A lot of trades were made. All the big names were moved. Tkachuk to Atlanta. Guerin to San Jose. Bertuzzi’s in Hockeytown. Folks in Nashville – at least those that realize Nashville has a hockey team – are awfully excited about the arrival of Peter Forsberg. Most of the contenders pulled the trigger on some sort of deal. It was a very lively NHL deadline.
But which trades will have the most impact? Oddly, the deals that are likely to make the biggest difference are the ones that went largely unnoticed. So let’s look at a handful of trades that didn’t grab headlines but have serious playoff implications.
Joel Kwiatkowski to Pittsburgh – The Penguins have a lot going for them this season. Malkin and Staal have stepped up their game to compliment Kid Crosby and breathe new life into a struggling franchise. With all the offensive talent on the roster, a player like Kwiatkowski will go largely unnoticed on the score sheet. Kwiatkowski’s value is in the versatility he brings to the lineup. His ability to swing from his traditional position on defense to a fill-in role on the wing offers coach Michel Therrien a degree of flexibility often overlooked in a playoff run. The Penguins are sitting fifth in the East, but that’s only four points better than Carolina in the ninth. Pittsburgh needs to continue winning to ensure a postseason berth, but moves like the acquisition of Kwiatkowski illustrate how the Penguins are not just looking to make the postseason, but are giving their team the depth and flexibility to go beyond the first round.
Mattias Norstrom to Dallas – The Stars have surrendered the fewest goals in the league and the acquisition of defensive minded Norstrom will make it even more difficult to light the lamp behind Marty Turco. The Stars offense is anemic and management correctly recognized that improving the team defensively played to its strength and was certainly cheaper than a second deal similar to the acquisition of Ladislav Nagy back on February 12th.
Yanic Perreault to Toronto – He doesn’t score much (19-14-33) but Perreault wins an obscene amount of faceoffs (417), something the Maple Leafs have done little of this season. The team is three points out of a playoff spot and they’ll need to do the little things right in order to get into the postseason. Winning faceoffs is one of those little things and the Maple Leafs got themselves one of the best men to handle the drop of the puck.
Bryan Smolinski to Vancouver – Another faceoff specialist with a bit of offensive flair, Smolinski is the kind of centerman that can make the most of what’s around him. Don’t expect gaudy numbers from him, but don’t be surprised when his linemates start to suddenly produce.
Kyle Calder to Detroit – The other trade made by the Red Wings might be the more important one. Calder is hardly old – he’s only ÂÂÂ28 — but the Blackhawks and Flyers had already given up on him. He’s expected to play alongside Robert Lang and (eventually) Todd Bertuzzi. If the line succeeds and takes pressure off the top line of Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Holmstrom, much of the credit will likely go to his better-known linemates. If he proves to be a late-bloomer, the trade for Calder could end up being a coup for Detroit.
So there you are; four trades you probably didn’t even realize took place. They weren’t the big names that grabbed the headlines, but that are five deals likely to make their teams better than the sum of their parts.
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