Around the NHL: Boring Deadline Day, Streaks Aplenty

To touch on various happenings around the league:

- Now that the Kovalchuk deal is done, will the trade deadline be as exciting? In the last five days, we’ve seen three blockbuster trades, seeing Dion Phaneuf, Olli Jokinen and Ilya Kovalchuk change teams. With three big name players off the market, there will certainly be less impact moves on March 3rd. As it stands, there are still a number of available players out there, but none as skilled as Kovalchuk. The names that have dominated trade rumours lately are: Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ray Whitney, Jaroslav Halak/Carey Price (who knows what Gainey will decide), Sheldon Souray, and Ethan Moreau. When Ray Whitney is the most wanted commodity on deadline day, something isn’t right.

- Speaking of Kovalchuk, have you ever seen a more ill-suited match for a New Jersey Devils uniform? The Devils have some conservatively unchanging uniforms to begin with — just look at their 1995 Stanley Cup run and you’ll notice they look just as ordinary. Devils threads somehow make Kovalchuk look less flashy. Hockey fans have a sixth sense about who looks “right” in a uniform, and this looks like one of those unanimous bad fits.

- There are a handful of teams streaking at the moment, many in opposite directions. The teams on winning streaks include: the Capitals (13), Senators (11), Kings (8), and Coyotes (6). The teams on losing streaks include: the Bruins (9) and the Islanders (6). Edmonton recently ended their brutal 13-game losing streak with a win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

- Building through the draft can take years for certain teams to get right, while others still haven’t found the right ingredients despite a high draft position year after year. However, for some teams, it takes only one draft to rejuvenate the organization. In 2003, the Ducks drafted Ryan Getzlaf 19th overall, Corey Perry 28th overall, two players who were integral to their 2007 Stanley Cup Championship and who remain franchise cornerstones. That same year, the Flyers drafted Mike Richards and Jeff Carter 24th and 11th overall respectively. Another example: in 2004, the Washington Capitals drafted Alex Ovechkin 1st overall, Jeff Schultz 27th overall and Mike Green 29th overall. Ovechkin leads the league in goals and points, Schultz is second in the league in plus-minus with a mark of +34, and Green leads all defenceman with 53 points.

- Speaking of the Capitals, they have now won a franchise record 13 straight. They are within striking distance of the longest winning streak in NHL history, set by the Penguins in 1993 with 17 straight. The Capitals play Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottawa and St. Louis before the Olympic break.

- Only six days away from the Olympic opening ceremonies, and the talk hasn’t heated up quite as expected. The tournament is wide-open this year, with new look rosters from most of the hockey powers. Olympic debuts from Crosby, Backstrom, Kane and too many other exciting youngsters to mention. And if you’re into Swedish Kings, this will be your last chance to see Peter Forsberg compete on the big stage.

- We extend our deepest condolences to the friends and family of Brian Burke. Burke’s son Brendan was fatally injured in a traffic accident on Friday afternoon. Our thoughts are with the Burke family at this difficult time. Thankfully for Brian Burke, Dave Nonis is an astute executive and is more than capable of shouldering the General Manager’s responsibilities as the recovery process begins for the Burke family.

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