The Value of: Lubomir Visnovsky

NHL Hot Stove presents it’s “The Value Of” series which will look at some of the names discussed around the NHL who likely will be moved at the March 3rd trade deadline.

If the Oilers cannot move star defenseman Sheldon Souray perhaps they can move another of their excellent offensive defensemen in Lubomir Visnovsky.  TSN’s Darren Dreger listed Visnovsky as one of his 10 most likely players to get traded at the trade deadline so it should make sense that the Oilers wish to move this talent.

The Oilers traded for Visnovsky from the Kings and the latter traded up for the Slovakian d-man in the 2000 draft.  Had Los Angeles not made a move for him he probably would be in an Ottawa uniform to this day.

Regardless, less than two years ago he moved for two young, valuable roster players: Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene.  At this point with three years left at 5.6 million the Oilers may not receive the same bounty despite admirable production.

During his last three seasons in Los Angeles he posted 166 points over 231 games, a .72 point-per-game pace and impressive marks for a blueliner.  With Edmonton he registered points at a .62 PPG pace, less than his previous totals but above average regardless.

Still with cash strapped teams and limited cap space only a handful of teams could take on Visnovsky’s salary without the Oilers taking back salary.  GM Steve Tambellini likely would acquire a young talented forward and a stop gap defenseman for the services of his top-pairing player.

Still with Souray and possibly Scott Niedermayer on the market, teams would probably list the 33-year-old as a contingency plan and not necessarily the solution.  Buffalo, Washington, Ottawa and possibly Vancouver could use a defenseman of this caliber but would they be willing to part with the players necessary to make a deal?

Lets wait for the other dominoes to drop before Visnovsky leaves Edmonton.  Still should be a very interesting player come March 3rd.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove