Buyers aplenty at deadline, but who’s selling?
The countdown to today’s 3 p.m. ET NHL trade deadline is on. But there is concern in the marketplace about whether the supply of available players is large enough to meet the demands of contenders seeking to improve.
“There’s not enough,” Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray said. “There are a lot of teams staying in (the playoff race), and the teams that are out, like you saw with (the Edmonton Oilers signing Ales Hemsky to a two-year extension), want to keep their players. It’s hard to find good NHL players.”
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Rick Nash leads the list of players who could move today. Veteran defensemen Jaroslav Spacek of the Carolina Hurricanes and Johnny Oduya of the Winnipeg Jets as well as center Paul Gaustad of the Buffalo Sa- bres are among the players who could be moved because their contracts expire July 1.
The battle for the eighth playoff spot in both conferences is tight. Six teams, eighth through 13th, in the Western Conference were separated by six points. And six teams in those slots in the Eastern Conference were
separated by eight points.
The shortage of available players also stems from early trades. Players such as Pavel Kubina, Nicklas Grossman, Jeff Carter, Kyle Quincey, Dominic
Moore, Steve Downie and Hal Gill were moved in anticipation of the deadline.
The Senators made a move Sunday when they acquired 6-7 goaltender Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for a secondround pick in the 2013 draft. With Ottawa goalie Craig An
derson out indefinitely with a hand injury, Bishop, who has been playing in the American Hockey League, will get an opportunity to play in the NHL.
“Bishop has really matured as a complete goalie,” said former NHL goalie Darren Pang, a television analyst in St. Louis. “He communicates really well with his defensemen and is an excellent puck-handler. He is not a blocker of the puck. He has very good hands, catches pucks. He can afford to play deep in the net because of his size and his hockey sense.”
With goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott entrenched with the Blues, Bishop had little opportunity in the NHL. He agreed to a one-year contract worth $650,000 whether he plays with the Senators or in the minors.
“We like that he has played five years in the minor leagues, and he’s having a real good year there now,” Murray said. “We think he is a good candidate to be a real good NHL goaltender.”