Detroit Superstar Marian Hossa has been carted off on a stretcher after going hard into the boards early in the first period in St. Louis. Blues D-man Roman Polak was handed a minor roughing penalty on the play. Hossa was holding his head after htting the wall.
The Boston Bruins are still making a push to trade for Chris Pronger.
Anaheim wants to play in the playoffs, therefore I personally would be surprised to see them move Chris Pronger before the summer. Could this change? Sure it can, but it’s my gut feeling based on the conversations I have had.
The Pronger to Boston rumors continue to swirl pretty strong and the Bruins are the likeliest destination for Pronger to land if he is dealt.
Over the last year Panthers D-man Jay Bouwmeester has been rumored to be traded to every team in the NHL and the KHL. Sorry to burst the bubble but I’m told by quality sources in Florida that he will still be playing for Florida tomorrow night.
As we sit right now the possibility of the club re-signing Bouwmeester this summer doesn’t look good. The club is keeping their fingers crossed that if Florida can make a strong run in the playoffs then maybe that could leave a strong impression on the stud D-man and allow him re-think about signing an extension with Florida.
This guy plays against all the other teams best players and has been unbelievably professional in handling all the pressure that comes with trade rumors.
GM Jacques Martin is keeping things very close to the vest here but is leaning towards hanging on to Bouwmeester who has been the teams best player nearly every night. He’s the only D-man the club has on the roster who can handle the responsibility he takes head on every single night.
I know these players don’t come along very often and it would be tough to lose him for nothing this summer, but if you’re Martin you do your best to go out and replace him. The Panthers have had several discussions with St. Louis and Anaheim in the past regarding Pronger so maybe that’s the guy they target this June at the draft if Bouwmeester slips away.
If your goal is to make the playoffs then you don’t trade the Jay Bouwmeester’s of the world.
There will be 20 good D-men available on July first, maybe not as good as Bouwmeester but you can always find a way to replace a player.
Pittsburgh is not expected to move Pascal Dupuis, Petr Sykora, or Ruslan Fedotenko who at one point were all trade possibilities.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs agree to terms with Dominic Moore (very unlikely) then look for Matt Stajan to be traded.
Jamal Mayers could still land in Detroit, the Red Wings are not looking to make any moves but would consider adding a little toughness. Word is Ken Holland has always liked Mayers who is also a dependable face-off man combined with his skating ability and experience.
Things were less than productive in a meeting today between Senators agent Bryan Murray and Chris Neil’s agent. Chi, Det, and San Jose are all possible destinations for Neil.
Tamp Bay D-man Steve Eminger is on the table for a team looking for a D-man.
I still don’t see the Blues trading Keith Tkachuk unless they receive a player in return who increases the Blues chances of making the playoffs this year and beyond. The team needs Tkachuk to run the dressing room and keep the young players in check.
Will St. Louis take a run a Miroslav Satan who was placed on waivers today by Pittsburgh? He can still score but struggled finding chemistry with Captain Sidney Crosby which was the reason they signed him in the first place. Satan was still the team’s fourth leading scorer.
The Blues could certainly use another scorer.
Anaheim has asked about Blues winger David Perron. The Ducks have always loved Perron going back to last June. Their chief scout Alain Cheney badly wanted Perron at the draft.
I look at the trade deadline like this, there are so many teams that are capped out and can’t take on any term. You have at least 9 or 10 teams who have to watch what they spend every single day.
You no longer have the traditional separation between the buyers and the sellers.
Any GM who is frustrated out there because they have no cap space has no one to blame but themselves. This is a lesson for every GM to be careful with long-term deals, this is why 7-8 year deals make absolutely no sense and are killing teams.
I have an issue with teams being allowed to sit healthy players out of games just because they are scared of injury and in turn won’t be able to move a certain player before the deadline. It’s quite clear in the NHL bylaws that every team is required to dress their 20 best players every night unless a player is hurt. What if Colorado was tied for a playoff spot with another club and had the advantage of playing the Islanders without one of their best scorers? This was the case last night with Billy Guerin being forced to sit out because Garth Snow believes a trade is close. Obviously the Islanders won the game but I think you get my point.
The competitive playing field in the NHL becomes questioned if you ask me. The same goes with Phoenix sitting out Derek Morris who isn’t hurt. It helped St. Louis but I would assume some other teams fighting with the Blues for a final playoff spot weren’t too pleased. These teams should be fined by the league if they are not putting their best lineup on the ice every night. .
Obviously I’m not talking about healthy scratches and such. I’m referring to players who should be playing but are being held out because of fear of injury that would disrupt a trade.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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