working

ADVERTISERS

Sports Outside the Beltway

Florida Fire Panther sale

The Florida NHL franchise was busy before yesterday’s trading deadline.

WASHINGTON — The Panthers took a step to assure the Roberto Luongo trade will go down as one of the worst in franchise history Tuesday when they traded Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit hours before the NHL trade deadline.

The Luongo deal was easily the worst in Panther history. A 3rd rate goaltender and an injured player in place of an all-star goaltender. Fiasco is the word that sums up that trade.

Bertuzzi was the principle asset acquired in last June’s deal that sent Luongo, the team’s franchise goaltender, to Vancouver. Florida also got goaltender Alex Auld, out for the season with a knee injury, and top-four defenseman Bryan Allen. Defenseman Lukas Krajicek also joined the Canucks.

“We just have to move forward,” said coach and General Manager Jacques Martin, who served in his GM capacity for the first time on deadline day. “One thing you’ll learn about me is I make decisions to try to better the organization.

Martin wasn’t responsible for the Luongo trade but former GM Mike Keenan.

“I don’t live in the past. My commitment is to make this organization better, and to have a plan … I do feel we can make the organization better with the moves we’ve made today.”

Martin was busy in the 36 hours leading up to the deadline, but not as busy as many expected.

Gary Roberts agreed Tuesday morning to the deal that sent him to Pittsburgh for minor-league defenseman Noel Welch, and defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski went to the same Penguins for a fourth-round draft pick.

*****

Martin said he had discussions with Bertuzzi’s agent, Pat Morris, about a contract extension but ultimately decided to use the $5 million-plus it would have taken to re-sign him elsewhere.

*****

Bertuzzi played only seven games before leaving the team in mid-October with a back injury. He has been practicing and is expected to play again soon.

Exactly what the Panthers get in return for Bertuzzi will depend on how far Detroit goes in the playoffs.

At minimum, they get a third-round pick, but it could rise to a first-rounder if the Red Wings reach a benchmark that is believed to be the conference finals.

Florida would get an additional pick if Bertuzzi re-signs with Detroit (not likely). Florida also got forward prospect Shawn Matthias, 19, a second-round pick of the Red Wings in last year’s entry draft.

The Panthers aren’t a playoff team now, Roberts and the now retired Joe Nieuwendyk weren’t going to be part of the future of this team. So I don’t mind Roberts being gone, but I’d like to know why does this team invest in over the hill players?

Ed Belfour, who is playing well in goal, isn’t any spring chicken either.(Don’t get me wrong, I like Eddie in goal. Its the age factor) With Auld injured, The Eagle is the only proven NHL goaltender the team has. In spite of their 13 goals in the last two games, the Panthers are a notoriously punchless offensive team who now has goaltending problems to boot. Not a good mix.

Matthias and the draft picks may work out but if Detroit thought so highly of this 19-year-old, why trade him for an injured player who will be a free agent at the end of the year? I’m hoping Detroit pulled a Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen but some how I doubt it.

As to the draft picks, the Panthers have had over 10 years to build an offense. Do I need to say more?

 

Cowboys Sign McBriar to 5 Year, $8.5 Million Deal

The Cowboys have signed up their Aussie punter to a long term deal.

Even though the Dallas Cowboys usually don’t like to give big deals to kickers, they made a big exception on Wednesday by reaching an agreement on a five-year, $8.5 million contract with punter Mat McBriar.

McBriar, scheduled to become a restricted free agent, was too good to let go even though the experiment to pay place kicker Mike Vanderjagt didn’t work out last season. McBriar was the NFC’s Pro Bowl punter this season, averaging 48.2 yards per punt with a 38.6 net. He placed 22 kicks inside the 20 yard line and had a long punt of 75 yards.

His deal makes him the league’s highest-paid punter. Along with that, he received a $2.5 million signing bonus.

It’s a lot of money to pay for a punter but McBriar is among the very best and should still be on the upswing. I think it always makes sense to do whatever you can to keep your own good, young players.

 

The Incredible Growing Bonds

Barry Bond’s attorney has gone after everything about the book Game of Shadows except for the facts laid out in the book. Now Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada have their book in paperback with a new afterword.

But as the book is released this week in a paperback edition with a new afterword, the most important constant in the 12-month wake of Shadows is this: Bonds has not challenged a single fact in the book. It stands as an encyclopedia of this doping era in general and of Bonds’ massive doping regimen in specifics.

But by far my favorite part of this afterword, that lays out in a simple terms (that can be made into a table) information that makes you go, “That just can’t be natural.”

Measurement
Jersey Size
Hat Size
Shoe Size
1993 Giants – Age 29
42
7 1/8 (w/ hair)
10 1/2
2006 Giants – Age 42
52
7 1/4 (bald)
13

And as the authors write:

“The changes in his foot and head size,” they write, “were of special interest: medical experts said overuse of human growth hormone could cause an adult’s extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegaly**.”

The book (if true) leaves one believing Bonds is the biggest doper in the game and a idiot with the flaxseed oil story. I wonder if Bonds wanted to defend his good name why he wouldn’t sue the pants off the authors, much like Lance Armstrong did successful with every accusation of doping against him. Maybe Bonds doesn’t because they are right.

**Acromegaly is a rare disease that causes giantisam and facial distortions, eventually leading to death if untreated. Andre the Giant died from it in 1993.

 

Cincinnati Reds 2007 Preview (Spring Training Edition)

General Manager Wayne Krivsky has gone about remaking the Reds more into the image of the Twins organization he left to take the Cincinnati job: more pitching and defense. There have been two major moves in that direction, one very unpopular, one that left the fan base ambivalent.

The first move was the big trade of 2006, sending OF Austin Kearns and IF Felipe Lopez to Washington in return for relief pitchers Bill Bray and Gary Majewski. The trade was lightly praised by the traditional press, reviled by the team’s bloggers (including myself, although with reservations) and ineffective in its initial aims of bringing a playoff birth in 2006. It seems, however, to be only the start of a trend.

The second move was the offseason signing of shortstop Alex Gonzalez. Gonzalez is not adept at getting on base, but has some power, and a strong defensive rep that is supported by the numbers. It is Gonzalez that is really at the heart of the attempt to keep down the Reds’ Runs Allowed column, as few others moves of consequence were made during the offseason. The team that opens 2007 Spring Training in Sarasota, FL is mostly the same team that ended the season in Cincinnati.

The Reds posted an 80-82 record in 2006, not terribly impressive but the best the Queen City had seen in years. Hopes run high for a resurgence of the southwestern Ohio band. Many of those hopes are pinned on the best Reds pitching prospect since Mario Soto, or perhaps Don Gullett–maybe even Jim Maloney. Homer Bailey is on the horizon, and the hearts of Reds fans beat faster just to hear his name. The loose-limbed, lanky Bailey throws a high-velocity fastball and a sharp curve, and grown men salivate at the thought of him on a mound. Bailey is one of the truly elite pitching prospects in baseball. Many fans were beating at the gate last year, calling for Bailey to be promoted in an attempt to save the big team. Management resisted the temptation, in favor of more seasoning.

Bailey figures to open the season in Triple-A, and move up to the big club during the summer. He may be needed to bolster the team, which has a shaky staff. Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo emerged as top pitchers last year, but their ability to repeat is in doubt. Eric Milton and Kyle Lohse hold down the 3-4 spots, based mainly on memories of 14-win seasons some time past. Kirk Saarloos leads the list of candidates for the #5 rotation slot many would like to see handed to Bailey.

The offense has been sliced for 2007, although strikeout-prone slugger Adam Dunn returns. Dunn popped 40 HR but batted just .234 in 2006. He’ll have to step that up. A healthy season from Ken Griffey Jr. would be helpful as well. Youngsters Edwin Encarancion and Brandon Phillips emerged last year, and continued development is needed to form a contending team. So is a continuation of good performance from veteran Scott Hatteberg, plus speedster Ryan Freel.

Jeff Conine may get playing time, but at 40 that may not be a good idea. Chris Denorfia waits for a spot to open. Prodigal baseball player Josh Hamilton is in camp, hoping to impress and stay on the roster after being picked up in the Rule 5 draft.

 

Clipper’s Livingston Lost For Season

Despite optimistic early reports an MRI showed that not only did Shaun Livingston dislocate his tibia-femoral and patella, he tore his MCL (medial collateral ligament), ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), and lateral meniscus. For those keeping track it means he tore three out of the four key knee ligaments that hold the knee together (he didn’t tear the LCL [lateral collateral ligament]). For the one piece of good news, Livingston did not damage any nerves or tear an artery (which happened to San Jose State football player Neil Parry and led to his leg being amputated about seven inches below the knee). Livingston will likely face multiple surgeries, many months of rehab and is expect to miss the next 8 to 12 months. I wish him the best of luck on the road to recovery; I’ve seen my fair share of knee ligament tears and what it takes to get your knee back into shape.

Warning: In the link to the ESPN story, they have a video link showing the injury as it happened during the game. It’s not obscene but definitely not for the squeamish, its one of those Theisman-esque injuries.

 

Behold the Dinosaur

Murray Chass delights in writing about baseball. But Murray Chass loathes the measures employed by younger analysts of the National Pastime. And he makes no bones about what he thinks about sabermetrics and the statistics that have been introduced into the sports lexicon by sabermetricians. Take it Murray:

I receive a daily e-mail message from Baseball Prospectus, an electronic publication filled with articles and information about statistics, mostly statistics that only stats mongers can love.

To me, VORP epitomized the new-age nonsense. For the longest time, I had no idea what VORP meant and didn’t care enough to go to any great lengths to find out. I asked some colleagues whose work I respect, and they didn’t know what it meant either.

Finally, not long ago, I came across VORP spelled out. It stands for value over replacement player. How thrilling. How absurd. Value over replacement player. Don’t ask what it means. I don’t know.

I suppose that if stats mongers want to sit at their computers and play with these things all day long, that’s their prerogative. But their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game threatens to undermine most fans’ enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein.

People play baseball. Numbers don’t.

How shockingly obtuse. Quickly a primer on VORP. The value over replacement player is a measure of the true value a baseball player brings to his team. To understand the statistic a fan needs to understand what is meant by a replacement player, as well. A replacement player is essentially a triple A callup or a guy the team can claim off the waiver wire at no cost. By definitional, a replacement player is someone who is not on the major league roster on opening day. He represents the minimal acceptable offensive output for a major league baseball player.

To calculate VORP, Baseball Prospectus uses a series of formulae to determine the theoretical statistical profile of a replacement player. That value is then compared to the actual performance of major league players. The idea of VORP is that it can quantify a players performance.

For example, Joe Mauer has a higher value over replacement player than does his teammate Justin Morneau. Mauer’s value is primarily because a replacement player at the catching position is typically woefully worse than a replacement player at first base. A replacement catcher would be Ken Huckaby, who in 161 career games has a line of .222/.256/.281. Mauer’s sparkling .347/.429/.507 is clearly superior. VORP measure how superior it is, while providing an apples to apples comparison for other players. VORP attempts to answer the question of what player made the biggest difference to his team in a given year.

Continuing the Twin theme, was Mauer, Morneau, Johan Santana, Joe Nathan or Francisco Liriano more valuable to the Twins? The answer according to VORP is Johan Santana, followed by Mauer, Morneau, Liriano and Nathan.

The biggest problem with VORP is that Baseball Prospectus keeps it a proprietary statistic. This is reasonable. Keith Woolner invented it and the information of how to compute it belongs to him. There is a downside. OPS, which is an intuitive statistic, has caught on, whereas VORP remains primarily within the parlance of sabermetricians and their mathematically challenged acolytes. This is changing as more and more writers, enabled by the modern free press of the Internet, comment on the utility of VORP and other modern statistical measures of baseball.

Chass’ complaints and snippiness are not solely because he can’t figure out VORP(either its meaning, utility or its computation), however. He is taking his annual shot at sabermetrics (yes, he snipped about Moneyball last February), because alternative ways of approaching baseball diminish his traditional way of evaluating players skill and talent. He sees the players play and therefore his judgment, like that of the all-seeing, all-knowing oracles of lore is unquestionable. Even if his judgment is patently questionable.

“Stat mongers”, as Chass derisively calls them, are trying to enhance a fan’s appreciation of the game by introducing new perspectives and new voices. The stifling of dissent by baseball writers is common. They preach about their rightness, whether it is that Bert Blyleven doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame or that winning a baseball game is the hardest thing you can do, even though it happens every time a game is played.

Chass’ comments have drawn a lot of fire in the blogosphere. The younger and more open-minded writers who are willing to give new statistics a chance, understand the nature of VORP and what the statistic was created to do. They want clarity and common sense in their discussion of sport. And most of all they cannot stand pompously ridiculous comments from curmudgeons.

Tim Savage, who tipped me to Chass’ column, wrote this:

Come on! As if legions of fans would drop their beers and run screaming for the exits if scoreboards at major league stadiums started flashing a players’ VORP instead of just his batting average, home runs, and RBI.

Chass’s crotchetiness is perhaps understandable. He has, after all, been doing his job for a long time, and it’s not surprising that he would resist the young whippersnappers who are coming in with all their newfangled computer stuff and taking attention away from the old time beat writers like himself.

What is shocking to me is the level of editorial oversight that would allow a column like this to be published, particularly in a paper that presumes to contain “all the news that’s fit to print.” Here a writer attacked an idea which he admitted he didn’t take the time to even try to understand. Now, I realize that Mr. Chass is very busy these days watching Scott Proctor run wind sprints, but surely he could find five minutes to visit the BP website to find out what this statistic actually is that is making him so apoplectic.

As an editor, I would never allow an article that attacks something without bothering to find out what it is, and ends on a sweeping generalization that purports to speak for millions of other people while providing no evidence of what they actually think. Sure, covering baseball isn’t as important as, say, reporting on the White House’s plans to attack Iraq, but doesn’t the New York Times hold its sportswriters to any kind of journalistic standards? Is there anything Murray Chass might write that his editor wouldn’t print?

The firebrands at Fire Joe Morgan chipped in with:

You can feel the sneer curling on his face as he writes “electronic publication” with a quill pen in Olde English, then rolls up the parchment and sends it on its three-day horseback journey to his publisher, Lord Sulzberger, Jr.

He’s kidding about the e-mail of course. He doesn’t have an “e-mail address.” E-mail is for new age wack jobs.

[...]

I actually believe that goofy, anthropomorphic numbers with arms and legs and silly oversize white gloves play all of the games we know of in what we call professional baseball. Call me crazy, but that is what I believe.

And of course, Baseball Prospectus answered their critic as well with an open letter to Murray Chass penned by Nate Silver:

Fans today have a lot of choices about how they consume baseball in general, and their baseball media in particular. Baseball Prospectus’ mission is to provide them with an informed and independent perspective that helps to accentuate their enjoyment of the game.

I am not sure whether you have made a habit of clicking on those links in our daily newsletter, but if you do, you will find that we are talking about many of the same things that you are. We’re talking about how the Oakland A’s can win the World Series, how the Veterans’ Committee is doing a poor job of recognizing the contributions of players like Ron Santo, and how recent moves in the baseball industry are shoving baseball’s most devoted fans aside.

Many Baseball writers have become tiresome scolds or anachronistic dinosaurs or both. They alienate future readers at their own risk.

 

Another quick fix at QB for the Miami Dolphins?

According to the Sun-Sentinel, the Miami Dolphins may be interested in Kansas City QB Trent Green.

INDIANAPOLIS — As the Dolphins prepare to part ways with Joey Harrington, another veteran quarterback may be emerging on the team’s radar.

The Dolphins would have interest in acquiring Kansas City’s Trent Green if placed on the trading block by the Chiefs, a source said at the NFL Scouting Combine.

As of Tuesday, there were no indications Green is currently being dangled as trade bait by Kansas City. But should the Chiefs decide to head in a different direction at quarterback, the source said the Dolphins would entertain the possibility of trying to swing a deal.

The odds of such a scenario unfolding increased Tuesday with Kansas City re-signing quarterback Damon Huard to a three-year contract that FOX Sports reported is worth $7.5 million.

A Dolphins backup from 1997 to 2000, Huard posted a 5-3 record as a starter in 2006 while Green was sidelined with a serious concussion suffered in the season-opener against Cincinnati. When he returned to the starting lineup, Green struggled while playing in a new offense under first-year head coach Herman Edwards.

Although he became one of the AFC’s top quarterbacks after his arrival in Kansas City in 2001, two other factors that may prompt the Chiefs to consider moving Green are his age – the 13-year veteran turns 37 in July — and contract. The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday that the Chiefs are expected to ask Green to take a pay cut from his current 2007 base salary of $7.2 million.

Trade for a 37-year-old QB? Why don’t Miami just see if Steve DeBerg or Jeff George can come out of retirement? Better idea, lets get Dan Marino to come back. He’s lost all that weight because of that diet plan. (Sarcastic laughter time)

After their expereiences with Daunte Culpepper, Joey Harrington, and AJ Feeley, you’d think Miami wouldn’t be looking for another quick fix at QB. At Green’s age, Miami will get 1-2 years at most. On the other hand a draft pick if used smartly, could get a player with long-term value. I rather take the gamble on the later, Miami needs too much help to be trading draft picks.

So will Coach Cameron make the same mistake as his predecessors? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

 

Tiger Woods’ foundation brings PGA event back to D.C.

The hole in the pro golf schedule caused by the cancellation of The International seems to have been filled.

The PGA Tour is returning to the nation’s capital during the Fourth of July, backed by the biggest name in golf. The Tiger Woods Foundation will be the host organization of the new PGA Tour event in the Washington, D.C., area. Woods’ foundation will be the primary beneficiary of charitable proceeds.

It was not certain that Woods will play in the Washington tournament this year because his wife is expecting their first child in early July. But it is likely the world’s No. 1 player will be a regular in Washington, the first that his foundation has organized.

Also to be announced is a title sponsor and where the tournament will be played from July 5-8. Woods and PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem are to provide more details March 7 at a press conference in Washington.

What course the tournament will be played on is a big detail and unknown. TPC at Avenel, the old host to the PGA Tour stop in DC, is being renovated and is currently unavailable.

I’m betting Tiger doesn’t play because of Elin’s pregnancy.

 

Quote of the Day

“I probably would have written several more books had it not been for the NFL on Sunday.” – Condoleezza Rice

 

NHL Trade Deadline Day

Today brings the NHL Trade Deadline, a national holiday in Canada. Of course most of the trades won’t many anything except to Canadians and the five die-hard American fans, I’ll just bring you some of the big name/impact trades as they happen through out the day. But if you are Canadian or one of the five, visit TSN.ca’s site they will give you everything from Edmonton and Toronto trading 7th round draft picks to the guy traded for a bag of pucks. (oh yes they have a live broadcast too.)

Deals of Note

To NY Islanders: F – Ryan Smyth
To Edmonton: F – Robert Nilsson, F – Ryan Omarra, 2007 1st Round Pick
The inability of Edmonton to reach a new contract agreement with Ryan Smyth forced this trade. Edmonton gains nothing and loses the cornerston of their franchise who has been with the team since they drafted him in 1994. Great move by the Islanders, that will help them in the playoff push. I am suprised Edmonton didn’t get a bidding war going, but it was reported that they refused to deal him to a Western Conference Team.

To Dallas: D – Mattias Norstrom, F – Konstantin Pushkarev, 2007 3rd and 4th Round Pick
To Los Angeles: D – Jaroslav Modry, D – Johan Fransson, 2008 1st Round Pick, 2007 2nd and 3rd Round Pick
This wins the award for most complex trade of the day and most difficult for many Kings Fans. Dallas gets Kings’ Captian Mattias Norstrom a solid (but old school) defensive defenseman to shore up their defensive core, who is under contract for next season. Dallas also picks up Pushkarev who can play bigger than he is, but has attitude problem caused mostly by Russian Clubs who consistently tell him he gets no respect in the NHL and should be playing in Russia. The Kings eat the salary of turn over machine Modry (who is a free agent on July 1st) and get the first right to Swedish prospect defensive Fransson. As for the picks… The Kings net a 1st rounder in the stronger 2008 draft and swap around draft positions in 2007 (the Kings’ original 3rd round pick would be higher than Dallas’ original 3rd round pick based on this season standings. Overall the Kings moved up in the draft board in 2007 while Dallas moved down.

To Colorado: F – Scott Parker
To San Jose: 2008 6th Round Pick
Nothing major here, San Jose just picks up an additional draft pick and frees up some roster and cap space.

To Toronto: F – Yanic Perreault, 2008 5th Round Pick
To Phoenix: D – Brendan Bell, 2008 2nd Round Pick
Yanic, who was unsigned for the frist two months of the season, pays off for Phoenix with a higher draft pick and a defensive prospect to build for the future. Toronto picks up a healthy and effective center for a playoff run in what will be a tight playoff push in the east. This is Yanic’s 3rd stint with Toronto.

To Buffalo: F – Dainius Zubrus, D – Timo Helbling
To Washington: F – Jiri Novotnv, 2007 1st Round Pick
Buffalo adds a talented forward but raw forward (with motivational issues) and a defensive prospect to build for the future and a playoff push. In return Washington gets a low 1st round pick in a weak draft and a talented foward who lacks finishing skills and is prone to laziness

To Detroit: F – Todd Bertuzzi
To Florida: TBA Pending Trade Call with NHL Head Office F – Shawn Matthias, 2007 Conditional Draft Pick, 2008 Conditional 2nd Round Draft Pick
Florida gets a top prospect and picks for rebuilding while giving Detroit Bertuzzi who has only played 7 games this seasons. When healthy Bertuzzi is a force on the ice, but no one knows if he will regain his for and if he can avoid sucker punching other players.

To San Jose: F – Bill Guerin
To St. Louis: F – Ville Nieminen, F – Jay Barriball, 2007 1st Round Pick
San Jose gets a first line winger, Stanley Cup Winner and six time All-Star. He possess a big shot, a mean streak that combine power and speed. He will help the Sharks immensely as they make a push for the Stanley Cup.

To Pittsburgh: F – Georges Laraque
To Phoenix: F – Danny Carcillo, 2007 8th Round Pick
Pittsburgh gets one of NHL’s best heavyweights and enforcers to protect their young stars for the playoff run.

To Philadelphia: G – Martin Biron
To Buffalo: Undisclosed Draft Pick 2007 2nd Round Pick
This deal unloads unhappy goalie Biron to Philadelphia. Biron had lost his starting spot in Buffalo and was going to walk away from the team this summer as a free agent, so they pick up what they could for him. I imagine the draft pick will be determined based on Philadelphia’s ability to sign Biron this summer. (in a minor deal, Buffalo acquired Ty Conklin from Columbus for future considerations a 2007 5th Round Pick to fill Biron’s role as backup for the rest of the season and playoffs)

To Pittsburgh: F – Gary Roberts
To Florida: D – Noah Welch
Roberts is a power forward who loves to crash the net and battle for loose pucks. At 40 years old, he is a short term rental for the young Pittsburgh team to provided leadership and grit from past Stanley Cup Playoffs. Welch is a 24 year old defenseman; he’s a big presence on the blue line (6’4″) with a big shot from the point. With his upside this could pay off for Florida in the long run.

To Vancouver: F- Bryan Smolinski
To Chicago: 2007 Conditional 2nd Round Pick

To Vancouver: D – Brent Sopel
To Los Angeles: 2008 2nd and 4th Round Pick
In both of these trades are to improve Vancouver, currently the #3 seed in the West. Smolinski is a veteran center, who becomes a free agent on July 1st, while Sopel can play like a top 4 defensemen (but is prone to stupid mistakes) and provides additional offensive spark at the blue line. The picks are a wash; Los Angeles got a better deal than Chicago as the 2008 draft is projected to be stronger than the 2007 draft.

To NY Islanders: F – Richard Zednik
To Washington: 2007 2nd Round Pick
Islanders pick up extra offense to sneak into the Playoffs, provided Zednik doesn’t go into one of his prolonged scoring slumps.

To Atlanta: F – Keith Tkachuk
To St. Louis: F – Glen Metropolit, 2007 1st and 3rd Round Picks, 2008 2nd Round Pick
Atlanta gets a veteran scorer (with historic playoff scoring problems), while St. Louis gets a career reserve forward and a bunch of picks to rebuild the time. This deal is mainly to set the price for Bill Guerin.

To Philadelphia: D – Braydon Coburn
To Atlanta: D – Alexei Zhitnik
Philadelphia gets a young defenseman with lots of upside, while Atlanta gets a veteran defenseman with a big slap shot and the ability to play a big man’s game…when he’s motivated to.

To Carolina: F – Anson Carter
To Columbus: 2008 5th Round Pick
Carolina gets Carter, who had been a disappointment from Columbus on the cheap. Could pay dividends for Carolina IF Carter rediscovers his scoring touch.

To Nashville: F – Peter Forsberg
To Philadelphia: F – Scottie Upshall, D – Ryan Parent, 2007 1st and 3rd Round Pick
Nashville sold the farm to get Forsberg, which means this is the year they are really going for the Cup hard. Forsberg is a immense talent and game changer, but recent history shows he is one big hit away from the injured list. By far the biggest risk-reward player out there and really could push Nashville over the top. On an ironic side note, Nashville now has two of the biggest divers in the League on their team in Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya.

 
 


Visitors Since Feb. 4, 2003

All original content copyright 2003-2008 by OTB Media. All rights reserved.