What a great deal for both teams. Ottawa wins because they get the super tough Commodore, who Mike and I both hoped would end up in Teal at the deadline, and a veteran sniper who can still light up the box score in Stillman. Both of these guys are winners. Carolina wins because they just got younger and shed two players who were not in their future plans next season. Corvo is locked up for two more years, and with Hedican and Wesley both likely retiring next season, adding a proven D-man was a must. Eaves is only 23 years old and his growth potential has yet to be seen. For Carolina, it is worth the risk.

I hope that Doug Wilson is able to make a similar deal with a team that needs some new, young blood for expiring contracts and these young players will allow them stay competitive in their playoff push this season.

To Tampa Bay: Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Devon Setoguchi
To San Jose: Dan Boyle and Vaclav Prospal

Tampa Bay gets two of the Sharks best young players that are both under contract beyond this season at a bargain basement price. The Sharks get a #1 puck moving defensemen and LW capable of scoring 80 points. It makes the Sharks instantly better this season. They won’t miss Gooch because he isn’t even on the big club right now and, while we might miss Pickles, the Sharks still have an excellent core with Ehrhoff, Carle, Rivet, McLaren and Murray. And it DW gets Dan Boyle – he ain’t letting him walk out of town, that’s for sure.

To Buffalo: Patrick Marleau and Marc-Edouard Vlasic
To San Jose: Brian Campbell and Maxim Afinogenov OR Tim Connolly

The Sharks get the best player in the deal in Campbell for young Pickles, and then the two teams trade headaches. Afinogenov or Connolly have been injury prone and have underachieved the last two years in Buffalo. Afinogenov has the way bigger upside and could be awesome on a line with Little Joe in the middle. In Marleau, Buffalo gets a former All Star who might just snap out of it with a change of scenery. He’s also locked up for two more years, saving Buffalo roughly 2.5M in this deal, with Campbell probably demanding 6.0M plus next year and Maxim/Connolly each pulling 3.5M in 2008-09 before becoming UFA.

You gotta give to get in this current market where too many teams have dreams of making the playoffs, as Ottawa proved here today. Let’s see if Doug Wilson has a deal like this up his sleeve.