[Trade] "The Trade"

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In what can only be described as one of the biggest trades in recent memory, the New Jersey Devils have completed a swap of 5 players with divisional rivals Carolina Hurricanes. Amidst controversy the trade was finally approved earlier this morning and perfectly fits the bill of being a blockbuster deal.

New Jersey
Malkin
Elias
Gionta
Gagne
Brodeur

Carolina
M. Richards
Hall
Okposo
G. Bourque
Bryzgalov

GM-coach rcgloe has been pursing for Malkin ever since the season began, hoping to be reunited with his top scorer from the past 3 seasons in Calgary. This storyline is not without controversy as there are rumors and suspicions of a blossoming relationship off the rink between the two, both parties vehemently deny these rumors but there is no doubt the two will quickly rediscover their chemistry in a short amount of time.
Similarly Kyle Okposo is also reunited with his coach-GM stamptheseflames 3 years ago. Under stamptheseflames, Okposo recorded one of his most productive season to date and is expected to slot into a retooled second line with the Devils, giving him an excellent opportunity to surpass his career highs.
Long time Devils Patrick Elias, Brian Gionta and Martin Brodeur were shown the door and signals the end of an era in New Jersey. Although he is still a productive starter, Brodeur was relegated to a backup role this season when new acquisition Jonas Hiller was anointed the starting goaltender position. In the trade press conference stamptheseflames pointed out the need to free up cap space and to get younger in order to move forward. It is a bold move to trade one of the leagues superstars so early in the year, but stamptheseflames has a history of success as he was able to assemble one of the best rosters in the post-lockout era just 3 seasons ago before a hasty retirement.
The trade precipitated in a short amount of time. On Sunday night, rcgloe made a last ditch inquiry which turned into a formal offer from the Devils and by the end of Sunday the trade was accepted and pending approval from commissioner jedaco.

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Instant Analysis
New Jersey
New Jersey gets younger and deeper with this trade. Yes, they lose a superstar in Geno Malkin, but they have arguably the strongest front 6 in the league along with two of the best young LWs in the game. They also manage to get some cap room to boot. This trade probably makes guys like Ryder and PA Parenteau expendable.

Carolina
Where to start? They get a superstar still in his prime with a good contract. The Canes had good depth across the board but were missing that superstar. It will be interesting to see the expected first line of Elias-Malkin-Moulson in action (with a possibility Berglund gets bumped up to the first line and Elias down to second). They also get a future Hall of Famer in Brodeur who is an improvement in net, so they are obviously trying to make a strong push immediately