Trades and More Trades

I was tempted to post on Tuesday, after the first blush of thoughts regarding all the trades, but I decided to wait and process things for a bit...

Although I understand the reasoning behind Montréal trading Huet away (not wanting to lose out completely when he becomes a free agent this summer, Gainey deciding to go with the young guns between the pipes), I'm still not sure I'm entirely comfortable with no NHL playoff experience in goal, no matter how talented. However, in both games since the trade, Carey Price has looked sharp and definitely more mature than he did last November/December. Snaps to Cristobal Huet as well, as he shut out the Devils last night in his first start with the Caps. (If Huet had to be traded, at least he's gone to a team that I follow and can actually see in person on a more or less regular basis.) There was one glove save made by Huet that was absolutely a thing of beauty...

The trade that pleased me the most, though, was the trade of Joe Motzko away from the Hershey Bears. Despite his goal production, Motzko's habit of hogging the puck and trying to make all the plays himself has cost the Bears time and again, and frustrated those of us watching beyond belief. Hubs probably said it best; he commented earlier this week that Bob Woods had implicitly warned Motzko (and others) that their selfish play wouldn't be tolerated. Motzko didn't change, so off he goes. It's great to have Giroux back and I feel much better about our chances for postseason success.