One-Time Doormats Make Noise at Trade Deadline
The times they are a changin’ in the NHL. That was never more evident when the Philadelphia Flyers, perennial contenders who are known to add to their roster at the trade deadline, dealt star forward Peter Forsberg to the league’s new powerhouse, the Nashville Predators.
There were more surprises yesterday, as a few teams who have been doormats in recent seasons made key acquisitions in the hours leading up to the deadline.
The Atlanta Thrashers have never participated in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They’re still battling to secure their first postseason berth, but they aided their cause by acquiring left wings Keith Tkachuk from St. Louis and Pascal Dupuis from the Rangers, as well as defenseman Alexei Zhitnik from the retooling Flyers.
The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t played playoff hockey since 2001, but the youngsters leading the way will get help from 40-year-old veteran Gary Roberts, who has 424 career goals and 114 games of playoff experience. The Penguins also added wing Georges Laraque for the stretch run.
The New York Islanders haven’t been as playoff-starved as the Thrashers and Penguins, though they missed the fun last spring for the first time in four seasons. Twice in their last three postseason appearances the Isles have been the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed, and that may be their fate again this April. They are better positioned to reach and go further in the postseason after securing arguably the biggest prize in the trade deadline sweepstakes. On Tuesday, the Islanders acquired Edmonton’s leading scorer Ryan Smyth, who tallied 31 goals and 53 points in 53 games for the Oilers.
Smyth, who has three goals and two assists in his last five games, still has a chance to surpass his single-season high of 39 goals. Returning to a playoff race may provide a spark, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s been scoring of late. Among the key trade acquisitions, only new Shark Bill Guerin has scored more goals in February.
February Scoring by Key Trade Acquisitions
Player (New Team). . . . G-A-Pts
Bill Guerin (SJ). . . . . . . 7-3-10. . in 11 games
Ryan Smyth (NYI). . . . . .5-5-10. . in 12 games
Keith Tkachuk (Atl). . . . 5-3-8. . . in 11 games
Peter Forsberg (Nsh). . . 3-9-12. . in 11 games
Gary Roberts (Pit). . . . . 1-1-2. . . in 9 games
Comments
I say watch out for Atlanta in Stanley Cup this spring. Adding Keith Tkachuk and Alexei Zhitnik to an allready impressive line off players like; Marian Hossa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Vyacheslav Kozlov, Bobby Holik, Scott Mellanby,Niclas Havelid and Kari Lehtonen. Go Trashers
Posted by: patrik | March 1, 2007 12:38 PM
Lehtonen is an important part of the equation. After starting 22-12-7 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .912 save percentage, he hasn't been on top of his game over the last five weeks. Since Jan. 26, the Thrashers' goalie is 4-7-1 with a 3.30 GAA and .890 save percentage. He picked up his first win since Feb. 8 in Boston Monday, perhaps a key victory in turning around the fortunes of his slumping team. Lehtonen may not need to rank among the best in GAA with that potent lineup of scorers, but he'll need to be better than he has been in recent weeks. A breakout season for Lehtonen seemed possible at the start of 2006-07. He still could establish himself as one of the best young goalies in the game with a strong showing down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Posted by: TH | March 1, 2007 02:34 PM
well im wit u
the Trashers r good
but idk bout the Sabres
their having injury troubles
but the trashers r a favorite
Posted by: rich | March 5, 2007 03:58 PM