Deadline 2012: Grading the Canadian team GMs
Posted February 29, 2012 9:59 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Before we get fully entrenched in a playoff race that will consume us during the last month-and-a-half of the regular season, let’s evaluate what the NHL’s Canadian teams did at the NHL trade deadline this season.
Calgary Flames
With the Flames on the cusp of the top eight in the highly competitive Western Conference, it was going to be interesting to see what kind of stance Flames’ general manager Jay Feaster would take.
As it turned out, Feaster decided to stay the course and stick with the team as is, in hopes they all come together and get the team into the postseason. In a post-deadline press conference, Feaster expressed his confidence in the team he has moving forward.
“We talked about the fact that, despite our disappointment about the way last week went, when the day started, we were one point back of the No. 8 spot . . . and we still believe we can make the playoffs,” Feaster said. “As we discussed all of that, as we discussed where we are, as we discussed our group, the decision was made . . . that if we could pick up pieces that would help us, we’d do that, (but) we weren’t prepared to overpay for those pieces.
“But we made the decision that we wouldn’t be sellers. We weren’t going to bust this thing up.”
Hopefully Feaster made the right decision because should the Flames not make the playoffs this season, and right now they’re on the outside looking in, changes will certainly have to be made to get this franchise back on the playoff track.
Grade: B-
Edmonton Oilers
Heading into the trade deadline, it was a given that the Oilers would be sellers.
The team sits near the bottom of the Western Conference, and general manager Steve Tambellini is still putting the right pieces together as part of a rebuilding process. Yesterday, Tambellini showed just that.
For starters, he traded defenceman Tom Gilbert to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenceman Nick Schultz. Schultz is just 29 years of age and will fit nicely on the Edmonton blue line as a defensive stalwart to go along with puck movers Jeff Petry, Ladislav Smid and Corey Potter.
Letting go of Gilbert probably wasn’t the easiest thing for Tambellini to do, as Gilbert was very well-liked in that Oilers locker room. Gilbert had also contributed 17 points (three goals and 14 assists) this season from the blue line.
However, Tambellini made the right move in building for the future and by giving his young defensive corps another veteran presence on the blue line.
Grade: B
Montreal Canadiens
Things have been trending downward for the Canadiens all season long.
The team is struggling to win hockey games, general manager Pierre Gauthier has made several questionable moves in his tenure, and the last-in-the-conference club is close to not making the postseason for the first time since 2006-07.
That said, Gauthier did not stand pat at the deadline this season. Gauthier sent left winger Andrei Kostitsyn to the Nashville Predators for a second-round draft pick in 2013. The Predators also returned the conditional fifth-round choice in 2013 that the Canadiens sent their way when they traded defenceman Hal Gill a few weeks ago.
Gauthier had the future in mind with this deal as he said that the extra picks he received for 2013 could be chips utilized in future dealings. But who knows what that will turn out to be?
Grade: F
Ottawa Senators
With the Senators firmly holding on to one of the top eight spots in the Eastern Conference, general manager Bryan Murray pledged not to mortgage the future and to instead add complementary players to the team’s roster.
Murray stuck to his word and made several moves without giving up too much. Over this past weekend, the Senators acquired talented netminder Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for just a second-round pick. This was an absolute steal considering that Bishop is one of the top goaltenders in the American Hockey League right now.
Murray also acquired defenceman Matt Gilroy from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Brian Lee. Gilroy brings more offense to the team’s blue line but needs to improve on his defensive game if he wants to continue to be an NHL regular.
All in all, this was a solid deadline for Murray and the team seems to be in a good position heading into the future.
Grade: A
Toronto Maple Leafs
When it comes to the trade deadline, it always seems like the pressure is on Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke to make the right moves in order to his team into the postseason.
While Burke did make some minor tweaks, no one really knows whether or not these moves will make the Leafs any better. The Leafs traded young defenceman Keith Aulie to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for big forward Carter Ashton while also dealing forward Dale Mitchell to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Mark Fraser.
However, it was the deal to acquire a goaltender that stands out the most when it comes to the Leafs. With both James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson struggling, Burke probably should have gone after a goalie like Ben Bishop or perhaps a veteran. Instead, Bishop went to the Leafs’ hated rival, Ottawa.
This was not the kind of deadline that most Leafs’ fans envisioned heading into it.
Grade: C-
Vancouver Canucks
Going into the trade deadline, there was no pressure on Vancouver Canucks general manager Mike Gillis to make any kind of deals because his club sits atop the Western Conference.
However, that did not stop Gillis from going out there and making a few shrewd moves to show that his team is once again going for the Cup this season. Just before the 3 p.m. deadline, the Canucks traded rookie forward Cody Hodgson and defenceman Alexander Sulzer to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Zack Kassian and defenceman Marc-Andre Gragnani.
Earlier in the day, the team went out and acquired checking forward Samuel Pahlsson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for defenceman Taylor Ellington. The club also picked up forward Andrew Gordon from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenceman Sebastien Erixon.
Buffalo surely scored a talent in Hodgson. But balancing out his team through the acquisition of Kassian, Gragnani and Pahlsson shows that Gillis is going for the Cup not only this season but in coming seasons as well.
Grade: A
Winnipeg Jets
Going into the season, no one knew quite what to expect from Winnipeg.
With just over a month and a half to go, the Jets find themselves in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, fighting for the eighth spot. However, the team is also just four points out of the Southeast Division lead.
With that in mind, Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff mostly kept his roster intact with the exception of retooling his defence. Cheveldayoff shipped out defenceman Johnny Oduya to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for second- and third-round picks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
To fill Oduya’s spot, Cheveldayoff went out and acquired Grant Clitsome, formerly of the Columbus Blue Jackets, off the NHL waiver wire.
His moves may not seem like much, but Cheveldayoff did the right thing in not blowing up the roster and keeping the crew together for the playoff stretch run.
Grade: B
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