12/30/24
March 18, 2002
The first major deal (Bure to the Rangers): before the trading deadline. Does it make the Rangers better? Or is Bure too one sided to help the team? What does Dallas look to trade for now? Are there any other major upcoming trades still brewing? To a hockey fan, the trading deadline is March Madness.
A buddy of mine called me last night, gave me this news, and two conflicting thoughts immediately went through my head. First, New York didn't give up very much for Bure. Ulanov is garbage and I'm happy to see him go. Novak is a solid prospect, but expendable with Mottau in the system and a steady stream of serviceable d-man with some offensive skill in the organization. A first-rounder is a crap shoot and the swap of seconds will budge the Rangers up a few spots to make up for that loss a bit. All said, they got Bure cheap. He's a world-class player and he (hopefully) fills the need for a scorer. Second thought, and here's the problem, I hate Pavel Bure. It's not a fair judgment and he's never done anything to deserve this, but I'm sure you all have players that you hate for no good reason. The best I can do to explain it is to say Bure just doesn't play a game I like. I see him as a soft, one dimensional player and there is nothing that infuriates me more. It's unfair, but it's the way it is. So, I'm stuck here, happy about the trade in one sense, but trying to come to grips with the fact that I'm going to have to root for yet another player who has long been on my shit-list. I'm not sure how I am supposed to deal with this, but I think I'll take the route proposed by another buddy after I called him with the news, "Drink beer, pray for the playoffs".
posted by 86 at 07:20 AM on March 19, 2002
Well, as a Panthers fan, I'm a little PO'ed. So what if the guy's one dimensional?? He's one of the best goal scorers in the world. And, 86, you're right...we didn't get a whole lot in return for sending him to the NYR. Sad to see him go, as he was the team's lone true star (Luongo is getting very close).
posted by bcb2k2 at 07:42 AM on March 19, 2002
Look on the bright side, the Rangers might get to stick to Philly twice in a season, and you know that's always a bonus. First, the Lindros deal and all the Lindros lore that surrounds the behemoth. Couple that with a possible first round match up and possible upset with the added firepower of a Russian rogue nuke, I'd say Slather's arms deal may salvage his first year yet. You laugh at this scenario? The Flyer's didn't even get a chance to think about it. Primeau and Roenick out, with JR looking the worse for the wear. I think Primeau has a hang nail, but JR did a Mike Modano, and that can't be good. If the Flyers don't make it out of the first round, JR can drive his kids and their entourage (or does he just have 6 boys all the age of 10) around and only have to worry about tee time. The curse of Philly, its am amazing thing. And I had written off the Rangers a month ago!
posted by garfield at 07:53 AM on March 19, 2002
And with this trade the Rangers move one step closer to becoming the first NHL team to be made up completely of selfish assholes.
posted by Samsonov14 at 07:56 AM on March 19, 2002
Jesus Garfield! That reads like Charles Bukowski as a hockey fan. Go have some coffee or something.
posted by Samsonov14 at 08:19 AM on March 19, 2002
And the trading continues. Not nearly the same type of impact player as Bure, but how many Captains have the Thrashers lost in the last three years? That's three if you are keeping count.
posted by trox at 11:36 AM on March 19, 2002
Yikes! In another deal, what the hell was Philly thinking giving up their goalie of the future -- PLUS three picks -- for a 39-year-old center in Oates? I know the Flyers lost two centermen last night, but Roenick will be back before the playoffs, and Primeau won't be out that long. Unless Clarke has another card up his sleeve before 3pm, I'm very skeptical of all of this. Makes the Rangers move look brilliant. By the way, a great place to check out the deals at NHLPA.com (they're on the ball with updated trades)
posted by rosey8810 at 01:41 PM on March 19, 2002
That's getting into Montreal territory there trox... The Rangers got Bure for a song, it seems as if the Panthers were just trying to dump salary, and the Rangers are probably one of 3 or 4 teams in the league that can afford him. As a habs fan, this annoys me a bit, as we could definitely use some scoring, but another part of me thinks that all this will do is make the Rangers ever worse on D. Bure can be an explosive gamebreaker, but he also hangs around the neutral zone the whole game and doesn't know the meaning of the word backcheck. The trade might get the Rangers into the playoffs, but it won't get them very far.
posted by sauril at 01:44 PM on March 19, 2002
You know how it goes though sauril. Get a team into the playoffs and you never know what can happen. A hot goalie can take you a long way. So if the Rangers slip in, the offense picks up and Richter gets hot, whoa nelly, look out. (and this is coming from a Flyers fan! :)
posted by rosey8810 at 01:55 PM on March 19, 2002
The Rangers make another deal, moving Mike York to the Oilers for Rem Murray and the beleaguered Tom Poti. This is a great chance for Poti, who was a scapegoat in Edmonton, to understudy with Brian Leetch. It's a sideways move for York, though.
posted by kickerofelves at 02:12 PM on March 19, 2002
Kasparitis to Colorado. He was rumoured to be in contention for the Maple Leafs... which, I seriously hope make a move for a defencemen, because without Yushkevich in the line-up (though hopefully he'll be back soon) they are considerably weaker. Seems like, per usual, defencemen are the most sought after commodity. I'd laugh if the Rangers, with Bure, still don't make the playoffs. Like samsonov said, they're a bunch of jerks... except for Berard, I like Berard.
posted by mkn at 02:25 PM on March 19, 2002
Damn! Damn! Damn! This Poti guy better light it up. Argh. Along with adding a player I'm not fond of (see above re: Bure), the Rangers have now traded my favorite guy on the team. Man, this is frustrating. Looks like I need more beer.
posted by 86 at 02:31 PM on March 19, 2002
Ooh, big deal. Nieuwendyk, and Langenbrunner (DAL) for Arnott, and McKay(NJ). Guess Dallas did have something brewing.
posted by mkn at 03:04 PM on March 19, 2002
I can't confirm that Dallas trade anywhere... where did you see that? (please please be untrue...)
posted by Bernreuther at 03:10 PM on March 19, 2002
damn.
posted by Bernreuther at 03:12 PM on March 19, 2002
front page of ESPN.com......just broke.
posted by rosey8810 at 03:38 PM on March 19, 2002
It's hard being a fan of a team that desperately needed to make trades today, but didn't. At least other teams across the league had some shakeups.
posted by Succa at 05:11 PM on March 19, 2002
wow. Some biggies. The Rangers just got much better. Poti's a sensational hockey player. It's too bad that the fans chased him out of town. York should fit in well with the Oil. Dallas/NJ trade looks good for both teams, I think. Arnott is a hell of a player and will pick it up in Dallas. I have a feeling that the Rangers might turn things around. Crap.
posted by sauril at 09:31 PM on March 19, 2002
I apologize in advance for harping on this, but if the Rangers could get Yashin, Kasparitis, and Marchment next year, they will have the lion's share of unlikeable A-holes in the league. There, I'm done. Best recent trades, taking into account what the teams have to offer each other go as follows: 1) Bure to NY for a bag of pucks. A steal, without a doubt. 2) Barasso to TOR for a 4th rounder. CAR couldn't have gotten much more for this trade otherwise, and I feel bad for Schwab (who's been great) but it gives TOR some serious depth in goal for the playoffs. 3) Ferraro to STL for a 4th rounder. Ferraro isn't the best player around, and he's done after this year (we've heard that before), but he works hard, can score, and is a great team guy. 4) Marty McInnis to BOS for a 3rd round pick. BOS needed another guy who could play the point on the PP, and is friends with and used to play with Guerin years ago, so can only help chemistry. I'm biased here. 5) Sean Brown to BOS for Bobby Allen. Allen might be good in a few years, but the B's need another tough guy, and Allen isn't half the player that Brown is on D now. Again, I'm biased. Questionable trades: 1) Oates to PHI for next year's first 3 rounds. Ballsy. If Philly doesn't win this year, they're going to look stupid. Maybe a panic move due to the Flyer's recent Injuries. As a buddy of mine said earlier, look what it took for NYR to get Bure, and compare it to what PHI had to do, and it makes this trade make a lot less sense. 2) Kasparitis to the Avs. See #1 above, but a little better. 3) Poti + change to NYR for York + change. See #1 again. York worked hard every day. Poti was a goat in Edmonton. We'll see. 4) Langenbrunner and Nieuwendiek for McKay and Arnott. I can't even dissect this trade. Who knows?
posted by Samsonov14 at 10:07 PM on March 19, 2002
If you assume that the Stars would never have paid Nieuwendyk after next season and are planning on locking up Arnott for a few years when he becomes a restricted free agent on July 1, I guess the deal is a good trade two years from now. I don't really understand what the personality of the Stars is supposed to be, though. However, I have always felt like Nieuwendyk was the biggest catalyst to the Stars Stanley Cup run, and I hate to see another hall of famer leave with some gas in his tank. Watching him and Hull in the playoffs is going to suck.
posted by rcade at 12:11 PM on March 20, 2002
What wins playoff games is good goaltending and solid defense. I suppose they do need some added offense, since Dvorak and Messier are injured. Richter is playing fairly well, but he has a losing record. Offensive firepower might help the Rangers win a few close games down the home-stretch, but if they make the playoffs, I doubt they will get very far.