Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Trade Deadline Post-Mortem
First of all, I want to thank everyone who swung by the liveblog today. The stats are enough to tell me that I will most probably do this again in the near future.
It's almost impossible to pick winners and losers after a day like today. Almost all the playoff-bound teams did something to improve for this season's playoffs, and those that sold off players got very good returns for their respective futures.
It just happens that the biggest trade of the day involved a team that is probably sacrificing the rest of the season. The Edmonton Oilers are an okay team with Ryan Smyth in the lineup; I don't know what they'll be like without their heart and soul guy. That said, much like with the Chris Pronger trade, Kevin Lowe did a good job getting something back for Smyth - two top prospects plus a first-round draft pick is pretty good considering the circumstances.
The Sharks' acquisition of Bill Guerin immediately gives San Jose three very good scoring lines and allows them to keep pace with Nashville's earlier acquisition of Peter Forsberg. Ditto Detroit and getting Todd Bertuzzi.
Dallas didn't get a lot of air time today, but I thought they strengthened their defense immensely by trading for Mattias Norstrom. Norstrom will join a group that already includes Sergei Zubov, Philippe Boucher and Daryl Sydor and up-and-comer Trevor Daley.
Buffalo patched up their depleted forward corps by acquiring Danius Zubrus. Even Pittsburgh strengthened their lineup - literally - by adding Gary Roberts and George Laraques.
I mostly watched the TSN telecast as their coverage was far superior to that of Sportsnet. TSN was professional and broke many of the trades. Their panel was able to provide good, instant analysis and their reporters were usually first to interview the players involved.
Sportsnet's telecast was a gong show. For all their pomp and circumstance, I couldn't watch their show for more than 20 seconds at a time. I realize that some folks like the rumor and gossip thing (much like some still subscribe to the National Enquirer), but personally, eight hours of it was a tad too much.
It was excruciatingly painful to hear Sportsnet insist that there was still a chance that Gary Roberts was going to be traded to Toronto after Roberts' agent already confirmed that he had been traded to the Penguins. Likewise when Sportsnet kept reporting that Marty Biron was most likely headed to Florida while TSN was interviewing him because he had already been traded to Philadelphia. And when Sportsnet kept saying that Ryan Smyth had re-signed with the Oilers - contrary to what Bob Mackenzie was saying - only to retract and correct their report after Smyth was, in fact, traded to the Islanders.
If Sportsnet's mandate for the show was to fuel rumors and speculation, they certainly succeeded. Their show was as embarassing and unprofessional a performance as I've seen from a mainstream sports media network. But hey, they had hot chicks, right?
The good thing is, the rumors can end for a while and the postseason is on the horizon. 20 more games then the real fun starts.
______________
Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
It's almost impossible to pick winners and losers after a day like today. Almost all the playoff-bound teams did something to improve for this season's playoffs, and those that sold off players got very good returns for their respective futures.
It just happens that the biggest trade of the day involved a team that is probably sacrificing the rest of the season. The Edmonton Oilers are an okay team with Ryan Smyth in the lineup; I don't know what they'll be like without their heart and soul guy. That said, much like with the Chris Pronger trade, Kevin Lowe did a good job getting something back for Smyth - two top prospects plus a first-round draft pick is pretty good considering the circumstances.
The Sharks' acquisition of Bill Guerin immediately gives San Jose three very good scoring lines and allows them to keep pace with Nashville's earlier acquisition of Peter Forsberg. Ditto Detroit and getting Todd Bertuzzi.
Dallas didn't get a lot of air time today, but I thought they strengthened their defense immensely by trading for Mattias Norstrom. Norstrom will join a group that already includes Sergei Zubov, Philippe Boucher and Daryl Sydor and up-and-comer Trevor Daley.
Buffalo patched up their depleted forward corps by acquiring Danius Zubrus. Even Pittsburgh strengthened their lineup - literally - by adding Gary Roberts and George Laraques.
I mostly watched the TSN telecast as their coverage was far superior to that of Sportsnet. TSN was professional and broke many of the trades. Their panel was able to provide good, instant analysis and their reporters were usually first to interview the players involved.
Sportsnet's telecast was a gong show. For all their pomp and circumstance, I couldn't watch their show for more than 20 seconds at a time. I realize that some folks like the rumor and gossip thing (much like some still subscribe to the National Enquirer), but personally, eight hours of it was a tad too much.
It was excruciatingly painful to hear Sportsnet insist that there was still a chance that Gary Roberts was going to be traded to Toronto after Roberts' agent already confirmed that he had been traded to the Penguins. Likewise when Sportsnet kept reporting that Marty Biron was most likely headed to Florida while TSN was interviewing him because he had already been traded to Philadelphia. And when Sportsnet kept saying that Ryan Smyth had re-signed with the Oilers - contrary to what Bob Mackenzie was saying - only to retract and correct their report after Smyth was, in fact, traded to the Islanders.
If Sportsnet's mandate for the show was to fuel rumors and speculation, they certainly succeeded. Their show was as embarassing and unprofessional a performance as I've seen from a mainstream sports media network. But hey, they had hot chicks, right?
The good thing is, the rumors can end for a while and the postseason is on the horizon. 20 more games then the real fun starts.
______________
Comments/Questions: Feel free to post in the comments section or email me at gocanucksgo10 (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Technorati Tags: NHL, hockey, Vancouver, Canucks
1 Comments:
I feel like I have a post-trade deadline hangover today!
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