Grading NHL Trade Deadline Performances: Central Division
Dallas Stars: B-
Dallas addressed a couple of needs at the trade deadline, but I don’t think they went far enough.
Bringing in Scott Wedgewood in goal was a great move by the Stars, since their goaltending room, which was once loaded, is now depleted as a result of injuries. Further, adding forward Vladislav Namestnikov provides the team with some much-needed depth scoring.
However, the real determinant of the Stars’ success this season will be the play of its top players. Those top players, unfortunately, have not had outstanding seasons, and the fact that Dallas did not acquire any help at the top of the lineup or unload any struggling veterans makes me feel like this team will stay in its rut.
Dallas is a playoff team, but its postseason success, I’m afraid, could be severely limited unless the stars (no pun intended) pick up the slack. The deadline was helpful, but it didn’t solve the largest problem.
Minnesota Wild: A+
The Minnesota Wild needed a huge move to become legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, so they went out and made one.
Minnesota acquired three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury from the Blackhawks in a deal that could elevate the Wild this postseason. Minnesota allows over three goals per game, and while Cam Talbot has not been bad between the pipes, Fleury can take the team to another level.
Fleury, who posted a 2.95 goals against average and a .908 save percentage in 45 games with the Blackhawks, has similar numbers to Talbot, despite the latter playing behind a better team. This union feels like a great opportunity for both Fleury and his new club.
The Wild made some other moves as well, but the home run to land the Flower is the key. Minnesota needed something to propel them forward, and that’s exactly what they got.
Nashville Predators: D
Last year, I said that the Predators should be sellers, but this year I said they should be buyers and go for what could be a final run at the Cup. Nashville did neither.
The Preds made three moves that basically only brought in depth players, but they’re not established players. Nashville will be relying on three new guys with little to no experience to help support an other-worldly season from Roman Josi and a surprising bounce-back from Matt Duchene.
Needless to say, I have little confidence that this team did enough to get into the playoffs, and I have no confidence in its ability to find success if it does qualify.