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Smart moves for Flyers,
Kings at deadline
There were a great number of trades at the deadline as teams either positioned themselves for the current playoffs or for the future. The New York Rangers, New Jersey, Colorado, Los Angeles and Philadelphia all made major moves to improve their teams and to try and give themselves an edge in winning this season's Stanley Cup.
Other teams stayed put or were looking to the future. Here is a look at one team in the Eastern Conference and another in the Western Conference who I believe helped themselves in the pursuit of the 2002 Stanley Cup.
In the Eastern Conference, let's look at the Philadelphia Flyers.
Due to injuries to Jeremy Roenick and Keith Primeau at the time of the trade deadline, it appeared that Philadelphia was forced into paying a premium to acquire Adam Oates from Washington. The Flyers gave up a top goaltending prospect, Maxime Ouellet, and first-, second- and third-round picks in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
And the player coming to Philadelphia -- Oates -- is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Long-term price for a short-term gain?
Not really.
Consider the following as we review this trade. First, Flyers GM Bob Clarke had been stockpiling draft picks. He had 11 picks in the first seven rounds of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Second, the Flyers needed to find a way to improve their power play. Clarke knows he has the quality players to have an effective power play, but the results have just not been there. Third, he was also wanted to improve his performance in faceoffs.
And remember, if anyone is aware of the quality of the Flyers' faceoff men, Bobby Clarke would be the man. He was one of the best faceoff men in the history of the NHL.
"I think when you are close and a legitimate Stanley Cup contender you need to help your team the best way you can, even if the price is expensive," Clarke explains.
Let's look at how Clarke accumulated some of these draft picks. He traded with Ottawa by switching first-round picks in 2001 and receiving the Senators seventh round that year and a second-round pick in 2002 (Ottawa had acquired this pick from Tampa Bay).
Clarke also picked up a third-round pick in 2002 in a previous deal with Carolina. He received another third-round pick in 2002 in a deal with Tampa Bay. Clarke continued to collect draft picks by trading Dean McAmmond to Chicago for a third-round pick last year.
In a trade sending Daymond Langkow to Phoenix, the Flyers have the option of either St. Louis' first-round pick in 2002 and Phoenix's second-round pick in 2003 or Phoenix's second-round pick in 2002 and first-round pick in 2003.
Clarke accumulated another third-round pick in a deal that send defenseman Andy Delmore to Nashville.
Clearly, Clarke was positioning himself to have the Draft picks available if a player of Oates' quality was available.
Adam Oates could help the Philadelphia Flyers on the power-play unit and in the faceoff circle, says Mel Bridgman.
Also, the Flyers' power-play has been struggling and resides at the bottom thirD of the League in effectiveness. This is clearly a weakness for a team that is at or near the top of the Eastern Conference.
Oates brings the most assists in the NHL this season to the Flyers' lineup. This should clearly strengthen a power play that has underachieved this season.
Finally, Oates is an excellent faceoff man and this is another area that Clarke thought he needed to shore up before the end of the season. The acquisition of Oates without taking anyone away from this strong lineup should greatly improve the Flyers' chances of winning the Eastern Conference and competing for the Stanley Cup.
In the Western Conference, GM Dave Taylor has quietly improved the Los Angeles Kings with the acquisition of Cliff Ronning from Nashville.
Although Ronning does not seem to be a player who would have the same impact that an Oates would have on Philadelphia, he appears to be a perfect fit for the surging Kings.
"We had a high opinion of Cliff as a player having played against him over the years," Taylor said. "We thought we needed more balance in our attack. Since the Olympic break, the bulk of our scoring has come from one line. Cliff gives us options to balance our attack both at regular strength and on the power play."
Taylor smartly made the trade a couple of days before the deadline so that Ronning was in their lineup in a huge game in San Jose on Monday, the day before the deadline. This was a critical game for first place in the division. The Kings won the game and then beat the Colorado Avalanche in Los Angeles three days later.
"This team is fast and has a lot of depth. At this point in the season, it is more important to be winning than to be worrying who is scoring the goals," Ronning explains.
It is this kind of leadership and team player that the Kings were looking for and seem to have found in Ronning. "This is so exciting. Last year the Kings were a total surprise in the playoffs. This year we are starting to expect them to go a long way and maybe the Stanley Cup," says Mike Swenor, a longtime Kings fan.
Now that the trades have been completed for this season, the focus can now go back to the playoff races. And the incredible playoff races are making every night now a playoff in itself.
As a fan, if you stop paying attention for a couple of days, you may find your favorite team securely in the playoffs or even out of the playoffs. This may be the best playoff race in years and every fan is anxiously paying attention to the standings in the morning paper.
Both Clarke and Taylor are hoping their moves will give them an edge to come out of their respective conferences in pursuit of the Stanley Cup.
Mel Bridgman appeared in just under 1,000 NHL regular-season games and served as the captain of both the Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils. After his playing days, he was hired as the first general manager of Ottawa Senators.
Rock on,
and on, and on...
Girard, Girard. Rick Girard!
17.-19.05. 2002 Nürburgring
DAS HERRSCHT