Ducks and Jackets make a pair of deals

[I wanna be like Miikka]

After quick negotiations, within about an hour or so the Ducks and Blue Jackets agreed on two deals. These two trading partners continue to swap players between two teams committed to the rebuild. David Legwand was not fitting in well here in Duckville, he was barely producing and just never really got out of this bad groove. Consequently, we figured we would trade him for someone else who might contribute.

After weeks of talking to other GMs, we thought he would be moved to a contender for a lesser forward or D. In contrast, it was a swap between bottom dwellers. The first deal breaks down like this:

To the Ducks:
Jarko Ruutu
Karl Alzner
Denis Wideman

To the BlueJackets:
David Legwand
Mon 1st 08

We believe Alzner is a top 2 Dman in this league and with they way Wideman has been playing 25+ minutes he is solidifying himself as a top 4 dman and should see a nice rerate next year.

The second deal took about 30 seconds to make, it involves CBJ GM Chad wagering on the success of fellow GM Axel.

To the Ducks:
NYR 1st 08
Removal of the clause in the cogliano deal which allowed CBJ to move up 3 spots in the draft

To the Jackets:
CGY 1st 08

Chad was willing to drop this clause in a deal which saw him obtaining the CGY 1st in 08. Both the Rangers and Flames are right beside each other in the standings so it should be good to see which team comes through and finishes higher.

All in all the Ducks are happy to get a future top 2 Dman in Alzner, he was a guy highly coveted by GM Ravi and the ducks GM was enthusiastic when given the chance to obtain him.

[I wanna be like Miikka]

PS: Go Flames, Axel is a champ

[Sylvanfan]

Well it's a bit mean to suggest it's my faith in Axel. Jeff has a pretty solid track record of finding SIM chemistry in the second half of the season in past years. IIRC the last three years he's been outside the playoff picture half way through the year and has had a really solid second half. Today it's like flopping the 15 pick for the 16 pick I think. I guess we spin the roulette wheel and see where it lands. Overall I think the Rangers are a better team, but the Flames have Kipper and are in a weaker conference. I could get burned, I could make out well, but why not gamble a bit, it's fun and the clause was a bit goofy anyways.

In the other deal it was a tougher one to do. I like Alzner a lot, but I do wonder if he'll ever have enough of an offensive game to be become a top end guy. I think he'll play and have a good NHL career but I wonder if he'll be more of say a Cory Sarich than a Robyn Regehr. Wideman has played pretty well in the NHL taking a lot of minutes and still staying pretty effective. If he can play that way all year than he's a legit top 4 guy. Ruutu...well him and Simon on the same team is just funny. Legwand is a second line center but he's entering his prime years and maybe he can be like Daymond Langkow and find a way to pick his game up that little extra bit. The Habs first hopefully ends up high enough to get me a shot at a good player or a nice option in the trade market.