The race to the Feb. 27 NHL trade deadline may prove a bit anticlimactic, particularly since the biggest name on the trading bloc have already been dealt.
Last weekend, the league's third-placed Nashville Predators acquired Swedish center Peter Forsberg from the Philadelphia Flyers. There is no longer any doubt that the Preds are looking to win their first-ever Stanley Cup this year.
The trade for Forsberg came after weeks of speculation regarding the superstar's status. Although injuries have plagued him this season, he had been effective in his waning days in Philly, averaging two points per game over his final three matches in a Flyers uniforms. Last in the East, Philadelphia asked Forsberg to wave his no-trade clause so that it could make a move to acquire younger, cheaper players. Forsberg turned to Nashville, and the Flyers received Scottie Upshall and Ryan Parent, plus a first- and third-round draft pick in the deal.
The trade has obvious implications for Nashville. The Preds have a strong, young team, but lack playoff experience, a hole filled nicely by Forsberg, a two-time Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche. The move gives Nashville the depth and experience it will need to succeed in a long playoff season.
The Preds have also struggled to attract fans in Nashville despite having made the playoffs in each of the past two seasons. The team had only sold out five of its games before Forsberg's arrival, but the presence of a known NHL superstar may make the Preds a bigger draw.
For the Flyers, the move will allow them to rebuild their team as they look to the future. Upshall is a speedy winger with great playmaking abilities. Parent will add depth at center and is skilled defensively. Perhaps more importantly, the draft picks they acquired will allow them to pool new players who mesh well with their system. The team has not been short on talent, but it has lacked chemistry and the right mixture of players. The new management and coaching staff appear to have recognized this problem, and are going about building a new team for the faithful Philly fans.
As for the rest of the league, the general managers met in Florida this week, but no trades were completed by the time the meetings broke on Wednesday. With only four days to go before the trade deadline, however, the deals should start rolling as many teams want to boost their rosters as they push toward the playoffs. But squads should be mindful not to give up too much or take on contracts that are too large for the organizations to support.
The sellers with the most available merchandise right now are the St. Louis Blues and the Florida Panthers. Both are expecting valuable returns on veteran players. In Florida, veterans Gary Roberts, Jozeph Stumpel, and Todd Bertuzzi could fetch a good price, while Blues' wingers Keith Tkachuk and Bill Guerin should attract more than a few suitors. Any of these players would bring leadership and scoring ability to the team that acquires them.
With many teams in contention this season, the number of buyers in the market is high. With no clear favorites at the moment, any team could add a player or two and make a run at the Cup. Ottawa, Anaheim, San Jose, Detroit, Carolina, Buffalo, the New York Rangers, Vancouver, are among those squads searching for the final pieces of the puzzle in the next four days.
More likely than not, players acquired over the next four days will be no more than rental players left to the free agency market at the season's end. With the new restrictions of the salary cap, this practice may become more and more prevalent in the NHL, with some teams trying to rid themselves of potential free agents, and others looking for a quick fix to push them to the Cup.
