Trade Wars II is winding down. And what a blast it's been. We've laughed; we've cried. We all sang "We Are the World". I can't wait till next summer, so we can debate who the Oilers will be taking 1st overall, and so we can hold Trade Wars III.
Maybe next time we break the teams into three groups of ten, and bring in another blogger to participate? Hey, bidding wars would increase the fun of this, dontcha think? Three bloggers for Trade Wars III. Maybe four bloggers for Trade Wars IV? I can't wait to see who the Oilers draft 1st overall in 2014, too.
We still have work to do on Trade Wars II, so let's get to it. In his latest blog, Travis Yost made a couple of offers. Does he have something against people named "Staal"? Both deals involve a Staal brother. Interestingly enough, I am using the same theory to analyze both deals, and the theory leads to one yes, and one no.
1. The Pittsburgh Penguins send F Jordan Staal -- upon extension -- and F Tom Kuhnackl to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for F Jordan Eberle and F Teemu Hartikainen.
Absolute no on this one.
Declined. Why? Because the best player in the deal is Jordan Eberle. Forget that Eberle is younger and isn't set to become a UFA in a year. Let's just look at talent. The best player in the deal is Eberle. He's one of the Top 10 wingers in the game today. I'd rank Staal in a group of maybe the Top 15 to 20 centers. So this deal...is a no go. Sorry. In my mind, Hall, Eberle and Nugent-Hopkins in Edmonton are absolute untouchables.
2. The Carolina Hurricanes send F Eric Staal and a first-round pick in 2012 (8th overall) to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for F David Backes, F T.J. Oshie, D Ian Cole, and a first-round pick in 2013.
Accepted, but geez, I thought about this one all day before saying yes. So why did I take it? Because Eric Staal is clearly the best player in the deal. I'm not a huge Oshie fan, but I love David Backes. That's what hurts here. Giving up Ian Cole is sorta "whatever". The defenseman the Blues will pick up with the Hurricanes 8th overall pick will be a better player than Cole. At #8, one of Trouba, Rielly or Reinhart will still be available, and all would be an upgrade from Cole.
Someone said to me, "this deal would be a step back for the Blues." Not sure. Staal is an upgrade. I think Eric Staal is one of the top players in the game, and you can't ignore the impact of adding a player of that quality will have. Keep in mind one of the strengths of the Blues is their depth. I'm not saying Backes and Oshie are replaceable guys or anything. I'm just saying Eric Staal is Eric Staal. If you get a chance to acquire him, you do so.
One last thing to keep in mind: There would be a market for the 8th overall pick if the Blues wanted to trade it. Maybe they turn around and deal the pick to Pittsburgh, to bring the Staal brothers together? Makes sense to me. Adding Eric and Jordan in one year, even with the loss of Backes and Oshie, would not be a step back in any way.
So now that we've sorted that out, let's go to the board. How many deals have we completed?
1. The Calgary Flames send Jarome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Brent Connolly, Keith Aulie, and the Lightning's 1st round pick in 2012 (10th overall).
2. The Columbus Blue Jackets send Rick Nash (LW) to the Washington Capitals for Mike Green (D), and Washington's 1st round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft (11th and 16th Overall).
3. The Toronto Maple Leafs send D Luke Schenn, C Nazem Kadri, and a first-round draft pick in 2013 to the Dallas Stars in exchange for G Jack Campbell and C Mike Ribeiro.
4. The New York Islanders send the thirty-fourth overall selection (2nd round, 2012 NHL Draft) to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for D Keith Ballard and a fourth-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft.
5. The Ottawa Senators send G Robin Lehner and F Mika Zibanejad to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for F Patrick Kane and D Adam Clendening.
6. The Boston Bruins send Dougie Hamilton and Brad Marchand to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Brendan Smith and Valtteri Filppula.
7. The Minnesota Wild send Tom Gilbert and Guillaume Latendresse to the Philadelphia Flyers for Sergei Bobrovsky
8. The Buffalo Sabres send F Derek Roy and F Tyler Ennis to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for F Gilbert Brule and D Brandon Gormley.
9. The New York Rangers send F Carl Hagelin and a first-round pick(28th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft in exchange for F Ryane Clowe and a second-round pick(55th overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft.
10. The Montreal Canadiens send their first-round selection (3rd overall) in 2012, D Nathan Beaulieu, F Erik Cole, and F Louis Leblanc to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for C Ryan Getzlaf(upon extension) and F Kyle Palmieri.
11. The Colorado Avalanche send Matt Duchene to the Winnipeg Jets for Evander Kane.
12. The Carolina Hurricanes send F Eric Staal and a 1st round pick in 2012 (8th Overall) to the St. Louis Blues for F David Backes, F TJ Oshie, D Ian Cole, and a 1st round pick in 2013 (25th Overall).
Who's left to make a deal? From the West: Edmonton, Los Angeles and Nashville. From the East: Florida, New Jersey and Pittsburgh.
Let's try to see if I can wrap this sucker up. Six teams; three deals.
1. The Los Angeles Kings offer F Tyler Toffoli to the Florida Panthers for F Marcel Goc.
Those of you who know me in "real life" know that my favorite Oiler during the 2006 Stanley Cup near-miss was Jarred Stoll. He was a HUGE factor in the Kings cup win this year. Unfortunately for the Kings, Stoll is a UFA, and he's gonna get overpaid by a different team on July 1st for what he did during the playoffs.
The only thing harder than winning the cup is trying to keep it. The Kings, if they want to repeat next season, will need to fill Stoll's skates. Marcel Goc could do so. He's also an affordable cap hit for the next two seasons, which makes him that much more attractive.
Goc is really only hitting his prime now (late bloomer) and the Panthers aren't going to give him away. Giving away ridiculously good OHL player Tyler Toffoli is an overpayment for Goc, but the Kings have the talent and depth required to be the first team in forever to win the cup two years in a row. If this tells you how much I like Goc, Toffoli scored 52 goals in the OHL this year...it's not usually like me to give up great prospects to immediately improve a team.
2. The Edmonton Oilers offer F Ales Hemsky and F Eric Belanger to the New Jersey Devils for their 1st round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft (29th overall) and their 2nd round pick in the 2012 or 2013 NHL Entry Draft (Devils option).
Now before everyone starts going crazy on me, keep in mind 29th overall is practically a 2nd round pick, and the Devils have the choice of when to give up the 2nd round pick.
Why in the world would the Devils make this deal? Because Zach Parise is leaving, for one. Offense needs to come from someone. If Hemsky is healthy, this deal is huge for the Devils. If Hemsky gets hurt again? This could be a win for the Oilers. Keep in mind I am the Oilers GM here...Yakupov is coming, and there's a log jam on the right side because of it. Moving Hemsky for picks helps in the future, and moving Eric Belanger makes me smile. I know people who insist he's a good player, but I'm not one of them.
3. The Nashville Predators offer D Shea Weber to the Pittsburgh Penguins for F Jordan Staal, D Simon Despres, D Joe Morrow, and the Penguins 1st round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (22nd overall).
I think Shea Weber is the best defenseman in the NHL.
So why trade him?
It's like this: Ryan Suter is leaving. Radulov? Gonzo. Weber didn't sign a long contract extension with the Preds because he wanted management to prove they are serious about building a winner. When Suter leaves and Radulov goes, Weber is going to lose hope...when that happens, he'll allow himself to go UFA in the Summer of 2013.
This means you trade Weber now while his value is at a peak. The longer you wait to move him, the more it becomes obvious he's going UFA in 2013. Which means his value in a deal is going to start dropping.
Weber would be of high value to the Penguins, and he'd obviously re-sign long-term with them. There's many cup chances coming for the Pens with their roster being what it is.
For Nashville, this is an opportunity to find the next Suter and Weber. Despres is a tremendous prospect. Morrow is also of quality. If the Preds can find a way to re-sign Jordan Staal, they'll have the 1st line center they've wanted for a long time.
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • 
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