March 4, 2008
I'm Just Saying...
A week has past since the 2008 NHL Trade Deadline and TFP Columnist Dennis Bernstein offers up his takes and rants over the interesting events of the last 10-days.
  

Imagine the Iglooites response if the guy misses the rest of the season and he signs somewhere else. But at least they got Pascal Dupuis. (PLEASE hurry back, Sid.)

But the biggest loser at the deadline wasn't the Pens or the Habs or the Leafs, it was certainly Ottawa Coach John Paddock, I guess for him it was a DEADline.

Senators GM Brian Murray, who's doing a Don Waddell by sliding in behind the bench, did no favors for the ousted coach by keeping troublemaker Ray Emery on the team. Think Brian Burke would have done that with Ilya Bryzgalov? Oh, that's right; he let him go for nothing. But Burke did take back a bad seed in Jean-Sebastien Aubin, but he won't influence the locker room as he's in Portland, Maine. (Side note: Ducks now leading league in goalies named Jean-Sebastien.)

And let's ring the bell for the Ducks, 11-1 since the return of Teemu Selanne. With each game, the Ducks have more swagger and they haven't really been pushed in this latest streak.

It's gotten to the point where Todd Bertuzzi was smug enough to scrap with Dion Phaneuf in the first period of Friday's win over the Calgary Flames. But even with the Ducks rounding into championship form, they haven't made a dent in the Dallas Stars' Pacific Division lead.

I hate to give any credit to Brett Hull, but the Brad Richards deal takes the Stars from a one line team (Mike Ribiero doesn't get noticed on the streets of Big D like he did in Montreal and that has a lot to do with his career year) and some stellar goaltending by Marty Turco.

Richards grew weary of the constant haranguing by Lightning coach John Tortorella and stopped producing. When I covered him in Tampa back in 2002, I thought he was a more complete player than Vinny Lecavalier at the time. You could see how sad Richards was to leave Tampa by tying a Stars' franchise record with five assists in his first game. I still think the Ducks have the best shot to repeat than any recent Cup winner, but the Richards move makes Anaheim only a co-favorite to come out of the West.
 

And although Peter Forsberg hasn't played in almost year, guess what, he's hurt. No way, right?

"It's more Peter's call because he knows his body," Avs' head coach Joel Quenneville said on Friday. "I'll visit with him in the morning and see how he feels."

I bet his foot will hurt; maybe Jeremy Roenick can give him the skates JR couldn't get in LA for his alleged foot problems.

So Mats Sundin didn't want to be dealt away from Toronto? Hmm, the rebuilding in T.O. looks like it will be done long after he's left the ice the last time. For a player that has never won, you'd think he would have explored a deal to Vancouver or Anaheim (Doug Weight isn't the answer as the second line center, the Ducks' real Achilles heel) and try to win one. Gives me pause to think if Sundin is all about winning.

Hockeytown left Detroit and presently lives in the Twin Cities. The Wild sell out every night, the people are passionate about their team and the game. They picked one of the smartest coaches in the league (even if he bores everyone) in Jacques Lemaire; Minnesota is truly a model franchise.

So can someone please tell me why on earth would they deal for that divisive clown Chris Simon? They have a mack-daddy enforcer in Derek Boogaard, if they needed more muscle, better to go find Peter Worrell then bring a guy who is lucky the NHL hasn't banned him for life. They're one stick in the head away from trouble.

Before you Buffalo fans start moaning about losing Brian Campbell (too late), let me throw four words at you: Daniel Briere, Chris Drury. All that green is weighing down Danny in Cheesesteak land (minus-23 and counting) and Chris is praying that the Rangers can stay in the top eight in the east so he can work his playoffs magic. Would be sweet irony if the Sabres nosed out the Rangers for the last spot. And getting Steve Bernier and a first rounder for Campbell is sweet.

Good morning, Mister Ovechkin, this is your wake up call. And don't get too close to Sergei Federov; his bad habits will rub off on you. How does Washington GM George McPhee keep that gig anyway?

Always liked Andy Murray, a smart, driven coach and more importantly, a great family man. But with the Blues spitting the bit down the stretch, you have to wonder if his tactics wear down a team over 82 games.

There isn't a more overlooked/underrated player in the league than Chicago's Patrick Sharp. With the two high profile kids, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and more well known names like Nikolai Khabibulin and Martin Havlat garnering attention, Sharp has crafted a career year with no notice. In his sixth NHL season, the former 2001 third-round pick of the Flyers has blown through his career high with 31 goals and 49 points. Not only does he have a stellar plus-17 but leads the league in short handed goals with seven and has seven game winners, as well.

Weren't you shocked that no one wanted the Kings' Ladislav Nagy at the deadline? I mean, if the Flyers were crazy enough to give Los Angeles a third-round pick for that noted scrub Jaroslav Modry, wouldn't Nagy be worth a first? And a love note to Kings GM Dean Lombardi; best you not sign second tier free agents next season. Michal Handzus, Kyle Calder, Brad Stuart, Tom Priessing, Nagy, oh my.

And finally... No, Jaromir, you're not washed up, you've just become average. Vinny Prospal has more goals and points than you.
 

Dennis Bernstein, the man behind SCORE! Media, is a columnist for TheFourthPeriod.com and the Los Angeles Correspondent for The Fourth Period Magazine.