Live at the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline

Instead of “A Day in the NHL”, we’re bringing you a live blog of all the days events right up until the deadline. Trades, rumours, signings, and whatever news comes our way will get forwarded to you!

10:04: A recap of the moves that have already happened recently. The Buffalo Sabres, under new management willing to spend money, acquired Brad Boyes from the St. Louis Blues for a second round pick in this year’s draft. This isn’t just a move for a playoff spot this year however, as Boyes is under contract for next year ($4-million) as well.

Chris Phillips signed a new contract with the Ottawa Senators last night to a three-year deal worth $9.25 million. Commendable for him to not only take the hometown discount, but take a hometown discount with a rebuilding team.

One other signing is the finally healthy Justin Williams. The winger is having an outstanding season, proving what he can do when he’s healthy (He’s on pace for his first season since 2006-07 and has 49 points in 62 games), and the Los Angeles Kings are hoping for more of that over the next your years. It’s a four-year, $14.6-million contract.

10:13: Seeing as there’s no “A Day in the NHL” tonight, here’s a quick recap:

A two-point night for Martin St. Louis and a slew of terrible penalties by the New York Rangers had John Tortorella fuming last night as Vincent Lecavalier scored the winner fore the Lightning in a 2-1 victory.

Shea Weber’s rough-and-tumble play as of late continued with eight penalty minutes last night, along with a goal and an assist. The highly-touted Jonathon Blum also scored his first NHL goal in the Preds 3-2 win over Columbus.

The Toronto Maple Leafs had a 2-0 lead heading into the third period, but with a goalie change, the momentum of the game changed as well. After getting hit by Evander Kane, James Reimer left the game with an upper-body injury. Jean-Sebastien Giguere came in, faced 25 shots (Reimer had faced just 18) in the remainder of the second, third and Overtime, but also allowed three goals, including Ron Hainsey’s OT-winner in the Leafs’ 3-2 loss.

Florida tried to mount a late comeback against New Jersey and they nearly did it. Marty Reasoner scored with four-and-a-half minutes left, but that was it. Brian Rolston’s 11th held up as the winner for a 2-1 Devils’ victory.

Jonathan Toews had two goals and the shootout winner in Chicago’s 4-3 win over Phoenix. For those wondering, Keith Yandle had a goal and an assist (one of three Coyotes with multiple points) to give him 54 points on the season.

Did you know that before last night, Todd Marchant hadn’t scored a goal this season? On a beautiful tip-in off the rush, Marchant scored his first and Brandon McMillan added his ninth as the Ducks beat Colorado 3-2.

All you need to know about Calgary vs. St. Louis: David Moss scored his 15th in the third period and it was the only goal. St. Louis hit a bunch of posts and had a goal disallowed because of a high-stick, Alex Pietrangelo had a great game, and Ben Bishop (19/20) and Miikka Kiprusoff (27/27) had great games in net.

Tradeable commodity Ales Hemsky scored his 14th last night, while recently acquired Rich Peverley scored his first goal for Boston and was augmented by Michael Ryder and Nathan Horton goals as well. Just because you want to know: Tomas Kaberle has just one assist in four games with Boston. The Bruins won 3-2.

10:32: One deal that we didn’t touch on that happened yesterday, was the Ducks getting even tougher, acquiring Brian McGratton and Sean Zimmerman, sending Stefan Chaput and David Laliberte to Boston.

UPDATE (SIGNING): Mark Stuart, recently acquired from Boston, has been signed by Atlanta to a three-year contract worth $5.1 million.

10:36: This is the second year that Zimmerman has been dealt at the deadline. Last year the Coyotes sent him to Vancouver for Mathieu Schneider.

UPDATE (TRADE): Speaking of players who were dealt last year, Radek Dvorak is traded by Florida to the Atlanta Thrahsers. Niclas Bergfors (Acquired from New Jersey last year in the Kovalchuk deal) heads to Florida along with Patrick Rissmiller.

10:41: The Mark Stuart signing makes sense. With plenty of young, puck-moving defensemen, Stuart is 26 years old and adds some more size to the blueline. Atlanta may not be as fortunate in the Radek Dvorak deal however.

Dvorak is an upcoming UFA, is 33 years old and hasn’t had more than 40 points since 2003-04. Niclas Bergfors is just 23 years old, and while he’s having a down-year, he showed plenty of potential last year. Good trade for the Florida Panthers.

UPDATE: Atlanta also receives a fifth-round pick from Florida in that deal.

10:52: Last night, Ladislav Smid played a great game for the Edmonton Oilers against the Boston Bruins. Maybe it was enough to help him stay in Edmonton for the time-being, or maybe it just drove up the price a little bit. I think he stays, but we’ll see what happens.

UPDATE (RUMOURED TRADE): The Anaheim Ducks may have acquired Zenon Konopka from the New York Islanders for what’s being called a late-round pick. Confirmation to follow.

11:06: If true, the Ducks simply continue to add sandpaper. A little more of a scoring upside would be nice, but this ensures that no one will get pushed around in Anaheim. Also gives good depth, and plenty of face-off winning ability.

11:12: Now the Ducks’ interest in Konopka being described as “serious”. Still consider this as rumoured and not yet confirmed.

11:17: The two sneakiest moves at last year’s deadline: Tampa Bay acquiring Teddy Purcell from Los Angeles for Jeff Halpern, and the St. Louis Blues acquired Matt D’Agostini for Aaron Palushaj.

11:24: Well, apparently if you want to check out what the Leafs are doing, you can! Boardroom cam activate!

11:40: Good news! You can now have a shower free of the worry that you’re missing a trade in progress!

Unless you’re showering now:

UPDATE (TRADE):  Dennis Wideman has been acquired by the Washington Capitals from the Florida Panthers. Washington gives up a third in 2011 and Jake Hauswirth.

11:48: Florida doesn’t get a lot back in this deal, but Wideman gives them more offense with the questions surrounding Mike Green. Wideman now becomes the highest-scoring defenseman for Washington (33 points), and the John Carlson/Wideman combo on the back of the power play is something that only makes the Caps more dangerous. Washington (based on cap space) can’t be done for today. There’s probably another shoe.

UPDATE (SIGNING): The Detroit Red Wings probably have the best starting goalie for the money, especially after this summer. Jimmy Howard signed for the next two years a t $2.25 million per.

11:56: Still nothing on the prospective Konopka deal.

UPDATE (WAIVER CLAIMS): Ottawa claims Curtis McElhinney, Rob Schremp is claimed by the Atlanta Thrashers (Making the Bergfors deal make a little more sense), and Brett Carson was claimed by the Calgary Flames.

12:05: McElhinney has moved three times over the last two deadlines. Twice this year (traded to Tampa Bay last week who he was claimed from), and once last year when Calgary sent him to Anaheim. Schremp has a wealth of offensive talent despite defensive liabilities (Frankly, I find the offense to be worth it) and is headed to his third NHL team, while Carson has only played 13 games this season with no points with 12 points in 72 career games with Carolina.

12:17: Jason Arnott, Brad Richards, Clarke MacArthur and Tomas Vokoun were all on the front page of NHL.com’s Trade Deadline front page. How ironic would it be if none of those players moved?

12:18: One note on Richards: If I’m a team hoping to acquire him, I wait until the summer. Why give Joe Nieuwendyk an outrageous package for a player who hasn’t played since February 13th, when you can see if he comes back and is healthy before then? Seems like that’s the common idea though, as Richards hasn’t even been approached about waiving his no-movement clause.

12:35: I have a question: When we talk about the volume of trades in the past, do people include the Kyle McLaren trade of 2008-09? Remember he was traded to Philadelphia, but the deal was nullified a few days later because McLaren didn’t pass his physical.

12:37: Did you know, that the first-round pick that Buffalo acquired from San Jose in the Brian Campbell trade turned out to be Tyler Ennis? Ennis has 35 points in 61 games during his first full season. Campbell has 20 points in 49 games for Chicago this year.

12:46: More history! Brad Boyes and Dennis Wideman were once traded for each other at the deadline: Brad Boyes was sent to St. Louis and Dennis Wideman went to Boston during a deadline deal in 2006-07. Staying with Wideman, he’ll be expected to shoulder Mike Green’s offensive load for the next 1-2 weeks. That’s the target date for Green’s return.

UPDATE (TRADE): Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto are going from Phoenix to Columbus as the Blue Jackets send Rostislav Klesla the other way.

12:54: Klesla was a really highly-touted defenseman when he was drafted. If he finds a spot alongside Keith Yandle, he could start to find his game again, although veterans like Adrian Aucoin and Ed Jovanovski (despite being injured, JoVo can still teach) can help him there too. Lepisto is a quicker defenseman who will bring some more mobility to the Columbus blueline, while Upshall brings young, talented depth to Columbus with a tad of offensive upside.

UPDATE (RUMOUR): Toronto is apparently in talks with Nashville regarding Clarke MacArthur and young, promising defenseman Ryan Ellis. This would stand as one of the finest for Brian Burke…possibly his best (if it happens).

1:09: Apparently Paul Bissonnette’s biggest worry is that he’s now the only single guy on the Phoenix Coyotes?

@BizNasty2point0: Faaaaaaaaaaaaaack. Officially no single guys besides me on the coyotes. @samilepisto to columbus. And my boy @ScottieUpshall 2. #FML

I think that means he’ll miss Sami and Scottie. Or it’s a friendly heads-up to the Columbus puck bunnies.

1:19: Daniel Byers was  a throw-in in the Columbus/Phoenix deal. He goes to the desert along with Klesla.

UPDATE (TRADE): Edmonton sends Shawn Belle to Colorado for Kevin Montgomery. Both defensemen.

UPDATE (RUMOURED DEAL): Bryan Allen may be on his way to Carolina, while the Florida Panthers would acquire Sergei Samsonov.

Brian Burke also says that the Leafs are willing and prepared for Clarke MacArthur’s arbitration hearing as a worst-case scenario. Burke prepared to finish without doing anything today.

1:50: Chris Campoli is another name that’s floating around out there in terms of Senators who could be dealt.

UPDATE (TRADE): Chris Campoli has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, for a player-to-be-named-later and a draft pick. Waiting on more information on this one.

UPDATE (RUMOURED TRADE): Cancuks reportedly acquire Marty Reasoner. Brad Winchester to the Ducks is another rumoured trade.

2:03: Chris Campoli goes to Chicago for Ryan Potulny and a second-round pick in 2011. Potulny will give the Sens depth on a rebuilding squad in the NHL, or an experienced AHL’er for youngsters to learn from in the minors. Chicago adds depth on the blueline and a bit of a puck-mover too and a conditional seventh-round pick.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Brad Winchester goes to Anaheim while a third-round pick heads to St. Louis. Another depth-move for Ducks.

UPDATE (RUMOUR-SHOT DOWN): Apparently no truth to the Marty Reasoner trade.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): The Bryan Allen to Carolina/Sergei Samsonov to Florida trade is done. Blueline depth for the ‘Canes while Florida gets an expiring contract. Allan under contract for $3-million and $2.9-mil cap hit next season.

UPDATE (TRADE-RUMOURED): Dustin Penner from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings for Colten Teubert, a 2011 first-round pick, and another pick (2nd or 3rd) in 2012.

2:26: The Edmonton Oilers win big in this deal. They lose a big, powerful winger in Penner, but they get cap space, another first-round pick, and the defenseman they need to build around. Teubert is a big, strong kid that will rack up a few points and plenty of penalty minutes, and you can get another young, offensive blueliner with that first-round pick. Penner gives Los Angeles one of the best crops of wingers in the NHL.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Everything stays the same in the Penner deal, but that excess pick is now being listed as a conditional choice.

2:33: Third in 2012 could become a second based on how well Los Angeles does in the playoffs this year. Brad Richards also expected to stay while the likelihood of another Edmonton deal is low.

2:46: 14 minutes left. Can’t say I’m not excited that the end is near.

2:58: Apparently Brad Richards was never even approached with a trade offer today.

3:00: That’s the deadline. We’ll await any more deals to squeak through.

UPDATE (TRADE-RUMOURED): Toronto Maple Leafs send John Mitchell to the New York Rangers. All but confirmed, however there’s no word on the return yet.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Mitchell traded to the New York Rangers for a seventh-round pick.

Along with that, there are rumours Jason Arnott could be headed to Washington. There’s word he’s waived his No-Movement Clause.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Chris Higgins has been traded by the Florida Panthers to Vancouver for Evan Oberg and a third-round pick.

UPDATE (TRADE-RUMOURED): Freddy Modin is apparently on his way out of Atlanta to Calgary.

3:17: Higgins gives Vancouver exactly what they want in depth despite his broken thumb. 23 points in 48 games so far means that he can even be a bit of a threat in that checking role. Oberg gives Florida a prospect with a bit of upside with low risk because Higgins was a free agent after this year so at least they get something.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Maxim Lapierre goes to the Canucks while the Ducks get Joel Perreault and a third. More depth for Vancouver.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Jason Arnott to Washington for David Steckel. Arnott gives the Capitals the experience and leadership they desperately need while David Steckel will be a great fit as a faceoff-winning, two-way center.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): It’s a 7th-round pick going to Atlanta for Freddy Modin to land in Calgary.

The Philadelphi Flyers also acquire Tom Sestito from Columbus for Greg Moore and Michal Chaput.

3:40: Include a second round pick in that Jason Arnott trade. Arnott costing Washington Steckel and a second rounder.

UPDATE (TRADE-CONFIRMED): Montreal acquires goalie Drew MacIntyre while Atlanta gets defenseman Brett Festerling.

3:55: While it’s not unheard of for a deal to come through at this time, I think we’re calling it a day. Thanks to everyone who stayed with us, or even tuned in for an update or two. In terms of what’s on tonight? Two games: Chicago visits Minnesota while the LA Kings (minus Dustin Penner) host the moveless Detroit Red Wings.

Just a reminder that you can follow me on Twitter at BryanThiel_88.