Garth Snow was asking for 2nd round picks for each of Radek Martinek and Zenon Konopka. He didn't get what he was asking for either players, and thus they remained. That's actually what they would have preferred, anyway.
The only player that the Islanders did lose however was forward Rob Schremp. He was placed on waivers on Saturday, and had to wait until noon on Monday before knowing his fate. The Thrashers were fairly active in the weeks leading up to the deadline, and one of their moves on the final day was claiming him.
Schremp obviously was a little disappointed in having to leave the Islanders, but in all honesty this works out for both sides. Schremp gets a fresh start elsewhere, and the Islanders get to move on.
I had a comment from a reader who felt I was being a little tough on Schremp when I wrote about him after news broke of the waiver. However, I still stand by what I said. We make it a point, both in this space and on the show to point out guys who are having bad stretches or doing things wrong. We did numerous times earlier in the season. The team has generally played well in the last month though, and Schremp was one of the only guys not giving a complete effort, dogging it on defense and what have you. Even in limited time it was noticeable. The coaching staff gave him more than ample time to try and figure it out, but it didn't happen.
Meanwhile, the Thrashers have been trying to find ways to improve their offense in any way that they could. Their pick-up of Schremp, along with the other moves they made leading up to the deadline show that they obviously understood the need for a jolt on the power-play.
Schremp was always a fun guy to talk too, and quite the character. I enjoyed watching him grow last season, and enjoyed speaking with him a few times this season. All the best to him in Atlanta and the playoff push.
There was a lot of interest in both Martinek and Konopka, but ultimately it wasn't enough to make opposing GM's jump at it. I agree with the way Snow handled himself this deadline.
I was very adamant, both on the show and in posts here that Snow could get a 2nd round pick for Martinek if he wanted too. I was wrong, along with many other folks. However, that's what happens when there quite simply aren't too many sellers.
Snow wasn't coming down from his asking price, and GM's balked. They instead chose to go with the same price from other teams, for players that were either better or more durable, in the case of Martinek. The only thing you could argue that could have been done differently is construct a carbon copy of that Niclas Wallin deal from last March (Wallin and a 5th for a 2nd). But even that was a stretch. The purpose here was to try and gather assets to use in the summer, and not necessarily to draft young kids.
Snow tells Katie Strang of Newsday that he did take a look at some players who were under contract beyond this season, but was more just browsing. Perhaps that is something he will look at more in the summer.
Deadline day wasn't as active as it was in the past, with only 16 deals completed. Some teams got things out of the way earlier this year. Deadline day, in all honesty got about what I expected this year. I didn't think it would be the type we have seen in the past (25-30 deals) but expected maybe a few others.
The biggest deal was the Dustin Penner trade to the L.A. Kings for Colton Teubert, a 2011 first and a conditional 2nd rounder. The return is a bit much for a player like Penner, but for the L.A. Kings it's fine. They were so bad for so long, and have hoarded all of this talent at all positions. Having played well after hitting a bump in the road earlier, they could make this deal and are a better team for it.
The Oilers, meanwhile picked up a really talented, hard hitting defenseman. It'll be interesting to watch that team grow together over the next season or two.
We can only hope some seeds were planted for possible dealings in the summer. Many of the guys who didn't move today - Ales Hemsky, Steven Weiss, David Booth, etc - will surely be available in July. That's where some of those spare picks can come in handy.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
Showing posts with label Dustin Penner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dustin Penner. Show all posts
February 28, 2011
January 7, 2011
Oilers End Isles Three Game Win Streak; Injury News
I originally thought that it was good news that the Islanders had two days off after facing so many shots on Monday night in Calgary. But perhaps it was one day too many.
The Isles came out very slow in this game, and within the first four minutes found themselves in a two goal hole that they would not recover from.
After giving up the goals, Nathan Lawson was pulled in favor of Kevin Poulin, who made his NHL debut. Similar to the way Lawson did it in Calgary, the 20 year old Poulin came in and looked very poised. He wasn't tested as much as Lawson was in Calgary, but Poulin did come up with some solid, nice saves - some that most goalies should get, but rookies can have problems with. So that's a good sign.
Lawson wasn't particularly awful in his brief couple of minutes, either. The Oilers' first goal came off of an odd play as Andrew Cogliano's shot careened off the end boards and in front of the net, where Gilbert Brule was sitting virtually all by himself. Both Lawson and defenseman Andrew MacDonald realized where the puck was a tad too late.
The second goal was a good move to the net by Dustin Penner. Milan Jurcina got caught off guard a bit and turned to catch up with Penner but he was already out of reach. It made for a rather easy play as he cut in towards Lawson. Penner has the ability to be an excellent power forward and when he gets his acceleration up to speed, it's tough to stop. Jurcina has to be a little more alert than that there, and Lawson has to make some kind of a confident attempt there, like a poke check. He seemed to be just waiting for Penner to get closer to him but before he had time to think, Penner put the puck by him.
After that, the Islanders finally started to play well. This happened from the five minute mark of the period and on. I was hoping to see the Islanders keep the momentum going into the second, and they did.
The Islanders had some excellent chances on Devan Dubnyk, but he made some good stops and stood tall. The Islanders failed to convert on any of the seven power-play chances that they were given after going a combined 4-for-4 in the last two games. The failed chances included a big 5-on-3 opportunity for 1:33 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. That is something that you absolutely have to cash in on if you plan to win a lot of games in this league. The failure to tie the game there gave Edmonton the 2-1 victory.
Michael Grabner had a breakaway early in the game that he failed to convert on, and that's something that he usually is pretty good at. He knows he has to put that in. If he does there, then the whole complexion is changed as the Isles would have had the quick lead on a fragile Oilers team. Instead, the save was made and the Oilers capitalized quickly after that as they went on to end their seven game losing streak.
The loss wasn't the only bad news the Isles got on Thursday, however. Prior to the game, the Islanders said that Frans Nielsen is day-to-day with a groin tweak and that Mark Eaton had flown back to Long Island where he is diagnosed with a labrum issue in his hip. It's been recommended that he get surgery, but he will seek a second opinion. He is out indefinitely for now, but obviously if he gets the surgery he will be out the year. That's the same thing that Mike Mottau had, and he's out for the year after surgery to repair a hip labrum. Nielsen was more of a game time decision than anything, so despite them taking it day by day, I figure he'll be back Saturday. Rick DiPietro practiced but didn't dress. He's also day-to-day.
If DiPietro can't go against the Avs, then Poulin certainly made his case to get the start. We'll have to see what the decision is there within the next day, and who practices on Friday.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
The Isles came out very slow in this game, and within the first four minutes found themselves in a two goal hole that they would not recover from.
After giving up the goals, Nathan Lawson was pulled in favor of Kevin Poulin, who made his NHL debut. Similar to the way Lawson did it in Calgary, the 20 year old Poulin came in and looked very poised. He wasn't tested as much as Lawson was in Calgary, but Poulin did come up with some solid, nice saves - some that most goalies should get, but rookies can have problems with. So that's a good sign.
Lawson wasn't particularly awful in his brief couple of minutes, either. The Oilers' first goal came off of an odd play as Andrew Cogliano's shot careened off the end boards and in front of the net, where Gilbert Brule was sitting virtually all by himself. Both Lawson and defenseman Andrew MacDonald realized where the puck was a tad too late.
The second goal was a good move to the net by Dustin Penner. Milan Jurcina got caught off guard a bit and turned to catch up with Penner but he was already out of reach. It made for a rather easy play as he cut in towards Lawson. Penner has the ability to be an excellent power forward and when he gets his acceleration up to speed, it's tough to stop. Jurcina has to be a little more alert than that there, and Lawson has to make some kind of a confident attempt there, like a poke check. He seemed to be just waiting for Penner to get closer to him but before he had time to think, Penner put the puck by him.
After that, the Islanders finally started to play well. This happened from the five minute mark of the period and on. I was hoping to see the Islanders keep the momentum going into the second, and they did.
The Islanders had some excellent chances on Devan Dubnyk, but he made some good stops and stood tall. The Islanders failed to convert on any of the seven power-play chances that they were given after going a combined 4-for-4 in the last two games. The failed chances included a big 5-on-3 opportunity for 1:33 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. That is something that you absolutely have to cash in on if you plan to win a lot of games in this league. The failure to tie the game there gave Edmonton the 2-1 victory.
Michael Grabner had a breakaway early in the game that he failed to convert on, and that's something that he usually is pretty good at. He knows he has to put that in. If he does there, then the whole complexion is changed as the Isles would have had the quick lead on a fragile Oilers team. Instead, the save was made and the Oilers capitalized quickly after that as they went on to end their seven game losing streak.
The loss wasn't the only bad news the Isles got on Thursday, however. Prior to the game, the Islanders said that Frans Nielsen is day-to-day with a groin tweak and that Mark Eaton had flown back to Long Island where he is diagnosed with a labrum issue in his hip. It's been recommended that he get surgery, but he will seek a second opinion. He is out indefinitely for now, but obviously if he gets the surgery he will be out the year. That's the same thing that Mike Mottau had, and he's out for the year after surgery to repair a hip labrum. Nielsen was more of a game time decision than anything, so despite them taking it day by day, I figure he'll be back Saturday. Rick DiPietro practiced but didn't dress. He's also day-to-day.
If DiPietro can't go against the Avs, then Poulin certainly made his case to get the start. We'll have to see what the decision is there within the next day, and who practices on Friday.
-CH
nyifyi@gmail.com
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