NHL Trade Deadline Losers
The NHL Trade deadline was earlier this week, and I previously talked about the winners, now let’s take a look at who the losers were.
Dallas Stars: Small time losers
The Dallas Stars are a good team this year, but they definitely have a need for a veteran winger, either left or right would have helped them out. Unfortunately the front office didn’t like how much teams were asking for wingers.
“We started to see that they were very high,” said GM Jim Nill. “Unless we got some major injury that would force us to make a trade, I didn’t think we’d be doing anything major.”
While I understand where a GM is coming from when they don’t want to overspend but they could have easily helped their team out by adding some depth, especially considering that other Western Conference teams made some moves to help themselves. It seems like the decision to stand pat at the deadline could come back to haunt the Star’s in April.
Philadelphia Flyers: Medium sized losers
Yes you read that correctly, I’m calling the Flyers medium sized losers. They aren’t big losers, but they definitely made the same mistake the Stars made and it will come back to bite them in the ass.
The Flyers took care of their biggest problem, which was goaltending because both of their goalies are injured, in which they acquired Petr Mrazek from the Red Wings for a conditional 4th rounder.
While it’s good to address their biggest issue, they didn’t make any other big moves. It is true that the team has been on a hot streak recently going 9-0-1 in their last 10, and you might not want to disrupt that kind of chemistry. Wayne Simmonds is injured and will be for an extended period of time (2-3 weeks) so adding someone for depth could have helped immensely.
They didn’t add anyone and the New Jersey Devils are right behind them, and they picked up Grabner and Maroon. The Penguins also added Brassard, and the Flyers decided to do nothing. They have to hope what they have can sustain their hot streak and continue through April.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Big time losers.
Now this might come off a little biased because I bleed black and gold as a Bruins fan, but the Leafs may have just given up the second spot in the Atlantic division. They won’t slip to a wild card spot, but being the 3rd seed in the Atlantic division means playing the 2nd seed in the Atlantic division without home ice advantage.
The Leafs only added Tomas Plekanec at the deadline which is a nice addition to the team. The reason I put them as big time losers is because they make it hard for me to believe that they can make a run since they will have to play out of their division, which consists of the Bruins and the Lightning. The Bruins made some nice additions with Nash and Wingels, and the Lightning acquiring MCdonagh. These were two powerhouses in the East already and they just got even better, while the Leafs stayed basically the same.
See you in April at the Garden, and this time we won’t break your hearts in dramatic comeback fashion like last time. This time we’ll just stomp you out in four games.
-John O’Connell
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