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Tuesday, February 27, 2001
Pronger injury may necessitate trade
By Al Morganti
Special to ESPN.com
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Already stressed by injuries, the St. Louis Blues season reached what could be viewed as a breaking point on Monday night when Chris Pronger suffered the broken left arm which will end his regular season.
With Al MacInnis already out with an eye injury, the question about whether or not the Blues will make another trade before the March 13 trade deadline has now become WHEN will they make the trade, and who will they acquire. Remember, the Blues were keenly interested in Rob Blake before he went from Los Angeles to Colorado.
With Blake off the shelf, the Blues shopping list will include defensemen such as Darius Kasparaitis of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Sandis Ozolinsh of the Carolina Hurricanes, Robert Svehla of the Florida Panthers, and Sean O'Donnell of the Minnesota Wild.
You can also expect the Blues to check with the New York Islanders about one of three defensemen, Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson, and Zdeno Chara. The Blues have plenty of young talent to give up, and in order to get the upgrade they need, they might have to part with either one of two young prospects on defense, Mike Van Ryn or Barret Jackman.
The injury to Pronger puts even more pressure on a franchise that is already in a cauldron of emotional involvement and expectations from its fans. Over the past few seasons, the Blues have been one of the better managed, better coached -- and better performing franchises in the NHL. But they remain stationed behind Dallas and Colorado in playoff success, and last season's first-round ejection by San Jose left them smarting.
The Blues are serious about winning it all. This time last year they attempted to acquire Ray Bourque, only to see him land in Colorado. This year they were scouting both goalie Mike Richter, whose season is now over because of injury, and defenseman Rob Blake -- another one who got away to Colorado.
Blues management won't simply make a trade to make a change, and they did start the whole trade parade rolling when they got Scott Mellanby from Florida -- and they are likely to be active right up until the final minutes of the March 13 trade deadline. The Blues truly have to be on guard against the Dallas Stars landing Michael Peca out of Buffalo, or a similar move by the Red Wings.
Even before the playoffs, the Blues have to remain poised, because any slip at all could be the difference between facing a seventh-place team, or a first-round match up against the Red Wings or dangerous Sharks.
The playoff pressure has already begun in St. Louis, from the GM to coach Joel Quenneville, to goalie Roman Turek, who will truly get a test with Pronger and MacInnis out longer. The Blues might get a short-term read on whether players such as Turek, Pierre Turgeon, Pavol Demitra (when he's back) and others fit into their future.
But for now, the only "future" is keeping it all together to gather some confidence for a truly crucial playoff season in St. Louis.
Stop the music
The goalie anticipated goalie-go-round at the trade deadline lost one of its horses when Montreal's Jeff Hackett suffered a season-ending hand injury. The result will be more attempts to get Nick Khabiboulin from Phoenix. The Coyotes decision to extend the
contract of goalie Sean Burke is likely to mean an exit for free agent Khabiboulin.
Within a very short time, expect either the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins to make serious bids for Khabiboulin. The question is whether or not Phoenix will try to make a truly huge deal involving Keith Tkachuk instead.
Capitals' gain
After a truly horrible start, the Washington Capitals have been the most productive team in the NHL since December 1. The biggest reason is a guy who wasn't even supposed to be with the team this late in the season, Peter Bondra. The only deal that Bondra was working on with the Caps at the start of the season was a gentleman's agreement between himself and GM George McPhee. The deal in place was that if Bondra played hard, the Caps would try to get him the trade he demanded.
Well, a funny thing happened on the way to another city. In the first place, a deal with Montreal was nixed by Bondra, who then he realized he was having too much fun in Washington. The result was a new two-year deal (through 2002-03) with two more
years at a club option that was signed in December.
"There was a lot of finesse involved in this, and I think it could work out because we were all civil throughout it" said Caps general manager George McPhee. "When he (Bondra) told me he wanted me to trade him, he said he would agree to a long-term deal with the team he was being traded to, because that would help make a deal. But I really always felt that in his heart, Peter did not want to leave Washington. He was banged up with injuries last season, and that affected him.
"When I got a call from his agent that maybe something could be worked out, I knew he really, really wanted to stay."
With the real deal in place, Bondra leads the league with 17 power-play goals, and is third overall in goals. The Caps came into this week with a 12-game unbeaten streak, with big conference games at home against Toronto and Pittsburgh late in the week.
Bondra is only part of the story which also includes 10 players with 10 or more goals, the comfort of having Chris Simon on the prowl, and another superb year from Adam Oates, who is third in the NHL in assists. Like Bourque in Colorado, Oates
shows no signs of the wear and tear of age.
Of course, the Caps truly devastating playoff weapon is Olaf Kolzig. Unlike past seasons, Kolzig has not had to be exceptional to win every night. But he is hitting a nice groove as the season winds toward the playoffs, and Kolzig is very capable of being the difference in any series.
Devils adding depth, not dimensions
The defending champion New Jersey Devils haven't made the big moves, such as the decision to bring in Vladimir Malakhov and Alexander Mogilny at last year's trade deadline, but they improve their depth last week when they signed veteran forward Bob
Corkum, who had been waived by the Kings. The move is effective on two levels, first the Devils have been missing both Jason
Arnott and Scott Gomez because of back injuries, and those can flare up at any time. Second, Corkum will help a penalty killing unit which already features a master in John Madden.
Trade talk …
The Pittsburgh Penguins are still trying to move defenseman Darius Kasparaitis
More than a few general managers who are searching for a defenseman at the trade deadline are amazed that the Montreal Canadiens let Eric Weinrich go to the Boston Bruins for Patrick Traverse. Seems many feel they could have made a much
better offer, and did make better offers. Maybe the Habs will get more in return when they finally move Martin Rucinsky or Patrice Brisbois -- or certainly goalie Jeff Hackett. …
The San Jose Sharks fate as a division winner or lower playoff seed might be sealed at the end of their six game road trip which runs through this week into the middle of next week. …
Don't count the Eric Lindros to Toronto talks totally dead just yet. The never-ending saga still might be revived over the next two weeks if the Leafs call Philadelphia and decide they are willing to talk about trading defenseman Tomas Kaberle. Leafs general manager Pat Quinn has little interest in such a deal, but ownership might force the issue.
Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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ALSO SEE
Blues' Pronger undergoes surgery on broken forearm
Melrose: Pronger predicament
ESPN interveiw with Blues coach Joe Quenneville
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