The Biggest Deal of the Day

Stunning.

That there was speculation that the Edmonton Oilers might part ways with Captain Canada, Ryan Smyth, was one thing.

That Oilers GM Kevin Lowe pulled the trigger, however, was quite another.

Lowe must have figured if he couldn't sign Smyth now he wouldn't be able to sign him in July. The Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes, respectively, had to make that kind of decision when it came to Darcy Tucker and Shane Doan, and managed to sign both.

Still . . .this deal is going to go over in Edmonton like a lead balloon.

The new collective bargaining agreement, after all, was supposed to allow teams like the Oilers to keep their stars after losing them for years.

That this would happen on Mark Messier Day in Edmonton has to bring back all those memories of having and then losing players like Wayne Gretzky, Messier, Kevin Lowe, Doug Weight and Chris Pronger.

The New York Islanders, meanwhile, are suddenly back in the big leagues after acquiring Smyth, the epitome of a heart-and-soul player. Moreover, after picking up Marc-Andre Bergeron, Richard Zednik and now Smyth, the Isles are looking like a sure-fire playoff team after teetering on the edge all season.

Which makes the Smyth deal, which came down at the last minute, very bad news for the Maple Leafs.

The Faceoff King

Yanic Perreault isn't an impact player.

But he is an impact faceoff man.

So with Mike Peca out indefinitely, and hours after some key faceoffs were lost to Montreal in a 5-4 defeat, Perreault can make an immediate impact for the Leafs.

That said, the price was surprisingly steep for a player who wasn't wanted by any team last fall.

Brendan Bell has proven he can play in the NHL, and the only reason he was expendable is that its the one position the Leafs have depth at.

A second round pick in '08, not this summer, is a reasonably valuable commodity in the NHL these days.

So kudos to Phoenix GM Mike Barnett for converting a player nobody else wanted into Bell and a useful pick.

Leaf GM John Ferguson needed to make a gesture of trying to help his team, meanwhile, and he did that without touching his future first round picks or his top prospects.

This is not the time to be surrendering those kind of assets.

All the Leafs can hope now is that a few more faceoff victories will help a great deal as they face a murderous schedule down the home stretch.

One Last Push

The Maple Leafs, with a heartbreaking loss to Montreal still fresh in their minds and a toughie against Buffalo tonight, still want to make their team better.

Jamal Mayers, it appears, isn't going to happen. But Leaf GM John Ferguson has made an aggressive pitch for former Maple Leaf Yanic Perreault, currently with the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Coyotes wanted to sign Perreault, be the veteran centre was looking to make a contractual splash now or go into unrestricted free agency July 1st. The Leafs are looking to give up Brendan Bell and a draft pick.

Now the Leafs are trying to get him. Stay posted.

The Final Hour

One hour to go. . .sort of.

From other years, it's become traditional that some of the trades made today won't be made public until after the 3 p.m. deadline.

Each trade has to go through a league "trade call," and if a transaction is consumated at 2:59, it can take a while for the details are made official.

If you include the Gary Roberts trade, there have been nine deals made today, low compared to 25 last year.

Only the swap that sends Bill Guerin to San Jose could be considered as a move that could have a major impact on the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Roberts waived his no-trade clause, as did Guerin, as did Keith Tkachuk, as did Peter Forsberg.

So what exactly does a no-trade clause mean? One supposes it gives players come control over where they can be traded to, but no more.

Todd Bertuzzi is still sitting out there, and with Anaheim GM Brian Burke now having acquired Brad May, a former employee for Burke with the Canucks, there's speculation Bertuzzi could yet be a Duck.

Jamal Mayers is likely going to be signed by St. Louis. Owen Nolan might find a new home, and Jason Blake's situation with the Islanders remains iffy.

All this will be known in the next hour. . .as long as you consider an NHL hour to be longer than 60 minutes.

The Intrigue of the Smaller Deal

My fervent hope is that Dominic Moore will find success in Minnesota after being traded to the Wild today.

A classier young man in the game you will not find. The Wild are being seen as a playoff sleeper by many, and it would be great to see Moore be a significant participant.

But my goodness, they must have interesting dinner conversations in the Moore household about the state of hockey.

First you have Dominic's brother, Steve, have his career ended by one of the most cowardly attacks in hockey history perpetrated by Todd Bertuzzi.

A bigger, stronger man attacking a smaller man from behind. Then you had Brad May, one of the Vancouver players who loudly voiced plans to "get" Moore after a legal hit on Markus Naslund, acquired by the Colorado Avalanche, the team Moore was playing with at the time of the Bertuzzi incident.

Today, then, you have Dominic Moore moved from Pittsburgh, a team everybody wants to play for, largely to make room for a player who would not be in the NHL if not for the quality of his fists, George Laraque.

Mark Moore, the third brother, has written a wonderful book lamenting the state of the game, and it just seems so sad that a Toronto family that loved the game so much has been scarred so much by the violence inherent in the sport.

Three Hours Left

So what will Anaheim and Detroit do?

Both were interested in Peter Forsberg. Both unsuccessfully chased Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk.

So now Nashville has Forsberg.

San Jose has Guerin and Craig Rivet.

Calgary went out and got Craig Conroy, Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart.

Vancouver acquired Brent Sopel and Bryan Smolinski.

The Wings, yes, added Kyle Calder. But you have to believe there something bigger Ken Holland wants to do.

And you have to believe Brian Burke desperately wants to be part of this western arms race.

This must be killing him. I'm betting Burke will make a splash before this day is over.

But there's not much time left.

Big Week for the Gooners

It's been a big week for those who love fighting in hockey.

First, last week Anaheim GM Brian Burke pushed through a small change in the instigating rule as it pertains to suspensions.

Second, the goon crew had a weekend of fantasies fulfilled with the Sabres and Senators dropped the gloves over and over, leaving Chris Drury sidelined with a concussion.

Finally this morning came the news that the highly talented Pittsburgh had surrendered to all the pressure around them and brought in enforcer Georges Laraque from Phoenix.

Laraque is probably the NHL's toughest heavyweight, although more and more you've heard whispers of late that like all tough guys, from Dave Semenko to Tie Domi, he's been less willing to scrap, particularly this season.

He has very limited ability, and probably will only dress for some of Pittsburgh's playoff games.

But the goon crowd has got to be thrilled with this one today, the crowning achievement of a week that dragged the NHL a few steps backwards.

Philly Profits

As horrible as this season has been in Philadelphia, Paul Holmgren is giving Flyer fans a reason to believe.

Over the past few weeks, Holmgren has aggressively swung a series of trades that have the potential to turn the Flyers into one of the NHL's better young teams.

Now, they have a goalie in 29-year-old Martin Biron to add to that mix. It's a similar move that the Maple Leafs made last summer to get Andrew Raycroft, with the Flyers hoping that a goalie who couldn't nail down the No. 1 job in Buffalo will be able to be a sure-fire starter in Philly.

Beyond that, in trading away Peter Forsberg and Alexei Zhitnik the Flyers have added two impressive young blueliners in Ryan Parent and Braydon Coburn, an energetic forward with upside in Scottie Upshall and a variety of draft picks, including a first rounder from Nashville.

Add those to a roster that already includes Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Joni Pitkanen, R.J. Umberger, Alexandre Picard and Lasse Kukkonen

And Simon Gagne is only 25.

Next season, it appears, both NHL teams based in Pennsylvania will have the appealing look of youth.

Racing to the Deadline

Here's where John Ferguson has to be careful.

Overpaying for a player with the trade deadine just hours away is a great temptation, particularly with emotions running high after last night's 5-4 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Of all the deals made by NHL clubs over the last 20 hours, none are impact moves, including the departure of Gary Roberts from Florida to Pittsburgh.

Roberts will help the Pens. And he's a far more sensible and useful addition than, say, an enforcer like Georges Laraque.

But think about it. Roberts has 13 goals this season, is perpetually struggling with injuries and is 40 years old.

Be fair to the guy. If he could supply some muscle and an important goal or two for the Penguins in the post-season, giving up a fine young defenceman in Noah Welch will have been a worthwhile move.

But he's not going to lead the team. That'll be up to Sidney Crosby, and understand that Roberts' strong dressing room presence could result in a tricky change in Pittsburgh.

Did the Leafs miss out? No. They could have re-signed Roberts two years ago or traded for him last summer.

Giving up draft picks for him now would have been silly. Giving up Alex Steen or Matt Stajan would have been insanity.

And you know what? The same goes for Bill Guerin, a player who has playoff disappointment written all over him.

Clearly, the Leafs could use help. Their schedule is murderous, they're already sitting out of the playoffs and its unclear when Darcy Tucker or Kyle Wellwood may return.

But there's no player out there - Todd Bertuzzi, Guerin, Jason Blake, Aaron Miller, Owen Nolan, Jason Blake or Jamal Mayers - who can make the differerence for the Leafs now.

The lone exception might be Captain Canada, Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers. If the Oilers were to decide they couldn't sign Smyth and then make the next leap and look to deal him, he would be an impact player.

He could make a difference to the Leafs.

But it seems highly unlikely he'll be available.

So as unpalatable as it might be for JFJ to stand pat, it's probably the right thing to do.

Look at Vancouver. Giving up a draft pick for Bryan Smolinski, who has never made a difference anywhere, is essentially a waste of time.

At the deadline players that move are suddenly overvalued, suddenly viewed as better than they are just because they were moved.

Expect more of that over the next few hours.

Desperate times in Dixie

After losing to Carolina on Saturday, Atlanta GM Don Waddell wasted no time in making two significant deals, bringing in centre Keith Tkachuk and defenceman Alexei Zhitnik.

This isn't about winning a Cup, necessarily. This is about just making the playoffs, a surprising state of affairs for a team that once owned a 16-point lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning but could experience a total housecleaning if the Thrashers don't qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in team history.

Tkachuk's a better winger than a centre, but Atlanta wants him to play in the middle. He also has no record of playoff success.

Zhitnik, meanwhile, forced Waddell to cough up defence prospect Braydon Coburn to the Philadephia Flyers, who now have Coburn, Ryan Parent, Joni Pitkanen and others to build a nice blueline around.

In Coburn and the bushel of draft picks they gave St. Louis for Tkachuk, the Thrashers have made an enormous sacrifice just to try to get into the playoffs. Waddell, having been involved in U.S. international hockey effects, knows just how big a risk the volatile Tkachuk can be.

And on a completely unrelated point. . .

I know its almost a complete waste of time to try to reason and talk logic with those who adore fighting in hockey.

They may be the minority, but they sure scream louder than the majority. Most of their arguments either accuse those who think differently of being homosexual or suggest that those who don't believe in hockey pugilism should watch figure skating.

But most of the cavemen also fervently believe - or say they do - that the mere presence of an enforcer in a team's lineup serves as deterrent and protects the skill players.

Sadly, even those who should know better are using this argument to push the notion that the Pittsburgh Penguins need to get a goon to ride shotgun for Sidney Crosby before the trade deadline.

Well, for those who believe this myth, answer this:

If goons really are a deterrent and keep the skill players safe, why oh why, with Andrew Peters in the Buffalo lineup, was Chris Drury knocked silly by Chris Neil?

Just wondering.