OTHL NEWS AGENCY - Wednesday night saw a total of tewnty (20) deals approved by the league office. It was the busiest trading night since the inaguratino of the league. Some of the big names moved were Eric Daze, Todd Bertuzzi, Sergei Zubov, Petr Sykora, Sean Hill and Bryan Berard. With all these deals going on, its time we break down the winners and loosers of some of the big deals that went down.
TO SAN JOSE: Todd Bertuzzi, Marek Malik
TO VANCOUVER: Jonathan Cheechoo, Kyle McLaren, Christian Ehrhoff, SJ 4th RD (2004)
ANALYSIS: Talk about a risky trade, for both sides. San Jose is beting the league doesnt come down to hard on Bertuzzi, while Vancouver is assuming he may be out for a while. San Jose gets a great player in Bertuzzi and a solid defenseman in Malik, but Vanvouer gets anice package of youthful players who should contribute to enhance what is already a solid team. Cheechoo is very underated, and McLAren has the ability to be a top 2 d man if he ever learns to settle down. Ehroff should be a solid contributer sometime down the road, while the pick may bring a future roll player.
WINNER: VANCOUVER
TO FLORIDA: Jeff Halpern, Brendan Witt, WSH 1st RD (2004)
TO WASHINGTON: Niklas Hagman, Mike Sillinger, Anthony Stewart, Filip Novak, Darcy Hordichuk
ANALYSIS: Another blockbuster in the OTHL. Washington paid a heavy price, but man did they get a good prospect in Anthony Stewart. Stewart is the type of player no one wants to play against and that will only help build a solid future for the Caps. The price they gave up, mainly the #3 overall pick, will more than likely turn out to be Cam Barker, was definitly a bg one. But Halpern and Witt were not in the Caps plans and not going to help them in the future. Hagman, Novak, and Stewart alond with Hordichuk and Sillinger will push the Caps int he right direction.
WINNER:PUSH
TO CHICAGO: Marcus Nilson, Denis Gauthier
TO CALGARY: Eric Daze, COL 4th RD (2004)
ANALYSIS: Chicago had been willing to trade the consistent 30-goal scorer for over a week now, and finally got a deal done. Nillson will add some energy into a Chicago lineup that sorely needs it. Denis Gauthier is the main piece coming back to Chicago, as he is a solid defender, soemthing the Hawks need. He is still young to contribute to the rebuilding stage the team is in, but old enough to know how the OTHL game is played. Calgary gains a player who will jump in as a top 6 forward, and adds to an already powerful lineup. Look out for Calgary come playoff time.
WINNER: CHICAGO
Stay tuned next week when we go over some of the big trades that might becoming around the corner!