Home >  Sports >  Notebooks

Sunday, March 17, 2002

By Dejan Kovacevic, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Tom Barrasso to Toronto? Manny Malhotra to Dallas? Juha Ylonen to Ottawa? Jamie Pushor here? That's it?

No, chances are excellent there will be much more activity before the NHL's trading deadline at 3 p.m. Tuesday. On deadline day last year, there were 17 trades involving 31 players, and the eerie silence this year should serve only as a stark sign that more is coming.

Ten questions to ponder as the clock ticks away:

1. Why does there seem to be so little activity so far?

Because all has been quiet on the Western front. That's where the bulk of the elite teams are, and the first domino has yet to fall. Contrast that to this point a year ago, when Rob Blake, Teemu Selanne and Nikolai Khabibulin already had been dealt, setting in motion a keep-up-with-the-Joneses wave.

Look for Detroit to blink first, as the Red Wings are aggressively pursuing depth on the blue line.

2. What will be the blockbuster?

There isn't as much buzz about big names this year, so any stars who do change hands likely will be those set to become unrestricted free agents. Even conservative general managers have seen the value of acquiring rent-a-players on the past three Stanley Cup teams.

The Bruins have two of the finest in Bill Guerin and Byron Dafoe, but they believe they're prime for a postseason run and are unwilling to move them. Same for the Blackhawks and Tony Amonte.

And that could leave the biggest deal in the hands of Craig Patrick. There isn't one general manager of a contending team who doesn't lick his lips at the thought of adding Darius Kasparaitis and/or Robert Lang. A package deal could reap a significant return for the Penguins.

3. What about Pavel Bure?

Yes, the Panthers have talked about dealing Bure to the Rangers and Stars, but they haven't been overwhelmed by the offers, as they had expected. That, along with CEO Alan Cohen's friendship with Bure and Bure's affection for living in South Florida, figure to kill this.

4. Kasparaitis and Lang aside, who is most likely to be dealt?

Tom Poti, Jiri Slegr, Mathieu Dandenault, Boyd Devereaux, Sergei Brylin, Lyle Odelein, Richard Smehlik, David Tanabe, Cliff Ronning and Brad Isbister.

5. Who is this year's version of Petr Svoboda?

It's Poti, with a bullet.

Every year, there is one player who gets mentioned in more trade speculation than any other, even if he is not exactly a star. This time, it's Poti, a soft but swift offensive defenseman who seems to fit onto the needs list for just about every team in this goal-hungry league.

6. Who will stay put, no matter how often they get mentioned in trade speculation?

Bobby Holik, Adam Oates, Peter Bondra, Andrew Ference, Alex Tanguay, Mike Grier, Anson Carter, Ron Tugnutt, Robert Svehla and Pavel Datsyuk.

7. Which general manager is holding the best cards?

It has to be Ken Holland, whose Red Wings have such superior depth that even a bad move on his part might not get noticed.

8. Which executive will feel the most heat in the next two days?

It should be the Blues' Larry Pleau. He has spent $58 million to build a star-laden roster but still lacks the main ingredient by having failed to find a goaltender. He has 48 hours to do better than Brent Johnson or Fred Brathwaite.

9. Which team will emerge as the surprise dealer?

How about the Devils? No roster has underachieved more. Perhaps Lou Lamoriello finally will feel the urge to shake it up a bit.

10. If the Penguins reacquired Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings today, would they make the playoffs?

No, because all three would have season-ending injuries by the end of their first shifts back.

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@ post-gazette.com.