Trade Deadline Nostalgia - Who Got Screwed?

While we drum our fingers and wait for the judges' final decision on the Caps/Rangers and Devils/Canes matchups, let's remember that some teams made big sacrifices just to get to the last week of April.

Some of these deals don't look so good in 20/20 hindsight:

MTL Schneider + 2009 pick (conditional) = ATL 2009 2nd + 2010 3rd picks

Comparable 2nd round picks: Derek Roy (2001), Chris Bourque (2004), James Neal (2005)

Comparable 3rd round picks: Daniel Carcillo (2003), Kris Letang (2005), Steve Mason (2006)

Don't get me wrong. Schneider definitely helped keep Montreal on the right side of the playoff bubble, which was an overriding priority at the time.

Unfortunately it also represented a desperate attempt by Bob Gainey to save his own job. As an asset-management move it made no sense, as the Habs are clearly not in a position to give up valuable draft picks in the face of sweeping organizational changes. Meanwhile, the Thrashers have to be thrilled about this deal now that the pain is over in 08-09.

PHI Carcillo = PHO Upshall + 2011 2nd pick
Comparable 2nd rd picks: Tim Jackman (2001), Kamil Kreps (2003), Michael Sauer (2005)

Phoenix really cleaned up at the deadline, but this was their most uneven steal. Carcillo has little role as an NHL player, yet the Flyers were willing to potentially give up two legitimate contributors to get him. After their first-round loss to Pittsburgh, you have to wonder if Upshall (8 goals in 19 games with the Coyotes) could have made a difference. This is a real forehead-slapper for Philly.

NYR Morris = PHO Kalinin + Dawes + Prucha
NYR Antropov = TOR 2009 2nd round pick (conditional)

Comparable 2nd rd picks: Patrice Bergeron (2003), Paul Stastny (2005), Milan Lucic (2006)

Sensing a pattern here? The Rangers spent much of the season near the top of the Eastern Conference, but flatlined after an atrocious February. This trade was Glen Sather's version of CPR, trying to resuscitate his flailing team in time to make the playoff cut. Their chances of advancing as a low seed were minimal -- Antropov and Morris could never have made this team equal to the division winners -- so it's tough to rationalize the loss of three young players in the long term.

CAL Jokinen = PHO Lombardi + Prust + 2009 or 2010 1st round
CAL Leopold = COL Nycholat + Wilson + 2009 2nd round pick
Comparable 1st rd picks: Colby Armstrong (2001), Ryan Kesler (2003), Tuukka Rask (2005)
Comparable 2nd rd picks: Jason Pominville (2001), Duncan Keith (2002), David Booth (2004)

Oh man. This one hurts. Again, it's the sort of deal that a desperate GM makes when he feels the rope around his neck. Darryl Sutter squeezed the Flames so hard against the salary cap ceiling that they couldn't even ice a full roster as they stumbled down the stretch, and their new acquisitions couldn't even get Calgary to the second round. In return the Flames have shorn themselves of quality depth players for the indefinite future, likely ensuring a long rebuild beginning in the next few years.

Practice?!? We're talking about *practice*?!?

Over the past couple of years I've given the Habs a lot of grief for lacking heart and passion. A lot of it has to do with typical rival-baiting and trash-talking, especially since the Bruins have traditionally contrasted themselves with Montreal in terms of grit, toughness and attitude. In fact, I'm willing to put aside my bias and admit that from time to time the Habs have actually acquired a player or two who has a faint sparkle of personal character.

So I'm not really sure how to react to this:

The day before the Montreal Canadiens face elimination in Game 4 of their opening round playoff series with the Bruins, coach Bob Gainey decided to make today's practice optional. The Habs played hard for most of last night's game and some players probably legitimately needed a breather today, but to have 8 players show up for practice the day before you face elimination to me shows that this team just doesn't care. -- Stanley Cup of Chowder

The Bruins fan in me is already committing this paragraph to memory, so I can recall it in a drunken argument 5 years from now as evidence that the Habs are really just whiny losers.

But the hockey fan in me sees this as just plain sad. 8 players? Really? 8 players show up to possibly the last practice of their season?

This is not just a red flag, it's a crimson banner stretching all the way from Rue de la Montagne to 2313 St. Catherine St. It's a slap in the face to Bob Gainey and the faith he has put into his players, and it's an indictment of players like Kovalev and Koivu who were expected to be the leaders of a great Canadien era.

And ultimately it reflects poorly on Gainey, who constructed this team to make a Cup run and called an optional practice before a must-win home game.

It's also worth wondering whether the Habs' conditioning program has something to do with their numerous untimately injuries and their long-standing problem of losing steam at the end of playoff games.

There is no love lost for the Habs on this blog, but my sympathies go out to their fans for having to endure this sort of pathetic, un-Canadien behavior.

Laraque = Fail.

A little bit of pre-series trash talk is one thing, but BGL's comments to the media come off as forced... a transparent tactic to give the Habs a boost of some sort. It's hard to imagine that anyone in the Bruins locker room would actually get riled up, given that they are obviously being baited.

Frankly, things are starting to seem really weird with the Habs. Gainey should be given some credit for the Bowman-esque attempt to shift pressure toward the other bench, but this move seems both counterproductive and out of character. Laraque offers literally nothing when he is on the ice, meaning they are wasting a roster spot in the hopes that he will prove his worth in a fight... in the playoffs.

The counterattack seems pretty simple: ignore Laraque or simply wait until he's on the ice and take advantage of his lack of game. There is no Bruin on the roster, other than perhaps Byron Bitz, who would be considered an even swap for 5 minutes.

By the way... epic fail to Laraque for not even being Avery-funny.

This Season Just Got A Little Crazier

Habs GM Bob Gainey just fired Guy Carobonneau and replaced him with... Habs GM Bob Gainey. No other details for now.

I guess when Gainey said a couple of months ago that hiring Carby was "the best move [he] ever made as GM", what he really meant was that it was the best way to insinuate himself back into the locker room when the media pressure starts to build.