Trades

Over the last few weeks there has been some movement as far as trades are concerned in the NHL.  There have been a few bigger deals made and some that were expected or needed.
Looking back since the start of February at the deals that have been made there are a few that catch my eye. 
Starting with the Feb 11th trade between the Winnipeg Jets and the Buffalo Sabres.  The deal involved 7 players and one draft pick and has been one of the largest ones made (player wise) the whole season.
Going to Winnipeg were forwards Drew Stafford, Joel Armia and Brendan Lemieux.  Defenseman Tyler Myers, and a 2015 1st round draft pick.  A pretty good package assembled by Buffalo to get a pretty good return.
Going to Buffalo were forward Evander Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian and goaltender Jason Kasdorf.  Two pretty good players and an unsigned goaltender.  Granted Kane is on the IR at the moment but when he returns (most likely next season) he will have an immediate impact with his new club.
This seems like a fair deal for both teams.  Both give up some good talent and one rids itself of a "problem player".   I only say that because of all the media reports and issues that have come to light over the last little while involving Kane.
Over all it is tough for me to say who won this trade.  Right now I feel the Jets did. But possibly over time it could be the Sabres. 

The next trade that surprised me a bit was between the Dallas Stars and once again the Buffalo Sabres.  This time it was a goal tending swap that saw Jhonas Enroth head down to the "Big D" in return for back up net minder Anders Lindback and a 2016 conditional 3rd round pick.
Dallas already has a top tier goaltender with Kari Lehtonen and now they have added a solid back up/started with Enroth.  Buffalo gains a pretty good tender themselves by getting Lindback who is a massive man who fills the crease easily and has great mobility for a man of his size.
I would say that Dallas wins this trade only because of the more proven goaltender the get.  Enroth is a starter who can lift some pressure off of Lehtonen and help carry a surprisingly struggling Stars team.  Buffalo does get a good goaltender in return but he hasn't been able to establish himself as the go to man for any team yet.  Maybe the Sabres are that team.

Another multi-player trade that took place was between the Nashville Predators and the Toronto Maple Leafs.  This trade saw four players swapping their sweaters (two from each team) as well as a draft pick going to Toronto.
Headed to Toronto was forwards Olli Jokinen and Brendan Leipsic and a 2015 first round draft pick.
Headed to Nashville was forward Mike Santorelli and defenseman Cody Franson.
I am not sure who gets the better of this deal.  Over time it could be Toronto with their pick and being able to flip Jokinen for some other picks or prospects, or if it was Nashville who gets a solid d-man and decent forward to use right now.
To be honest I haven't even really looked into the numbers of these players or done a lot of research on them.  It is something I should do to get a better understanding of who gets the better end of the stick in this deal.
Over all right now I feel the Predators get the advantage in the deal with receiving players who will make an impact right away.  Franson was the key to my decision on it since he will help bolster an already decent defence corps.

Just yesterday saw the Anaheim Ducks and the Montreal Canadians make a deal that saw forward Devante Smith-Pelly got from west to east where he will now join the Canadians,  and in return the Ducks will receive forward Jiri Sekac.
Both are young players (22) who will bring different skill sets to their new teams. 
Smith-Pelly will bring some toughness and a few more NHL games with him to Montreal while Sekac brings fewer NHL games but more speed and better hands than his counterpart into Anaheim. Sekac played in the KHL the last 3 seasons while Smith-Pelly has played parts of the last 4 seasons in the NHL.
This is a fair deal for both teams.  Each team gets what they want/need in terms of skill or grit and there isn't a lot of change in salary. A win win for both.

So far those are the only trades that have really grabbed my attention, but as we all know, the NHL's trade deadline is coming up on March 2nd and there are lots of players who we could see wearing new colours come March 3rd.
I will post more on trades as they come up.
Thanks for reading.
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Until next time.