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Well, there have been a number of deals over the
past few weeks, and we wanted to take an opportunity to break down each
one.
 
In what can only be viewed as a salary dump, the Pittsburgh Penguins have
shipped Alexei
Kovalev, Janne
Laukkanen , Dan
LaCouture and minor league defenceman Mike
Wilson , for Mikael
Samuelsson , Rico
Fata , Richard Lintner, and Joel
Bouchard , plus future considerations. It's hard to imagine how GM Craig
Patrick could follow the deal that landed the Pens a plethora of maybe
prospects in the Jagr deal with Washington...but it looks like he did it
again. Our guess is that the future considerations is the cash part of the
deal, and is a reported $4 million.
Fantasy Impact: Kovalev's move back to
the Rangers means that the Rangers have the potential of icing two very
imposing offensive lines with Lindros, Bure, Holik, Nedved, Dvorak and now,
Kovalev. But it's the preventing of the goals that's the issue for the
Rangers. That said, with the impending return of Bure, expect him to move up
with Lindros and Nedved, and Holik slide back to play with Kovalev. Is there
enough ice-time for these guys? We are about to find out. Laukkanen is often
injured, but supplies the Rangers with another veteran rear-guard in the
desperation to make the playoffs. We think Kovalev's stats will dip
somewhat, and watch his +/- take a beating. For the guys headed the other
way, you've got to know the youth movement is on in Pittsburgh. The money
they do get from the Rangers will go to pay real life creditors and
financers. The players are simply not going to make enough impact to make
them dratable - unless they get to play with Mario. Jan
Hrdina , Martin
Straka and the Alexei
Morozov (if he does not have to undergo season ending surgery) are the
bigger winners as they will get more ice time with Mario - particularly on
the Pens potent power play. That said, this deal is very one sided - for the
Rangers.
 Panthers trade Sandish
Ozolinsh and Lance
Ward to the Mighty Ducks for Pavel
Trnka and Matt
Cullen - what a comfort for Ducks fans to FINALLY see the management of
the Mighty Ducks actually spend some money and make a deal for an impact
player (and impending UFA). The Ducks are actually playing well under rookie
head coach Mike
Babcock and Sandish Ozolinsh allows them to ice a very good PP, with a
bona fide offensive QB manning the point.
Fantasy Impact: Ozolinsh brings a
legitimate premiere offensive rearguard to the Ducks. But his offense has
never been the concern, it has always been his defensive play that has left
more than a few coaches scratching their heads. However, under Mike
Keenan, Ozolinsh was playing very well - and this should continue now
that he is back in the Western Conference and on a team that has some
significant talent in Oates, Kariya, Sykora, LeClerc and Rucchin. The young
players headed to the Panthers provide Florida with some more depth and a
little upside. Cullen is big, but more of a playmaker than a physical force
- something the Panthers really could use. He could see Keenan's doghouse or
penthouse depending on Keenan's mood. Trnka is a solid, but unspectacular
defenceman.
 Carolina trades Sami
Kapanen and Ryan
Bast to the Flyers for Pavel
Brendl and Bruno
St. Jacques - Hurricanes GM Jimmy Rutherford had publicly indicated that
there were going to be some changes and it looks as though he'll start with
the under-achieving Kapenen. Hard to figuere out what exactly went wrong for
Kapanen, it was only two seasons ago that he had 36 goals. A great skater,
perhaps the injuries and time on the DL have made him leery of driving the
net like he used too. You will remember that last year, during the playoffs,
Kapanen went almost 12 games without scoring. He should improve his stats
somewhat, but don't expect a huge push from Kapanen as he is now playing for
a team that has some serious trouble scoring - and no one is sure why.
Headed to the Hurricanes is the enigmatic Pavel Brendl . A big time sniper
in junior, Brendl has been trashed on this site before - and rightfully so.
He's commitment level is always in question. The good news for the 'Canes,
is that they have two leaders that are the ultimate examples in terms of
readiness and desire - particularly in the off-season. If the 'Canes were
smart, they'd let Rod
Brind'Amour tutor him on the on-ice, physical aspect of the game and the
immortal Ron
Francis coach Brendl on the off-ice, character commitment. If he does,
and can harness his serious upside offensive potential, the 'Canes could
have themselves a steal.
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