The Buffalo Sabres continued to move assets for picks and the Minnesota Wild added a bona fide scoring winger to help their playoff push.
[b]Cheap Red Wings Jerseys[/b] . Numbers Game looks into the Wild getting Matt Moulson from Buffalo. The Wild Get: LW Matt Moulson and LW Cody McCormick. Moulson, 30, has been a productive scoring winger throughout much of his career with the New York Islanders and, to a lesser degree, this season with the Buffalo Sabres, scoring 129 goals since the start of the 2009-2010 season, ranking 16th in the league over that span. He gives the Wild better complementary scoring, figuring to slot in on the second line behind Zach Parise on the left wing depth chart, perhaps with Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle, and giving Minnesota a nice offensive upgrade and while Moulson may not play as prominent a role as he did in Buffalo and New York, he could benefit from more favourable matchups as a result. Moulson, who comes at a cap hit of $3.133-million per season, will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, so he could end up being little more than a rental, which is fine because the price paid isnt too steep. McCormick is a tough 30-year-old forward who hasnt been able to hold down a regular spot in the lineup, yet comes at a cap hit of $1.2-million (on a deal that expires this summer). He offers some depth if the Wild feel a need for fourth line toughness, but he could just as easily be a spare part. The Sabres Get: RW Torrey Mitchell and second-round picks in 2014 and 2016. Mitchell, 29, hasnt been able to live up to his contract in Minnesota, playing a little over 10 minutes per game while hes signed for a cap hit of $1.9-million per season, including a salary of $2.5-million next season. Mitchell has been crushed in possession terms, but hes also been asked to play difficult minutes, starting 34.6% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Going to Buffalo, it would be reasonable to expect Mitchell to take on a more significant role as a checking forward, playing more minutes and quite possibly handling tougher matchups defensively. Part of the reason that its possible to expect Mitchell to get a better opportunity is that his contract is a tad pricey for a fourth-liner but, like most of the forwards on the Sabres roster, Mitchell gets to use the rest of the season help establish expectations for next season. The Sabres get two more second-round picks to add to their deep pool of accumulated picks. The 2014 pick comes from Minnesota while the 2016 pick is via Winnipeg. A pair of second-round picks offer better than a 50% chance of netting an NHL player. It was no surprise that the Sabres would be moving Moulson and while Buffalo took on some salary in the deal, they added more draft picks, helping to offset the couple of second-round picks that they had included in their earlier trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Scott Cullen can be reached at
Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at
http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook.
[b]Detroit Red Wings Pro Shop[/b] . Portland won Game 4 Sunday night at the Moda Center and are now up 3-1. The last time the Blazers won a playoff series came in the 2000 Western Conference semifinals against the Utah Jazz.
[b]Detroit Red Wings Store[/b] . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (5) - Simply put, Lundqvist was brilliant.ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - NHL Central Scoutings mid-season rankings are out, and to no ones surprise Connor McDavid is at the top.The Erie Otters centre is the runaway favourite to be selected first overall at the 2015 NHL Draft.Its cool, (but) it really doesnt mean anything, McDavid said. You dont dream about being ranked No. 1 at the mid-term rankings. Its all about whats down the line here and at the end of the day its all about what teams and what GMs have to say about you.Its hard to find bad things to say about McDavid, who has 60 points (21 goals and 39 assists) in 23 Ontario Hockey League games this season. He broke a bone in his right hand during a game in November but returned to action at the world junior hockey championship last month and helped Canada win a gold medal.McDavid was ranked ahead of American forward Jack Eichel (Boston University) in the list of top draft-eligible skaters from North America. Boston College defenceman Noah Hanifin, Kingston Frontenacs forward Lawson Crouse and Otters centre Dylan Strome rounded out the top five.I try not to look at that, but obviously its always there and youre always going to see it, said Crouse, who was also on Canadas gold--medal-winning world junior team.
[b]Red Wings Jerseys 2021[/b]. Its a privilege, but I still have to earn that spot.The OHLs leading scorer, Mitchell Marner of the London Knights, is ranked seventh.I think everyones (going to) kind of take a look at them, Marner said as he prepared to play in the CHL top prospects game Thursday. Everyone wants to know what the kind of placement is right now. I think its nice to see what place everyone is.Swedish defenceman Oliver Kylington was the top-ranked skater from Europe. Finnish right-winger Mikko Rantanen, who impressed at the world juniors, held the No. 2 position.Barrie Colts netminder Mackenzie Blackwood was the top-ranked North American goaltender. He is 20-7-1 this season with a 2.81 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 29 appearances.Im excited about it, but theres still a lot of work to be done, Blackwood said. Nothings happened yet. It just means youre on the right track, so you just have to stick with it.The mid-season rankings feature the top 210 skaters and 35 goaltenders in North America as well as the top 112 skaters and 11 goaltenders from Europe.The 2015 draft will be held June 26-27 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. ' ' '
