No standing Pat
Transactions carefully brewed before trigger pulled on D- day, former GM says
Pat Quinn, who made some shrewd 11th- hour moves as Canucks’ GM, says the NHL trade deadline has changed significantly since the ’ 90s.
Pat Quinn can recall a time when the NHL trade deadline carried with it little excitement compared to the media jockeying of today.
“Both the public and the media get really wired up about this deadline concept and that it’s make- or- break time,” said Quinn, the former general manager and head coach of the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs.
“That sort of focus has really built up the day. Back when I started, maybe the newspapers showed up to see what happened, but that was about it.”
Quinn will appear on a special four- man panel as part of Sportsnet’s Hockey Central Trade Deadline show, which starts at 5 a. m. on Monday, alongside other former NHL GM’S Doug Maclean, Brian Lawton and Neil Smith. The quartet will delve into what strategy goes into being a GM on deadline.
As fans across the hockey landscape may be glued to the TV, computers or mobile devices waiting to hear the latest on who is going where, Quinn said the process itself can be hectic, with a franchise’s hockey personnel and pro and amateur scouts diligently working out not only what their team needs, but what the opposition is in search of.
“You’re looking at a big picture. You’re trying to analyze the needs of other people you’ll be talking to and also have your own mind made up with what you need,” he said.
But despite the craze of trade deadline day, most of the moves seen and heard on television, radio, newspaper and Internet have usually been in the making for days, weeks, maybe months.
“Very seldom does someone on the last day pick up a phone and call one GM and make a deal that has not been talked about before,” said Quinn, who proved to be a deadline master in Vancouver by fleecing St. Louis on two separate 11th- hour deals — acquiring Geoff Courtnall, Cliff Ronning and Sergio Momesso for Garth Butcher and Dan Quinn in 1991 and then picking up Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican and Nathan Lafayette for the rights to Craig Janney in 1994.
Action leading up to Monday’s deadline has already picked up, with deals taking place Tuesday and Wednesday, involving mostly teams in the tightly packed Western Conference.
On Wednesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets dealt versatile centre Antoine Vermette to the Phoenix Coyotes for a secondround pick in 2012, a conditional fifth- round pick in 2013 and minor league goalie Curtis Mcelhinney.
On Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche picked up agitating right winger Steve Downie from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and shipped 26- year- old depth defenceman Kyle Quincey in return. Quincey eventually landed in Detroit as part of a three- team trade.
The fact the league- leading Wings picked up a serviceable blue- liner could mean the Canucks may also be in the market for a rearguard, especially if Keith Ballard’s “upper body symptoms” — headaches and sore neck — persist.
“I don’t think they’d want to touch their roster much,” said Quinn of the Canucks. “There might be one forward or so that they might give up … so adding depth to defence is probably something they’re looking at.”
From another perspective, player agents are also kept on their toes before, during and after the deadline.
NHL player agent Ross Gurney of R. W. G. Sport Management Ltd. said the sudden news of a trade can have an immediate up- and- down effect on players.
“Two things happen,” said Gurney. “One is you’re disappointed to leave teammates and friends … not only on the hockey level but a personal level, especially if you’ve got a girlfriend or wife that’s integrated into the community and secondly if you’ve got kids in school.
“But on the other side, every player desires to be wanted. You try to fit in right away by your contributions on ice, because that’s often what makes the office transition easier.”
However, in some cases, the bid to create instant and lasting on- ice chemistry can fail.
On a local level, take Martin Rucinsky for example. A fourtime 20- goal scorer in the NHL, Rucinsky scored once and added two assists in 13 regular season games with Vancouver after former Canucks GM Brian Burke picked him up in a deadline deal with the New York Rangers.
Rucinsky went on to record one goal and one assist in a seven- game opening round playoff loss to the Calgary Flames.
Then you have Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre. Both came to Vancouver at last year’s deadline, and although they struggled to contribute during the remainder of the regular season, both played integral roles in the Canucks’ run to the Stanley Cup Final, and are key pieces to a team with serious aspirations of returning as Western Conference champs.
“Sometimes you take the gamble and sometimes faith has other plans,” said Quinn, referring to 2003, when, as GM of the Leafs, he acquired Doug Gilmour, Owen Nolan and Phil Housley before the deadline. All three suffered injuries almost immediately after getting to Toronto.
Quinn, at the time, felt the Leafs needed some proven veterans to improve their Stanley Cup contender status. Instead, the Leafs fell to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.
“You know that winning the Stanley Cup is maybe a once- inalifetime thing. That’s really, as a manager, where you want to get your team. Then you can make those deals that might put you over the top.”