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Monday, February 5, 2001
Trade can light path to title
By Brian A. Shactman
ESPN.com
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The All-Star weekend was filled with talk about Simon Gagne, specifically his two goals and his great potential. Even Mario Lemieux, who played on a line with him Sunday, sang his praises. There's no doubt Gagne is a special player, but there's another young gun just as good as Gagne, who lives in Denver and didn't even play Sunday: Alex Tanguay. Just look at the numbers. Through the break, Gagne has 22 goals, 45 points and is a plus-18. He's 20 years old. But 21-year-old Tanguay has 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) and is plus-28, the best plus-minus in the NHL.
Does anyone get more enjoyment out of scoring a goal than Theo Fleury? His All-Star goal celebrations made it seem more like a playoff game than an exhibition. Wayne Gretzky always said there's no feeling quite like scoring a goal, no matter how many you get. Fleury is cut out of that mold. "I've always been a guy smiling, having fun," Fleury said after the game. "I didn't have a whole lot of fun last year. I just wanted to get back to that this year." In 80 games last season, Fleury scored 15 times. He already has 29 through 53 games this season.
Lemieux gets deserved credit for many things. One thing he doesn't get enough credit for is his consistency regarding his stance on trades involving the Penguins. After Sunday's game, Lemeiux was asked if he used some of his time during All-Star weekend to scout some prospective players for the Penguins. His response? "Craig Patrick was here." Lemieux is a player, and he's an owner. But he won't play general manager.
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DENVER -- The All-Star phase of the season is now officially over. And with roughly a third of the regular season left, call the next phase, "Trade rumors, reaction and action."
Over the next six weeks, a lot of rumors will float around, and many won't even be considered by the people that count most, namely the general managers. There will be a few surprises, and some prospective deals that have been out there a while will come true.
It's more than likely Keith Tkachuk, Rob Blake and John Vanbiesbrouck will don new uniforms when all is said and done. Veteran Scott Niedermayer – who has seen his share of deadline deals, and Stanley Cups for that matter – says trades this time of year can be a welcome change for a competitive team.
"I think the big thing with making a change near the end of the year is that it freshens the dressing room a little bit," Niedermayer said. "If it's one of my best friends that gets traded, then maybe not. But it adds a little spark to the dressing room.
"You play a lot of games, and when you see the same guys it gets stale a little bit. When you make a trade it gets everyone a little more excited."
Niedermayer has won the Cup twice in New Jersey, and in last season's championship run, GM Lou Lamoriello made several moves that helped the Devils go all the way. He acquired Vladimir Malakhov and Alexander Mogilny without compromising the core of the roster. And in an unconventional move that won't be repeated this season, he fired his coach, Robbie Ftorek, and replaced him with Larry Robinson.
Neither of the player moves had the public-relations splash Tkachuk and Blake will make, but the trades filled legitimate holes. Mogilny gave the Devils an offensive threat to balance the forward lines, and Malakhov's presence took some of the load off of Niedermayer and Scott Stevens on the blue line.
"I don't think it needs to be that big," Niedermayer said. "It wouldn't hurt to have that big of a splash like Blake. But making some of the little, subtle trades can help the team as well, having more depth at a position like defense or another penalty killer."
So, don't believe everything you read, but if your favorite team is a top-eight contender, someone new will be in the lineup come March 13.
The All-Star phase is over, and it's trading time.
Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com. He can be reached at brian.shactman@espn.com.
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