Fantasy Watch: Analyzing the Ottawa/Carolina Trade

F Cory Stillman, Ottawa Senators
Stillman was fantastic in the first two months of the season scoring 31 points total but endured a steep decline in December and January where he only totaled 14 points. Although he was struggling in Carolina, a trade to Ottawa may decrease Stillman's value even more. In Carolina, Stillman was a top line player, often getting several minutes on the power-play. He developed great chemistry with his linemates and was on pace for a 70+ point year. In Ottawa, Stillman becomes second fiddle to Spezza Heatley and Alfreddsson, and although one can argue that Ottawa has more talent than Carolina, Stillman may never see icetime with any of the big three. The only hope for Stillman is if he becomes a regular on the power-play which could increase his numbers drastically. Without significant power-play time, expect a decline for the former Hurricane.

D Mike Commodore, Ottawa Senators
Commodore has never been much of an offensive producer and that probably won't change with Ottawa. Even though Commodore enjoyed his best season last year scoring 29 points, Ottawa will primarily use him as more of a defensive specialist. With Corvo departing the Sens, a power-play spot is available but expect Ottawa to give Meszaros longer time on the pp and even letting Stillman get his chance. A change of scenery is nice for Commodore, but don't expect much offensively from the defenseman.

F Patrick Eaves, Carolina Hurricanes
In his three years with Ottawa, Eaves has gotten better every year, increasing his point total along the way. Scoring 14 goals and 32 points last season, Eaves was expected to make more of a jump this season but has failed to do so, appearing in only 26 games while scoring 10 points. Currently sidelined with a neck, shoulder injury, it is unknown when Eaves will get back on the ice, but expect him to take some time getting adjusted to his new linemates. Nonetheless, Eaves is still a solid young player and can prove to be a valuable asset to Carolina in years to come.

D Joe Corvo, Carolina Hurricanes
Corvo is known more as an offensive defenseman, scoring 35+ points in his last two seasons. Struggling somewhat in the month of January, Corvo recently got hot with Ottawa scoring four points in his last three games. In Carolina, Corvo immediately becomes Carolina's highest scoring defenseman (Bret Hedican is in second with 12 points) and should see lots of time on the Hurricanes top pp unit. With no reliable defensive scorer, Corvo should give Carolina a big boost in that department and enjoy great success on his new team.


For Illegal Curve, Jonny Remis

NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail gives his take on the Cory Stillman trade.
• Here is Damien Cox's take on the Stillman trade.
• Mats Sundin continues to say that he would like to remain a Maple Leaf, writes Tim Wharnsby of the Globe & Mail.
• Jim Matheson of the National Post talks with Clint Malarchuk about the Richard Zednik incident.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today has an interview with USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the details behind the arrests of two Canadiens players in Tampa.
• Things are looking positive for Panthers forward Richard Zednik after the winger was sliced in the neck with a skate. The doctors who operated on Zednik say that he his lucky to be alive.
• The Thrashers have the necessary amount of veteran players so as to not panic with the playoff race already underway, writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara missed practice yesterday for a "maintenance day" and the team is hoping he will be able to play tonight against the Hurricanes. Kevin Paul Dupont has the Bruins' take on the Richard Zednik incident.
• Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News suggests that the Sabres deal Brian Campbell before the trade deadline. Meanwhile, the Sabres were very satisfied with the play of his Tim Connolly in his return to the line-up on Saturday.
• Luke Decock of the News Observer has the Carolina perspective of the Stillman trade.
• Now that the Rangers are close to signing Henrik Lundqvist to a contract extension, Larry Brooks of the NY Post suggests they make sure they sign Sean Avery to an extension next. The Rangers have played more games than any other team in the Eastern Conference, so that makes their five day break far less enjoyable.
• Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News has the details behind Simon Gagne's latest concussion. Here are some notes about the Flyers.
• Ron Cook writes about the evolution Ryan Malone as a player, in this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Even with the Cory Stillman trade yesterday, Penguins GM Ray Shero doesn't see his team making any big moves before the trade deadline.
• Rich Chere talks about the immense value of having John Madden on your hockey team, in this morning's Newark Star-Ledger.
• If Mike Comrie had his way, he'd be an Islander for a while, writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune interviews former Lightning and Sabre Dave Andreychuk about the Richard Zednik incident.
• Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star says Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are two of the best bargains in the NHL. The Leafs held practice outside yesterday, much to the delight of their many young fans.
• "I think it's a message again to the community that this team wants to win a Stanley Cup," said Senators GM Brian Murray after his team's four player trade on Monday. Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun gives you his take on the deal.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks will be without center Doug Weight for at least a week because of a shoulder injury, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• The Flames head on the road for a five game road trip starting in San Jose, and they are hoping the road trip brings similar fortunes to their six-game road trip earlier this season. Here are some news and notes about the Flames/Sharks.
• Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch has a very interesting article on European coaches in the NHL. In good news, the Jackets are expecting to have three important regulars back at practice today.
• The Stars made it seven wins in a row last night with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over the Coyotes.
• Michael Russo of the Star Tribune gives the Wild perspective on the Zednik injury.
• The Sharks are looking to upgrade their defensive corps via trade, writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• “We’ve fallen on some tough times of late, but we’re still a contender and we’re still competing on a nightly basis," said Blues coach Andy Murray yesterday.
• The Blackhawks are still fuming over Ryan Shannon's shootout winner from Sunday night, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. Even though Sunday was his first game back from injury, the Hawks weren't light on the ice-time with Jonathan Toews.
• Injured forwards Ryan Smyth and Paul Stastny are close to returning to the Avalanche line-up, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
• Wings coach Mike Babcock still wants to split up Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg but he needs to see better production from his wingers to ensure the move wouldn't hinder his team's ability to score.
• Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal tells readers that Tom Gilbert has had his fair share of struggles recently. The Oilers are hoping Fernando Pisani can bust out of his goal-scoring slump as they try and make a run at the last playoff spot. "We have to be tough to play against. Teams don't like when you play that style of game. If we can do it against Calgary then we can do it against anybody," said Oilers captain Ethan Moreau about the way his team needs to play down the stretch.
• Apparently there are more problems with the Predators ownership situation. The Predators road to the playoffs goes through Detroit, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• It is fair to say coach Wayne Gretzky wasn't happy with a late-game penalty call against the Coyotes that cost them the game, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic The Coyotes were without Shane Doan last night in Dallas because the rugged winger was out with a groin injury.
• The Canucks have one of the harder roads to the playoffs, writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Sens/Canes Trade Analysis

To Carolina:
Patrick Eaves
07-08 Salary: $900,000
RFA next season

Joe Corvo
07-08 Salary: $2.5 mil
08-09 Salary: $2.75 mil
09-10 Salary: $2.75 mil

Carolina finally gets the true powerplay quarterback they have been looking for in Corvo, after employing a forward on the point (sometimes even two forwards) throughout the majority of the season. The initial idea was that Frantisek Kaberle would be the powerplay quarterback, but after struggling out of the gate recovering from off-season surgery, it became apparent that Carolina truly needed a number one defenceman to run the troops with the man advantage. Corvo’s booming shot, accurate outlet pass, and quick feet will surely be a boon to the Canes offense. After a promising rookie campaign, Eaves has had injury troubles the past two seasons. Not known for his aggressive style of play, Eaves is a talented winger with offensive potential who couldn’t really find a comfortable spot in the Sens’ lineup. Projected 2nd line winger.

To Ottawa:
Cory Stillman
07-08 Salary: $1.75 mil
UFA next season

Mike Commodore
07-08 Salary: $1.3 mil
UFA next season

Conversely, the Sens are shedding a good chunk of salary for the next two years, in bidding adieu to Corvo. The Sens will miss his heavy shot from the point, and it surely does shake up their powerplay. The likely result will either be Meszaros or Schubert being paired with Redden on the #1 unit, or Alfredsson filling the void on the point from time to time (a scary thought thinking back to Pominville walking around Alfredsson to score the series clinching goal for the Sabres two years ago). Another possibility may be to put Heatley back on the point, but with his skating being weaker than Alfredsson’s, this doesn’t seem too likely. The thought is that defenceman Brian Lee will be ready for some primetime action next season on the blueline. Acquiring Stillman is a great move, and will give coach Paddock some more options if he wants to break up Alfredsson from Heatley and Spezza come playoff time. According to GM Bryan Murray, Stillman is slated to play with second line centre Mike Fisher. Not known to be too aggressive in the corners to say the least, let’s hope that Stillman’s 34 year-old body holds up. In Commodore, the Sens acquire a physical blueliner with playoff experience winning the Cup with Canes and reaching the finals with Calgary in 2004. Known for having a cult following with his crazy hair and bathrobe, Commodore will fit in nicely as a depth defenceman on the Sens.

The Result:
To quote legendary GM Sam Pollock, the team who gets the best player wins a trade. If that is true, then the Sens are the winners in this deal. Looking more closely, the departure of Corvo will create an offense hole on the Sens’ blueline, but one that can be fixed with a quick shuffle of powerplay duties. What can’t be overlooked is the $2.5 mil vacancy created on the team’s payroll over the next two seasons. Although the Sens likely won’t re-sign Stillman after next season, he will hopefully provide some leadership and Cup experience this year, coupled with a secondary scoring option. Depending on how Eaves progresses over the years, the Sens appear to have won this deal for the short term.