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NHL: Week in Review

A lot has gone on in the NHL over this past week as teams prepare for the Olympic break roster freeze. The following is a quick recap of this week’s major NHL news.

NHL trade deadline trades were kicked off last weekend, when Brian Burke and the Maple Leafs acquired defenseman Dion Phanuef from the Calgary Flames and goaltender J.S. Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks in two separate blockbuster deals. The Calgary Flames soon followed with a second trade of their own as they sent forwards Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers for forwards Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik. Trades continued this week with three major deals, none of which included the Maple Leafs or the Calgary Flames.

The first deal sent Atlanta Thrasher’s star winger Ilya Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman John Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors  & Patrice Cormier and the Devils first round pick in 2010. The two teams also swapped their 2010 second round draft picks. This move came as a bit of a surprise to some, as many speculated that Kovalchuk was going to be traded to the Los Angeles Kings.

The second major deal was more of a cap-clearing move as the Detroit Red Wings sent Finnish forward Ville Leino to the Philadelphia Flyers for defensman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and the Flyers fifth round draft pick in 2010. This move clears cap space in Detroit for the pending return of Johan Franzen.

Last but not least, the San Jose Shark acquired defenseman Niclas Wallin and a fifth round draft pick in 2010 from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a second round draft pick in 2010. The second round pick is actually the Buffalo Sabers pick, which was acquired by the Sharks as a result of a trade on July 4, 2008 that sent Craig Rivet and a seventh round pick in 2010 to the Buffalo Sabers.

In other news, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired head coach Ken Hitchcock earlier this week and the Nashville Predators signed forward Jordin Tootoo to a two-year contract extension. Tootoo will earn $1.15 million in 2010-11 season and $1.35 million for 2011-12 season.

According to TSN, Edmonton Oiler defenseman Sheldon Souray has told general manager Steve Tambellini that he would waive his no-trade clause for the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers.

Chicago’s Daily Herald is reporting that the Chicago Blackhawks are interested in reacquiring ex-Hawks defenseman James Wisniewski from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Cam Barker. This move would make sense for the Blackhawks because it would clear up cap space for next season, as Wisniewski will be a free agent after this season while Barker will still be earning $3.1 million for the next two years.

Finally on a much sadder note, my deepest condolences go out to ex-Ducks and current Maple Leafs GM  Brian Burke and his family. Burke’s 21-year-old son, Brendan Burke, died on Friday as a result of injuries he sustained in a car accident in Wayne County, Indiana.

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