Trade Deadline Day Analysis
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009 9:29 pm by Mike
Today, March 4th marked the last day for NHL teams to make trades until after the playoffs. The Sabres made a few trades, but nothing really substantial and I’m left wondering, did they do enough?
Tim Connolly
The biggest move for the Sabres wasn’t actually a move; the Sabres resigned Tim Connolly for 2 year at $4.5 million a season. Darcy Regier has been working with Connolly over the last couple weeks to pound out a deal and they finally agreed on the terms today.
I don’t have a problem with the Sabres extending Connolly’s contract, but I was a bit surprised at the price. Connolly is so talented, yet so so injury prone, that it is impossible to say whether the contract will be a disaster or a steal. If he stays healthy, the contract will surely be well worth the price.
Mikael Tellqvist
Darcy’s first trade was for Mikael Tellqvist, backup goalie for the Phoenix Coyotes. He gave up a 4th round pick to bring in the netminder, who will most likely back up Lalime until Miller is healthy.
I don’t believe Tellqvist was brought in to replace Lalime. I also don’t think this means that Miller is out for the season. I believe Regier was just being cautious and wanted to make sure that if Miller’s injury got worse, then we might still have a chance at making the playoffs. I’m not sure what will happen to him when Miller comes back though.
Dominic Moore
The Sabres also traded a 2nd round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs to bring in Center Dominic Moore, who is enjoying his best season with 41 points in 63 games. He should more than suffice as the 3rd line Center that the Sabres have desperately needed all season.
Moore is having a good season and picking up a hard working forward that is enjoying success may help to spur on the rest of the team. Moore will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, it will be interesting to see if he is here for the long term or as just a rental.
Ales Kotalik
The Sabres also traded Ales Kotalik to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2nd round pick. This basically nullifies the loss of a draft pick in the Moore trade. Kotalik will become and free agent at the end of the season and the Sabres must have had no intentions of signing him.
Kotalik was having a bit of a lackluster season, so a 2nd round pick seems like a good deal. However, I’m not sure how the Sabres will make up for his shot on 5 on 3 situations and his skills in the shootout.
Conclusion
Overall, I’m fairly pleased with Regier’s moves today, but I’m not ecstatic. As usual, Regier made conservative moves and didn’t take any strides to really rock the boat. With the Sabres sitting in 10th place, I would have been more comfortable with the Sabres making a bigger effort to make the playoffs, but, at the same time, I understand that it can’t be at the expense of long term goals.
With the Sabres current roster, they should have more than enough talent to make the playoffs, and that is clearly what Regier was thinking too. Unfortunately, that current roster has been a disappointment as a whole this season and we’ll need to see a lot of players step up for the rest of the season if they are going to make the playoffs this season. Thank goodness that Vanek is already back from injury.
March 5th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I am not sure either whether the money paid to Connoly was too much, but I am glad that they made an effort to keep one of the players that they have developed. I like the Moore deal, especially if the Sabres can resign him. I am apathetic on the Tellqvist deal, so long as Lalime plays like he did last night. I am ok with Kotalik beong dealt, as he never really excited me anyway.
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