According to Andy Strickland and Jeremy Rutherford the St. Louis Blues have sent enforcer DJ King to the Washington Capitals. King agreed to a two-year contract extension totaling $1.25 million prior to the trade.

King was the Blues 6th Round pick (190th overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Since making his NHL debut on October 5th, 2006 King has appeared in 101 games with the St. Louis Blues. In that time frame he has accumulated 4 goals, 9 points and 185 penalty minutes.

While one of the strongest and fiercest fighters in the NHL – he has slowly fallen out of favor in St. Louis. Back to back injury plagued seasons and the growth of local boy come home Cam Janssen have limited DJ’s opportunities to play. Only appearing in 13 NHL games the last two years.

In his last full season King appeared to possess the skill required to take a regular shift every night. After the long term shoulder injury in 2007 King came to camp on 2009 looking to make his way back to the roster. By that time Janssen had taken his fair share of punches and endeared himself to many a Blues fan. Much of the fanbase had grown to believe in Cam as the better option for an enforcer and Cam backed it up at camp. His skating, stickhandling and hockey sense all noticeably improved. Janssen still has far to go, but has quickly hit the same playing level as DJ King.

It appears that the local appeal and lack of injury history turned the table in Janssen’s favor.

In return the Blues acquire Stefan Della Rovere. He was the Caps 7th Round pick (204th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The 5’11, 200-pound forward has a large amount of winning experience. He was a member of the 2009 Canadian WJC Gold Medal team and the 2010 Silver Medal team. HE captained the Barrie Colts in to a deep OHL playoff run. To close out his 2010 season he played for the 2010 Calder Cup winning Hershey Bears of the AHL. In 230 OHL games, Stefan registered 138 points (65 goals, 73 assists) and 479 penalty minutes.

Yes, 479 penalty minutes. For those of you who took in the last two U-20 World Junior Championships you know what I am talking about. Della Rovere was a Grade-A pest for Team Canada. He is an aggressive and tough forward who will get under opponents skin. There is the potential for a the thin line between right and wrong to be crossed. However, the same can be said of any player of his ilk. His game lives on the edge and teams benefit because of it.

He is not Patrice Cormier.

This is another solid deal made by Doug Armstrong. Turning an unnecessary surplus in to quality depth. Della Rovere has shown he can play at the highest levels and will get a shot in St. Louis. At age 20, he will not be heading back to the OHL. The expectation for now is that he will compete against Vlad Sobotka, Brad Winchester and BJ Crombeen for time on the energy lines. Most likely he will start the season with the Blues AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen.

You can find the full release from the Blues on their Official Website.

Jeff Quirin
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondent
jquirin@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @MuSigma45

On Wednesday the St. Louis Blues announced that talented forward David Perron had agreed to a two year contract. Per Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch the deal breaks down in to $1.8 million in 2010-2011 and $2.5 million in 2011-2012.

This contract could prove to be a steal of a deal for the Blues. Perron is a highly skilled offensive juggernaut in the making. All the tools are there. The stick skills, the vision, the dangling and the burning desire to score. Take a look at what he does to Mark Striet and tell me he doesn’t have “it”. There are few players out there being paid less than $2 million next season who have the ability to post a 25 goal, 50 point campaign. The relative cost to output should allow the Blues some flexibility down the road to add salary to fill deficiencies elsewhere.

For all the potential positives the contract brings, there are tangible concerns as well.

David still lacks (or appears to at times) the realization of that killer attitude to compete on the ice. That is why the Blues were wanting a term of two years and not four or five. At times his level of effort on the ice has drifted. Needing a “4th line reminder night” or two in hopes that he understands the difference between walking the walk and talking the talk. The Blues hope here is that David sees this contract as a challenge. A taste of the NHL and a reminder that there is much more to be done.

Few will that his passion is there, it just doesn’t always show.

The Blues front office can now put their full attention on taking care of franchise cornerstone, defenseman Erik Johnson. The 1st Overall selection from the 2006 NHL Draft has yet to sign a new deal. As mentioned on Thursday by Rutherford on Twitter the Blues are not close to reaching an agreement with Johnson. He quoted Blues GM Doug Armstrong as saying, “I do feel the goal posts are getting closer, but we’re not where either side is ready to accept the other’s position.” Johnson’s agent, Pat Brisson, also confirmed with Rutherford that they are looking for a short term extension. Perron’s contract does not set a precedent for Johnson, but the contracts will likely end up similar in their structure. Before the season ended the early conjecture was that Erik was looking for a deal similar to draft roommate Jonathan Toews. A season lost to injury sandwiched between inconsistent seasons has raised red flags in the Blues camp. With no investor coming in to replace TowerBrook the Blues are hard pressed to sign long term deals. Especially when the commodity has not been proven.

Speculation points to Johnson to taking a two year deal in the $4 million to $6 million range.

Make no mistake, the Blues want and expect Johnson to become the cornerstone they drafted him to be. They want to see him prove it before they start signing the checks.

For those Blues fans concerned with the enforcer situation. There is no news on the return of DJ King. He will likely be re-signed, it’s just a question of when. I do not expect both to start the season on the NHL roster as they did in 2009-2010. Expect one or both to go to the Blues AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, to start off 2010-2011.

For those interested…

I run a weekly Blues Q&A on Twitter. Three questions a week and two days to vote on each question. Friday is Question #3 for the week with voting going through 11:59pm Central on Saturday. Follow me @MuSigma45. So far this week Blues fans have voted on the Blues staying out of Kovy-drama and if the time is right to make David Backes the Captain. Check in tomorrow morning for Question 3.

Jeff Quirin
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondent
jquirin@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @MuSigma45

There has been quite a discourse regarding the Blues perceived lack of inactivity on the free agent front. Angry Blues fans from the water cooler to message boards are chiming in that they are not so happy with Doug Armstrong’s alleged inability and unwillingness to bring in “upgrades”. I mean not to harm the feelings of my Blues brethren, but there is also a fan unwillingness to accept the reality of the situation the team is in.

Fans are emotionally involved with their teams. Its something that gives professional sports a great depth of substance. Often those emotions neglect to take in to account that their team is really a business. In business, at least in my experience, FAQs are often disseminated to explain “why” and provide background in to a process or event.

Here is my attempt at a Blues Free Agency FAQ. Questions I have seen on Blues sites, blogs, message boards, or just from co-workers and friends. I’ve paraphrased the questions to lump together the most common issues.

Q. Doug Armstrong said this would be an “ambitious summer”. How is one trade (Halak) ambitious?

A. Words have connotative meanings, a personal interpretation. When Armstrong said this he was going more creativity rather than going all in.

The reality of the Blues situation is that there is not a lot of available money long-term. Many of the best free agents want lover terms. This is more to do with the lack of a replacement for TowerBrook than it is about Barret Jackman‘s contract. They just can’t take on an inflated contract right now. What money that is available will be reserved for the homegrown talent. That means Erik Johnson and David Perron this summer and David Backes, TJ Oshie, Roman Polak and Patrik Berglund next summer.

Given those constraints Armstrong had to find scoring other ways. Hence the trade for a young energy line player with skill like Vladimir Sobotka. Acquiring AHL scorer TJ Hensick. Retaining Matt D’Agostini. Finding scoring from cheaper avenues.

Ambition from filling holes in unconventional ways. Not ambition in terms of spending a lot of cash.

Q. The Blues said they won’t spend money on free agents. How can this be?

A. This quote from an early off season interview has been largely misunderstood. The correct paraphrase of the quote from John Davidson is that the Blues wouldn’t spend over a certain amount per year on one free agent.

The example given was $8 million dollars a season or more on someone like Patrick Marleau or Ilya Kovalchuk.

As covered already this has to do with the loss of TowerBrook and the Blues lacking long-term financial backing with deep enough pockets to eat a salary like that. The Blues haev spent money in free agency. They have retained many of their own players and signed three players they traded for. Jaroslav Halak, Sobotka, and Hensick.

Q. The Blues are short on scoring, how can they not go after Kovalchuk?

A. Outside of the fiscal concerns there are team building issues at work. The Blues have said they believe in building strong from the back out. Having a stable netminder to grow with and a solid core of defensemen. You can argue that the Blues have that now with Halak, Erik Johnson, Roman Polak, and Alex Pietrangelo. At the same time there are still question marks surrounding each one of those players. The assumed core the Blues will rely on in the back end hasn’t been proven yet. It’s very hard to a team to justify spending what Kovalchuk wants when you don’t have the base of the team totally squared away.

Fans also shouldn’t forget that in the summer of 2011 the Blues have to re-sign David Backes, Patrik Berglund and TJ Oshie up front. Allocating $8 million or more just to Kovalchuk means that two of those players are gone come 2011-2012.

One final thought to take in to account. The Blues don’t feel like they are short on scoring. There is a real belief that players like Berglund, Backes, and Brad Boyes will recover and post seasons closer to their 2008-2009 totals.

Given what Kovalchuk’s New Jersey contract is rumored to look like he would addroughly $7-$8 million in salary to the payroll. With only Eric Brewer’s $4.25 million contract coming off the books, there would be very little wiggle room.

Q. Why did the Blues re-sign Brad Winchester?

A. I’ve seen this question a lot and I understand why its asked. Brad did well under Andy Murray, but seemed to be a pet project. As terrible as that sounds many fans have that feeling. After a successful run in the second half of the 2008-2009 Brad couldn’t find the mojo throughout 2009-2010.

When Brad is on he is skating with purpose, forechecking, taking the body and crashing the net. At $700,000 the potential to score 20 goals is an amazing value. Not many may believe he can do it, mainly because Murray said he could, but the potential is there. The Blues are hoping that a low dollar gamble can pay off big time.

Low Risk, High Reward ambition.

Q. Why re-sign Colaiacovo? That makes it harder for Pietrangelo to make the team.

A. On the surface this is a legitimate question and concern. One that I struggled with. If the Blues want to inject more home grown talent, why potentially pay inflated open market prices for Colaiacovo?

The Blues didn’t have to pay full open market price. Colaiacovo was allowed to shop his services and he didn’t find the price he wanted. Teams like Tampa, Buffalo, and the Islanders could have used his services, but they weren’t going to give Carlo the deal he wanted. His contract is very economical with an average of $2.15 million paid over the two seasons. Leaving room for a good sized Entry Level Contract like Pietrangelo’s to sit on the NHL roster.

Davis Payne is now the Head Coach. With a full season to twist and mold his team he could break away from the mold of a defensive defenseman paired with an offensive defenseman. The trend could easily become “who are the 5th and 6th best defensemen right now? Play those two”.

Until Pietrangelo comes to training camp and shows what he can do, the door is wide open. Mind you he is competing against Ian Cole and Tyson Strachan for one of the last two available roster spots on defense.

Q. Why did the Blues add “tweener” forwards like Matt D’Agostini, Vladimir Sobotka, and TJ Hensick?

A. I’ve covered this some already with the Armstrong brand of “ambition”. There is more to these three though.

D’Agostini scored 12 goals in 53 games as a rookie with the Montreal Canadians in 2008-2009. A projected pace of roughly 19 goals in 82 games. That’s only two behind the pace that Patrik Berglund gave the Blues in the same season. Matt can score and could greatly benefit from a full season under a coach like Payne. A more open system allowing players to rely on their talents instead of relying on the system.

Sobotka brings a good amount of experience at his young age. He was an important part of Boston’s playoff run this spring. There is a skill level he has that Blues energy line players haven’t had in a while. Not to mention his speed compared to Keith Tkachuk’s in that role last season.

Hensick has all the skill needed to be an every day NHL player. It just hasn’t happened yet. If he doesnt catch on in the NHL, you know he can bring you experience and a scoring punch at the AHL level to a very young Peoria roster.

Q. Did the Blues overpay for Alex Steen?

A. Not yet. Players like Steen do not grow on trees. There are not many who can play all special teams situations, serve on the top line or shut down line and pace to score 25 goals and 50 points. That is exactly what Steen did in an injury shortened season.

Q. If the Blackhawks could add a big name to their young core of players, why can’t the Blues?

A. The Blackhawks are a money making machine right now. Even before their Cup victory they were the darlings of the second most important city in America. They were all over TV and selling out every game. Real sell outs, not the Blues version of sellouts. Their ownership is stable. Yes, they rolled the dice big time. However, they made sure money was left to secure their core. That means protecting guys like Keith, Kane, Toews, Sharp and Seabrook. Cap management has not been an easy task for them, but the money was there for the guys who matter most. Once they had the funds and scenario secure to make a move, they did.

Are the Blues racking money in hand over fist? Nope.
Is their future core secure? Not yet.

The two teams aren’t on even ground for the Blues to make that kind of move…yet.

Q. Are the Blues making a mistake if they don’t lock Perron and Johnson down long term?

A. That is perhaps the most open ended question I’ve seen out in Blues nation. Neither player has really had that “break out” season yet. Erik was hampered by his golf cart injury forcing him to miss all of the 2008-2009 season.Perron hasn’t been able to sustain a consistent level of effort over long stretches his whole career.

Which begs the question, have they proven that they deserve the long term deal yet?

No, they haven’t. Which is why the speculation persists that before either player can sign long term the Blues want to see what they do over the course of a shorter deal. This puts both players in the ball park of two years and much less than they likely wanted.

If they take one year deals then their backs are against the wall. Having to prove their worth over the other four free agents I mentioned earlier. Survival of the fittest brings out the best in players? We shall see.

Jeff Quirin
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondent
jquirin@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @MuSigma45

In a signing that surprises no one, the St. Louis Blues signed their most recent goaltender acquisition to a four year, $15 million contract deal that is sure to upset Canadiens fans.

Fans of Montreal were convinced that Halak was the team’s future starting goaltender and that Carey Price would be put up on the chopping block.  GM Pierre Gauthier disagreed, and in a move that upset an entire province, traded Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues for Lars Eller and Ian Schultz – two top prospects.  The Blues have been building up prospects over years of smart drafting for a chance such as this, and new GM Doug Armstrong leaped on the chance to make a good first impression.

What a first impression it was – this very aggressive trade gave ticket brokers new ammo for season ticket renewals, and it gave a team hope for another playoff run much deeper than its last appearance in 2009.  Today the news was released that the Blues signed the new goaltender to a four year contract at $a 15 million cap hit – a healthy payraise from the $800,000 he made last season with the Habs.  He declined arbitration yesterday and trusted his agent Alan Walsh to work something out with the Blues, and he made a wise decision.  A pay raise, a lengthy contract, and a chance to get the team back to, and far into, the playoffs.  It’s win-win for everyone involved.

Except for Canadiens fans.

With the blank overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the blank select…

Nick Bjugstad

At the risk of being redundant (St. Louis Game Time already chose Bjugstad in the SB Nation Mock Draft), Nick Bjugstad fits the Blues’ drafting mold perfectly.  This year marks Jarmo Kekalainen’s last as the Blues’ drafting guru.  When the Blues have a mid-first round pick, they drift towards the European picks, and later in the round they drift North American.  Bjustad (ranked 13th overall by NHL Central Scouting) kind of fils the European pick qualification in that he’s got a Euro last name, so close enough.  A senior from Blane High School in Minnesota, this former Mr. Hockey award winner is a big body at 6’3″ and 190 lbs, and he also netted 29 goals and 31 assists in just 25 games.  Yes, being high school hockey makes it hard to judge, but he’ll be at the University of Minnesota next year to develop his talents a bit more.  He’s a big space clearing playmaker, and no team can have too many of those.

Laura Astorian
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondent
lastorian@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @hildymac

The Blues were rumored to be working with Chris Mason on a contract extension as a safety net just in case no solid goaltending deals arose at July 1st.

John Davidson is on record saying that the Blues wouldn’t be involved in any big money, big name deals, which lead Blues fans to expect either Mason to return to the crease next year, or for the team to continue their tradition of making 1B goalies number ones by grabbing another outstanding backup to groom. This took every fan of the Blues by surprise, and blindsided Habs fans who were hoping that Halak’d be their guy to lead them to a playoff repeat.

Mason has been a solid goaltender for the Blues, quietly putting up good stats over the past two seasons. He’s become a bit of a lightning rod for the fans, though, due to his propensity to allow the occasional soft goal at very inopportune times. The Blues missed the playoffs by just five points, and could have easily pushed the Avalanche out of contention had they held on to leads through the third period, or not lost one goal games quite as much as they did.

The Blues ship Lars Eller and Ian Schwartz to Montreal as compensation, which might make this deal even more surprising. The Blues landed their first legit starting goaltender in possibly 10 years by not losing a single roster player. Lars Eller (13th overall in 2007) was a fast sniper with toughness and puckhandling skills. The Blues, though, realized that he was a year out of making the club, and also realized that they have a player that fits that mold in David Perron. Schwartz is a big bruiser for the Calgary Hitman, raking up 150 penalty minutes and 55 points in 70 games. The Blues looked at the eventual upside of both of these players and realized that while they’d contribute to the Blues’ future, the team needed the future to be now. Halak allows the team to go that extra step to the playoffs right away. That “gulp” sound you just heard? That was the other four teams in the Central Division bemoaning how much harder that Division just became.

We got your fix right here.

We go live tomorrow with our 2009-2010 NHL season wrap-up show.

Be sure to tune in live with us tomorrow from 1-3 p.m. EST.

The Hockey Guys on Blog Talk Radio – link for show tomorrow. Chat room will open approximately 5 minutes prior to show’s puck drop.

Roman Polak is neither Italian nor Polish.  Discuss.

He might not be either, but this 6’1″ Czech Olympian has emerged as the St. Louis Blues’ top defensive defenseman.  With 21 points on the year (4G, 17A), he’s offensively solid, though not a powerhouse.  His +7 is second on the team behind the Blues other solid defenseman Mike Weaver and his +9. When you consider that the Blues are near the bottom of the league in GF, a +7 is better than average.

Always willing to place himself in the line of fire, though hesitant to take a penalty (only 59 minutes for the year)  Polak is a bane in scorer’s sides.  Best known for last season’s hit on Marian Hossa that took him out of the game for a couple of weeks, and some individuals saw as unclean, Polak is not a dirty hitter by nature.  He will, though, give a hard check when needed, and the oppositions’ players do tend to stay clear once they’ve learned that he is practically fearless – he has 138 hits for the year, and is built like a house.  People move.

Named one of the Blues’ core players by press members who cover the team, Polak’s becoming an untouchable asset.  Signed for this upcoming season at $1,200,000 and an RFA afterwards, he’s primed to be locked in for a long term deal.  Any player who can work hard and raise his +/- from a -15 to a +7 while having his TOI decrease about 2 minutes between last season and this season is a hard worker.

Polak flies under the radar outside of St. Louis.  A quick search for him on Google News doesn’t dig up many articles that sing his praises outside of the metro area, if any.  He probably won’t be nominated for the Norris, let alone win it – nor will the league and the journalists who follow hockey give the lumbering defenseman his due.  But as a key member of the league’s best penalty killing team, Polak deserves it.

At the very least, he deserves recognition for the greatest Twitter account of all time, even if its authenticity is questionable.

Laura Astorian
NHLHS St. Louis Blues/Atlanta Thrashers Correspondant
lastorian@nhlhotstove.co
Twitter: @hildymac

Nashville has a certain reputation with starting goaltenders.  Solid and impressive first year followed by a middling second with the team, which is promptly followed by the starter becoming the back-up, and the back-up becoming the starter.  Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne come to mind usually the most quickly, because both goalies are still with the Predators (albeit in a 1A/1B tandem).  But what of the goaltender that Ellis dethroned?

Chris Mason learned that turnabout is sometimes fair play.

The back-up to Tomas Vokoun starting during the 2003-2004 season, the 122nd overall pick of the 1995 entry draft caught eyes with his .926 SV% and 2.18 GAA in the seventeen games that he played in.  After the lock-out, he took over the full position of back-up, with a .913 SV% and 2.54 GAA.

Upon Vokoun’s leaving for the Sunshine State after the 2006-2007 season, Mason stepped up and assumed the role of full time starter.  This wasn’t quite a big of jump as one might expect; Mason had played 40 games the prior season, with a .925 SV% and a 2.38 GAA.  2007-2008, though, was not to be as stellar, and left a chance for Ellis to creep up.  Mason finished that season with a lackluster .898 SV% and a 2.90 GAA.  He was a UFA at the end of the season, and with Dan Ellis and rookie Pekka Rinne coming up through the system, the Predators let him walk.

The St. Louis Blues needed a veteran goaltender to stand behind the injury prone Manny Legace.  The previous season’s backup, Hannu Toivonen, had just come off a terrible season and returned to Finland, so there was a perfect spot for Mason. Legace, however, was struggling under the weight of Mason’s similiar-sized contract, and despite it being a UFA season for him, his numbers dropped off terribly and by February he had found himself waived to Peoria.

Mason had overtaken the role of starter once again.  He led the Blues down an astounding 25-9-7 path at the end of the 2008-2009 season, ensuring the team had the league’s best post-All Star Game record, and also ensuring that the Blues returned to the playoffs for the first time since before the lockout.

Despite being swept in the first round by the Vancouver Canucks, the Blues felt sold on their goaltending situation, adding back-up Ty Conklin to the team for this season, but still communicating to Mason and the fans that he was the number one.

Despite the Blues missing the playoffs for yet another season after a second half that was solid, Mason still has put up solid numbers for the season.  The end of the season marks contract renewal time, as on July 1st he is a free agent, but don’t ask him what his plans are for the future.  For right now, Mason just wants the Blues’ opponents to keep on fearing the beard.

Laura Astorian
NHLHS St. Louis Blues Correspondant
lastorian@nhlhotstove.com
@hildymac

As we approach the midway point of the 2009-10 season in the National Hockey League, many questions remain unanswered.

Which teams are serious about playoff contention?  Who needs a massive upgrade to make the push from a bubble team?  Which team should sell off the year and attempt a mini-rebuild?

Those are some thoughts circulating the League as we take a look at the state of all teams around the NHL.  Now, when perusing through certain rosters some names that could bring in returns which would benefit a team in need of depth.

Today, we look at the defensemen around the NHL likely to be moved by the March 3rd, 2010 trade deadline. As a side note, be sure to tune into “The Hockey Guys” on deadline day as there will be an all day live event with a live chat room for discussion on all the rumors and news as it breaks in the NHL.

If you have not noticed the way d-men are being brought into the NHL, I will help you understand the recent developments. We are beginning to see, more and more, the crop of blueliners entering the NHL have an offensive style game. To give you an example of what I mean:  Drew Doughty, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Duncan Keith, Zach Bogosian, Mike Green, Michael Del Zotto, Shea Weber are a few names from recent drafts with the gift of scoring from the blue line.

When you think playoffs, it’s about experience, two way hockey, leadership and heart and soul type players.  You also think about, outside of goaltending, offense.  However, the defense is an absolute crucial part of a roster and the game as it gives a balance at both ends of the ice.  As a team you need to be able to protect your end of the ice as well as get the puck up the ice to an offensive transition.  So, in summary the blue liners play a very vital part of the team and there will be some names in discussion come the new year and second half of the
NHL season.

Some of the potential names that can see their names sewn onto the back of a different sweater:

As discussed recently here on NHL Hot Stove as well as the recent “The Hockey Guys!” podcast, Scott Niedermayer will be the biggest name on the trading block when the deadline approaches. With the Ducks currently out of a playoff position and the season not looking like it will take a turn for the better, the Ducks would be smart to move out the duel captain (named Candian Olympic team Captain earlier today).  Scott can make one more run at a cup and the Ducks can get an important piece for their future.

Possible destinations: NJD, WSH, LAK, PHI

Joe Corvo, when healthy, provides a team looking to shore up some help on the blue line with veteran experience as well as an offensive touch that can help out a power play when called upon.  The News Observer’s Javier Serna first reported Corvo on the block on December 2nd.

Possible destinations:  PHX, NYI, BOS

Jean-Michael Liles might not be having his best season this year; queue the rumors. Liles could be packaged with a forward in order to get an upgrade up front. He is a good puck mover and has the ability to score from the blue line as well.  Another potential PP QB to add to this list.

Possible destinations: FLA, NJD

Sheldon Souray hears his name come up in rumors all season.  As the Bruce Garrioch of Ottawa Sun reported the Oilers are falling apart and if they can move Souray and relieve
themselves of the cap hit they kill two birds with one stone.  Souray will provide not only a massive shot from the point, but a leader both on and off the ice.  He plays with grit and is one of the better power play quarter backs in the league.

Possible destinations: MTL, NYI, PHX, BOS, WSH

Kim Johnsson and  Marek Zidlicky are both important pieces to the blue line in Minnesota, but if the Wild season doesn’t tame there will not be a playoff appearance. Both players bring puck moving abilities as well as defensive presence.  Pure speculation on my part, but wouldn’t you move these two if your team falls out of the race?

Possible destinations: BUF, NYI, FLA

Michal Rozsival of the New York Rangers, although a hefty price tag, could be shipped out just to have one of the younger blue liners step up and into the line up on a full time basis. It helps free up cap space in New York to acquire more important pieces which are scoring forwards. This could be one of the key figures in a Pavol Demitra deal, or a salary moved to fit said player under the cap.

Possible destinations: VAN, FLA, PHX, BUF

One of Alexander Picard or Chris Campoli, who are both RFA’s at seasons end, could be shopped by the Senators as The Sporting News recently mentioned.   Carlo Colaiacovo and Darryl Sydor of St. Louis could also be shopped.  Sydor would add great veteran depth to a playoff team. Brett Lebda, if the Wings are out of the playoffs around the deadline, could be a welcome addition as well to a younger team.

We hope you enjoyed our latest feature here at the NHL Hot Stove.  You can help NHLHS stay alive by visiting our sponsors to the right.

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Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Contributor
achockeyguys@gmail.com