St Louis is sitting 8th in the Western Conference, San Jose are sitting 6th. Both are unhappy with their positioning, after some thought a deal was struck quickly.
Going to San Jose are Chris Drury, Daymond Langkow, Jay Pandolfo and newly acquired goalie Ilja Bryzgalov in return for superstar center Eric Staal, Andrej Meszaros, David Legwand, Brian Boucher and Stu Barnes.
"We have plently of scoring forwards on our roster but we seemed to lack a playmaker ever since we lost Saku [Koivu] to free agency. We don't blame him, 10.5 million a year was just out of our price range. Eric Staal and David Legwand will provide us with playmakers as well as continuing solid scoring." [Evans]
This deal does leave St Louis with 7 capable defensemen, which leaves the possibility of one being moved for a forward.
Expected lines for the next game
Malone - Staal - Antropov Satan - Legwand - Parrish Barnes - Peca - Nichol Hamilton - Guite - Tjarnqvist
Gonchar - Klesla Boyle - Meszaros Smith - Gleason Clark
Question: What is your assessment of your team as we approach the 25 game mark?
Answer: Disappointment. We have too much talent to be a ,500 team, our team simply hasnt gelled. Statistically we or doing ok at every position but we have lost too many close games. It seems as though we lack the character needed to go that extra step in difficult games That is a huge concern since we were expecting to be cup contenders this season.
Question: Was todays blockbuster a panic move to salvage the season?
Answer: Absolutely not! After several meetings with our capologist and NHL scouts we came to the conclusion that some moves needed to be made in order to remain competitive long term.
So far, Eric Staal and Andrei Meszaros are on pace for very disappointing NHL seasons. In a cap world, we could not commit that much money to two players that will re-rate poorly in brhl2. To a lesser extent, the same can be said for David Legwand.
Since it is expected that Alex Ovechkin is going to sign a long term deal at around 9million per season, a move needed to be made.
Question: What does this trade do for the Sharks?
Answer:
I think this makes us a better team. It seems like all-star teams just dont mesh well together..
It also gives us some cost certainty for the next 2-3 years. Dealing away two potentially pricy RFAs in return for bargains such as Bryzgalov, Drury and Langkow was real important to our cap situation. Long term sustainability is very important to us.
We feel that Drury brings a certain X factor. Talented players need to be motivated by guys like Drury. Drury will make everyone around him better - especially in the post season. Having high EX and LD on the top line is real important, and that is something we lacked in the first 25 games. His DF rating will also really help Ovechkin and Semin be more creative offensively.
Similarly, Langkow provides scoring ability, EX and LD to our group of forwards.
Bringing in Bryzgalov was huge for our team, we have been shopping for a goalie for a very long time. Turco has been inconsistent at best and regularly faces conditioning issues. He often required 2 days off for his CD rating to recover after every game played. Goaltending is so important in this league, now we no longer have a hole there.
Its important for all teams to think of the future, and considering our RFA situation, we had to act. However, I will admit that our poor record so far this season sped up the process.
Question: Whats next for the Sharks?
Answer: Short term Hopefully more wins and a long playoff run. Long term.this team will be competitive for a long time, we are not putting all our eggs in one basket Meszaros and Turco have been tremendous disappointments for us so far this season. Lets hope some character guys make a difference.
With Parise and Semin doing amazingly welll in the NHL this season, dealing the pricy Eric Staal was logical solution to our cap issues. Both will likely rerate better then Stall at a much lower price. The idea of potenmtially having three NHL 50 goal scorers on our first line next year is very exciting for our fans.
New Lines:
Ovechkin------Drury-------Semin Michalek------Parise-------Horton Williams ------Langkow----Roenick Pandolfo------Sim---------Willsie
St Louis came from behind to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and hand Terry Murphy his first, of what will likely be many, losses as head coach. Vaclav Prospal gave the Pens the lead in the first period, but Nabokov shut the door on the Pens. With three of the five newly acquired players making an impact in the 6-2 win over Minnesota, it was Staal's time to shine with his 8th of the season scored in the third to send the game into overtime. The Blues were outshot in relegation 34-27, but Ilya Zubov took a hooking penalty 2:06 and 35 seconds later Sergei Gonchar scored his 7th of the season on a 4 on 3 powerplay. Special teams were the difference as Pittsburgh went 0 for 7 while the Blues went 1 for 3.
The next game for the Blues are the Atlanta Thrashers, "we've always had a rivalry with the Thrashers, I think we can give them a run for their money," said assistant captain Rostislav Klesla. The final member of the blockbuster trade will get his chance in the game as well, Brian Boucher will get his first start as a St Louis Blue.
Coach Barry Trotz stated, "we feel Boucher will give us the good goaltending we need against Atlanta, they aren't as important as the game against Columbus. Atlanta and Columbus are two similar teams if you look at their goaltending duo, neither have a true number one goalie. However, Nabokov has played the previous two games against Minnesota and Pittsburgh so he needs to be fresh against Columbus. A four point game is more important than a two point game. Besides, each new member has made his impact in the past two games, it's Boucher's turn now."
