Friday Four: Trade market heating up

Each Friday throughout the season Kevin Weekes will bring you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays or trends that have caught his eye.

Devils acquire Grabner from Rangers

Who would have thought that forward Michael Grabner would have gone from the New York Rangers to the New Jersey Devils? Speaking to people around the Rangers, I heard the demand for Grabner and forward Rick Nash had picked up the past few days. I'm not surprised Grabner went, but where he went, since the Rangers and Devils never have made a trade before.
Grabner adds more speed to the Devils, who have been quicker this season with rookie Nico Hischier and Taylor Hall. Hall is an MVP candidate for me. He has a 13-game point streak and has points in 20 straight games he has played. I think outwardly, in terms of the trade from Edmonton two seasons ago, he finally feels like it is behind him.
I've been a fan of general manager Ray Shero for a while, going back to his days as an assistant GM with the Nashville Predators. And then of course with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2006-14, he helped build the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2009. He's rebuilt the Devils faster than many people thought and they are in position to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2012.

Flyers trade for Petr Mrazek

Mrazek, who was traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday for two conditional draft picks, has a huge opportunity to hone his game. He's 9-7-3 with a 2.80 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and three shutouts this season and will be the No. 1 moving forward.
In his first start with the Flyers, against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, he made 19 saves in a 2-1 win. Brian Elliott has done a nice job for the Flyers as the season has gone on, but Elliott (core muscle surgery) and Michal Neuvirth (lower body) are expected to be out at least four more weeks with injuries. The Flyers are tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the first place Washington Capitals.
Mrazek won the Calder Cup with Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League in 2013, but has struggled with Detroit since a solid 2015-16 season. He's the first goalie from Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League to make the NHL since yours truly. The sky is the limit for him. It's just dependent on how hard he is willing to work for it.

Los Angeles Kings

Defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who was traded to the Kings with center Nate Thompson for forwards Marian Gaborik and Nicholas Shore on Feb. 13, has made an immediate impact with three goals in five games. And Thompson has been a big addition in the face-off circle, taking some of the burden away from Anze Kopitar, one of the best in the game.
The Kings also acquired goalie Scott Wedgewood and forward Tobias Rieder from the Arizona Coyotes for goalie Darcy Kuemper on Wednesday. I think this is a great trade for them. They get some depth at forward and a young goalie who now has a good opportunity to learn and back up Jonathan Quick. Los Angeles, which has missed the playoffs in two of the past three seasons, is one point behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the Western Conference and two points behind the Anaheim Ducks for third place in the Pacific Division. They've shown with these moves that they are gearing up for the stretch run and don't plan on missing the playoffs again.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are where they are in the standings because of their goaltending. John Gibson has been good but has been injured. Ryan Miller, whether it's been coming off the bench or starting, has filled in great, including a 41-save shutout against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. Goalie coach Sudarshan "Sudsie" Maharaj has done a great job in Anaheim. The Ducks have won four straight games, including consecutive shutouts, and are in third place in the Pacific Division, one point behind the second-place San Jose Sharks.
Anaheim has used balanced scoring -- they have five players with at least 12 goals -- as well as good defense and goaltending to turn their season around after a slow start. Rickard Rakell leads them in goals (22) and points (48). Ryan Getzlaf has come on strong since his injury and is second with 38 points (eight goals, 30 assists). Corey Perry has 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) in 51 games. This is a team that I don't think anyone would want to face in the playoffs.

Honorable Mention

The women's gold medal game of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics was amazing to watch. The goalie union was smiling proudly. Maddie Rooney of the United States and Shannon Szabados of Canada put on a clinic. It took a shootout to decide it and the United States won 3-2 for their first gold medal since 1998.
Roberto Luongo had an impassioned speech prior to the Florida Panthers' 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals. His family lives in Parkland, Florida, where there was a deadly shooting this week. I'm not sure how he managed to play a game after that but he got the win and the Panthers are now five points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card.