Checking From Behind Pulling No Punches

Welcome to another edition of CFB News. On this episode, we quickly discuss the 2010 NHL Trade Deadline and all of the surprising and interesting moves, or lack thereof. My guest as always, is Justin.

The following is a grid chart of the list of deals made throughout the day from the first to just after the deadline. I hope you all enjoyed your Hockey Christmas, and look forward to a great run for the rest of the season.

Date	Team 1 Acquires		Team 2 Acquires
Mar. 3 4:48pm		2011 6th round draft pick		Petteri Nokelainen, RW
Mar. 3 4:45pm		Miika Wiikman, G 2011 7th round draft pick		Anders Eriksson, D
Mar. 3 4:06pm		Stephane Yelle, C Harrison Reed, RW		Cedric Lalonde-McNicoll, C 2010 6th round draft pick
Mar. 3 4:00pm		Aaron Johnson, D 2010 3rd round draft pick		Steve Staios, D
Mar. 3 3:45pm		Alexandre Picard, RW/C		Chad Kolarik, C
Mar. 3 3:32pm		Dustin Boyd, C		2010 4th round draft pick
Mar. 3 3:29pm		2010 6th round draft pick		Chris Peluso, D
Mar. 3 3:28pm		Ryan Whitney, D 2010 6th round draft pick		Lubomir Visnovsky, D
Mar. 3 3:20pm		Mathieu Roy, D		Matt Rust, C
Mar. 3 3:09pm		Andrew Alberts, D		2010 3rd round draft pick
Mar. 3 3:08pm		2011 7th round draft pick		Joey MacDonald, G
Mar. 3 3:08pm		Joe Corvo, D		Brian Pothier, D Oskar Osala, D 2011 2nd round draft pick
Mar. 3 3:01pm		Fredrik Modin, LW		Conditional draft pick
Mar. 3 2:52pm		Lee Stempniak, RW		Matt Jones, D 2010 4th round draft pick 2010 7th round draft pick
Mar. 3 2:51pm		Andy Delmore, D		Riley Armstrong, F
Mar. 3 2:49pm		Milan Jurcina, D		2011 6th round draft pick
Mar. 3 2:33pm		Clarke MacArthur		2010 3rd round draft pick 2010 4th round draft pick
Mar. 3 2:18pm		Raffi Torres, RW		Nathan Paetsch, D 2010 2nd round draft pick
Mar. 3 1:59pm		Vesa Toskala, G		Curtus McElhinney, G
Mar. 3 1:43pm		Eric Belanger, C		2010 2nd round draft pick
Mar. 3 1:28pm		Jeff Halpern, C		Ted Purcell, C 2010 3rd round draft pick
Mar. 3 1:18pm		Sean Zimmerman, D 2010 6th round draft pick		Mathieu Schneider, D
Mar. 3 12:40pm		Kris Newbury, C		Jordan Owens, LW
Mar. 3 12:40pm		Peter Mueller, C Kevin Porter, D		Wojtek Wolski, RW
Mar. 3 12:31pm		Pierre-Cedric Labrie, RW		Yan Stastny, C
Mar. 3 12:21pm		Scott Walker, RW		2011 7th round draft pick
Mar. 3 11:41am		Aaron Ward, D		Justin Pogge, G 2010 4th round draft pick
Mar. 3 11:32am		Dennis Seidenberg, D Matt Bartowski, D		Craig Weller, RW Byron Bitz, RW 2010 2nd round draft pick
Mar. 3 10:58am		Martin Skoula, D		2010 5th round draft pick
Mar. 3 10:28am		2011 4th round draft pick		Derek Morris, D
Mar. 2		Matt D'Agostini, RW		Aaron Palushaj, RW
Mar. 2		Alexei Ponikarovsky, RW		Luca Caputi, LW Martin Skoula, D
Mar. 2		Nick Boynton, D		Future Considerations
Mar. 2		Andy Sutton, D		2010 2nd round draft pick
Mar. 2		Steven Kampfer, D		4th RD pick in 2010 or 2011
Mar. 1		Evgeny Artyukhin, RW		Nathan Oystrick, D conditional 2011 draft pick
Mar. 1		2010 2nd round draft pick		Denis Grebeshkov, D
Mar. 1		Jordan Leopold, D		2010 2nd round draft pick
Feb. 12		Kim Johnsson, D Nick Leddy, D		Cam Barker, D
Feb. 12		Conditional 5th or 6th round pick		Jody Shelley, LW
Feb. 12		Matt Cullen, C		Alexander Picard, D 2010 2nd round draft pick
Feb. 11		Dominic Moore, C		2011 2nd round draft pick
Feb. 9		Ivan Vishnevskiy, D 2010 4th round draft pick		Kari Lehtonen, G
Feb. 7		2010 2nd round draft pick		Niclas Wallin, D 2010 5th round draft pick
Feb. 6		Ville Leino, LW		Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, D 2011 5th round draft pick
Feb. 4		Ilya Kovalchuk, LW Anssi Salmela, D 2010 2nd round draft pick		Johnny Oduya, D Niclas Bergfors, RW Patrice Cormier, C 2010 1st round draft pick 2010 2nd round draft pick
Feb. 1		Ales Kotalik, RW Christopher Higgins, LW		Olli Jokinen, C Brandon Prust, RW
Jan. 31		Dion Phaneuf, D Fredrik Sjostrom, LW Keith Aulie, D		Matt Stajan, C Niklas Hagman, LW Ian White, D Jamal Mayers, RW
Jan. 31		Jason Blake, RW Vesa Toskala, G		Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G

As we begin play after a two week Olympic break, the Toronto Maple Leafs found themselves 15th in the Eastern Conference, or 29th in the NHL. They were only ahead of the lowly Edmonton Oilers squad by 5 points for the last in the league. After Brian Burke made two significant trades back in January which saw them send forward Jason Blake and goaltender Vesa Toskala to Anaheim for J.S. Giguere and then a blockbuster deal which saw them land forward Keith Aulie and "superstar" defencemen Dion Phaneuf for Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Ian White and Jamal Mayers, much was expected in way of more trades on deadline day. Especially since Burke had the chance to see the play of many NHLers as he guided his American team to a Silver medal just three days before the deadline.

Though much was expected in the start of the day, it ended up to not be that big of a day for the Maple Leafs. Burke only made minor trades to mostly acquire draft picks to make up for the picks he lost earlier this season when he traded his first and second in 2010 for sniper Phil Kessel. Two picks which now seem as if they could be put to good use, because as we creep closer to the end of the season, the possibility of drafting Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin seems even more likely. A gift that the Bruins will no doubt put to good use.

Trades big or small are still trades and we now look at the break down of what Burke has accomplished in the past three days.

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  Breakdown:  

Toronto gets: D-Martin Skoula, F-Luca Caputi

Pittsburgh gets: F-Alexi Ponikarovsky  

-Ponikarovsky was a top point scorer for the Leafs. So far he has played in every game this season, and had played all 82 games last season. During that span he scored 42 goals and 102 points. He has been a great leader for the Leafs and has been a member of the Bud's squad since being drafted in 1998 by the Maple Leafs. Martin Skoula has been a consistant player who has played 80 games or more for the past 4 seasons, but only averaging 13 points a season over that span. Caputi has spend most of his time in the AHL. In the 2008-09 campain he registered 18 goals and 45 points in 66 games.

Toronto gets: 2010 5th round pick

New Jerseys gets: D-Martin Skoula  

-Yes, this was not a mistake. After acquiring the great defence known as Skoula, Toronto decides they not need anymore defence and then ships him out a day later for a 5th round pick. We all know that Burke is trying to get some picks back after losing his main two earlier this season in the season, but this is New Jersey, a team with a lot of talent, especially up front, and for a team looking for some good defence, Burke could have demanded more, it would seem as if he jumped the gun on this one.

Toronto gets: D-Matt Jones, 2010 4th round pick and a 2010 7th round pick

Phoenix gets: F-Lee Stempniak  

-After Lee Stempniak said he wanted a trade, there wasn't much that Toronto could do in persuading him to stay. The 27-year old winger played 122 games for the Leafs registering 25 goals and 60 points. He led the Blues in goals (27) in his first full season as he played in all 82 games in the 2006-07 season but has come nowhere close to that feat since. Regardless, he was to become a unrestricted free agent at the end of the season anyways. In 58 games with the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL of the 2008-09 season, Jones recored 2 goals and and 4 assists. Jones was chosen in the 3rd round (80th overall) in the 2002 NHL draft by the Phoenix Coyotes. Jones will also be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Once again Burke gets some draft picks, a fourth and a seventh.

Toronto gets: 2011 7th round pick

Anaheim gets: G-Joey MacDonald  

- Joey MacDonald was really just a just in case goaltender, his role was simply to be ready just in case either Gustavsson or Toskala (at the time) were to get injured. He did not prove himself when given the chances, posting a weak 1-4-0 record in 6 games with a .892 save percentage and a 3.20 GAA. He was just no cut out to be a leader anyways as he only had an 18-38-9 record with .900 save percentage and a 3.30 GAA in his 72 career NHL games. Depite playing poor in the NHL his alltime AHL record is 104-76-4 with a .911 save percentage and 2.47 GAA. If he were to get some more starts, or given more practise, he could potentially be a good backup. Once again Burke seems to have pulled the gun early as he could have recieved more than a 7th rounder in 2011 as a 7th round pick is pretty much just cap dump on Toronto's part.

Toronto gets: D-Chris Peluso

Pittsburgh gets: 2010 6th round pick    

-Peluso, a 23-year old Minnesota native, has yet to play in a game for the Penguins since being drafted in the 7th round (194th round) in 2004. He currently plays for Bemidji State University in the NCAA. In 24 games he has recored 7 assists and totalled 14 penalty minutes. Burke gives up a 6th round draft pick in 2010 in return for the young defencemen.

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 Overall: 

Toronto gets: 

F-Luca Caputi, D-Matt Jones, D-Chris Peluso, 2010 4th, 5th and 7th round 2010 draft pick and a 7th round pick in 2011

 Toronto loses: 

F-Alexi Ponikarovski, D-Martin Skoula, G-Joey Macdonald, F-Lee Stempniak, 2010 6th round draft pick

-For a team that had hoped to make the playoffs this year, and were still able to mathematically make the playoffs, the first initiave was to bring in someone to play with Kessel, instead we get three prospects and lose one of their best forwards over the past two seasons. Also we picked up 2, 7th round draft picks which could have easily been bumped up to a 5th or 6th even. Rather than keep Skoula and possibly make a better trade we also ship him out right away. The three propects we picked up have barely had any NHL time and really don't stand out, or atleast on paper. If this was Burkes attempt of righting this ship for the playoffs, it wasn't enough, and his grade on this weeks trades is certainly low as his trades looked to get worse as the day progressed. Atleast they have the offseason to look forward to.

Adam Reid

adam_mapleleafs@hotmail.com

It seems as if the Washington Capitals were looking to beef up their blueline for the long run as they announced Wednesday that they have traded defenceman Brian Pothier, winger Oskar Osala and a second round draft pick.

Corvo, a 32-year old native of Oak Park, Illinois, has four goals and eight assists this season with Carolina this season. Corvo missed two months after needing to recover from a horribe skate cut to his calf. Last season he put up 14 goals and 24 assists, proving he is not only a great defenceman, but can also be offensive and produce quality numbers.

The former 4th round, 83rd pick overall choice by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1997 entry draft has 66 goals and 146 assists in 467 NHL career games.

Meanwhile, 32-year old Pothier has 4 goals and 7 assists in 41 games this season. He has found the back of the net 25 times and added 89 helpers in 342 career games between Atlanta, Ottawa and Washington.

Osala, a 22-year old Finland native has yet to suit up for the Capitals since being drafted in the 4th round (97th overall) in the 2006 entry draft. In the 2008-09 season, Osala posted 23 goals and 37 points in 75 games for the Hershey Bears of the AHL.

Adam Reid

adam_mapleleafs@hotmail.com

 The Edmonton Oilers came into the trade deadline with one word on their mind, and that word was "change". One of the changes for Edmonton came late after the Trade deadline was offically over but trade calls were still in process.

The Oilers then announced that they have traded defencemen Steve Staios to the Calgary Flames for defenceman Aaron Johnson and a third round draft pick.

The 36-year old native of Hamilton, Staios has seven assists in 39 games played this season. He is a -19 over that span. He has misses 22 games this season with concussion issues. But, will no doubt bring both grit and leadership to the Flames organization.

Meanwhile Johnson, a 26-year old native of Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, has 1 goal and 2 assists in 22 games this year with the Flames. He is to become a unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and the Oilers will more then likely not opt to re-sign, and will be clear of the $2.2 million remaining on Staios' contract.

Adam Reid

adam_mapleleafs@hotmail.com

  With all the young guys that the Los Angeles Kings have contributing and leading the way this season, some leadership was a key issue heading into a playoff run. This was clearly on the mind of Kings management as they announced Wednesday they have acquired veteran forward Jeff Halpern from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In 55 games this season, the 33-year old Halpern has 9 goals and 8 assists. He also has 131 goals and 183 helpers in 703 NHL career games.

In return for Halpern the Lightning have recieved forward Ted Purcell and a third-round draft pick.

The 24 year old, St. John's, Newfoundland native has 3 goals and 3 helpers in 41 games this season with the Kings. Purcell won the AHL player of the year award in the 2007-08 season when he registered 25 goals and 83 points in 67 games with the Manchester Monarchs.

Adam Reid

adam_mapleleafs@hotmail.com

Vesa Toskala is on the move for the second time this season as the Anaheim Ducks have traded him to the Calgary Flames in exchange for backup goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

Toskala, a 32-year old native of Finland was sent to Anaheim in January, along with Jason Blake for J.S. Giguere. This season he has posted a record of 7-12-3 with a .873 save percentage and a 3.66 GAA in 26 games this season.

In 260 NHL games spend between Toronto and San Jose, Toskala has posted a 127-82-25 record with a 2.77 GAA and a .902 save percentage.

This trade comes hours after Anaheim traded goaltender Justin Pogge to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the day.

The 26-year old McElhinney has only 10 games this season behind Miikka Kiprusoft in Calgary. He has posted a 3-4-0 record with a .885 save percentage and a 3.22 GAA.

Adam Reid

adam_mapleleafs@hotmail.com

 It seems as if the Carolina Hurricanes have found a right back up to Goaltender Cam Ward as they announced Wednesday that they have acquired goaltender Justin Pogge and a fourth round draft pick from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for veteran defenceman Aaron Ward.

The 37-year old, Windsor native, Ward is making 2.5 million this season and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

In 60 games this season Ward has 1 goal and 10 assists. In 822 career games between the Red Wings, Bruins, Rangers and Hurricanes he has 44 goals and 105 assists.

Pogge on the other hand will find himself on a new team for the second time this season as he was send to the Ducks by the Maple Leafs in October for a conditional draft pick.

Pogge, a 23 year old Fort. McMurray native, won the Canadian Major Junior - Goaltender of the year award as he helped his Calgary Hitman team win the Memorial Cup trophy back in the 2005-06 season. This season he has a 26-21-5 record in 53 games with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL Last season he posted a 26-10-4 record with the Marlies with a .908 Save Percentage and a 2.34 GAA.

The conditional fourth-round draft pick that the Hurricanes will receive originally belonged to the Boston Bruins, and Carolina will receive the pick in either 2010 or 2011.

Adam Reid

adam_mapleleafs@hotmail.com

  Peter Mueller will try to salvage a disappointing season in a new home. The Phoenix Coyotes announced Wednesday that he will get a fresh start as he and fellow Coyote forward Kevin Porter will be going to Colorado to play for the Avalanche.

In exchange Phoenix will receive Wojtek Wolski and a fourth round draft pick in 2010.

Mueller who had a strong rookie season last year in which he potted 22 goals and added 32 helpers has taken a big step back by only rippling the mesh 4 times and being credited with 12 assists so far this season.

Wolski the 24 year old native of Poland has 17 goals and 30 assists this season so far with the Avalanche. He was the first round pick, 21^st overall in the 2004 NHL Entry draft for the Avs.

An excited Don Maloney, general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes said, "Wojtek Wolski is a terrific young offensive player, he is a talented goal scorer that will help us offensively and on the power play. He has great size and is just entering the prime of his career."

Porter has played in 4 games with the Coyotes this season without registering a point. In 34 games last year he was credited with 5 goals and 10 points.

For fun, I felt like sharing what my Deadline Headquarters looks like. Looking forward to a day of trades and rumors alike. Happy Hockey Christmas everyone!