Let’s start with the team in my backyard, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim.  Last summer I was at the press conference introducing Brian Burke as the new GM.  I was really looking forward to the upcoming season because Burke promised to make the team faster and more entertaining.  He has a reputation for being a great hockey mind and I was ready to see Anaheim’s transformation firsthand.  He brought in some great players and everyone loved him.  Then he traded away Sergei Fedorov back in November.  My ears perked up like a dog that just heard a strange sound.  Sergei for Tyler Wright and Francois Beauchemin?  Was he kidding?  He wasn’t because the Ducks were just millimeters above .500 at the time of the trade and since that day they have nearly twice as many W’s as they do L’s and have been in almost every game to the end, losing more than a fistful in overtime and shootouts.  Maybe this guy does know something about putting together a hockey team.

   In a media conference call the afternoon of “D-Day” Burke often reiterated that he wanted to make sure that “the guys most responsible for the success (of the team) would get rewarded.”

   Then he talked about trading Keith Carney to the Canucks for a draft pick and a prospect.  I’ve always been a big Carney fan and I was sorry to see him go.  He likewise talked about Sandis Ozolinsh and the third round pick that Anaheim got in return. So far Carney’s Canucks are 0-3 but one can hardly blame that on #3.  The team was spiraling quickly before his arrival.  Carney is a free agent at the end of the season and I wouldn’t be surprised in he’s not playing hockey in So. Cal. next season.

   Ozolinsh missed the majority of the season but since his post-Olympic return he had scored game winning goals in two of his first four games. That doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you trade but I’m sure that Burke has big plans for the future with all those draft picks he’s collecting.  Will Burke’s gamble payoff?  I would have to say yes; they will make the playoffs but once into the post-season, who knows.

   Burke didn’t just subtract, he also added, bringing in Sean O’ Donnell who I honestly questioned, but he does bring some toughness to the blueline. Forward Jeff Friesen arrived in Anaheim needing some points.  His 3-4-7 in Washington was dismal even by Capital’s standards. 

   Edmonton brought in former Wild man Dwayne Roloson to mind their net.  He seems to be a losing bet.  Since arriving in Canada Roloson is 0-3 with a save percentage of .859 and he has allowed 13 goals.  This trade looks pretty good for Minnesota since they get the Oilers first round pick next year and Roloson was a free-agent anyway.

     Once again Colorado and Montreal switch goalies.  The first deal worked out a bit one-sided for Pierre Lacroix and his Patrick Roy-led Avalanche.  They won two cups.   And Montreal?   Well, their new goalie is Swiss, not French-Canadian. 

   David Aebischer has yet to start for Montreal but neither has Jose Theodore for the ‘Lanche.  If Theodore can find the game he once had, then there may be ice in Denver into late May or early June.

   Sergei Samsonov left Beantown to play with Roloson and the Oilers.  He’s a free agent this summer and it seems that Boston got the better end of this deal since Samsonov was likely to leave the Bruins and Boston ends up with a couple of OK centers (Marty Reasoner and Yan Stasny) plus a second-round pick.

     Does this mean that I’m a wimp for not posting my opinions last Thursday?  Maybe.  Should I have wagered my very limited reputation by picking the winners and losers at the trade deadline?  Probably.

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