The last words on the trade deadline

Penguins' GM Ray Shero feels that Marian Hossa is a perfect fit to play with Sidney Crosby Watch Marian Hossa's Pens' debut

So let’s tie a ribbon a ribbon on the 2008 deadline and now turn our attention to see what the fallout will be from the 25 trades that sent 45 players to new locations.

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“We’ve always had a hard time finding that fit for Sid, and I believe Marian is a guy who can think at that level, skate at that level and, obviously, he can score goals and kill penalties and raise everybody else’s game.”

-- Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero

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“You try to identify what you want and go get it. We were pretty open about what our needs were. If we hadn’t backed that up, it wouldn’t have necessarily been a good thing.”

-- San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson after acquiring defenseman Brian Campbell from Buffalo.

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“Risk? Risk? I see absolutely no risk at all in making this deal. In dealing with a lot of people in the NHL, I have never heard one person say one bad thing about Brad Richards. As far as I’m concerned, he is a sure thing.”

-- Dallas Stars co-GM Brett Hull on acquiring Brad Richards from Tampa Bay.

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“It gets them two players that help them immediately. Just draft picks and young assets weren’t going to do it for them, so that was the deal at the end.”

-- Penguins GM Ray Shero on sending Colby Armstrong and Erik Christensen to Atlanta for Marian Hossa.

“Watching our team come together is like watching a bear wake up at the zoo. He shakes his arms out and he shakes his legs out and it’s a process. But when he’s awake, he’s a bear.”

-- Anaheim GM Brian Burke

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“Even if you make a minor move, it sends a message that they’re trying to improve the team. One like this, it sends one pretty loud and clear that they want to win now.”

-- Defenseman Brooks Orpik on the deal that brought Marian Hossa to Pittsburgh.

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“You knew they were going to make a move with someone. Unfortunately, it was the classiest person I’ve ever played with ... Bryce Salvador.”

-- St. Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk on defenseman Bryce Salvador.

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“For the two years I have been here, I have been real up-front about our game plan. When something like this happens -- Marian Hossa becomes available -- you have to give it a shot. I believe our future is still taken care of. It’s a balancing act, but we’re a better hockey team today than we were before this trade.”

Well Said "Yeah, when you’re in the shower and the TV is talking about your trade, that’s kind of a surprise. But we’re all in this business and I knew it could be possible and that’s what happened." -- Defenseman Ruslan Salei, who heard he was traded to Colorado via TV before getting a phone call.

-- Penguins GM Ray Shero on the Hossa deal.

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“The reality of the situation in Maple Leaf world is that we weren’t skating in the same arena as some of the other teams. I’m dealing for draft choices today, and my son (Penguins assistant GM Chuck Fletcher) is dealing for Marian Hossa. It’s a little bit different.”

-- Maple Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher

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“He’s one of the fastest guys in the NHL, and that’s only going to make our defense that much better. Some people in our room who know him a lot better than I do say he loves to win, and that can only make our team better.”

-- Sharks coach Ron Wilson on defenseman Brian Campbell.

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“There is a risk reward that we, I, have decided to take. It was a clear decision to make our goal available to two premier, young goalies (Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak). I think with the competition those two young players can create, there is a risk there, but they are quality players.”

-- Canadiens GM Bob Gainey on trading goalie Cristobal Huet to Washington.

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“We think he’s a perfect No. 4 for us. He can play a little bit on the second power play, he can kill some penalties. He gives us something we’re lacking. He’s abrasive, he’s 6-foot-2 -- you know when you go against some teams that have got some bigger forwards, we can match him up against those forwards.”

-- Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland on acquiring defenseman Brad Stuart.

Well Said II "For the last week or 10 days, it’s been tough on all players in the NHL. You try to black it out, but it’s impossible, even if your name isn’t out there. I don’t think a lot of them slept this afternoon. Bob Gainey was right. You set a price of what you can afford. When it’s too high, you turn the page." -- Montreal Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau on the trade deadline

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“We’re building here. We’re not in a state where we want a quick fix. We want a longer term remedy and that involves developing our young players. You just have to look at the last number of games to see that plan in place with the development and evolution of some of our young guys.

-- Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish

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“I’ve come to expect the unexpected, but when I got the call I was shocked. I had three great years here. I had great teammates over the three years and it’s a class organization. I can’t say anything bad about this organization. It’s a great city to play hockey in, but it’s time to move on.”

-- Cristobal Huet on being swapped to Washington from Montreal.

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"My mom and dad think this was a blockbuster deal. They're pumped up, but they're a little nervous for me to play in St. Louis as far as being in a fishbowl."

-- St. Louis native Cam Janssen on being traded home by the New Jersey Devils for Bryce Salvador.

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"We'll go with three pairs of three."

-- Devils coach Brent Sutter on having nine defensemen on the roster.

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"A new lease on life for Chris and a little bit of a change of scenery for him. But for us to get another young player in the lineup was a major factor."

-- Islanders GM Garth Snow on trading forward Chris Simon to Minnesota.

Well Said III "That’s his game. He’s not going to score you, 30, 40 or 50 points a year. He’s a guy that’s going to prevent 50 points against you." -- Blues goalie Manny Legace on defenseman Bryce Salvador

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"We've gone through spurts when I thought our team looked terrific and when it's really struggled. But for most part, I've thought we've had a pretty good year. I think we've got good chemistry. We've got three lines that look really good. There's a good feeling about this team right now. I really didn't want to affect the chemistry and I don't think the coaches wanted me to either."

-- Rangers GM Glen Sather on his deadline moves.

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“Olli’s here, he should have piece of mind that the trade deadline is over. But the mandate hasn’t changed. We expect him to get us into the playoffs.”

-- Panthers GM-coach Jacques Martin on Olli Jokinen.

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“It’s just frustrating because we felt like we had a team that could pursue a Stanley Cup for the last two years. We’re going to have to retool and regroup. The attitude needs to remain the same. We have a core group of guys who understands what it takes. We’re just going to have to find our spot, find our way, make the playoffs and play well.”

-- Sabres goalie Ryan Miller after the departure of defenseman Brian Campbell.

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“Campbell is pretty much the best defenseman in the League, from my point of view. It’s going to be tough. I’m young right now. I’ve got a lot of growing to do to become a good player. I’m happy to do it with the Sabres. I’m going to work hard and try to be as good as possible to make sure that trade is going to be a good trade for the Sabres.”

-- Forward Steve Bernier on joining the Sabres from San Jose.

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Well Said IV "I had a great time in Atlanta. It was just fabulous people I was working with. Great teammates, and especially the fans —they were awesome and really, really nice to me." -- Marian Hossa on Atlanta

“You use it as a kind of a fun day. We just make up our own little mock trades. … I’ve been traded three times already. For some reason, the guys keep getting rid of me.”

-- Calgary Flames defenseman Adrian Aucoin.

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“Like I said before, I wanted to be with Los Angeles. I’m with Los Angeles as of today and we’ll move forward from there.”

-- Kings defenseman Rob Blake

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“It’s tough when you lose one of your best friends on the team at any time. Obviously, I was pretty close to Andrew the past few years. Hopefully it goes well for him in Chicago and the guy that we picked up really helps out our team and gets us into the playoffs and hopefully far into the playoffs.”

-- Eric Staal on the trade of Andrew Ladd to Chicago.

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“Everybody around the room would be first to say it’s tough to see (Brian Campbell) go. He’s been a teammate of ours, we went through a lot and we won a lot of games. We all wish him luck, but we all know the business side as well. We’ve just got to move on. He was definitely a big part of the team, a unique type player.”

-- Sabres forward Jason Pominville

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“It shows that he believes in every guy in here, and why wouldn’t he? You look at our season and we haven’t had too many losing streaks and I think that’s a tribute to the guys in here, to give the second effort and rebounding. It’s a good feeling in here right now.”

-- Bruins center Marc Savard is glad GM Peter Chiarelli left the team alone at the deadline.

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“Marty been such a great asset and has done a great job with our kids. He’s passed the torch to a lot of our young guys who now know what the leadership role is all about. (Jonathan) Toews, (Adam) Burish, (Patrick) Sharp, all these young guys have learned a lot from Marty. He’s been a positive influence in our locker room.”

-- Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon on trading Marty Lapointe to the Ottawa Senators.

Material from personal interviews, wire services, newspaper, and league and team sources was used in this report.

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