didn’t need to make was to acquire one of Philadelphia’s defensemen. That said, Zhitnik is a good defenseman, and should slide nicely into Atlanta’s back end. He led the Flyers in ice time, at more than 25 minutes a game, though he won’t be expected to log that kind of ice time with Atlanta. Zhitnik will make for a nice top-four guy, and with Andy Sutton, Greg de Vries and Niclas Havelid, the Thrashers have a nice group of top defensemen.

The key to the trade is prospect Braydon Coburn. The young defenseman has spent most of the last three seasons in the American League after being drafted eighth overall by Atlanta in 2003. Coburn still has the tools to become a very good NHL defenseman, though not necessarily the stud the Thrashers thought they’d drafted. Coburn is expected to join the Flyers right away, and he’ll be given lots of room to grow with this young group.

We’re excited for the next 48 hours around here, and excited to see what happens.

Thanks for the memories, Kev.

And that should pretty well do it for Kevin Lowe.

After the GM was bullied into trading Chris Pronger last summer, he told everyone in the world he was going to find a puck-moving defenseman to replace the departed Pronger. Said defenseman never materialized. Instead the Oilers gave third-year man Marc-Andre Bergeron every opportunity to fill that role. Bergeron struggled, to say the least.

Now, with Oilers eight points out of a playoff spot, and still without a true puck-moving defenseman, Lowe’s pulled the trigger on a trade. Not the trade anyone thought they needed, but a trade nonetheless.

The Oilers shipped Bergeron to Long Island for a prospect, which is exactly what Edmonton needs. Another prospect for their non-existent farm team.

Before the Oilers Cup run last season, there were rumblings that Lowe and head coach Craig MacTavish were skating on thin ice. After a long season this year, in which the Oilers are being seen as underachievers, those rumblings are getting louder again, and this time there doesn’t appear to be a run to the Final to save them.

After Lowe was unable to make a trade all summer and season long, and with the Oilers poised to miss the playoffs, look for heads to roll.

The only Swede in Tennessee?

Imagine what Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya could do if they ever played together outside of that one season in Colorado which was wildly forgettable…

Dream no more, my friends. The Nashville Predators acquired Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday in a deal reminiscent of the old days when an already-loaded Colorado or Detroit would upgrade the firepower.

Let’s be realistic about this: Nashville is already in first place overall, with six forwards poised to notch 65-plus points this season, an all-world goaltender in Tomas Vokoun (flanked by backup Chris Mason, whose numbers are better than Vokoun’s), and one of the nastiest young blue line corps in ages. Thursday morning, they were Stanley Cup contenders to say the least, and probably prohibitive favourites.

Thursday evening, the Preds announced the acquisition of Forsberg -- two Stanley Cups, two Olympic gold medals, one Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, and one of a small handful of first-ballot Hall of Famers still playing. I think it’s safe to say things are looking up in the Music City.

Before we go any further with this, all of the good Forsberg can bring to this team is hinged on his health. If Forsberg stays healthy the rest of the way, and if Forsberg is healthy throughout the post-season, then Nashville’s owners had better be prepared to have some rings and a banner crafted.

Chances are Forsberg will get hurt. But, with the Predators use of one-A and one-B scoring lines, Forsberg won’t be logging the minutes he normally would, and the Predators will certainly do everything they can to keep him healthy. It’s tough to say for sure what role he’ll play. The Preds have two solid centres in David Legwand and Jason Arnott, and good checking-line centres, so it is possible Forsberg could move to a wing to reduce his defensive responsibilities, and the physical price he’ll pay. It’s also possible he’ll join Steve Sullivan and Paul Kariya on the top line. Legwand has done a very good job as the Preds’ top centre this year, but a guy like Forsberg could really fire up that line. Legwand would then move to a third line with Scott Hartnell and rookie Alexander Radulov and really get that third unit going.

Nashville gave up a very good young forward in Scottie Upshall, and a highly-touted junior-age defenseman to make this deal happen. But no matter how you slice it, the Predators just became the team to beat this season.

Ladislav Nagy to the Stars

Little late, but here’s my take on the Ladislav Nagy trade.

It’s an interesting trade from the Stars perspective. In 2005-06 the Stars finished in the top 10 in goals-for, but find themselves the seventh-lowest scoring team in the league so far this year.

With injuries to Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow, and the off-season loss of Jason Arnott, the Stars top unit has not had a chance to produce the way they did last season. Modano has played just 33 games, collecting 22 points, while Morrow has 20 points in 28 games. Eric Lindros, signed in the off-season to offset Arnott’s loss has just 26 points in 44 games -- well below his career average 1.14 points a game. Mike Ribeiro was acquired from Montreal at the start of the season when Modano was hurt, and is the third-leading scorer despite seeing fourth-line ice time. Worth noting: the two players ahead of Ribeiro are Philippe Boucher and Sergei Zubov; a pair of defensemen.

Enter Nagy. Before the season, I’d pegged Nagy as a player to watch. He seemed to be on the verge of a breakout season after bagging 108 points (39 goals) in 106 games over 2003-04 and 2005-06. Instead, Nagy’s having a Nagy season. He’s slightly ahead of his career average points-per-game pace, but his goal-scoring has dropped off. His eight goals this year are a far cry from the 15 he netted last season, and even further from the three-straight 20-goal seasons before that. The perception is that Nagy has developed into a playmaker’s role, and Dallas has setup men in Modano, Ribeiro, but no one to finish.

Of even more concern should be Nagy’s plus/minus rating this season. After four plus seasons with bad Phoenix teams, Nagy is a minus player this year. That’s a troubling stat for a defensive-minded team like Dallas. If Nagy couldn’t (or wouldn’t) grasp Wayne Gretzky’s defensive systems in Phoenix, there are no guarantees he’s going to do it for Dave Tippett in Dallas.

That said, all in all, this trade was worth the gamble for Dallas. But it is a gamble. A pick and a prospect is a small price to pay for a guy with potentially unlimited offensive upside. If Nagy regains his nose for the net, and brings his proverbial lunch pail, this trade will pay off for the Stars in a big way. If not, Nagy and Ribeiro could set goals-against records playing together.

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.

Still the best name you can name

I keep reading about the NHL schedule, and frankly I’m bored. When all this schedule talk first started earlier this season, someone (I think Damien Cox, if not, I’m sorry) wrote a column at ESPN.com to the effect that if all we can complain about is the schedule, maybe the league’s doing something right.

I tend to agree with that sentiment. Nobody seems to talk lately about the fact officiating has become much more consistent. Big hits are a big part of the game again, and the play is much more physical. All while maintaining a pretty good amount of open ice for playmakers.

And in case you missed it, the playmakers are doing their thing. The fact remains there is more top-end talent in the NHL today than at any other point in league history. For every guy that played in Dallas this past Wednesday, at least two other guys had legitimate claims to spots on the All-Star rosters.

Beyond that, coaches are opening the game up and letting their offensive guys play. Nearly every team in the league is forechecking aggressively, so while scoring is down a little, scoring chances are still abundant.

So while some writers think their media credentials give them free reign to criticize the game in whatever way they see fit, this one is more interested in enjoying the game.

While talking heads from sports networks are eliminating the Florida Panthers from playoff contention in the middle of January (since everyone knows six points in the standings is insurmountable), the Panthers are actually preparing for the return of one of the game’s premier players (Todd Bertuzzi), and are poised to make a good run at the playoffs. In fact, all but four teams are within 10 points of a playoff spot coming out of the break.

While writers mourn the loss of Hockey Day In Canada, I say a four-game day featuring Montreal-Boston at 1 p.m., Vancouver-Minnesota at 4 p.m., Toronto-Ottawa at 7 p.m. and Calgary-Edmonton at 10 p.m. would probably be even more fun than the regular slate of three games.

While purists are worried about Reebok’s aesthetic vision of the NHL, players are excited to be faster, cooler and safer in their new equipment.

While injuries knock big names out of line ups, guys you’ve heard of (Ray Whitney, Yanic Perrault, Sean Burke), guys you haven’t (Maxime Lapierre, Jan Hejda, Travis Zajac), and even more hot-shot rookies (Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Anze Kopitar) are coming up with big performances every night.

And while the Pittsburgh Penguins face a very uncertain future, they’re the most exciting team in the league. No matter where this group of young men plays, they are on the verge of becoming the kind of team my friends and I will tell our kids about the way dads have told their kids about the Maple Leafs of the 60’s, the Canadiens of the 70’s, and the Islanders and Oilers of the 80’s.

Hockey is the best game you can name, and fans know that.

If the league wants to grow and expand its fan base, the writers and so-called fans and defenders of the game need to stop criticizing everything about it. It’s hard to make new fans when nobody is talking about the great games, great people and great stories offered up in every rink, every night.

Where's the justice anymore?

Isn’t California a “three strikes” state? Who the hell does Barry Bonds think he is?

First, his trainer is implicated in the steroid/BALCO mess, and Barry plays dumb. He thought is was flax seed oil. Oh. Our bad, Bar.

Then he tells us he got products from Gary Sheffield, and had no idea they might be steroids. Our bad, Bar.

Now, word comes out he failed a drug test during the 2006 season. Barry’s using amphetamines. Now, I’ve read Ball Four, and I understand “greenies” are a part of the culture. But, they’re now an illegal part of the culture, and Barry’s allegedly been caught using them. First official offense under the new MLB rules, so he gets a free pass. I can live with that.

And when word came down that Barry’d been nailed, magically the drugs came from a teammate’s locker. Has Bonds ever been responsible for anything he's ever done? Would this guy even take credit for drawing a breath?

Honestly. This is the soon-to-be home run king?

Roger Maris was ducking chairs in the outfield, and his family was threatened in 1961 when he broke Babe Ruth’s single-season record (and died before his own record was ever properly recognized), while Hank Aaron had the pleasure of being a black man in 1974 trying to break the most coveted record in American sport.

I, for one, do not look forward to telling my kids about watching the home run king Barry Bonds play ball. While Bar could play, he is in no way a hero the way his predecessors are.

Meanwhile, another chapter was written in the book of baseball double-standards this week when Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. were elected to the Hall of Fame.

Gwynn and Ripken are two fine ball players, and two fine human beings. Gwynn is soft-spoken and jovial, and a member of the 3,000 hits club, while Ripken is baseball’s iron man. The 19-time all star played in 2,632 consecutive games, a record that probably only other players can truly appreciate. They were two of baseball’s finest, on and off the field, and they will take their rightful places among Cooperstown’s legends.

Not joining them is Mark McGwire.

Not to take anything away from Gwynn’s 3,000 hits, or Ripken’s games-played streak, neither streak captivated fans the way McGwire’s pursuit of Maris’ record did in 1998. It’s not often fans or writers credit Gwynn or Ripken with saving baseball, the way they often have with McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s home run chase in ’98.

After the strike in 1994, so many fans turned their backs on baseball, the way baseball had turned its back on the fans. Attendance, TV ratings and revenues were all plummeting before McGwire and Sosa turned home plates all over America into launching pads. As they hit more and more home runs, more and more fans returned, and after three seasons in exile, baseball returned to the forefront of fans’ consciousness’.

Steroids, or no steroids. Blind eyes turned, or not. Cheating, or taking advantage of non-existent rules. No matter the circumstances, McGwire and Sosa are the reason this week’s Hall of Fame announcement ever made front pages. They’re principally responsible for current baseball revenues to allow for $126 million contracts.

The fact Hall of Fame voters turned their backs on McGwire this week is a slap in the face, considering he’s the biggest reason anyone cares what these old bats think.

Imagine

One of these second basemen is not like the others: Russ Adams, Aaron Hill, Royce Clayton, John McDonald, Marcus Giles.

If you guessed Giles, you’re right. He’s not a Blue Jay. And he’s also one of the best second basemen in baseball. He played in the 2003 All-Star Game, would look really nice batting in the two or seven hole, and is a serious upgrade at second over the minor-league-bound Adams, the shortstop of the future as recently as the start of 2006 Hill, “why’d the sign that guy” Clayton, and great with the leather but so-so at the dish McDonald (who also is more of a natural shortstop).

Sure. The numbers show Giles’ production has slipped at the plate. He’s still better than McDonald (and don’t get me wrong, McDonald was the best thing that ever could have happened to the Jays’ middle infield in 2006) at the dish. Adding Giles allows the Jays to slide Hill back to short, and suddenly things are looking up for the middle of the infield. His .983 fielding percentage at second was 15^th-best in the Majors, and just .001 behind NL Gold Glove winner Orlando Hudson (cough-cough-former Jay-cough-cough-cough).

Though Hill’s fielding percentage drops off precipitously when he moves to the other side of the bag, he won’t be stuck pairing with Russ Adams anymore and may be able to relax some.

Imagine a competent-to-All-Star caliber middle infield. Maybe the countless worries about pitching would be quelled just a little by some guys that can flash the leather. Imagine if the Jays had infielders as good as their outfielders.

Imagine also, spending $5 million a year for a second bagger three seasons removed from an All-Star appearance, which is so much better than spending $10 million a year on a pitcher named after part of a fish’s anatomy that nobody outside of Seattle knows anything about.

Of course, imagine the gay accountant doing the right thing.

If John Lennon can imagine, so can I.

On an unrelated note: the Montreal Canadiens made Boston’s Zdeno Chara look like an absolute fool Tuesday night. As the biggest guy in the league, every time he gets beaten to a puck, or beaten in a one-on-one battle, he’s getting beaten by someone smaller than he is. But to see guys like 6-foot rookie call-up Maxime Lapierre and 5-foot-generous-9-inch Tomas Plekanec beating him for two consecutive Habs goals has to have Bruins’ bench boss Dave Lewis scratching his head, and general manager Peter Chiarelli wondering what happened to his off-season coup.

One more hockey note: since I don’t watch the Maple Leafs, I had no idea this was happening, but after the game I read that the Leafs held a pre-game ceremony to honour their 1992-93 team. Now, I understand this team marked a significant shift in Leaf Land, in which the Leafs started being a competitive team again instead of the laughing stock they’d been through most of the 80s. But really? A pre-game ceremony for a team that lost in the conference final 13 years ago? Maybe the Dallas Stars should hold a ceremony for the 1990 Minnesota North Stars that lost to Edmonton in the conference final. Fewer of the 1989 Flames will be on hand for Mike Vernon’s jersey-retirement ceremony in Calgary than 1993 Leafs were in Toronto Tuesday night. Nicely done Toronto. Way to honour losers. The Colorado Avalanche would be better suited to hold a pre-game ceremony honouring Craig Wolanin’s contributions to their 1996 Stanley Cup win.

Getting behind our amateur athletes

Great news yesterday as speedskater Cindy Klassen was named Lou Marsh Award winner for 2006.

The Lou Marsh Award is given annually to the country’s top athlete, as voted on by members of the national media.

Klassen won five medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy-- the most ever by a Canadian athlete at on Olympiad.

Klassen edged 2005 and 2006 NBA MVP and 2005 Lou Marsh Award winner Steve Nash; NHL MVP Joe Thornton and the league’s top goal-scorer Jonathan Cheechoo; American League MVP Justin Morneau and other Olympians including Jennifer Heil and Clara Hughes in a reportedly close vote.

To be totally honest, I’m not sure most Canadians know who Klassen is, and the award sure could have used a marquee name like Nash or Thornton to bolster its profile. But the voters did the right thing by acknowledging Klassen’s outstanding performance at the Olympic Games.

While Nash and Morneau may have the most prolonged success ever by Canadians in their respective sports, and while Thornton and Cheechoo are the first Canadians to dominate NHL scoring charts in the last few years, Klassen performed at the highest level any athlete from this country ever has on the world’s biggest sporting stage for two nearly perfect weeks in February.

It’s a wonderful accomplishment, an amazing early Christmas present, and a great message sent to amateur athletes all across Canada as they prepare for Canada’s biggest Winter Olympiad in Vancouver in 2010.

Instead of kicking away at the dying horse, the national media is ready to get behind our athletes, and while the 2010 games are more than three years away, the media will be behind our performers every step of the way.

You’re in the spotlight now, guys. Go get ‘em.