Epic Trades Strengthen Contenders- Still Don't Help Blues

In the last 48 hours, numerous trades have taken place involving the Tampa Bay Lightning, The St. Louis Blues, The Toronto Maple Leafs, The Atlanta Thrashers, and the Boston Bruins. If you're wondering why it took me so long to write on these, it's because the fact that Kaberle was actually traded shocked me to the point where I just woke up from my surprise-induced coma. Here's a breakdown of the transactions:

Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs:

Boston Bruins' 2011 First Round Pick, prospect Joe Colborne, and conditional second round pick that goes to the Leafs if Kaberle resigns with the Bruins are all going to the Maple Leafs in return for defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The trade gives the Leafs more assets to rebuild with, and a talented prospect at center in Joe Colborne. Boston got a puck moving defenseman who is going to immensely improve their middling powerplay unit. With that being said, Kaberle does have defensive deficiencies. Regardless, many see his addition as the final factor in making the Bruins legitimate Cup contenders.

Boston Bruins and Atlanta Thrashers:

Boston sent defenseman Mark Stuart and forward Blake Wheeler to Atlanta in return for defenseman Boris Valabik, and center Rich Peverley. The Bruins had to dump salary, and got a more effective forward in Rich Peverley (1.4 mill, 34 points) than they had in Blake Wheeler (2.2 mill, 27 points). Granted, Peverley sees more ice time than Wheeler, and Wheeler is +8, compared to Peverley's -16. All in all, the Thrashers won because they got a rugged and physical leader on the blue line that bolsters their defensive corps, and big bodied forward who can score and kill penalties. Nevertheless, the Bruins still made out pretty well, considering they were dumping salary.

Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues

The Lightning received Eric Brewer, a captain and defenseman from the St. Louis Blues. In return, the Blues accepted a third round draft pick in 2011, and unsigned prospect defenseman Brock Beukeboom, who will immediately win the award for best name ever as soon as he signs a contract. Tampa won this trade without doubt. Throughout the season they've had the offense to win games, but not the goaltending. When they traded for Dwayne Roloson, the issue became the defense. Now, they have experience and depth their too. Though this trade doesn't carry the star power of the Kaberle trade, this may in actuality be the move that will most significantly affect who wins what this post season.

Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues

This was by far the most shocking trade of the season. The St. Louis blues sent former first overall pick Erik Johnson to the Colorado Avalanche for rookie defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, and power forward Chris Stewart. Stewart scored 28 goals last year, and was on fire in the first half of the season before breaking his hand in a fight. Since then, he's scored twice and has struggled immensely. With that being said, he is undeniably talented, as is defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk entered the league with a bang this season, and has since played to a solid 26 points in 46 games, along with 64 blocked shots, 20 hits, and a -11 rating. This move is mind boggling. Granted, the Blues have plenty of talent coming through the pipeline, and got two very good pieces in return. Still, it's shocking that they would trade a first overall pick and Olympian, despite the fact that he had not yet developed into the kind of dominant two way defenseman that the organization had expected him to bloom into. Either way, the chances of either team making the playoffs are slim, and so we won't see who really benefited from the exchange until next season.