the other press Sports March 19, 2003 Jordan Cripps Sports Editor Now that the madness of the NHL trade deadline is over, NHL teams have final- ized their rosters for either the playoff run or, in the case of a few teams, the next sea- son. I'd like to offer, for what it’s worth, my opinion about the deals that have been made, or not over the past week or two. First, there are a few teams that seem to have decided to enter a rebuilding phase. As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins were busy getting rid of everyone that made more than the average CFL salary. There are now only seven players with the team that started the season there. At the same time, I think the Penguins should be given some credit for at least one trade, trading Jan Hrdina and others to Phoenix for Ramzi Abid and others. Hrdina certainly has more than the 20+ games of experi- ence that Abid has gained over this season, but for a team that is going to rebuild, it is important to start with talented young players. Abid is just that. In his 31 games in the NHL, Abid has 10 goals to go along with 8 assists, solid numbers for a young player. On a team that is made up of jour- neymen and minor-leaguers, he may prove to be a solid addition in a year when the Penguins were looking to subtract. In a similar boat were the Buffalo Sabres, who moved out pretty much everyone except the one player that had asked to be traded, Alexei Zhitnik. Gratton for Briere is a decent trade because the Sabres get younger and more skilled. Trading fan favourite Rob Ray and Stu Barnes, and getting nothing in return, are not the best ways to indicate to a sparse fan base that the team is serious http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca about rebuilding. The “Why'd they do that?” Award goes to the Edmonton Oilers for trading Anson Carter and Ales Pisa to New York for Radek Dvorak and Cory Cross. I know Dvorak has had better seasons than Carter ever has, but those were three or four years ago. Basically, it seems like Kevin Lowe is saying to his owners, “We're going to make the playoffs so we're guaranteed at least two extra home games. Let's see what happens.” Unfortunately, the upstart Nashville Predators are getting pretty close to putting an end to this the- ory. Getting Dvorak certainly doesn’t make the Oilers better and, probably, does the team more harm than good. | think that getting Brad Isbister, who's from Edmonton, may prove to be a good trade in the long run but, as for this season, the Oilers will miss Niinimaa. Even if they make the playoffs, they're no longer a threat to upset anybody. The Carter trade makes little sense for the Rangers as well. On that particular team Carter's relatively young, but he’s also due for a new contract this off-season. As always, the Rangers will pay the player way more than he’s worth and screw up the whole economic system of the NHL. While everyone seemed to think that Detroit made a good acquisition getting Mathieu Schneider from LA, it seems that Detroit doesn’t have much of an eye on the future. Schneider will help the team more this year than either Maxim Kuznetsov or Sean Avery would have. However, Kuznetsov is a behemoth defenseman with a huge upside while d Up for Playoffs Avery is a hotheaded agitator. Aren't these attributes that could come in handy dur- ing the playoffs? As well, Detroit further mortgaged its future by giving up first and second-round draft choices in the deal. As for teams that did well, I think the Calgary Flames have set themselves up nicely for the future. Getting rid of Rob Niedermayer for two players with some NHL experience was a good move. Trying to get Dean McCammond back was also shrewd until the league realized the trade couldn't happen. Although he’s definitely not an All-Star, Shean Donovan will give the Flames a speed upgrade. All three trades resulted in the Flames losing only draft picks and fringe players. Of course, all the Flames have, aside from their big three of Iginla, Conroy and Drury, are fringe players. Doing his best Glen Sather impression, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Coach and General Manager tried to buy his way into a cham- pionship, acquiring some high-priced tal- ent while giving up Alyn McCauley and draft picks in making these changes. The biggest change is, obviously, the addition of Owen Nolan. Nolan will give the Leafs another (as if they need it) physical pres- ence up front. Unfortunately for the Leafs, they'll have to wait for the reacqui- sition of Doug Gilmour to pay dividends, as he was hurt during his first game as a Leaf. The only concern with the Leafs is that they've got so many players that play with an edge that half of their team could conceivably be suspended in one game. Adding Housley and Wesley improve the defense but don’t do much for developing an intimidating back line. I don’t know exactly why, but I like the moves Ottawa made. They've definitely begun to build their nasty side, something that will come in handy during the play- offs. Vaclav Varada is definitely a good addition although the opposition won't think so. Bryan Smolinski is a versatile two-way player who will see time at center and on the wing. The effect of adding Rob Ray wont be seen on the ice (unless some- one tries to take out Daniel Alfredsson) but his presence in the dressing room should give the Senators a boost whenev- er they're facing adversity. Finally, our home team wasn’t exactly busy during the Trade Deadline, but per- haps that is the way to approach things. Although, the Canucks roster is becoming more and more depleted every game, it seems. Adding Brad May could have the same effect as the Senators’ addition of Ray, the results won't be evident to people watching the game, but will play an inte- gral role in the dressing room. Unfortunately, the Canucks will have to wait and see just what kind of a presence May has since he suffered some sort of injury against the Maple Leafs. With all this said, I think the favourites at the beginning of the season are still the favourites. Ottawa will finish their regular season strongly but wont get too far in the playoffs. Ditto for Toronto. Here, the Canucks should be able to make it past the first round unless they face Colorado. 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