Ok, so my predictions were a bit off.  Not much action today, or at least not as much as the hype leading up to it led me to believe.  I guess I was basing my predictions on pre-cap days when it was actually possible to trade players.

Biggest winners:  Dallas, San Jose, Colorado and Washington

Biggest Losers: Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Buffalo Dallas: They were a cup contender before, now they are stronger with Richards.   Richards is known for his playoff performance and now he’s got some great guys to play with.  He should light it up.

San Jose: Brian Campbell will make all the difference in the world.  Strong transitional play and the ability to QB the powerplay is going to catapult San Jose into a contender.

Colorado: With Forsberg, Salei and Foote jumping on board and the return of Smythe, Sakic and Stastny, Colorado will win the Northwest but shaky goaltending won’t get them far in the playoffs.

Washington:  Huet, Fedorov and Cooke will put the Caps into the playoffs.  I’m picking the Caps as my dark horse this year.

Montreal:  ?  How could a team that is playing so well trade away ALL their playoff goaltending experience?  Price is good, but not enough to get them past the first round.

Toronto:  Damn those no-trade clauses.  The Leafs had a great chance to start re-building but maybe Sundin’s decision to stay will spark the team to make a push to get into the 8th playoff spot.

Calgary:  The Flames, IMO, were one solid 1st line player away from being a contender this year, shame they couldn’t land at least Jokinen from the Panthers.

Buffalo:  CYA playoffs! Campbell moving just ensured that the Leafs or Islanders will grab that last playoff spot.  It’s all downhill.

There’s a lot of talk about the Pens getting Hossa, but I think they gave up too much to get him.  They basically gave away a fantastic prospect (if he turns his attitude around) and 2 great character guys for another fancy-pants player.  Don’t get me wrong, Hossa and Crosby together will be a thing of beauty to watch, but with no grinders and character guys, they aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs.

Finally, the Oilers.  Not one move.  Well, I can’t say I’m surprised after Moreau and Smid both were lost to injury this week, who were they supposed to trade?  Soap and towels?  Pucks?  So now Edmonton will play out the season with Garon, 2 great rookies and a bunch of guys named Joe.

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