Every Day is a Trade Deadline Day

by Cheechew on Feb 24, 2009 10:01 PM PST

With one week to go until the "real" trade deadline, Doug Wilson resorts to his favorite tagline. The Sharks are in an unusually situation, not needing to do anything but knowing the MO of Wilson, you can expect a few minor tweaks. I can see bringing in more Stanley Cup experience. Not being a salary cap guru, I am not sure how much salary they can take back without going over the cap. Without going into specific names, I think they need a veteran D-man (a Havelid or Sydor type). When Semenov is your 7th D-man, I am not too comfortable if/when a top 6 guy goes down. Semenov has been playing better lately but everytime I see him on the ice all I can think of is the OT game last year when a puck went off his skate in Anaheim and a game earlier this year when he gloved a shot into his own net. You might be able to get a depth D-man without giving up a regular but what if Wilson thinks big and goes for the knockout blow trade. There are simmering rumors about Pronger being available but I doubt Anaheim trades him within the division and it would take quite a package of young players to get that done.

How important is tomorrow's game versus Detroit? A Detroit win would make it a 2-2 season series with the home team winning both games. For the first time, both teams will be rested as neither team plays the night before. Interesting to see what happens.

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I don’t think the Sharks could manage a Pronger trade – even if the Ducks wanted to give him to the Sharks, it would take a hell of a lot considering Pronger’s salary is over $6 million and the Sharks have $24,000 in cap space left. Even if it’s pro-rated (I don’t know the exact details of that) it would be quite a tricky thing to pull off.

People who save up for a rainy day are like milk. And milk goes good with cookies, so you should have those people over for cookies.

by brokenyard on Feb 24, 2009 10:40 PM PST reply actions

Even if it’s pro-rated (I don’t know the exact details of that) it would be quite a tricky thing to pull off.

Roughly speaking, 20+ games to go, we can say his hit is about 1/4 x $6.25 M, or a bit north of $1.5 million. The Sharks are out unless they’re sending someone significant to the minors (Marleau?).

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Feb 24, 2009 11:04 PM PST up reply actions

The Sharks are out unless they’re sending someone significant to the minors (Marleau?).

Or sending Patty your guys way. I’m sure he’s dying to waive that no trade clause to play with Kunitz!

In all seriousness though, does Murray even want to move Pronger within the division, especially with the knowledge that he’ll theoretically be facing him next year as well?

I just hope he gets a ticket East. Preferably someplace cold that his wife will enjoy.

Fear The Fin: Where The Second Round Is Overrated

by Mr. Plank on Feb 25, 2009 12:01 AM PST up reply actions

I think it’s safe to say that if the Ducks do move Pronger, it would be to a Eastern Conference team. Certainly it wouldn’t be within the division unless he got a superstar with an expiring contract in return. It would probably have to be any team in the East that has a good chance of making the playoffs and has allowed a lot of goals… my guess would be Montreal. The Canadiens have allowed 184 goals this season (22nd in the league), and are only 4 points ahead of 9th-place Carolina. They’re not the powerhouse they were last year, when they earned the #1 seed and barely beat #8 Boston, and they recently told their best player to stay away from the team on the roadtrip.

They’ve been linked to all the Lecavalier rumors, and Pronger would be a much cheaper and low-risk move (Lecavalier would be under contract for 11 more years; Pronger for one more year). That would be a nice defense, with Pronger, Markov, Hamrlik, Komisarek, Schneider, and Bouillon. Not to mention the fact that Komisarek, Schneider, and Bouillon are all UFAs after this season.

Fuck you, Denis Gauthier. You deserved that 5-game suspension.

by Kevin Y on Feb 25, 2009 6:06 AM PST up reply actions

I don’t know if Montreal has the cap room now that they’ve taken Schneider. Seemingly they’ve made their move.

And I dunno, between their adventures with Kovalev and their young Price in net, it seems they probably have bigger fish to fry than another stud blueliner, but I’m not following them that well.

It would probably have to be any team in the East that has a good chance of making the playoffs and has allowed a lot of goals

I don’t know if allowing a lot of goals is a requirement. I hear New Jersey and Boston a bunch, and don’t know why they wouldn’t be interested. Basically I think it’s any team that wants to win the east.

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Feb 25, 2009 7:07 AM PST up reply actions

Oh, and also? I’m really not sold that Pronger’s going anywhere. I’m not sure any team’s going to be giving up enough futures that a deal will be necessitated, but we’ll see.

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Feb 25, 2009 7:08 AM PST up reply actions

Pro-rated, Pronger is to make about $1.5M for the rest of the season, so Montreal would really only need to free up that much space. Schneider’s cap hit for the Canadiens was $1.7M, and their team cap is at about $57.5M for the whole season. That’s of course right up at the cap ceiling, but of course you’d have to consider the fact that the Canadiens would be moving salary to get salary in a move.

I don’t know if allowing a lot of goals is a requirement. I hear New Jersey and Boston a bunch, and don’t know why they wouldn’t be interested.

It’s not, really, but it seems only logical that the teams that would push more to get a guy like Pronger would be those teams that have the need for a guy like him. Of course, Boston has a great team already, and I think will certainly make the Eastern Conference finals, and of course a duo of Pronger and Chara would be devastating and likely make them the favorite. Also, having Montreal in that division would really piss off Habs fans.

I think New Jersey mostly wants Scott Niedermayer over Pronger, despite him being a UFA this offseason and not knowing if he’ll retire or not, because of the 13 seasons he spent with them.

I can see the Bruins trying to get him, but they’ve really separated themselves from the Capitals and Devils, and I think they are the favorites right as they are. I could understand them trying to acquire Pronger to help their chances, as well as to keep him from going to Montreal and to keep Niedermayer from going to the Devils (no way in hell they are gonna move both of them).

Fuck you, Denis Gauthier. You deserved that 5-game suspension.

by Kevin Y on Feb 25, 2009 2:21 PM PST up reply actions

Pro-rated, Pronger is to make about $1.5M for the rest of the season, so Montreal would really only need to free up that much space.

That’s not insignificant, though. If you’re a team at the cap ceiling and want to add a $6.25 M player at the deadline, that means somewhere else you have to shed $6.25 M in annualized salary (not just the $1.5M that it pro-rates to). That’s hefty, and I think it throws a lot of ceiling teams out of contention (though a lot of them are in the west anyways).

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Feb 25, 2009 2:27 PM PST up reply actions

They really have to have enough room under the cap for the whole salary? I thought you could just have room for the pro-rated part.

Boston and New Jersey are at about $56M and $54, respectively, so based on salary alone, looks like Pronger is staying put. But Anaheim might actually miss the playoffs, so anything can happen

Fuck you, Denis Gauthier. You deserved that 5-game suspension.

by Kevin Y on Feb 25, 2009 2:38 PM PST up reply actions

No, no, no. IF A TEAM IS SCRAPING THE CEILING and wants to add a $6.25 M player, that means that they need to ditch $6.25 M somewhere in their existing salary — that’s just the nature of spending to the maximum, you have to offset whatever you acquire.

For a team that hasn’t been scraping the ceiling, they have been accumulating cap savings along the year — I think NJ could afford Pronger based on money they haven’t been spending previously, but I’m not that familiar with their contracts (and the long-term injury to Brodeur complicates things a bit).

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Feb 25, 2009 2:43 PM PST up reply actions

…I hate the salary cap.

Sorry for frustrating you. I guess all I know is that the Kings have plenty of room under their cap. But yeah, I think I understand it now. If I don’t… let’s just pretend I do.

Fuck you, Denis Gauthier. You deserved that 5-game suspension.

by Kevin Y on Feb 25, 2009 2:47 PM PST up reply actions

In simplest terms: any team at the salary ceiling or in the western conference is assumedly out of the Pronger trade deadline sweepstakes, which still may or may not happen.

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Feb 25, 2009 2:50 PM PST up reply actions

The more and more I talk about this, the less convinced I am that Pronger will be traded. I mean it was such a big deal when his wife wanted to leave Edmonton and they came to SoCal, and I can’t imagine him playing for another team right now.

Fuck you, Denis Gauthier. You deserved that 5-game suspension.

by Kevin Y on Feb 25, 2009 2:58 PM PST up reply actions