The NHL got back to business super quick coming off the Olympics, not only were they playing games the next day, they’ve got a trade deadline that hits today. Of course, locally, everyone is watching the Vancouver Canucks, a team that has consistently done very little at the trade deadline.
Now, you take a look at this year, and many have said that the team is close to getting a cup, we’re still party to those who say we are still a piece away. You take a look at the roster, and you can see the bad luck this team has faced. First off, on the defense, Kevin Bieksa, while due back soon, is recovering from a significant laceration on his calf. Not the easiest injury to recover from. On the other end, Willie Mitchell is suffering from a massive concussion after a massive hit from Evgeni Malkin. While the organization is saying that they expect him back, no one is giving any due date, and they won’t even confirm he’ll be back this season! Sounds like the guy gets dizzy just picking up the paper. So, that’s two top four d-men missing, that puts the focus on the blue line. Let’s be honest, with Sami Salo back there, there’s no guarantee we won’t have three on the mend soon.
Others have said that we need a third line winger, and there’s no doubt about that. Kyle Wellwood and Steve Bernier have not been performing this season. Some are asking to trade Pavol Demitra after a sucessful Robert Reichel like Olympics. Now, we’re saying, the guy has been injured for a good chunk of the season, there’s a chance that he’s rounding into form, so we’re not completely sold on trading him, even with his sketchy playoff history.
We don’t just have roster players to bait teams, we’ve got one of the biggest goalie prospects in the league, in Corey Schneider. We have an energetic prospect forward in Michael Grabner, in addition to Sergei Shirokov. We’d be completely ok with all of those being moved for strong players coming back.
That being said, it’s a quiet ass day, and at the time of this writing, there’s only been three trades!
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