For those who undervalue good defense, it'd be a good idea to keep that head in the sand for the next few paragraphs.
Buffalo and Columbus found themselves in interesting spots in the hours leading up to the Feb. 26 trading deadline, good enough to climb into the top eight in their respective conferences, but with commodities too hot to not deal. Colorado and San Jose shared some common bonds as well, full of talent but missing cogs that could build a true winner in a Western Conference that was watching Detroit drop game after game after game.
The Sabres sent their No. 1 offensive defenseman, Brian Campbell, and a seventh-round pick to San Jose for a first-round pick and a former first-rounder (Steve Bernier). The Blue Jackets parted ways with veteran stalwart Adam Foote, sending the 36-year old to the Avalanche for a conditional first-rounder and a fourth.
Each move has sent a team and its trading partner down distinctly divergent paths.
Buffalo's offensive depth has swelled with Bernier, along with the returns of Drew Stafford and Maxim Afinogenov, but their transition play has been miserable. The recent injury to Henrik Tallinder hasn't helped, but the combination of sending forwards back behind the net to lug the puck and the insufficient puck-carrying of the stable of defenders has led to neutral zone antics that are nothing short of brutal. The Sabres have given up numerous odd man rushes while posting a 2-3-1 mark since the deadline, allowing an average of 3.83 goals against. The real kicker is that Buffalo's scoring over three goals per game during the stretch.
Meanwhile, the Sharks are the hottest team in hockey, undefeated since acquiring Campbell. The free agent-to-be has notched five points in those six wins, four of which are with the man-advantage. He's registered a plus-2 for San Jose, who has given up more than two goals once since acquiring Campbell, beating Ottawa, Montreal and Detroit along the way.
The Avalanche is almost as hot, winning all six-straight, including the five games in which Foote's been healthy. They've allowed just six goals in the Foote-included wins, and if you think adding a Cup-winning blue liner to a corps that's had relatively little post-season success, you're kidding yourself. (Scott Hannan's Sharks underachieved in San Jose, while Colorado's wilted in recent years. Jordan Leopold and Ruslan Salei have competed in the Finals). Also, In the interest of full disclosure, Colorado also swapped Karlis Skrastins for Salei, and signed Peter Forsberg, so it's not as if Foote is the only kick in the pants the Avalanche received.
Finally, the Blue Jackets, who have fallen in a hurry without Foote, who was remarkably valuable to Ken Hitchcock's defense-first system. Columbus is 1-2-2 since dealing the strong penalty killer, and the Jackets have given up five power play goals during that stretch. I'm not as interested in making the point that Carolina is 8-2-1 since picking up underrated puck-mover Joe Corvo from Ottawa, but it's at least something to consider.
Maybe this column is a little too interested in staying the course from the "Sign Brian Campbell" one I posted in November —by the way, how'd that work out? — but a couple weeks in, two teams that had a shot at the post-season are losing winnable games after dealing quality defensemen, while their trading partners are thriving as they surge toward home-ice advantage. There's a case to be made for the struggling clubs adapting to a new style, but frankly, that doesn't interest me much. It should also be pointed out that Buffalo and Columbus were sellers, and those teams are supposed to become worse.
Looking ahead, here's something to stake a claim to: Buffalo has three veteran defenseman locked up heading into 2008-09 — Jaroslav Spacek, Toni Lydman and Tallinder. Nathan Paetsch is not quite a veteran, while youngsters Andrej Sekera and Mike Weber are under contract as well. Sekera's a budding puck-mover, but he's seasons away from Campbell status.
Assuming Campbell's out of the picture, it would be in Buffalo's best interest to address to position via free agency or trade after the season. This is purely speculative, but I'm curious to see what young Colorado blue-liner, and good friend of Ryan Miller, John-Michael Liles will fetch. It's probably a pipe-dream, since Liles has similar offensive numbers, but with Wade Redden and Campbell headling a glut of unrestricted defensemen, who knows what the capped-market will eventually dictate?
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