For all of the talk of major trades at the NHL Draft, there was very little action in Montreal.
With all due respect to my colleagues here at Sportsnet.ca, the panel on Sportsnet Connected and all the other hockey shows, hockey columns, hockey pundits and hockey bloggers in the known hockey universe, has there been a time in recent memory when there was so much sizzle and so little steak served up regarding the recently completed National Hockey League Entry Draft?
I mean the talk of big moves by the Leafs in moving up to get John Tavares and then later, in the scaled-back version, the alleged attempt to get Luke Schenn's brother Brayden -- wasn't that all just talk? The rumoured moving of Dany Heatley didn't happen. The Sedin twins on the go: forget about it.
I admit -- though I should have known better -- that I bought into some of the hype and even helped shovel some of it to the front of the "could happen" list but in the end there were all of two moves of consequence at the draft.
Chris Pronger moved to the Philadelphia Flyers in a deal that virtually no one saw coming (at least with regards to the final destination) and the Calgary Flames brazenly, (and perhaps), somewhat foolishly if they don't get a deal done, acquired the right to talk to Jay Bouwmeester.
For this thousand's of trees died, millions of watts of electricity were consumed and billions of bytes were sent off into the ether via a battery of talking heads, typing fingers and blathering blogs indicating there would be so much more.
In short what should have gone snap, crackle and pop over the course of several days merely fizzled and understandably so.
With free agency about to get underway (2009 version begins at noon on Wednesday), draft dealings have become few and far between. The theory is that why trade assets (or in today's economic reality, contracts) when there is at least the possibility that you can fill your needs via a route that doesn't ask for anything off your roster?
And regarding moving up, well Cliff Fletcher's move to jump two spots last summer just to grab Luke Schenn, highly criticized at the time, now seems like a blockbuster event.
Yet saving one's self for free agency seems like a flawed theory, filled with more holes than you'll see from a backup goaltender in the East Coast League and you don't have to take my word for it. Just read a few lines from Tom Lynn, the Minnesota Wild Assistant General Manager who in a pre-draft blog for The Hockey News argued that the draft is actually the best time to try and build up the talent level of a team and not simply by making picks.
According to Lynn: "A draft-floor trade can turn a losing organization into a playoff hopeful, a good team into a contender or a very strong team into a Cup favorite. Landing that key piece that addresses a team's immediate need at the draft can make the biggest difference in that team's season for the least 'cost,' more so than the July free agency signing period or the late-season trade deadline.
"Unrestricted free agents have a solid history of declining performance after signing and are prohibitively expensive in a salary cap world and trade deadline acquisitions of the last few seasons have been much sweeter for the seller than the buyer (Tkachuk to Atlanta, Smyth to the Islanders, Guerin to San Jose, Jokinen to Calgary and so on)….
"Occasionally, a deadline trade has been worthwhile (Hossa to Pittsburgh, Roloson to Edmonton), but the ratio of successful entry draft trades to worthwhile trade deadline deals tips solidly in favor of June. For example, Calgary acquired Mike Cammalleri at the draft before last season and he was gold for them. The acquisition of Jokinen at the deadline; not so much. The knowledgeable management team will know that the trading market in connection with the entry draft will be their best opportunity to improve their team, and at the best value."
So what happened?
Pronger went to Philadelphia in a deal one could argue the Flyers overpaid for, but you can also say that it was a deal that could well change the status quo in the Atlantic Division and have a real impact in the entire Eastern Conference.
The Ducks sent Pronger and center Ryan Dingle to the Flyers for right wing Joffrey Lupul, young defenseman Luca Sbisa, Philadelphia's first-round pick in the draft (a pick they turned into Peter Holland), their first-round pick in 2010 and a conditional pick in the 2010 or 2011 entry draft.
That's a high price but it's likely less than the Flyers would have had to surrender at the trade deadline when at least a half a dozen teams would likely have ignited a bidding war for Pronger, the player they all undoubtedly would argue would be the difference maker between just making the playoffs and having a real shot at winning the Stanley Cup.
And if it were Pronger and not Bouwmeester who was heading for unrestricted free agency this off-season, well who knows how high the price might go? Our guess, take whatever Bouwmeester gets and factor in buckets and buckets more cash because Pronger comes with a Stanley Cup ring, a reputation as perhaps the toughest blue-liner in the game and an attitude that Bouwmeester not only doesn't have, but may never develop.
Yet there wasn't much of anything to speak of trade wise at the two-day draft which leads one to think that either Lynn is off-track (and that doesn't appear to be the case) or that the GMs are too smitten by the "moment" that accompanies free-agency week or the trade deadline.
Burke has argued that the trade deadline is a day when usually rational GMs become wildly irrational; succumbing to the thrill of the hunt for that one or sometimes two pieces that might actually make a difference. As Burke astutely notes, only one team wins the Cup every year so it's fair to argue that everyone who participated and didn't win truly ends up a loser.
Free agency is also often an emotional time, but it's also a time that coincides with selling tickets. How many deals have we seen over the years that seem designed more to play to the hungry minds of a demanding fan base than to actually improve a team in incremental steps?
This is where GMs tend to make the mostly costly mistakes (Hello Mr. Redden and welcome to the New York Rangers. Please join Chris Drury and Scott Gomez on the one-round-and-out bench thank-you very much.) If you factor in Olli Jokinen to Calgary (or the Hurricanes effort to reacquire Erik Cole) and ask yourself what team really came out ahead is trade deadline dealing any better?
Not if you view it from the eyes of the GMs of the Phoenix Coyotes or the Edmonton Oilers?
Lynn might be on to something, but if he is, few of his colleagues appear to be on board.
The start of free-agency 2009 is likely only to add more proof.
