Moves I like
Mark Streit to Penguins – The Penguins backline has been enigmatic this season; dangerously offensive, yet often injured. Kris Letang has an undisclosed injury and has been in and out of the lineup all year. Streit could easily replace his veteran presence as the point shot on the blueline, as he has been for so many years with the Flyers, and Islanders before that. I love this pickup by the Pens.
Alex Burrows to Senators – The lifelong Canuck brings a certain feistiness that the Sens are pretty used to (see Chris Neil). He’s a talented player that could easily put the puck in the net with the right teammates. A change of scenery will likely help Burrows to revitalize his career.
Thomas Vanek to Panthers – This is a very underrated pickup for a bubble team trying to make a push into the playoffs. At his best, he’s one the most explosive players in the league. He’s had plenty of postseason experience in the past – typically a rental player for playoff bound teams. He should improve Florida’s offence in a big way.
Moves I don’t
Curtis Lazar to Flames – This might be a low risk move for Calgary but I don’t really see much upside to Lazar’s game. He put up just 1 point in 33 games for the Senators this year so he’s not exactly the sexiest pick. I can’t see him fitting into an already young flames team that relies heavily on their chemistry.
Drew Stafford to Bruins – Every single year Winnipeg ships off one of their productive players around this time. When will the turnaround finally happen? I just don’t like this move because it symbolizes another failed season for the Jets, and I really want them to end this extremely slow rebuild.
Steve Ott to Canadiens – On a team that struggles to score I’m not sure this is the answer…that’s all I have to say about that.