The most hectic transaction day in the NHL. I’ll post my thoughts on some of the deals later.. too much going on right now to sit and think about the pros and cons of every little deal.

I wonder how long it will take EA sports to release an updated roster?

Oh wait, they sold a “new” game for 07 that was the 06 game with a shiny new skin… so why would they release an updated roster when they couldn’t even update the player pictures or change goalie colors from their previous team (Miller still with the “backup” mask, Aebischer still in Colorado colors)?

**edit

OK. So after a few days to let things sink in, there were only 2 “major” moves to talk about that went down on deadline day.

1) Biron to the Flyers for… a 2nd round draft pick?

Are you trying to tell me this is the best they could get for him?

I wonder if they even talked with Columbus, LA, Tampa or St. Louis before making this deal. This deal stinks for the Sabres, and if I was a Buffalo fan I would be quite upset we just went from one of the best goaltending pairs in the league down to Miller and Conklin.

Miller had better stay healthy, or they’re done.

2) Ryan Smyth to the Islanders for “the future”.

Is it just me, or have we seen this movie played out a time or two before?

Player comes to the Oilers. Player becomes leader / star of the team. Player loves the team and the community. Player asks for market value for what his type of player gets paid. Management says goodbye. Wash, rinse, repeat.

I thought that the days of “Oiler University” were over, where players develop and then get traded away once they start reaching their potential. I thought the new Cap Era was going to allow for teams to hang on to their stars, their heart and soul players. Apparently this isn’t the case in Edmonton.

There is a small part of me holding out hope that Smyth re-signs back in Edmonton in the offseason, that somehow this was all a way to scam another team of some decent prospects and picks and then still retain your star. Just a small part, because I didn’t get the feeling from the press conference that Smyth was keeping “return to Edmonton to play” on his to-do list.

In Canadiens news, I am so glad they didn’t dump Souray, particularly after trading away Craig Rivet to the Sharks. I think he (Rivet) was way more important to the team than people realize, and I hope it doesn’t come back to bite the Canadiens in the ass.

Other moves may warrant discussion, but I could care less where Bertuzzi goes (as long as it isn’t to one of my teams), or that Guerin is being loaned to the Sharks for the next month or two. Forsberg will be as effective as his health dictates, end of story.