No sooner had I completed my first post as an author on the Jacket Times, did the NHL's Norris Division continue to sell off their pieces to contenders. The Chicago Blackhawks (no offense, but this is my favorite NHL team, nothing against the Blue Jackets, Ive followed them since their inception into the league but I grew up in Chicago and love Steve Larmer) traded center Bryan Smolinski to Vancouver in exchange for a conditional second round pick (either 07 or 08). Maybe this team does have a plan, as they continue to try an establish a monopoly on the NHL entry draft's second round. While I applaud this move by the Hawks (Smolinski has underachieved this years scoring 14 goals and adding 23 assists for 37 points with 29 penalty minutes and a +10 rating, mostly thanks to Martin Havlat), this move comes with no surprise as GM Dale Talon probably would not bring back Smolinski who is a free agent at season's end. What I don't understand is why Atlanta wouldn't trade for Smolinski, who would fit in perfectly to be that tweener first to second line center that they need (The Thrashers also need goal tending, but another blog for another day).
The Hawks remained busy on Monday by re-acquiring Kyle Calder from Philly, who continues to drop faster than Chris Leak's Wonderlich score (an 8?!). They then turn Calder around and ship him to divisional foe Detroit for young Winger Jason Williams. On receiving the news that he was becoming a Blackhawk, Williams said that he was excited for finally getting a chance to play for an Original 6 team.
Ok, so he isn't the brightest guy on our team, but at least he didn't shoot anybody or refer to himself as "white chocolate". GOOD TIMES!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
News About Jason Williams that Does Not Result in a Dead Limo Driver
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Apropos of nothing, I was glad to see we locked up Freddy Modin for a few years. I can't wait to see him traded next February for a 4th round draft pick in 2013. Go Doug, go! No really, go!
Calder for Williams does not make much sense to me from a Red Wings POV. As Spector notes in his blog, it's essentially trading one underacheiver for another.
And I'm glad I read through to the last line of your post, because I initially thought your title was referring to Slava Fetisov and not the "basketball Williams'"
Calder for Williams doesn't really make sense to me either. Both players are about the same age, fairly similar in scoring and have generally the same experience. Williams has been a little more reliable, it would seem, especially since a particularly weak season in '04. If I had to choose which one I'd prefer to have on my team, I'd probably pick Williams.
Maybe there was some salary issues involved. I'm not sure what else they'd be looking at that would make a big difference.
Post a Comment