NHL Trade Deadline Central

The NHL Trade Deadline Central will provide up to date trades throughout the March 4, 2009 deadline. Without further ado, here are the deals making there way in the NHL today.

To Ottawa Senators: Pascal LeClaire + 2nd round pick 2009
To Columbus Blue Jackets: Antoine Vermette

Columbus receives the center they have been coveting for weeks, and Bryan Murray takes the gamble on the often injured goaltender in Pascal LeClaire. This deal can favour Ottawa long term if LeClaire can get past his injuries and provide solid goaltending Ottawa so desperately needs.

To Pittsburgh Penguins: Andy Wozniewski
To St. Louis Blues: Danny Richmond

The Woz gets a shot at playoff glory with the Pittsburgh Penguins or the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins with this deal. If the Woz does get called down to the AHL, look for the members of DDP to have fun chanting against the Woz at an upcoming game.

To Calgary Flames: Jordan Leopold
To Colorado Avalanche: Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson (from Quad City AHL), 2nd round pick 2009 (from Montreal)

More details to follow on the return for Colorado. Calgary trades for a puck moving defenseman who knows the Flames system, and was on the Stanley Cup finals team previously. Look for Leopold to step right into Mike Keenan’s system and help the flames on the blue line for the playoff push.

Other notes: Bob McKenzie of TSN is confirming that talks are ongoing between the Calgary Flames and Phoenix Coyotes to trade Olli Jokinen to Calgary. Further updates to follow.

Waiver Pick-up: The Leafs claimed goalie Martin Gerber on re-entry waivers from Ottawa and defenceman Erik Reitz from the Rangers.

With the possibility of Vesa Toskala going in for surgery, the Maple Leafs pick up Martin Gerber off the waiver wire for extra help on the big club. Look for the Gerber/Joseph tandem for the remainder of the season, with Justin Pogge getting a couple more call ups for management review.

To Buffalo Sabres: Mikael Tellqvist
To Phoenix Coyotes: 4th round draft pick 2009

Buffalo trades for a solid back-up goaltender for their playoff push. This move provides some added insurance with Ryan Miller getting injured.

To Calgary Flames: Olli Jokinen
To Phoenix Coyotes: Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, 1st round draft pick 2009

You heard this deal on the internet first prior to the trade being made official earlier this morning! As speculated by Bob McKenzie earlier on and posted in this blog, Calgary does pull the trigger for Olli Jokinen!

With Todd Bertuzzi, and Rene Bourque both injured, the Flames were looking to get an impact forward to help on the top lines. The Flames could make another deal to make this one work with Phoenix, as the salary cap hit could be too high for the Flames with Jokinen now on board. Look for another possible trade with Calgary, where it could be a possible player being moved as a salary dump for a draft pick in return to the other team.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have gone on record of their intention to take on expiring contracts for cap room. The Flames could look to Toronto to dump a salary for a draft pick going to the Leafs. More developments to follow.

UPDATE: As reported earlier on the pickup of Martin Gerber, it has been confirmed just now that Vesa Toskala is done for the season and will be having surgery to repair his hip. So far, Duke’s Dog Pound is on fire with these predictions of deals and scenarios! Let’s see if the Flames do trade salary to the Leafs or another team as mentioned earlier.

To Boston Bruins: Steve Montador
To Anaheim Ducks: Petteri Nokelainen

The Bruins obtain a shut down defenseman for their playoff push in Steve Montador. This works perfectly for Boston, as Montador will become an unrestricted free agent next year and the salary hit will not be on the books for the Bruins next year. The Ducks get a 23 year old center in Nokelainen for their re-tooling/rebuild for next season. This is a win-win deal for both teams at their current stage in the season.

To Boston Bruins: Mark Recchi and 2nd round pick (2010)
To Tampa Bay Lightning: Matt Lashoff and Martin Karsums

The Bruins pick up a gritty veteran forward for their playoff run to complement the young guns up front. The Lightning take on the 22 year old defensive prospect in Matt Lashoff and the 23 year old winger from Riga USSR in Martin Karsums for their re-tooling for the future. Tampa Bay gets to relief some salary as expected, and the Bruins get the forward with playoff experience to take them to the next level.

Breaking News: TSN Reports that Peter Forsberg will be announcing his retirement from hockey later on today.

Update: The Denver Post claims that Forsberg could still consider playing next season, and we will have to keep an eye on the developments of this story.

Also, there is a possibility for Gary Roberts to announce retirement if he clears waivers and is not picked up by a team today. The possibility of Roberts playing in the American Hockey League would not bode well for the proud Roberts, and his retirement could be imminent if no other NHL team is willing to pick him up on waivers by the waiver deadline.

To Pittsburgh Penguins: Bill Guerin
To New York Islanders: Conditional draft pick

With the Pittsburgh Penguins putting Miroslav Satan on waivers, it was inevitable for Ray Shero of the Penguins to make a move at the trade deadline for a winger to play alongside Sidney Crosby. With the previous weekend deal falling through with another team for Guerin, the rookie General Manager Garth Snow pulled another deal to send Guerin to the Penguins. The conditional pick could be contingent on how well the Penguins do in the playoffs this year, and we will have to wait to see what the exact conditions will be in the near future.

To Philadelphia Flyers: Daniel Carcillo
To Phoenix Coyotes: Scottie Upshall, 2nd round draft pick

Philadelphia has gained a gritty forward in Daniel Carcillo, while freeing up some salary cap room by sending Scottie Upshall to the Coyotes. Look for this deal to be a preamble to another possible deal with Phoenix, where the Flyers could pick up Derek Morris for their defensive need.

To New York Rangers: Nik Antropov
To Toronto Maple Leafs: 2nd draft round pick and conditional draft pick

Brian Burke finally gets to recoup the second round draft pick that was lost in the Grabovski trade. However, this second round pick will be higher than the Toronto pick, but getting something for the unrestricted free agent in Antropov is better than nothing for the Maple Leafs.

To New York Rangers: Derek Morris
To Phoenix Coyotes: Nigel Dawes, Dmitri Kalinin, and Petr Prucha

New York Rangers upgrade their defense by adding the gritty Derek Morris to their lineup. The Coyotes acquire younger players in Dawes and Prucha who have potential to be more then what they are today. Dmitri Kalinin provides veteran defense with the loss of Morris in their locker room. This is a good deal for both teams based on their current and future needs.

To Buffalo Sabres: Dominic Moore
To Toronto Maple Leafs: 2nd round pick 2009 (from Carolina)

Just like Nik Antropov, the unrestricted free agent Dominic Moore was shipped to regain lost picks from past trades. Both teams get what they are looking for and expect Dominic Moore to play a crucial role in Buffalo's playoff hopes for this year.

To Anaheim Ducks: Erik Christensen
To Atlanta Thrashers: Eric O'Dell

The Anaheim Ducks are the clear winners in this trade. The re-tooling of the team is well on its way to being accomplished, and look for more moves by the Ducks this summer.

The deals keep trickling in.....here they are:

To Columbus Blue Jackets: Kevin Lalande
To Calgary Flames: 4th round draft pick

To Chicago Blackhawks: Samuel Pahlsson
To Anaheim Ducks: James Wisniewski and conditional draft pick

To Florida Panthers: Steve Eminger
To Tampa Bay Lightning: Noah Welch and 3rd round draft pick

To Philadelphia Flyers: Kyle McLaren
To San Jose Sharks: 6th round draft pick

To Carolina Hurricanes: Patrick O'Sullivan
To Los Angeles Kings: Justin Williams

To San Jose Sharks: Travis Moen and Kent Huskins
To Anaheim Ducks: Nick Bonino, Timo Pielmeier, and conditional draft pick

To Carolina Hurricanes: Erik Cole
To Edmonton Oilers: Patrick O'Sullivan

And in a weird twist of fate....Erik Cole back to Carolina for the recently traded Patrick O'Sullivan? Now that is a twist coming out of left field!

To Toronto Maple Leafs: Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward, Andy Rogers, and 4th round pick
To Tampa Bay Lightning: Richard Petiot

As eluded to earlier in this central deadline report, salary dump considerations from other teams could be used in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brian Burke has taken Olaf Kolzig's $2.5 million salary (pro-rated to be less after the trade) and Jamie Heward off the Lightning's hands with the benefit of Andy Rogers and the fourth round draft pick. The only loss to the Maple Leafs is Richard Petiot, while the Leafs add a large former first round selection in Andy Rogers and the fourth round draft pick.

To Edmonton Oilers: Ales Kotalik
To Buffalo Sabres: 2nd round draft pick