There are only seven days left befor the NHL trade deadline, and all is calm on the Eastern Front where the Ottawa Senators reside. For now.



It's strange to see so many deals being done ahead of deadline day. Bryan Murray was one of the first to pull the trigger on February 10 with the Mike Fisher trade to Nashville. While there were some moans and groans, the move was generallly well regarded as dumping $4.2 million for a talent that wasn't producing for that kind of money. This was a "dump some salary" move.

The Chris Kelly move was a stunner as he was a fairly inexpensive player for the kind of skill he brought to the team: penlty kills, face-off, forecheck, and one of the top scorers on the team (who would expect??) All for a measly $2.125 million. That move can be regarded as a "dump age" move, even though Kelly is barely 30 years old.

Of the next two moves, Jarkko Ruutu can be seen as "dumping age" and "lack of performance". Strangely enough, Ruutu scored a goal in his very first game with the Anaheim Ducks, so maybe a change of scenery was what he was looking for. As for Brian Elliott, it's befuddling. Both Elliott and Craig "Neo" Anderson have roughly the same numbers, but Neo costs a fair amount more. Based on the performance of Neo against the Leafs, the trade now seems a good one, but Pascal Leclaire looked great for a couple of games too when he arrived in Ottawa.

But all seems calm right now. Is the storm over? I doubt it. There are some key players on the Sens team that likely have Cup contenders licking their chops in anticipation. A lot of pundits are saying that the moves made earlier means that the trade deadline will be a quiet one.

I think that what we saw was just the tip of the iceberg and that we will see an extremely active trade deadline. Some teams seem to have learned the lesson of the salary cap: you need to get young blood, and you need to develop in house, and you need to scout. Sprinkle that team with some hired talent, and you have a winning combo. The Senators management has gotten rid of some excess salary (nearly $7 million) and has a pocket full of draft picks.

The current mood of the fan base is for a change, and the back office will take advantage of the fact to fill up on goodies that can be exchanged for new flesh at the draft, and a shopping spree in the off-season. I think the trades are far from over.

GO SENS GO!!