Atlanta Thrashers
The Wrath Of Krog!
Jason Krog capped off the 2007-08 season much the same way he started it….with a hot finish…a four point night including a hat trick in Chicago’s 5-2 win over Pittsburgh last night. The win gave the Calder Cup to Chicago for the second time in seven seasons. The scoring frenzy gave Krog an AHL high of 38 points in the playoffs (12 goals, 26 assists) in 24 games.
With that effort, it was a no-brainer that Krog would win the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy for being the most valuable player of the Calder Cup playoffs. Krog had already captured the AHL MVP award with an astonishing 112 points (39 goals, 73 assists) in just 80 games during the regular season. Here is the game winner….right here.
(empty_netters/flickr.com)
Krog has been an amazing mentor on this team. Now granted it may seem weird that this success never quite translated on the NHL level but Krog is surrounded with talent that could be considered NHL caliber or damn close to it. Ondrej Pavelec, the goalie, is only a rookie but there is talk that he may get a chance with the Atlanta Thrashers next season. He is that talented! Add in contributions from guys like Dennis Haydar and Joel Kwiatkowski (27 and 25 points respectively) and you have the recipe for a title.
Krog has guided the youngsters well…working with guys like Brett Sterling and Nathan Oystrick. That really was his purpose in staying with Chicago….I am sure he could have gone up to Atlanta but I don’t think he really wanted to. He is happy in the AHL but Atlanta top brass would be foolish not to try and coax him into playing for the big club next season. Krog still has some talent left even at the tender age of 32 (he will be 33 at the start of next season). Don’t be shocked if this is a springboard for several of these Wolves to show what they can do on the big club.
This former Hobey Baker award winner (98-99) from New Hampshire clearly has a considerable amount left in the tank and would be a great asset to the youngsters in Atlanta. Question is…does Krog really want to try the NHL again as he seems to be very happy and content in Chicago? Only time will tell on that one.
Trade Deadline Fun!!!
The deed has been done…they day is now over…here is what happened.
TRADES AND SIGNINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY!!
– Mike Comrie resigned 1 year…4 million with the Isles.
– Actual Trade: Bryce Salvador to New Jersey and Cam Janssen goes to St. Louis.
– Wade Belak goes to Florida for a 5th round 08 draft pick.
– Defenseman Brian Campbell to San Jose for Steve Bernier and a 2008 first round pick.
– Brad Richards goes to Dallas…also going with him will be goalie Johan Holmqvist…Tampa gets goalie Mike Smith, center Jeff Halpern and winger Jussi Jokinen and a 4th round pick.
– Goalie Cristobal Huet has been traded to Washington for a second round pick in the 09 draft.
– Andrew Ladd has been traded from the Canes to the Blackhawks for Tuomo Ruutu.
– The Colorado Avalanche have acquired Ruslan Salei from the Panthers for Karlis Skrastins and a third round pick.
– Chicago has moved Martin Lapointe to Ottawa….Chicago return a 6th round 2008 pick.
– Colorado acquires Adam Foote from Columbus…for a first round conditional pick and more.
– Sergei Fedorov has been traded to Washington…..for defenseman Ted Ruth.
– Rob Davison has been traded to the Isles from the Sharks for a 7th round pick in 08.
– Washington traded Matt Pettinger for Vancouver’s Matt Cooke.
– Toronto trades Hall Gill to the Pens….. for a 2nd rounder and 5th rounder in 09.
– Backman to the New York Rangers….Blues get a 4th rounder in return.
– WOW! The big one. Hossa and Pascal Dupuis to the Pens….for Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito, and a first round 2008 pick.
– Chris Simon to the Minnesota Wild for a 6th round pick.
– Brad Stuart has been traded to the Detroit Red Wings…Kings get back a 2nd and 4th rounder.
– Chad Kilger has been traded to Florida for a third round draft pick.
– Sjostrom, Leneveau and Josh Gratton going to the New York Rangers for Al Montoya and Marcel Hossa.
– Marc-Andre Bergeron has been traded to the Ducks for a 3rd round pick.
– JS Aubin has been traded for a 7th round draft pick to the Anaheim Ducks.
– Joe Motzko has been traded from the Thrashers to the Caps for Alexandre Giroux.
– Jan Hlavac was moved to Nashville for a 7th round pick.
– Brandon Bochenski traded to Nashville for future considerations.
ANALYSIS OF TRADES:
– Devils bolster their defensive depth with stay at home defenseman Salvador while Janssen goes home to St. Louis to add some grit to the Blues lineup.
– Florida finally gets a fighter that they need to add some physicality to the mix.
– Campbell does indeed get dealt and the San Jose blue line gets that much stronger with a QB on the Power Play. Buffalo gets a good forward with upside and a much coveted first rounder in this year’s draft.
– Dallas gets the center of attention they feel they need and a decent backup in Holmqvist…they do give up on Smith and Jokinen though. But you have to give to get something in the trade deadline.
– This is a precursor for bigger things in Montreal but you have to give major points for Washington in securing a #1 netminder with very good upside. And they only gave up a second rounder to boot.
– Carolina wanted more grit well they got it and Ladd provides Chicago with a little punch.
– The Avs get bigger on defense but they do get a little slower while the Panthers make a pretty smart trade in getting a vet like Skrastins.
– Ottawa gets a little stingier with Lapointe and for next to nothing…not bad.
– Colorado gets the old boys together as Foote helps them out on the defensive end….but pays for it with a conditional first rounder. An 08 if Avs make playoffs and an 09 if they don’t…plus Columbus gets another pick if Foote resigns with Avs…not as good of a move as it first looked to be.
– Fedorov provides a bit of veteran leadership to Washington as they try to win the Southeast…and trade not much for him.
– Isles needed defenseman help….and get a bit here. Just some depth to help the injuries mounting on the D side.
– Cooke provides the Caps with a little grit…it makes me wonder why the Canucks would do such a deal.
– The Pens get a big physical d-man but for a couple picks…a curious price to say the least but he will help in his own end.
– Rangers get a pretty good one with some upside….and the Blues get a decent pick.
– The Pens make 2 trades..the second one being an even bigger risk than the first one will be interesting one way or the other for Shero. Hossa will provide them with undeniable offensive punch…but trading away some of these character guys may hurt the Pens in the long run. A very curious move and if you are Montreal, why trade Huet now? But that is second guessing.
– Why Minnesota why? That is all I will say. I do not get it at all.
– Stuart gives the Wings some much needed defensive depth given all the injuries the Wings have sustained.
– A bit of a curious move for a third rounder but Florida does get a pretty good vet.
– Maloney had to give up a bit to get Montoya…hopefully he thinks it is worth it because I think Sjostrom could be pretty darn good.
– Isles did not like Bergeron of late but maybe the Ducks can turn him around…Bergeron will help some on the Power Play.
– I don’t get this one at all Burke….I just don’t.
– Another trade that seemed just a trade for trade’s sake.
– Hlavac will help the Preds just a little bit but the Preds seemed content to stay out of the fray on this trade deadline.
– I guess Bochenski was just interchangeable parts for Burke.
Dominoes Starting To Fall??
With two days left until the trade deadline….it appears some dominoes are already starting to fall. The path has been made for some trades to get the green light even though destinations are currently unknown as of right now.
First up is the saga of Marian Hossa. Hossa will now definitely be traded after Atlanta GM Don Waddell failed to sign him yesterday in an 11th hour attempt to keep him.  Where will he end up? Montreal? Ottawa? Somewhere else? I am apt to go with Montreal right now but I think a third party may snatch him up if the price is right. Remember, the team that does trade for him will have the inside track in resigning him in the offseason.
Next we have Brian Campbell of the Sabres. It appears Darcy Regehr is going to make an offer later today or this evening in the 4 year, 22 million dollar range. If Campbell does not bite and at this point there is no guarantee the offer made will even be that high….Campbell could be out of Buffalo as soon as Monday afternoon. He could end up in New Jersey, San Jose, or even Detroit…depending on what breaks when.
The Los Angeles Kings will be active sellers and I see at least 2 or 3 players being dealt at the deadline besides Jaroslov Modry. Though Rob Blake will not go anywhere….players like Tom Preissing and even Alexander Frolov might. This team is in rebuild mode yet again. So I scanned up and down their roster a bit. Brad Sturart, Ladislav Nagy, and even Brian Willsie could all be trade deadline casualties for the Kings.
Tampa is now definitely in sell mode. Not only do I expect to see Vaclav Prospal moved but I expect either Dan Boyle or Brad Richards to be moved as well by the deadline. Richards might go to Columbus or even St. Louis. Boyle may also go West to San Jose, Detroit, or even Calgary…who knows at this point. The only thing for sure is Tampa will be sellers.
Finally, the Flyers may be pressed into one or more trades with their losing streak hitting ten and their recent rash of injuries. The latest is a crucial one with Mike Richards getting sidelined for three weeks with a torn hamstring. They will bid heavy in many sweepstakes and may be a darkhorse as they may be more willing to give up more than the asking price. Playoff desperation makes GM’s do some very strange things.
Well one thing for sure…is there is only 51 hours till the deadline and it is awfully quiet…maybe too quiet for my liking. That calm will end soon and probably in a big way as it always does every year.
