Three years ago Wednesday, the NHL's last lockout ended, and there was joy among hockey fans. On this January 6, another lockout of sorts ended, and there was more joy.
Nothing gets hockey fans quite so amped up as trades, and Wednesday brought nearly as many trades (two) as there previously had been all season (five, but two of which involved minor leaguers only). Plus, there was a big-name free-agent signing.
The NHL's official trade deadline isn't until 3 p.m. Eastern, Feb. 29, but contending Stanley Cup teams got a big head start with good-sized transactions, with the biggest being Nashville's trade of young, promising defenseman Seth Jones to Columbus for young, promising center Ryan Johansen. Los Angeles acquired former No. 1 draft pick (OK, from 1998, but still...) Vincent Lecavalier in a package deal with Philadelphia, and Washington signed former Kings and Flyers center Mike Richards.
Did any of the trades shift the balance of power in the two conferences? We'll see, but it's hard to believe the Predators, Capitals and Kings—all of whom would have made the playoffs had they started We ...
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Article written by Adrian Dater