In the past couple years, we have seen a multitude of deals before the deadline. But the teams that have gone on to the Stanley Cup Finals have made it there with only small deals -- Detroit getting defenseman Jiri Slegr from Atlanta two years ago and the Devils acquiring right wing Grant Marshall from Columbus and defenseman Richard Smehlik from Atlanta.
The big names acquired last season included the Toronto Maple Leafs making a handful of impact deals, adding forwards Owen Nolan and Doug Gilmour along with defensemen Phil Housley and Glen Wesley. Philadelphia added four players -- forwards Tony Amonte, Sami Kapanen and Claude Lapointe and defenseman Dmitri Yushkevich. Detroit grabbed defenseman Mathieu Schneider. Colorado picked up defenseman Bryan Marchment. St. Louis went for goaltender Chris Osgood and winger Valeri Bure. The Rangers got the biggest name in winger Alexei Kovalev. Meanwhile, Anaheim took a chance on wingers Rob Niedermayer and Steve Thomas, after previously acquiring defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh. Those moves helped the Mighty Ducks became Cinderella, until they lost in seven games in the Finals against New Jersey.
"I don't know that simply because Ottawa made the decision they made that it will have a snowball effect," Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello told the Canadian Press of the Senators pickup of 21-goal winger Bondra. "There's no question Ottawa has made themselves better, it's a great transaction for them. But ..."
The rest of the analysis is up to us -- and there are no guarantees when you get to the two-month marathon we call the playoffs.
So far this season, we have again seen a series of smaller deals wind up making a big impact.
* Steve Konowalchuk from Washington to Colorado for Bates Battaglia -- Konowalchuk was acquired to shore up the Avalanche's weak third- and fourth-line production. Instead, he's been an able fill-in on the Avs' top two lines when Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic and Paul Kariya were out. His 15 goals, 15 assists and his rugged contributions every night have made some say this could wind up being the best trade of the entire season.
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Miikka Kiprusoff has paid huge dividends since donning a Calgary sweater after an early-season trade from San Jose.
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* Miikka Kiprusoff from San Jose to Calgary for a draft choice -- Kiprusoff was the reason the Flames jumped headlong into contention for their first playoff spot since 1996. He has produced a 14-3-2 record (while other Calgary goalies have combined for a 16-20-3 mark) and microscopic .941 save percentage and 1.46 goals-against average. Personally, these numbers would get my vote for best trade of the year.
* Center Manny Malhotra, a former top 10 pick in the draft, has finally found his niche in Columbus, after another unproductive start in Dallas. His 10 goals has been a revelation for the offensively-starved Blue Jackets.
* Defenseman Jiri Slegr -- yes the same Slegr who was useless to the Detroit Red Wings in their Stanley Cup run in 2002 and played last season in Europe -- had three goals and nine assists in his first 14 games with the Boston Bruins, a team that basically was crying for offense from its defense.
* Defenseman Darryl Sydor had added much-needed depth and experience to Tampa Bay. And defenseman Eric Weinrich has provided a steady touch and some timely offense -- assisting on two game-winning goals in his first four games for the St. Louis Blues.
And that brings us to the near-deal-a-day pace of this past week.
* Right winger Steve Sullivan goes from Chicago to Nashville for a pair of second-round draft choices and immediately registers three goals and one assist in his debut for the Predators.
Bondra scores in his first game for the Ottawa Senators.
Zhamnov goes to Philadelphia with a fourth-round draft choice for a minor leaguer, defenseman Jim Vandermeer, a prospect, center Colin Forbes, and a second-round pick.
Defenseman Bob Boughner goes from Carolina to Colorado for a draft choice.
In the process, we think we've established some of this year's buyers and sellers. We've also learned that teams are willing to spend even if the financial landscape of the NHL will change dramatically next season following the end of this current Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Rumors also suggest that:
* Colorado will acquire a goaltender to back up David Aebischer, with Washington's Olie Kolzig topping the rumors.
* Toronto and Dallas are hot on the trail of Washington defenseman Sergei Gonchar.
* St. Louis is in the bidding for a winger, with the New York Rangers' Alexei Kovalev, Carolina's Jeff O'Neill and Columbus' Geoff Sanderson high on the Blues' list.
* Vancouver is trying to reacquire center Andrew Cassels from Columbus.
* Washington center Robert Lang is at the top of Detroit and New Jersey's wish lists.
The key is there are more big names out there this year because of the end of the CBA -- and chances of a big name making an impact on the Stanley Cup race is better than the last two years.
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Peter Bondra's impact on the Senators is sure to be felt.
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Think about it -- finding a happy player who can be a force at a time when defense is so tight around the NHL. I'll bet Bondra, Sullivan and Zhamnov do make an impact after playing on teams that basically had no chance to win.
Think about a point-per-game pace that Jagr (5 goals, 7 assists in 10 games) has been on since joining the Rangers and, while the Broadway Blueshirts may not be the best example, listen to Jaromir's reaction to a question of mine at the All-Star Game:
"Is Jaromir Jagr a better player today than he was two weeks ago?" I asked.
I thought that was a very fair question considering the fingers that were being pointed at Jagr for most of this season, when he was underachieving -- at least from his superstar status of yore -- for the Washington Capitals.
Instead, I got a finger pointed at me ... by Jagr.
"You're trying to stir up some controversy, aren't you?"' he said, with the wide smile I have become used to seeing from the talented and playful Jagr throughout the years.
Me, trying to stir up trouble? No way.
To some people in Pittsburgh, Jagr, twice a 50-goal scorer, four times the scoring champion to go along with his 1998-99 MVP season while a member of the Penguins, played like he wanted to be traded late in the 2000-01 season. Ditto in Washington.
"I don't know if I'm a better player, but I'm a happier player," Jagr insisted.
I wondered if New York felt more like Pittsburgh for Jagr when he broke into the NHL in 1990 and won a Stanley Cup on a team that had Mario Lemieux, Rick Tocchet, Kevin Stevens and Ron Francis -- and if that might reenergize him.
"Well, yes. I do feel like this is the stop I should have made after Pittsburgh ... instead of Washington," Jagr said. "When I walk into a locker room with Mark Messier, Eric Lindros, Brian Leetch, Alexei Kovalev. Well, it's closer to what I was used to in Washington -- not to take anything away from friends like Robert Lang, Peter Bondra and the guys in Washington. But I never really felt like management made a commitment to winning in Washington.
"It's like a new life for me."
You can probably insert those same words behind a lot of trades that are made in the NHL between now and the March 9 trading deadline.
