Building Up to the Draft

So as we near Fridays' entry draft and July 1st, the dominoes are slowly falling into place as deals and signings break. Here is a little break down of the deals that have happened so far:

Deal #1.

To Philadelphia: D-Dan Hamhuis and a conditional draft pick

To Nashville: D-Ryan Parent

For Philadelphia, if they can sign Hamhuis, their defence becomes almost too good. Their top 4 D-men carried the Flyers to the Cup Finals this year, and throwing Hamhuis into the mix creates an incredible amount of depth on the back end. Only problem is that once Hamhuis is signed, Philly will be pretty close to the cap with some character guys (Asham/Carcillo for example) left to resign. So the question comes, spend the money on your 3rd/4th line guys or trust Brian Boucher with the goaltending duties?

For Nashville, this opens up a very interesting whole on the back end. One I really hope will be filled by Ryan Ellis. The prospect moves the puck like no one else, and imagine Ellis to Shea Weber on the powerplay? Yeah I just thought about Weber burning a whole in the net at the olympics too. 

Deal #2

To New Jersey:  F-Jason Arnott

To Nashville: F-Matt Halischuk and a 2nd round pick in 2011

For New Jersey, bringing some obvious size and experience back into the line-up will be a definite plus for the Devils. But between the Kovalchuk deal and now this, New Jersey seems a little too eager to trade away their future. Along with the fact that Paul Martin may not come back, and Marty Brodeur isn't getting any younger, and dark days could be ahead for the Devils. But Arnott back in town does make one a little nostalgic of 10 years ago. Wonder what Scott Stevens is doing lately?

For Nashville, losing cap and getting younger. Sounds like the plan up front, cause with guys like Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, and Ryan Ellis on the back end, with Renne in goal. The Predators are a few forwards away from being a contender. 

Deal #3

To Florida: D-Dennis Wideman and 1st Round pick (15th overall)

To Boston: F-Nathan Horton and F-Gregory Campbell

For Florida, Dale Tallon has come into the sunshine state and declared FIRESALE!!!! and teams are taking notice. Obviously looking to rebuild with the same formula he used in Chicago, the Panthers now own the #3 and #15 overall picks this year. Oh did we mention how bad the Panthers will be this year? Good luck Vokoun.

For Boston, the only thing keeping the Bruins from winning the east this year was goal scoring. Rask is a future vezina winner and led by Chara, they are solid on the back end. With the addition of a 25 goal man in Horton, the Bruins are solving that problem, oh and did we mention they draft #2 overall on Friday? Can I say Philly/Boston East final in 2011?

It has definitely been an interesting past few days, with the next 2 weeks being the busiest movement days of the offseason. Another look at the rumors floating around:

- Jason Spezza would "not be opposed" to a trade. If the Sens can get rid of him, I'll be impressed. Nobody wants that mess.

- The removal of Dennis Wideman in Boston has created an small hole in the Boston defence. The Bruins really like Kaberle. Names like Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder are floating around. As a Leaf fan, unless this deal involves Marc Savard, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, or the #2 overall pick, I'm not listening. 

- Kovalchuk to Los Angeles? That's what everyone is telling me.

- Andrew Ladd could be a cap space casualty in Chicago. Vancouver is apparently there to clean up the mess. 

- Tomas Plekanec re-signs in Montreal for 5 years $30 million. Leaves the Habs with about $7 million left in cap space without a goalie under contract. Pierre Gauthier is not making himself any fans in Montreal. 

I'm going to be on this pretty much everyday for the next 2 weeks, or until the usual off-season moves die down. Stay tuned, because we haven't even seen what is happening with guys like Marleau, Nabokov, and Mason.