Dion Phaneuf Traded to the Leafs

I'll just duplicate what I said on Twitter for now:

Dion Phaneuf is gone from the NW division? Happy day. But now he'll be on CBC every Saturday night. Crap.

UPDATE via almost everyone on Twitter:
Leafs send Hagman, White, Stajan and Mayers to Calgary for Phaneuf, Sjostrom and Aulie

Colorado Avalanche Trade Ryan Smyth

I'm in shock. I didn't want to believe the rumors. In fact, during the trade deadline I was quite emphatic that it was all bunk. Turns out, I was wrong.

The Avalanche have traded Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings. I haven't yet heard what we're getting in return but I'd guess Doughty is not an option.

This frees up $3M in cap space which should help with Kroenke's goal of driving away fans...I mean trimming payroll. It would also create some extra space to allow both Sakic and Duchene to fit on the squad. So maybe I'm not wrong on Sakic...

UPDATE 1: AD has the early scoop on the details: Tom Preissing, Kyle Quincey and a 5th-round pick next year. Without researching more on those players, it's a "meh" from me. And dangerously close to a "WTF?".

UPDATE 2: Tom Preissing was looking like a stud early in his career but he completely tanked in LA and ended up spending time in the AHL. I remember him now from his time with the Ottawa Senators during their run in '07 and he looked like a blossoming defenceman so I'm not sure what happened but based on his last two seasons, he's not worth $2.75M. But I suppose if you want someone to take a big contract off your hands, you've got to take back an unwanted one in return.

Kyle Quincey actually had a solid season with the Kings and could be an excellent pickup. He spent time in the Detroit organization and there are definitely worse places to be trained. The Wings did waive him this season, leading to his LA picup He scored 38 points in 72 games with the Kings and feels a bit like John-Michael Liles' doppleganger. There are worse things to be, especially with a 500K price tag.

The 5th-round pick should have been a 2nd or 3rd-round pick since those later rounds are basically throw-aways. Yeah, yeah, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, blah blah blah.

The end result leaves me going "WTF?!". Note the extra exclamation point. It's not the loss of Smyth, it's the lack of return. I know Smyth had a large contract for what some viewed as limited point production, but Smyth did so much more than just put up points. This leaves room for young guys to step up which I'm actually excited for, but I still feel Smyth was worth more than this. It's probably the 5th-round pick that's really sticking in my craw.

Logjam in the backend
This possibly squeezes out Kyle Cumiskey for another season since there is a bit of a logjam on defence now. To be honest, I'm not that sold on Cumiskey and Quincey looks to be a better version. Of course, I say that without having had enough time to really watch Quincey.

Surely you would think there's another d-man on the move. That's a lot of salary on the backend for a squad of that calibre and there's a lot of offensive d-men, and not many shutdown guys. But when you're in cost-cutting mode, I'm guessing filling roles is a secondary priority.

Youth Movement
So it's officially time for the youth movement (come on, let's spin it a bit). There's now room on the squad for T.J. Galiardi, who should make the team based on his play last year, as well as Matt Duchene.

But just because you're going younger doesn't mean you trade the vets for nothing. I'll say this, Duchene better be as good as we all hope he is and Stastny better stop blocking shots with bare body parts. And for the love of Pete, let's hope Hejduk stays healthy. And that Wolski picks up his game. And that Svatos decides to score 30+ again. And that...oh hell, let's just call next season a full-on rebuild season and get it over with.

Leadership
This leaves a lot of leadership room that needs to be picked up by guys like Milan Hejduk, Scott Hannan and Adam Foote. Especially if I'm wrong on Sakic coming back. Smyth, Sakic and Ian Laperriere contained a lot of leadership. Losing all three at once would be a big hit.

Jordan Leopold Traded Back to the Flames

Per TSN, the most logical trade bait for the Avalanche, Jordan Leopold, has been sent back to the team from whence he came.

This morning the Avalanche sent Leopold to the Flames and got back two defencemen - Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson - along with a 2nd round pick.

I recognize Nycholat's name but only because he played for the Swift Current Broncos in his junior career. He has bounced around a few teams including the Senators, Canucks and Flames but has spent most of the last decade in the AHL. In other words, sounds like a bust.

Ryan Wilson is a young, offensive defenseman who has spent this season with the Quad City Flames, putting up four goals and 16 assists over 60 games.

Hockeys Future has an assessment of Wilson and makes note that while he puts up good numbers for a player of his size, his defensive abilities are currently lacking.

So another undersized offensive defenseman has been added to the cubbard. Because you can never have too many of those.

The 2nd-round pick is presumably for this year's draft though TSN didn't indicate as such. UPDATE: TSN now indicates it is a 2009 2nd-round pick.

They did however, use the best photo of Leopold in existence to go along with their story.

The deal gets my stamp of approval if only because it means the Avalanche have another draft pick and that Kyle Cumiskey may finally get his chance to play full time next season.


UPDATE
Some commenters on Dater's blog are blasting FG for this move, claiming Nycholat as worthless and Wilson as a bust based on what they read online. Apparently the 2nd-round pick means nothing to them. It means the world to me.

The Avalanche likely picked up Nycholat knowing he'd play in Lake Erie full time. Don't forget that the Avalanche have an AHL roster to fill out. As for Wilson, though preliminary reports aren't great and I'm reluctant to cheer another undersized defenseman, what FG has done is what people have asked. Get some picks and prospects and start a minor rebuild.

Related Links
Leopold to Flames

Avalanche Trade Brad Richardson

I have to run get my precious locks cut but I spotted on Jori's blog that the Avalanche traded Brad Richardson to LA for the 61st pick.

We all saw the writing on the wall for Richardson and I'm actually glad to see him go to LA. He was never able to find a permanent home here but I think he'll do well with the Kings squad.

Jori's also been keeping tabs on the draft which resumed today at 9 am EST time. Otherwise known as "before I wake up on Saturday"

Done Deal: Foote Returning

(dearlordstanley.blogspot.com)

After heavy rumours in the last 30 minutes, Francois Giguere has hopped in the Delorean and re-acquired Adam Foote.

I mis-heard the conditions (hey come on, I'm trying to do some actual work at the office!) The deal is for a first-round pick in 08 or 09. If the Avalanche make the playoffs, the pick is in 08 and they don't, the pick is in 09. The other conditional pick is based on Foote re-signing in the offseason.

A guaranteed first round pick for Foote? Ouch. I change my mind a bit. I'm not as pleased with this deal as I was initially, especially if the pick ends up being for this year's draft.

Again, I'll pimp out Jay Onrait's blog with this comment:

Adam Foote has indeed been traded to the Colorado Avalanche as confirmed by TSN's Darren Dreger. This really is unbelievable! They really should talk to Patty Roy about coming back. If Hasek is still playing Roy can still play. Who would you rather have in net if you are an Avs fan? Jose Theodore or roll the dice with a completely out of shape Patrick Roy? I'll take that Roy guy.

Avalanche Acquire Ruslan Salei

(abcnews.com)

The Avalanche have acquired Ruslan Salei in exchange for Karlis Skrastins and a 3rd round pick.

At 6'1", 212lbs and Salei should bring in a tough veteran presence which the Avalanche blueline is sorely lacking. He leads the Panthers, and now the Avalanche, with 122 hits and has always played a pretty hard-nosed game.

He's also picked up his point production in recent years and could hit 30 points again this season. He arrives with the Avalanche in a tie with John-Michael Liles for points by a defenseman with 23.

Salei brings a cap hit of $3M and is signed through the 09/10 season. So he's a bit more expensive than Skrastins but brings more to the table than Skrastins did.

Karlis Skrastins has been a shell of his former self when he was part of the #1 line with Brett Clark. It goes to show that one solid run doesn't mean an average player has broken out of his shell. It just means they had an above average run and are set to return to form. I'm actually happier to see Skrastins gone than I am to see Forsberg back.

James Duthie just chatted with Peter McNabb live from Calgary. McNab said that really nobody saw the Forsberg signing coming (you think!) and that it was a quick deal and may have been influenced by Sundin's decision to go with his heart and stay with Toronto. He also made a good point that the Avalanche now have only 5 healthy defenceman for the game tonight.

From Jay Onrait's TradeCenter blog:

Keith Jones cracks everyone up by suggesting that the Ruslan Salei/Karlis Skrastins deal would have been announced earlier but it took both players too long to get off the ice in practice because neither can skate anymore.

Zing!

Avalanche Acquire Bacashihua for 7th-Round Pick

In a surprise move, the Avalanche have acquired Jason Bacashihua from the St. Louis Blues for a conditional seventh-round pick in 2008.

It's surprising for a couple reasons. The goaltending duo so far has been doing all right and Tyler Weiman was showing promise as the goaltender of the future for the Avs. At this point though, I believe it's mainly a depth move and, for the price, a bit of a steal actually.

He's already headed down to Lake Erie which is likely where he'll stay this year. There is a good chance that Michael Wall is headed down to the ECHL as he's been playing very poorly for the Monsters.

Looking at Bacashihua's stats - and incredibly bizarre lastname - you'll notice he's basically been a minor-leaguer posting up average yet unspectacular numbers. He's been touted as having the ability to be a #1 but has yet to realize that potential.

At only 25, he's still got a couple years to prove his abilities. But he's getting awfully close to the "bust" point in his career.

There is the possibility that this is setting up another trade and FG wanted to bring in a backup with NHL experience. Possibly. Not probably. Not anywhere near probably in my mind.

Related Links
ColoradoAvalanche.com Trade Announcement
Spector Weighs In