Ed. Note: We're live blogging
every hour of the NHL trade deadline until its completion at 3 p.m. EST. Older
time-stamped entries are found at the end of the post.
8:54 a.m. ET: Because last night's signing and trade sucked up all of our time, we didn't have a chance to craft a proper drinking game post for the NHL Trade Deadline. So we endorse this one from Dirty Dangle ... although we'd like to add that everyone should take two drinks when they hear "puck-moving defenseman" and three drinks if someone waives their no-trade clause to move. Follow Wyshynski and Leahy on Twitter for more drinking game fun throughout the day.
8:40 a.m. ET: With Chris Phillips signed yesterday, the attention turns to Filip Kuba as the Ottawa Senators defenseman most likely to move. He'll make $3.7 million next season, the last of a 3-year deal. He had a no-trade clause last year but it doesn't carry over to the final two years of his deal. As the Ottawa Citizen wrote:
Kuba’s problem is threefold: He’s 34, has had a terrible year (only nine assists and is minus-26) and he has a year left on his contract at $3.7 million.
The Senators would probably have to take a contract back to flip Filip.
8:15 a.m. ET: Before we begin, two vital links for you today: The Yahoo! Sports trade tracker which will be updated throughout the day, and our Puck Daddy Trade Deadline Chatter Box, in which 24 of the NHL's top insiders will keep you updated throughout the day. Bookmark them. Know them. Love them.
Centers are at the forefront early here on 2011 NHL Trade Deadline Day. The words "Brad Richards" and "Dallas Stars" and "keeping him" were being tossed around with frequency last night, but there's been nothing official on that yet. Stephen Weiss of the Florida Panthers, who had a no-trade clause and is signed through 2013, appears on the market.
And then there's Jason Arnott of the New Jersey Devils, who also had a no-trade clause and wants to play for a Cup contender rather than a playoff bubble team. From Fire & Ice:
"I don't want to go to a team that's battling for the playoffs," Arnott said. "It would make more sense just to stay here and battle it out and try to make it here. So, I'll have to see who's interested and just go from there."
Among the teams that have been rumored to be interested were Pittsburgh, Washington, Los Angeles and Montreal. Indications today at least were that the Penguins were not interested right now and that Washington might see Arnott as a secondary option if it is unable to pull off another deal.
Translation: He'd play for Washington, but do the Capitals have better (re: younger) options?
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Like we said: Posts every hour running down the latest news. We'll spotlight some of the trades, and any non-Deadlineageddon news, with their own posts throughout the day. Keep in mind that we're also running our Puck Daddy Chatter Box featuring 23 of the top hockey insiders on Twitter and occasional live chats throughout the day. Follow Wyshynski and Leahy on Twitter for chat times.
Also, keep in mind this is the day on which we unleash The Milbury Scale: Rating a trade's fairness and effectiveness with floating noggins featuring perhaps the most inept general manager in the history of the NHL.
Here's how it works:
One Milbury: A fair trade that helps both teams, both in the short term and in the long run. No winner, no loser: Just a solid deal founded on smart financial and hockey needs.
Two Milburys: A trade that could, down the road, burn one team in a big way. We're talking a trade of blue-chip prospects for a rental, if the team that's renting clearly isn't going to win it all this season.
Three Milburys means a clear winner in a deal at the time of the trade. Someone got a little too desperate, or someone just got hosed.
Four Milburys! Bertuzzi, McCabe and eventually Jarkko Ruutu for Trevor Linden! Roberto Luongo and Olli Jokinen for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha! YASHIN! DISASTER!
So there's that. Coming up: The trades and rumors, as they roll in. What are your predictions for deadline day?