So do you know how many trades have been made in the NHL since the season started a month ago? Zero! Not even a 4th liner for a low round pick.It's not like there are 30 General Managers who are happy with the teams. Anaheim, Pheonix, Atlanta, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Chicago have been actively chatting. But with over half the teams very close to the salary cap, it is just to difficult too execute a trade this early in the season. You can't pick up a $4 million player unless the other team takes one back in exchange. And in most cases there's no point. So if Ottawa were to pick up Federov from Columbus, they would likely have to move Redden.
In March, that $4 million player becomes only a $1 million hit on your payroll and becomes more feasible. So GMs have no choice but to wait for injured players to rehab and slumping players to recover. That is what Ferguson has been counting on. He is hoping that the return of Wellwood, McCabe, Bell, Tucker and Colaiavoco will kick start his team. Burke is hoping that Selanne and Niedermayer come out of retired. Waddel hopes that Hossa recovers from his slump/injuries. You make all your moves in the summer and then you have no choice but to stick with what you got.
12 years ago
