It's Time for Bodies to Start Moving

A number of factors have contributed to a super-slow season of trading thus far in the NHL, with the restrictions of the salary cap system probably the No. 1 reason.

But, with the league's Christmas roster freeze over, you have to believe action will start to heat up heading towards the trade deadline.

That deadline, don't forget, has been moved up this year to Feb. 27, a full 10 days earlier in the schedule compared to last season.

Between injuries and tight races, however, GMs are starting to get antsy now.

One of the most interesting teams to watch will be the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Desert Dogs have had a decent December under Wayne Gretzky, with a win in San Jose on Thursday night bumping them to 4-4-2 in their last 10 games.

Still, the Coyotes sit eight points out of a playoff berth and skate out of the very tough Pacific Division.

So, even if Gretzky keeps them going in a better fashion than was the case earlier this year, you have to believe Phoenix will be a seller this winter.

And they have some things to sell, including unrestricted free-agents-in-waiting Shane Doan, Ladislav Nagy and Mike Comrie.

Doan, a 30-year-old power forward, would obviously be the most cherished commodity, although his goal against the Sharks on Thursday was only his seventh of the season.

At $3.4 million a year he's not crazy expensive, and he was a 30-goal shooter last year and a member of the Canadian Olympic team.

If Phoenix GM Mike Barnett chooses to move Doan, he's a player who could theoretically make a Butch Goring-like impact for a playoff team.

Imagine, for example, how Doan could change the look of a smallish Montreal Canadiens squad that's already looking very impressive these days and has excess youth - Canadian junior goalie Carey Price, Kyle Chipchura, Andrei Kostitsyn - to make a move.

If the Coyotes could put together that kind of a deal and then draft high next June, the Barnett-Gretzky program would get a huge boost.

Proving the best deals are usually the ones you have to wait for, meanwhile, you have to wonder if Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson would have fared better in doing a deal with Mikael Tellqvist if he'd been able to hold out a bit longer.

Anaheim is in desperate straits right now, having to make a deal to acquire goalie Sebastien Caron from Chicago to add some depth after losing Michael Leighton on waivers and seeing both Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov go down with groin problems.

Going into Friday night's game in Raleigh, the Ducks were prepared to go with Michael Wall, formerly the minor-league backup to Leighton, and ECHL callup David McKee, although they were hoping Bryzgalov might be ready to return.

Maybe Tellqvist would have been an enticing commodity for the Ducks, who have also lost defenceman Francois Beauchemin with a lacerated spleen.

Columbus, meanwhile, was just getting into the playoff hunt when Pascal LeClaire was lost for a month or more. Fredrik Norrena certainly looked less than terrific in giving up seven to the Red Wings on Thursday.

Then there's the Leafs themselves, of course, a team currently and understandably dissatisfied with the work of goalies Andrew Raycroft and Jean-Sebastien Aubin.

Tellqvist's .902 save percentage, after all, is not only better than that of Phoenix teammate Curtis Joseph, it's better than either of the Leaf goaltenders these days.

Comments

[Julian]

Telly did really well when the games were meaningless and his quick start in Phoenix has reinforced that impression.

JFJ's hand was forced by the return of Colaiacovo from injury. He could have tried to move someone to the Marlies but then he would have run the risk of having that player picked up by another team while the Leafs would still have to pay their salary. Then you would have had a field day saying that he should have traded Telly sooner. Damned if you do, damned if you don't I guess.

[Bob]

Are you suggesting that Montreal trades Chipchura, Kostsitsyn and Price for a guy who will be a free agent after the season and who doesn't really fill the team's greatest need? First of all, the club would have to ditch some salary to make room for Doan and they would be giving up the guys who should replace Bonk, Kovalev and Huet after a couple of more years. That proposal sounds like a desperation move and I hope it doesn't happen.

[Gabe]

Bob...he didn't mean all three of those players...come on, just think before you type.

Damien, can the leafs assign Gill and Mccabe to the marlies so that they can get picked up by someone off waivers? At some point it has to be obvious to the leafs brass earred idiodic excuse for a waste of space controlling faction (fergusen and all the other tools effectively ruining any chance that the team has for the next five years) that you can't spend as much on defense as they have. Bryan mccabe tries to win the game with every play. He is, no doubt, a good shooter but what else does he do to make him worth the cap space that they have allotted him? The team lost 9 in a row last year and 7 in a row this year so the idea that he has tremendous leadership values certainly does not equate on the ice.

I'd just like someone to explain in dollar terms what he does for the team.

Now for hal gill. Because the majority of players in the nhl can skate, it must be assumed that they are used to seeing other players skate and, as such, have developed their games around this. Hal gill can't skate. He can't play the puck when he gets it. So when players make the assumption that "hey, hal is closer to the puck than me, i'll do what i'm supposed to do and prepare for the breakout" and then hal doesn't get the puck(a) or can't deal with the puck(b)the whole team is disadvantaged. What does he do for the team if he can't play defense and he sure as hell can't play the puck?????

please help here damien, i just got your book for christmas, i get caught up in the excitment of the 67 team and then i return to the present....i'm almost done with the franchise as long as fergusen is involved...he just seems to make very very very poor choices. What do you think?