What can you say about February Madness that hasn’t already been said? High on bluster, low on drama, less action than Granny on Bingo night.
(Michael Farber’s recent SI article perfectly deconstructs this non-event.)
Last night, one of the “big guns” – Jeff Carter – was jettisoned by the Jackets after becoming fed up of his tantrums.
Jack Johnson (a #2 defenceman, good term, good cap hit) AND a first rounder?
Poor Kings. Never good to trade in a position of desperation. It won’t save GM Lombardi’s job anyway.
Carter has ten years remaining and several years of partying ahead of him with Mikey Richards in the City of Angels.
Bosom Buddies: Chateau Marmont, here we come!
Big deadline trades seldom pan out. See: Forsberg, Hossa, Penner, Campbell, etc.
That’s why I doubt that Rick Nash will be going to the Rangers given the asking price. It’s too risky that it will destroy the team’s chemistry.
Sather can’t be that crazy, can he?
The Madness of King Sather
The Sharks are getting nervous in the standings – are they ever going to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals? – so maybe they’ll pull the trigger. But at what cost?
Good teams seldom make knee-jerk reaction deals. They add complimentary players to support the core. The Bruins, Canucks, Red Wings are model franchises in this regard.
You need time to mesh with a new coach and new teammates, to learn a new system, and get comfortable in a new city. Time is a luxury that rental players don’t have.
But who are we to complain? This is the entertainment business. Hundreds of normal Joe’s will be taking next Monday off to watch a bunch of middle-aged hockey “insiders” tweet. Sigh.
After careful consultation with my dog Jesse and my seven year old son Harper (hmm, I may be confusing the two names), here are a couple of trade deadline predictions you can bank on:
1) Flyers will make a huge trade to acquire a goalie. Bryzgalov will end up in Arkham Asylum.
2) Canucks will recycle two more ex Habs onto their roster: welcome back Pierre Dagenais and Jan Bulis.
3) Bruins will find a grizzled veteran to replace Recchi – Cam Neely unretires to park himself in front of the net.
4) Hawks will add a second line centre – quick Pleks, pack your bags and head outta Dodge before they pitch fork Gauthier!
5) The Blue Jackets and Habs will swap all American born and French-Canadian born players in the first geographically-based player trade in league history. The trade is so successful that both sides agree to the first wife swap in league history.
Not so famous.
PuckBandits 