NHL Trade Center 06 : Deadline Thursday March 9th 3:00PM

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Your Trade Deadline News Central

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/trade%5Fdeadline/

probably the fastest source going

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Rotisserie By The Numbers: Players Possibly on the Move
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By Craig Rondinone SportsTicker Contributing Writer

BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - The NHL trading deadline comes and goes on March 9. Will someone from your fantasy roster switch teams, conferences and uniforms?

The salary cap has not slowed down trading in the NHL much this season, so there should be a flurry of activity before the deadline later this week. And when a player gets traded, it usually means more times than not that his fantasy value is going up. A new team gives the player a new lease on life, new spring in his step and normally a new role that gives him more ice time and more scoring or save opportunities.

Which big-name fantasy stars might be involved in big-time blockbusters this week? Here is a look at four of those players, what they have done this season and what their possible destinations might be.

Mark Recchi, Penguins: Pittsburgh has dragged Recchi's plus-minus through the mud this season. Sure, Recchi has remained valuable fantasy-wise because of his 56 points in 61 games, but his team-worst minus-30 evens everything out. Recchi was never known as a Selke candidate, but it is not like he plays defensively like Ilya Kovalchuk. The reason his plus-minus is so bad is because of the team he is on.

Not to be forgotten are Recchi's 11 power-play goals. He might be 400 years old, but he can still put up points, especially on the man advantage, where his playmaking skills are top-notch.

Possible destination: Can't you see Buffalo being the perfect place for Recchi? First off, the Sabres are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, so right there his value skyrockets because his plus-minus undoubtedly would improve. And the Sabres could use some playoff-tested veteran leadership up front to help their speedy youngsters. A Recchi-Daniel Briere-J.P. Dumont line would pepper nets with goals, and Recchi would likely average a point per game.

Brendan Witt, Capitals: Witt only has scored one more goal than Olaf Kolzig has this season, has yet to register a point on the power play and is about as accurate with his passes as an XFL quarterback. But in the calmer, cooler, tamer NHL, Witt is a dinosaur on the ice but a bull in fantasy hockey.

The rugged young defenseman piles up the penalty minutes, as he has been consistently in the top 10 in PIM throughout the season. Witt has 139 penalty minutes and looks like he could reach 175 if he picks his fights right. Washington is going to try and deal Witt to a contender before the deadline since the Caps have no playoff hopes.

Possible destination: The Tri-State Area. Both the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers could use Witt, as the toughness quotient on each of their backlines is questionable. Would Witt suddenly turn into Paul Coffey and start scoring goals and quarterbacking power plays? There is a better chance of Dallas thinking Mike Modano is the greatest athlete in history instead of Emmitt Smith.

But Witt's penalty minutes certainly will not suffer, because he would be the prime enforcer on either playoff-bound team. And his plus-minus would skate upward just by escaping Washington.

Roberto Luongo, Panthers: Because he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, and because Florida is about out of the playoff race, Luongo is Jessica Alba-hot at the moment. Seems like teams in need of a goalie for their Stanley Cup runs are lining up for Canada's second-best netminder like shooters for a firing squad.

Luongo is one of the better goalies in fantasy pucks (.915 save percentage, four shutouts), although his 23-25 record and 2.96 goals-against average prevent him from being in Brodeur territory. If he broke free of Florida and got in between the pipes for an above-.500 team, Luongo would quickly become a top-five fantasy goalie. So cross your fingers and toes and hope he gets traded.

Possible destination: The two teams crying out for goalie help are Los Angeles and Edmonton. L.A. makes more sense on many levels. Luongo might be able to inject life in the Hollywood hockey scene, plus the Kings could trade solid backstop Mathieu Garon as part of the package. I doubt Florida would be doing cartwheels if Edmonton offered Jussi Markkanen, even if the Oilers threw in an autographed Marty McSorley jersey.

If Luongo were traded to the Kings, his GAA would go lower, his SP would stay high and he would win more games than he would lose. And once injured snipers Pavol Demitra and Alexander Frolov return shortly, Luongo would get plenty of goal support. Fantasy owners need Luongo to get dealt. Write the congressmen in Florida and tell them you want it done.

Bryan Berard, Blue Jackets: Call him the Mark Recchi of defensemen. Yes, fantasy pucksters love offensive defensemen who have 32 points in 44 contests, score 11 power-play goals and even have a hat trick on the season.

But much of the love gets wiped away when you look in the plus-minus column and Berard's minus-29 comes out and bowls you over like Sean Avery. Berard is not nicknamed Mr. Defense, and Columbus is a poor team. Pair them together and you get a minus-29. That is why moving Berard out of Ohio would definitely help his fantasy owners, and because he makes decent money and the Blue Jackets are building toward next season, he is likely on the block.

Possible destination: You would think all defensemen could run a power play these days with all the practice they get during games in the "new NHL," but many good teams still have defensive-minded slugs or shot-happy forwards manning their points.

Vancouver's defense is more riddled with injuries than a UFC locker room. They could use Berard to host their PP show. And if Berard got on that team and played regularly with the Sedin twins, Markus Naslund, Todd Bertuzzi and the rest of the lot, he could have some multi-point nights.

Berard has a bad back and is off the ice for another week. Let's hope that does not discourage teams like Vancouver from wanting him.

PENALTY SHOTS: Another update on Carolina's Doug Weight - you know, the guy the Hurricanes traded for to help provide offense? Well, he has been offensive, but in the wrong way. Like in the way the FCC would not like.

In his first nine games with the Canes, Weight has zero goals and one assist. It has gotten to the point that Carolina is trying to use him as a wing on the Eric Staal line. Weight should be the one setting Staal up with passes, not the other way around.

For more information on Craig and his columns, visit www.publishedauthors.net/craigrondinone.

Mar. 7, 2006 - 11:52 am et

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KING REPORT
Team Is Pursuing Trade for Luongo
By Chris Foster, Times Staff Writer
March 5, 2006


The Kings have gone beyond merely inquiring about Florida Panther goaltender Roberto Luongo and are pressing hard to work out a "blockbuster" deal, a league source said.

The package would include King goaltender Mathieu Garon and the Panthers' choice of prospects currently at minor league Manchester, the source said. The Panthers are said to be still unsure whether to move Luongo, considered an elite NHL goaltender.

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Luongo is an unrestricted free agent after the season, but the Kings are expected to have the financial ability to sign him to a long-term deal. They are currently $4 million under the $39-million salary cap and Jeremy Roenick ($4.94 million) and Luc Robitaille ($1 million) are in the last year of their contracts.

In addition, Valeri Bure's $1.5 million will not count against the cap, as he did not play this season because of a back injury.

Luongo has told Florida officials he will not remain with the team if improvements are not made. In January, he turned down a five-year, $30-million deal, saying, "I just want to make sure we're a playoff team for many years to come. I don't want to spend another five years here just watching the playoffs on television."

The Kings, meanwhile, continue to pursue Washington defenseman Brendan Witt, offering prospects in return.

Capital General Manager George McPhee is expected to wait until the Thursday trade deadline is closer before making a move. Vancouver, Nashville and Tampa Bay are trying to swing a deal for Witt, a solid stay-at-home defenseman who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

King Coach Andy Murray on Friday denied the Kings were working on a deal for Witt. A day earlier, however, Murray had admitted he never knows about a trade until General Manager Dave Taylor tells him about it.

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Leafs get Richardson from Blue Jackets

TSN.ca Staff

3/8/2006 6:03:32 PM

The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenceman Luke Richardson from Columbus for a fifth round pick and conditional fourth round pick.

Richardson, 36, returns to the team that took him seventh overall in the 1987 Entry Draft.

Richardson played four years in Toronto and he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers with Vincent Damphousse, Scott Thornton, Peter Ing, future considerations and cash for Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson and Craig Berube in 1991.

Richardson, a 19-year veteran, was named Blue Jackets captain two months after signing with Columbus in July 2002.

The team removed the captain's "C" from his sweater after being benched for the last game of a seven-game losing streak last November.

Edmonton's No. 1: Roloson an Oiler

TSN.ca Staff

3/8/2006 4:38:17 PM

The Edmonton Oilers have a new No. 1 netminder, acquiring Dwayne Roloson from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a first-round pick in this June's Entry Draft and a conditional draft pick.

The conditional pick is a third rounder if Roloson re-signs with Edmonton.

"It was simple, the value was there in making the deal," said Wild GM Doug Risebrough, referring to the first-round draft choice. "It was a difficult trade to make so Kevin had to understand that the value was going to have to be more, even if it would have been less had I moved him somewhere else."

The Wild were rumoured to be shopping off one of their goalies, and Roloson was the odd man out after the team re-signed Fernandez to a multi-year contract last week.
Related Info

* NHL on TSN TradeCentre - Thursday at 8am et/5am pt

"I think it means that they think they can win the Cup," Roloson's agent Mark Witkin said from Boston.



The Wild helped the Oilers despite being only seven points behind Edmonton for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Roloson, 36, is 6-17 this season with a 3.00 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. A veteran of 269 games, Roloson played in 162 matches over the course of the past four seasons with the Wild and was a Western Conference All-Star in 2004.

The move comes just hours after Mike Morrison was put on waivers by the the Oilers.

Morrison was put on waivers one day after failing to stop a shot during the shootout in loss to the Dallas Stars. Ty Conklin started the game, but was pulled in favour of Morrison for the shootout. Morrison gave up goals to Sergei Zubov and Jussi Jokinen as the Oilers fell 4-3 to Dallas.

Conklin was visibly upset about being pulled.

"I don't make the decisions," said Conklin. "I would have made a different one."

"There are a lot of teams looking for one more save a night," said Oilers coach Craig MacTavish after the loss on Tuesday. "We're one of them."

Roloson was one of many goaltenders whose name has been mentioned in trade talks, along with Florida's Roberto Luongo, Phoenix's Curtis Joseph and Buffalo's Martin Biron.

But if the Sabres do trade a goaltender before the deadline, it's likely to be Mika Noronen, not Biron.

Sources say the Sabres have informed teams that the only goalie they are entertaining trade offers on is the Finnish netminder.

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NEW TRADE

To Colorado

G Jose Theodore

to Montreal

G David Aebescher


Salary dump for Montreal who looks like they are going wtih Huet the rest of the way
frees up some cap space for another deadline deal or for off season signings

[flipscrackers]

Will the Montreal/Colorado trade bring good fortune again to the Avalanche, like the Patrick Roy trade back in 95?

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Will the Montreal/Colorado trade bring good fortune again to the Avalanche, like the Patrick Roy trade back in 95?

or 5 years of turmoil for Montreal?

I dont know if it makes the avalanche a cup favourite, but it will make detroit wake up and take notice to a new threat in the west

[UncleCliffy]

No
He's not Roy for crying out load. Not even close.

Plus he's out for the year.

[MoTown]

That's a huge move for the Avs. When motivated, Theodore is one of the best goalies in the world. He just needs to get rid of all of his distractions. I think getting out of Montreal is a start.

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Trades so far....

New Jersey Devils acquire defenceman Ken Klee from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for winger Alexander Suglobov.




March 8, 2006

Colorado Avalanche acquire goaltender Jose Theodore from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for goaltender David Aebischer.




March 8, 2006

Los Angeles Kings acquire forward Mark Parrish and defenceman Brent Sopel from the New York Islanders in exchange for defenceman Denis Grebeshkov, forward Jeff Tambellini and a conditional third round pick.




March 8, 2006

San Jose Sharks acquire forward Ville Nieminen from the New York Rangers in exchange for a third round draft pick in 2006.




March 8, 2006

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire defenceman Luke Richardson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for a conditional draft pick.




March 8, 2006

Edmonton Oilers acquired goaltender Dwayne Roloson from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a first round pick and a conditional 3rd round draft pick.