Cheap Commodore

Tampa Bay also got great hair

The trade: Detroit trades Mike Commodore to Tampa Bay for a conditional 7th round pick

Tampa Bay gets a 32 year old defensive defenseman. Who has been struggling the last few years. Commodore was in fact bought out by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Commodore has been a healthy scratch more most of his season with only 17 games played for the Wings and now one game played for the Lightning. Commodore has only 2 points in those 18 games.

Detroit gets a conditional 7th round pick. GM Ken Holland says that he dealt Commodore looking at both the playoffs and his young defenseman. Holland says with Commodore playing less that 20 games he would not be ready for playoffs, while the young legs of Smith and Kindl are. Detroit also gets more cap space for movement this offseason.

Detroit trade rating: C+, more cap space and roster room

Tampa trade rating: B-, got Commodore for just a 7th round pick

In all, this trade this been summed up by two tweets:

Paul Bissonnette ‏ @BizNasty2point0

Hey @commie22, don't feel bad you only got dealt for a 7th rounder. The way Detroit drafts they'll probably turn that into a hall of famer.

Mike Commodore ‏ @commie22 

Get the #sunscreen ready... #spf70 #Tampa

Gilroy for Lee

The Trade: Ottawa trades Brian Lee to Tampa Bay for Matt Gilroy

Ottawa gets a 27 year old defenseman with some offensive output. Currently has 17 points in 54 games including his 1st game for Ottawa (no points in that game). Should provide more depth the the blue line of Ottawa as they go for the playoffs. Though he has few playoff experience still, he has some and so can help with the young players with no playoff experience.

Tampa gets a struggling 24 year old offensive defenseman. Previously picked 9th overall in the 1st round of the 2005 entry draft by Ottawa, Lee would seem to have it in the AHL, but would struggle whenever called up. Tampa Bay will have to hope that the change of scenery for Lee will be enough to cure Brain Lee's struggles.

Tampa trade rating: B-, grabbed a young d-man to help their rebuild

Ottawa trade rating: B, grabbed a defenseman for playoffs for a struggling one

The Bruins Just Got Tougher

The Trade:

Boston Bruins acquire: D Greg Zanon
Minnesota Wild acquire: D Steve Kampfer

The Minnesota Wild have acquired the 22 year old defensemen Kampfer who has been playing in the AHL. Over the past two seasons Kampfer has had stints with the Bruins playing 48 NHL games and recording 12 points and 16 penalty minutes. Kampfer has recorded 5 points in the AHL this year. Kampfer is a good replacement for the older Zanon. Kampfer might not have any impact with the Wild this season but he will be a great bottom 3 defensemen for the Wild for many years to come.


Boston Bruins just got a whole lot tougher with the addition of gritty defensemen Greg Zanon. Zanon has 6, points, 77 hits and 104 blocked shots over 39 games this season. Last year Zanon was second in the NHL with 212 blocked shots at seasons end, just behind Ranger defensemen, Dan Girardi. Greg Zanon will be huge on the penalty kill for the Boston Bruins as they go into the playoffs. Zanon will not help out a lot offensively but he and the Bruins know that is not his job.

                           Here is a clean hit by Zanon on Krejci, who he is now teammates with.

Trade Rating:

Boston Bruins - A, acquire another tough, gritty body for the road into the playoffs
Minnesota Wild - B+, acquire a younger defenseman who has decent potential

Whoot Ya! for Oduya

The Trade: Winnipeg Jets trade Johnny Oduya to Chicago for a 2nd round pick (2013) and a 3rd round pick (2013)

Winnipeg gets two picks in the top 3 rounds of the 2013 draft to help their future for a defenseman. Winnipeg already has a strong defense and so had an access that they might as well use and they used it well as they got two good picks for a defenseman that was not high in their defense depth chart.

Chicago gets a strong defensive defenseman with decent offensive output (13 points in 63 games) to help they're blueline depth. Oduya now joins a team gearing up for another run for the cup. Cost them a fair amount to get them, but Oduya should be great, cheap way to booster their depth in their D.

Winnipeg trade rating: B+, squeezed all the value out of Oduya

Chicago trade rating: B-, improved D depth greatly

Gilbert for Schultz

Minnesota Just Got Better Hair

The Trade: Tom Gilbert traded from Edmonton to Minnesota for Nick Schultz

Minnesota gets a 29 year old defenseman with good offensive output (17 points in 47 games). Tom Gilbert normally gets 30-40 points in a season with 45 in the season of 2008-09. What is great for Minnesota and Gilbert is that he is a Minnesota born, meaning he will love to play there and should put up some good offensive numbers to help Minnesota Wild as they push to try for the playoffs once again.

Edmonton gets a 29 year old defensive defenseman with little offensive output (3 points in 62 games) but good defensively. Schultz is from Saskatchewan and said he grew up watching the Edmonton Oilers. So just like Gilbert is happy with the team he is traded to due to personal reasons.

Minnesota trade rating: A-, gets some offensive improvment on their blueline


Edmonton trade rating: B+, gets a change of scenery in their blueline


Really just a trade for the interest of both players and to just mix up the blue lines of both teams to try to make a positive difference in both teams.

'Nucks get Gordon

The Trade: Canucks acquire F Andrew Gordon from the Ducks in exchange for D Sebastian Erixon.

Sebastian Erixon

Vancouver adds a good young forward to their roster for a minimal cost considering Gordon's offensive potential. Gordon has 5 points in 37 games this season for the Ducks as well as 8 points in 19 games for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. 

Anaheim adds an excellent defensive prospect in Sebastian Erixson who has spent the last 5 seasons in the Elitserien until he joined the AHL's Chicago Wolves. 

Canucks trade rating: B, They added some solid scoring potential to their roster that could have an immediate impact.

Ducks trade rating: C, They have added a young Swedish blue liner with plenty of elite level experience over in europe that could help strengthen their back end for the future.    

Kostitsyn to Nashville

Nashville, trying to prove to Ryan Suter and Shea Weber that they are serious about winning down in Smashville, added a somewhat familiar face.


"Yay, I'm getting out of Montreal!"


The Trade: 
David Poile was the first one to pull the trigger on a deal on deadline day, swapping his second pick in 2013 and a conditional 5th round pick in 2013 to the Canadiens for F Andrei Kostitsyn.

This reunites Andrei with his brother Sergei after Sergei was dealt from the Canadiens to Nashville in 2010 for Dan Ellis and Dustin Boyd. Sergei has since flourish with Nashville after never really fitting in with Montreal, and they are hoping that Andrei will have the same reaction.

This is the second deal that Montreal and Nashville have had this month, after earlier in the month Montreal shipped Hal Gill and a conditional 5th round pick for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and a second round pick in 2012.

For Montreal, this trade is just to get something out of a player that would have likely walked in the off-season as an unrestricted free agent anyways. Getting a second round pick and their conditional 5th they shipped to Nashville in the Gill trade back is a fairly decent return on a player that wasn't like the situation in Montreal and was going to leave.

Nashville Trade Rating: B Get a highly skilled player who showed flashes of brilliance in Montreal and will likely find chemistry with his brother.


Montreal trade Rating: C+ Got something for a player that wasn't happy in his situation, but seems a bit low for a player with Kostitsyn's potential.

Winnik and Galiardi to San Jose

The Trade: F Daniel Winnik, F T.J. Galiardi and a 7th round pick in 2013 to San Jose for F Jamie McGinn, F Michael Sgarbossa and F Mike Connolly to Colorado.

San Jose gains two forwards that could play a crucial role on the penalty kill as well as supplying some points for an already dangerous Sharks offence. Currently the Sharks PK is operating at 77.4% and sits at 28th overall in the NHL. Their PK will definitely have to improve if they are to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender and Galiardi and Winnik may just be the answer. The 7th round draft pick is not extremely helpful but could be very useful down the road depending on the draft.

Colorado improves their future for the most part plus gets some added offense with the Jamie McGinn upfront. Mcginn has 24 points this season including 12 goals which is something that Colorado is going to need a lot more of. Connolly has 30 points this season for the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League. The major pickup for down the road is Michael Sgarbossa who has 84 points in 57 games this season for the OHL's Sudbury Wolves.

San Jose trade rating: B+, They accomplished what they needed to do at the deadline by getting two penalty killers which strengthens their chances this season. They did lose out for down the road as they lost a hardworking McGinn and two excellent prospects. Worth noting is that at the end of this season, Winnik is a UFA and Galiardi is an RFA.


Colorado trade rating: B, This is a good trade for the Ave's as this is not their year and they are improving for down the road. They could try and get both players back in the off season as they are free agents. The addition of Sgarbossa and Connolly bodes well for the future.

Preds Land Gaustad

Being one of the busier teams leading up to the deadline, Nashville made another deal that helps improve their team depth and they got it in just before the 3:00 deadline.


Gaustad will bring his faceoff prowess to Nashville


The Trade:
The Buffalo Sabres send C Paul Gaustad to the Nashville Predators for a first round pick in this year's draft and a 4th round pick.

In Gaustad, Nashville gets a gritty centre who can give the team about 15 minutes a game, has a 56% faceoff percentage this year and can play on the penalty kill. Gaustad will likely centre the fourth line, maybe the third line and play a key role in their penalty killing which is currently 13th in the NHL.

Buffalo getting a first round pick for Gaustad is outstanding for them. For a player that has never scored more than 12 goals in the NHL is great. Allow this will be a somewhat late round pick with Nashville expected to make it a round or two into the playoffs and this year's draft isn't the deepest there has been,  this is still a good trade for the Sabres.

Nashville Trade Rating: B Can help improve the team defense even more, and can aid in penalty killing and faceoff situations, but the price was pretty steep.


Buffalo Trade Rating: A- Getting a first round pick for the player is great, especially for a pending UFA.

Sami to VanCity

The Trade:

To Vancouver: C Sami Pahlsson
To Columbus: Two 4th round picks in 2012 and prospect D Taylor Ellington

In Sami Pahlsson the Canucks acquire a very similar player to Manny Malhotra who they signed in the offseason before the 2010-11 season. Malhotra was signed due to his great penalty killing, faceoff wins and grit, as he is a perfect 3rd liner for the current kind of NHL. Pahlsson is very similar to Maholtra, and those two along with Lapierre could cause a lot of problems for opposing teams. Pahlsson has 429 FW, 11 points, 33 blocked shots, 34 takeaways and only 8 giveaways. Pahlsson is a very underrated player as he can do everything a 3rd liner needs to do. He strengthens the Canucks bottom 6 forwards and will be a great help as the run to the playoff begins. Higgins, Hansen, Lapierre, Malhotra and Bitz along with newly acquired Pahlsson and Kassian have a very good bottom 6, that will cause a lot of havoc in the playoffs to teams they face.

In exchange for Pahlsson, the Blue Jackets acquired 2 2012 4th round picks and minor leaguer Taylor Ellington. Ellington might not ever make the NHL but he has a chance to play in the Columbus system and improve the team that he plays on.

Vancouver trade rating: A-, acquire a great piece that will help a lot in the playoffs with the PK

Columbus trade rating: A-, trade a UFA for a couple of picks and a prospect, wouldn't have got anything if he left in free agency

What's a Carter Ashton?

Keith Aulie for Carter Ashton

Carter Ashton (RW) – First AHL season – 19-16-35 with 58 PIM and +8 in 56 games

Keith Aulie (D) – 0-1-1 with 30 PIM and a -8 in 23 games with Marlies
                                -0-2-2 with 16 PIM and a -2 in 17 games with Leafs

There are quite a few Toronto fans freaking out right now because this was the only Leafs trade of significance this trade deadline. “What’s a Carter Ashton?” seems to be the most popular question. Well for starters he was drafted in the first round in 2009 and represented Canada in the 2011 World Juniors. No, it’s not a trade that will have a huge impact on the Leafs playoff hopes this season but in my opinion it was a good move. The Leafs have great defensive depth and Keith Aulie was seen as a spare part especially with the emergence of Jake Gardiner.  Aulie has been outshone by Gardiner and had trouble cracking the line-up. Also, Aulie’s rookie contract is over this year whereas Carter Ashton’s has just started. Ashton will likely finish up his rookie year with the Marlies and could see a lot of time on the top line. A physical forward with decent point production, the Leafs should look forward to seeing him improve. The Lightning on the other hand will likely see Keith Aulie quickly competing for a roster spot but he’ll be up against fellow newcomers Brian Lee and Mike Commodore. His stats aren’t great but he’s a big guy that will likely grow into a solid shutdown defenseman. With Tampa Bay still in the playoff race, the young defender could prove to be some help in getting them there provided he develops some chemistry with the team.

Tampa Bay gets a B for the trade (developing stay-at-home defenseman)

and Toronto gets a B+  (tough winger with decent point production)

Auditioning

A term thrown around far too often during the trade deadline period is "auditioning". When a player that has been in trade rumours around the deadline has a good game, many analysts come out and say "if he was auditioning to be traded, he did very well".

This is absolutely ridiculous. Teams in the NHL do not base whether they will make a trade for a player based on one good game that happened near the deadline. To even suggest that is ludicrous. Teams have large groups of pro scouts that they rely on for information on these players and the process is an on-going one.

If teams traded for every player that had a good game then the deadline would be a lot busy but, there would be a lot more silly trades. Oh, one good game and your stock shoots through the roof, ridiculous.

Steve Ott had a good game against the Blackhawks last game, every team better go out and trade for him now, he's so valuable to every single team! While it may be viable for some teams to go after Ott, like the Vancouver Canucks who are trying to add grit, but they won't be trading for him because he scored a goal and got the energy going in one game against the Hawks.

There you go, stop using auditioning or I'm going to have to rant again.

Kings Finally Find Help Up Front?

Have the Kings finally found the answer to the scoring woes, in Jeff Carter. Only time will tell. Carter is now re-united with ex-Philly teammate Mike Richards, after only being apart for not even a full season.

The Trade:

The Los Angeles Kings have acquired: C/RW Jeff Carter

The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired: D Jack Johnson and a 1st round pick**

** If the Kings miss the playoffs this year it becomes a 2013 1st, if the Kings make the playoffs, the Blue Jackets can pick between LA's 2012 1st round pick or the 2013 first round pick. 

This is a great deal for both teams as it addresses problems that both teams have. 

The Los Angeles Kings are really struggling with scoring goals this year, and Jeff Carter a 46 goal scorer in 2008-09 could be the right man for the job. Jeff Carter has only 15 goals in 39 games in Columbus but with injury problems and with him and Rick Nash have not working well together his goal total is down lower than it should be at this point of the season. With Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, who were teammates in Philly from 2005-06 until 2010-11 are now re-united but in a different city. The Los Angeles Kings traded Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn and a 2nd round pick to the Flyers in-exchange for Mike Richards. So, essentially the Kings have acquired Carter and Richards for Simmonds, Schenn, Johnson, 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick. The Kings have moved a lot of potential for what they hope is immediate help. Carter is another big name in LA, which should bring goal scoring which is desperately needed. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets have finally acquired, a franchise first, a true offensive defenseman in Jack Johnson. Jack Johnson has always been in Drew Doughty shadow, and has not been getting the recognition he deserves. JJ tallied up 42 points last year which was a career high but that again behind Drew Doughty. In Columbus JJ will be to go guy on the power-play and on 5 on 5 so he will be seeing lots of playing time and getting lots of chances to be a big impact offensively. Columbus now have a good d-core in Wisniewski, Tyutin, Nikitin, Methot and Glitsome, and with highly touted prospect John Moore in their system. The future on the back end is looking bright for the Blue Jackets. Adding another pick never hurts, especially a 1st round pick, if its either in 2012 or 2013 it is a very good pick to have. A first round pick can allow the Blue Jackets to draft a great prospect or they can use it as a very valuable trade asset down the road. 

Los Angeles trade rating: B+, they acquire a former 46 goal scorer, they need to score so this should help

Columbus trade rating: A-, get a great young defenseman and 1st round pick, and trade a big contract in Carter who wasn't working out in CBJ 

Bertuzzi Signing

Today Bertuzzi Signed a 2 year extension with an average of 2.075 million.

Once again Detroit gets a player to sign a contract for far less then they probably should have signed for. Todd Bertuzzi currently has 12g-17a-29pts in 54gp and is on pace for 45 points. But Bertuzzi is not a forward that just gives points to a team. Bertuzzi has a big body, 6 foot 3, 223 pounds, and he uses it. This is huge for Detroit, as he is able to score, yet provide space for the Detroit stars, such as Datsyuk and Zetterburg, Shine. A very skilled player who is great in shootouts. Though he is a veteran he will help Detroit with his great experience. Another great aspect of Bertuzzi is his versatility. Bertuzzi can play both right wing and left wing. truly a great player with a career haunted by one incident that he will always regret. For most teams a player like this would sign for around 4 million per year, but because the Detroit organization is so good, players like Bertuzzi extension for far less so they can stay on the team. This deal allows Detroit to continue to have great cap space giving them the opportunity to trade for a player like Hemsky, Semin or Nash.

Detroit contract Rating: B+, signed a great vet cheap.

Vermette to Phoenix Coyotes

The Trade: Antoine Vermette from CBJ to PHX for Curtis McElhinney, OTT 2nd 2012 and a conditional PHX 5th 2013

Phoenix gets a great two-way centerman who gets 55-60 points and is beast on the faceoff. Vermette will most likely switch between 1st and 2nd line for the Coyotes. The addition of Vermette gives the Coyotes a scary Faceoff group with Vermette, Gordon, Langkow and Hanzal.

Columbus gets a 3rd goalie or "McBackup" in McElhinney, and 2 picks. The 5th rounder becomes a 4th rounder if Phoenix wins the 1st round of the playoffs. McE was added only because PHX wold of had 51 contracts. McE has an injury that appears to be season ending and in a UFA this summer. So basically this deal is 2nd and 5th for Vermette.

Phoenix trade rating: A, gets a great two way 2nd line C who will work perfectly for them cheap as well as getting rid of a pointless contract

Columbus trade rating: C, needs the picks, but could of gotten a bit more for Vermette from a team that needs him more. Maybe could of gotten decent value from T.O.

The Fourth Line Radio Show - Feb. 22nd, 2012

A few members of "League It To Us" Is part of the Radio show "The Fourth Line". This is a radio show on 94.9 CHRW Radio Western in London Ontario. The show is a 30 minute sports talk show. The shows will be posted as weekly. Currently we are figuring out how to actually put the show onto the site itself, but here is the link to listen from the CHRW site.

The Fourth Line - Wednesday, Februrary 22nd, 2012

League It To Us writers on this week's episode is Gregory Komarnicky and Jacob Wideman, other Fourth Line Members on this week's episode includes Brad Bangsboll, Brent Boles and Graham Pap. This week we talk some of the deals that has occurred lately, some teams to watch, and a bit some Basketball updates. This episode is basically a preview of the trade deadline special to happen on the internet on CHRW2 from 12pm-4pm.

Downie to Colorado, Quincey to Detroit

On February 21st Steve Downie was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Kyle Quincey, who was then dealt to the Detroit Red Wings, essentially creating a 3 way trade.

The Trade:
Colorado acquires: RW Steve Downie

Tampa acquires: Detroit's 1st round 2012 draft pick and D Sebastian Piche

Detroit acquires: D Kyle Quincey

In Steve Downie, Colorado acquires a lot of grit and toughness but still has the ability to put up points as he showed in the playoffs last year with 14 points in 17 playoff games along with 40 penalty minutes. Colorado has been missing a player with grit who can scores since they traded Chris Stewart to St. Louis before last years deadline. Steve Downie is a tough player to play against and he could put up some decent number if he gets the chance to play with Duchene or Stastny. So far this season with Tampa Bay Steve Downie has 12 goals along with 16 assists and 121 penalty minutes in 55 games. With this deal Colorado now has room to keep Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliot in the top 6, instead of having one of them playing in Lake Erie in the AHL.

Tampa Bay acquired Kyle Quincey from Colorado but then Yzerman shipped him off to Detroit for a 1st round pick. Tampa Bay is not having the ideal season they planned on, with serious problems in goalie they are in the rebuilding stage. After trading Moore and Kubina earlier in the week, they now have traded another roster player. The Detroit 1st round pick in 2012 will be in the latter part of the 1st round but it is still a first round pick and those are very valuable. Yzerman has realized his team will most likely not make the playoffs so it is time to shake things up. Tampa Bay also acquires from Detroit, minor-league defenseman Sebastian Piche who has 3 points in 22 games for Grand Rapids in the AHL.

By acquiring Kyle Quincey Detroit's back-end is now set for the run into the playoffs. With Stuart day to day Quincey can easily step into the lineup and get good minutes. Quincey returns back to the team who drafted him in 2003. Quincey has 5 goals and 18 assists in 54 games with Colorado this year. Detroit's team is looking pretty scary heading into the playoffs now with a bolstered back end, Detroit could arguably be one of the best teams in the NHL.

Colorado trade rating: B+, adds grit and scoring, makes room for Barrie

Tampa Bay trade rating: B, shaking things up, acquire a 1st rounder which have a lot of worth

Detroit trade rating: A- , acquires a good defensemen to bolster the back-end heading into playoffs

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Pavel Kubina - Destination Unknown

As of tomorrow, a list of teams Kubina is willing to be traded to will be given to the Tampa By GM, Steve Yzerman and what a perfect time. With the recent Hal Gill trade there is a lot of teams that were interested in helping they're blueline left dissapointed and still hoping to help their blueline. So where will they turn to? Kubina and Steve Yzerman.

Kubina is a great offensive D-man who has some good playoff experience. Though he is getting older he still has some energy in him and would make a great 3-5th defenseman on more teams. Though his contract is a little hefty (5mil per 4 yrs) it is still tradeable as alot of teams need that offensive, experienced D-man right now.

I'm not sure what he will put on his list, but I can tell you the teams that, in my opinion, need a blueliner like him:

• Philadelphia Flyers

Now you have to be thinking, didn't they just get Grossman? Yes, but he alone won't replace Pronger for the playoffs. He helps the defensive side of Pronger, but what about his offense? Well this is where Kubina will fit in perfectly and with Pronger on IR, the Flyers have the room for his contract

• Detroit Red Wings

Yes, not a need for them, but they have the cap room, and why not add that little bit more experience and offense to their blueline? Plus he can stay to help the blueline as Lidstrom retires this offseason (possibly).

• Pittsburgh Penguins

For offensive D-men they have who? Letang, and the next best Martin. Martin? Really!?! They need some more offense on that blueline, or Letang will be swamped some playoff time.

• New York Rangers

Once again, they're blueline has only one real offensive D-man in Del Zotto and very little playoff experience. Too young of a blueline will fail in the playoffs. Kubina would be a great fit there.

• New Jersey Devils

Also lacking the veteran offensive D-man on the blueline with Larsson being their top with 16 points.

With Tampa Bay needing to continue rebuilding and the fact that Steve Yzerman asked for the trade list from Kubina I am sure that he will be traded. There is speculation that Detroit and Philadelphia have both sent offers to Steve Yzerman already, so if they are on the list and Yzerman likes one of the offers, Kubina may be on his way out as soon as tomorrow. Tampa Bay most likely would be looking for Picks and/or Prospects in return for Kubina and most likely will be looking at a deal better than Hal Gill as Kubina is signed for 4 seasons.

We'll just have to wait and see.

Hal Gill to Nashville

The Trade: Montreal trades Hall Gill and a conditional 5th round pick (2013) to Nashville for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and a 2nd round pick (2012).

Montreal makes a great move for their future and really juiced out all they could get for Hal Gill. Geoffrion is a great young forward. Geoffrion this year has 3 points in 22 games in the NHL and 9 points in 20 games in the AHL. The Geoffrion family has a great history in Montreal. Robert Slaney is also a young forward prospect who has been struggling after he left the QMJHL. this season he played 9 games in the AHL and got 1 point in that time frame, then was moved to the ECHL where he has 18 points in 30 games. The 2nd round pick is also a great add by the Canadians.

On top of the conditional 5th round pick Nashville won the bidding to get their hands on the gold in which Hal Gill is. Truly one of the best depth defensemen in hockey Hal Gill will bring some much needed defense to the struggling Nashville PK and great experience to the young Predator blue line. Most likely he will be put beside one of the quick offense d-men with is Josi or Ellis (with the other most likely returning to the AHL).

Montreal trade rating: B+, adds much needed prospects and picks

Nashville trade rating: B-, had to give up a fair amount to win the bid, but got an asset in which will help alot

Supposedly this trade will open up the trade floodgates as alot of teams were in on Gill, so the other available d-men (like Kubina) are more likely to be swiped up fast now.

Northeast Division Update: Friday February 17th 2012

Place/Team	Games Played	WINS	LOSSES	OTL	Points	ROW	GF	GA	DIFF	HOME	AWAY	S/O	L10	Streak
1. Boston Bruins	56	35	19	2	72	28	190	130	+60	18-10-2	17-9-0	7-1	4-6-0	LOST 1
2. Ottawa Senators	60	30	22	8	68	25	179	183	-4	15-11-5	15-11-5	5-2	3-5-2	WON 2
3. Toronto Maple Leafs	58	29	23	6	64	26	176	174	+2	16-9-4	13-14-2	3-3	5-4-1	WON 1
4. Montreal Canadiens	59	24	25	10	58	21	159	161	-2	11-12-8	13-13-2	3-8	5-4-1	WON 1
5. Buffalo Sabres	58	24	27	7	55	19	142	173	-31	13-11-7	11-16-0	5-4	5-3-2	OT 1

The normally very tight Northeast division is looking much different this year. Perennial contenders in the Canadiens and Sabres have dropped off this season and are sitting in the bottom of the Eastern conference. Boston still maintains the top spot in the division, the spot they have held pretty much since their amazing hot streak that followed the abysmal start they had. Toronto, a team that also seems to be on the bubble to make the playoffs but have been unable to do so since the 2003-2004 season, are currently holding down 8th spot in the conference. The Senators, who many billed a rebuilding team this year, have surprised and are currently sitting in 7th thanks to great years from Jason Spezza, Erik Karlsson and the ageless Daniel Alfredsson.

---

Misfiring
One reason for the sub-par season for Montreal could be their performance in shootouts. Before their shootout win tonight, they were 2-8 in shootouts this year. If they could gain the extra point in a few more of these games, they could be much closer in the playoff hunt. Carey Price has been in net for all but one of these shootouts, and his stats are less than impressive. He is 2-7, allowing 13 goals on the 30 shots he has faced leaving him with a shootout SV% of .567. This is worse than his career percentage which is at .680. He never really has been known as a prolific shootout goaltender with a career win-loss of 15-20.

And the Opposite...
Montreal's rivals in Boston have fared much better in the shootout this season. Tim Thomas, with his win over the Habs in the most recent shootout, pushed his season record to 5-0 in shootouts. The team is 7-1 when they go to penalty shooters, giving them those extra points that are so crucial to staying in the playoffs.

Monkey Off His Back
It took Scott Gomez more than a calendar year to score a goal but on February 9th against the Islanders, he finally got one past a keeper.

First time he's led this line in over a year

SENsational
Jason Spezza has been lighting it up over the past four games for the Senators. With 12 points (5G, 7A) he's lighting the nation's capital on fire at the right time as they push to stay in the playoffs.

Leaf Bait
With his contract beyond this season uncertain, Mikhail Grabovski, could be on the move at the deadline. By no means are the Leafs shopping Grabovski, they would like to re-sign him, but if the right offer comes along Grabo could be in a different uniform come February 27th.

'Patches' Leads the Way
Montreal has had players struggle with scoring (see: Scott Gomez) but Max Pacioretty has not been one of the problems. Already over 20 goals this season, now with 24, he has 13 in the new year. Montreal has scored 55 goals total since the beginning of 2012, and his 13 account for 24% of them.

Melancholy Miller
Not a great year for almost all of the Sabres, but Ryan Miller, has been have a career-worst year. With his GAA at 2.82, a career worst and his SV% at  .907 just .001 higher than his worst of .906 in 2007-08 he is a key reason for the Sabres struggles. Making $6.25M through 2013-14 the Sabres expect more from Miller. Although he missed quite a bit after the infamous incident with Milan Lucic, he hasn't been able to regain his usual form.

Bell Centre Blues
Montreal hasn't just been bad on home ice, they've been brutal. They have a better home record, at 11-12-8, than only the New York Islanders and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Though the Bell Centre is usually a place opposition teams hate to go to with the fans that are very vocal, the fans have been more vocal about their own team. Being booed on home ice is not something unusual for the Habs this season, and the fans took up the sarcastic cheering of Gomez on his anniversary.

Perfect Match
Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul have been having amazing years in Leaf Land. They earned well-deserved All-star spots this year in Ottawa and carried that momentum with them. They are the only Leafs to be producing at a point-per-game or better with Kessel having 62 points and Lupul with 61 points, both in 58 games. Leaf Nation just hopes that the two can keep up the production and carry them to the playoffs.


A lot to celebrate for these two this season.

Bright Spot
On the struggling Sabres, Jason Pominville is one of the lone bright spots. He's got 22 goals already this season, tying his mark from last year. He even has added a shorthanded goal and is tied for the team-lead with Thomas Vanek in game winning goals, with 4. He leads Buffalo in points with 54 in 57 games.

Sweet To Be Seguin
The sophomore season for Tyler Seguin has been much better than his rookie campaign. With all the hype last year around 'Taylor or Tyler', the pressure may have gotten to Seguin who put up just 11 goals and 22 points in 74 games. This season, though, with increased responsibility Seguin has shone. He's got his first 20 goals season, and has added 25 assists so far in 54 games.

King Karlsson
Erik Karlsson is having an outstanding season in his third year in the league. He leads all defensemen in points and assists with 53 and 43 respectively. He is tied for fourth in goals by defensemen with 10 and is tied for tenth in Time On Ice with 25:24. His amazing numbers are generating some Norris talk among many in the hockey world.

Divisional Domination
The Bruins have dominated the Northeast division in head-to-head competition. They are 13-3 in matches against their division foes. Buffalo is the only other team in the Northeast to be over .500 within these match-ups at 8-4-3.


The Bruins have gone hard to the net against all their Northeast foes.


Separate Special Teams 
Montreal's power play and penalty kill have been on opposite side of the spectrum this season. Their penalty kill is the best in the league working at a 88.9% efficiency. Unfortunately for them, when they get their opportunity on the power play, they are second-worst in the league only capitalizing on 13.5% of their chances.

Bushy-Tailed Bruins
The Bruins have been the healthiest team in the NHL this season. They have lost just 41 man games to injury by far the lowest. They are the only team to have lost less man games than they have actually played. Contrast that to the least-healthy team in the NHL, Pittsburgh, who have lost a whopping 278 man games to injury in their 57 contests this season.

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Players to Watch
- Jason Spezza. Been on fire lately, hoping to continue his hot-streak to propel the Sens.
- Jonas Gustavsson. With James Reimer having his struggles recently, look for The Monster to grab the reigns and run with them.
- Patrice Bergeron. He leads the Bruins in points, and they have have won the last 3 games that he has recorded at least a point.
- Derek Roy. With his name mentioned in trade talk recently, it may elevate his game, or it could affect his mental focus and hinder his game.
- Scott Gomez. You never know, he's got one goal now, maybe he'll actually get another one this year.