Overnight Sensations

While you were sleeping, two Canadian teams got into the trading frenzy once again. As expected, the Toronto Maple Leafs moved Alexi Ponikarovsky to the Pittsburgh Penguins for prospect forward Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula. Further up the standings, the Montreal Canadiens traded RW Matt D'Agostini to St. Louis for C Aaron Palushaj.

*Instant Analysis: While the latter trade is inconsequential, the former is huge at this point in the season. Ponikarovsky is a big body, who is on pace to put up back-to-back 60+ point seasons on a sub-par team. He'll play alongside Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko in Pittsburgh, who are certainly gearing up for another Stanley Cup run. Kudos to Ray Shero once again - he seems to have a knack for picking up impact wingers right before the deadline. Conversely, I think Brian Burke pulled the trigger on this one too soon. He'll ultimately flip Skoula for a draft pick, but to get only Caputi in return for The Poni Express is simply not enough, nor is it what Toronto needs. They already have enough "unknowns" up front. By that I mean, they have a plethora of young forwards (Stalberg, Bozak, Hanson, Mitchell, etc.) on whom the jury is still out.

Where Are You Going?

While it's impossible to predict exactly how things will go tomorrow, one can speculate. Here's a list of ten players who are rumored to be on the move and, in brackets, my suggestions for who might be trying to acquire them.

1. Aaron Ward (WSH, MTL, CGY, LA)

2. Martin Biron (PHI, BUF, STL, CAR)

3. Alexi Ponikarovsky (LA, DET, PIT, ATL)

4. Fernando Pisani (SJ, TB, PIT, PHX)

5. Raffi Torres (COL, PHX, MTL, MIN)

6. Dennis Seidenberg (WSH, OTT, NJ)

7. Lee Stempniak (PHX, BUF, CGY, NYR)

8. Wayne Primeau (SJ, BUF, TB)

9. Keith Tkachuk (BOS, COL, PIT, NYR)

10. Slava Kozlov (BOS, DET, NJ)

I'm sure as many as 25-30 players may change teams tomorrow, with these 10 being the most likely. I think an interesting team to watch is the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only will they make a move for a goaltender, but they also need to upgrade their defence. The problem is they are right up against the salary cap, and it's not going to get any easier for them next season. Don't be surprised to see them move a significant player (Hartnell, Briere, or Gagne). If they do, it could happen early, and may be the domino that really gets TradeCentre going.

The Art of the Deal

Newly appointed Montreal Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier may have single-handedly ruined trade deadline day. How you ask? Well, by trading a second round draft pick for the ultra-pompous, offensively inept Dominic Moore, he changed the landscape of the trading community. Think about some of the other names in play - Ponikarovsky, Whitney, Tkachuk, and so on. Before the Moore trade, a second-round pick seemed like a reasonable price to pay for those listed, but now, if you're Brian Burke or Jim Rutherford or anyone else with a marketable top-six forward, you're going to want more. A lot more.

In theory, that would mean either a first-round pick, or a second-round pick and a highly regarded prospect, and maybe even more draft picks. Will this be cause for hesitation? Maybe. I suppose if you're a team like Toronto and you know you're out of it, and 3p.m. is approaching you might cave in and settle for anything (though I standby the opinion that Ponikarovsky should be signed to a long-term extension). But if you're Carolina or St. Louis, you're still in the playoff mix and it's going to take a lot more than what Florida got for Dominic Moore to get you excited.

No Calm Before the Storm

Some significant names were moved before the Olympic break. Three of them - Ilya Kovalchuk, Matt Cullen, and Kim Johnsson, will have the opportunity to make an impact in the playoffs this year, while others like Nik Hagman and Olli Jokinen are busy trying to get their new teams into the playoffs. The value of new Leafs' J.S. Giguere and Dion Phaneuf won't be fully calculable until well into the '10-'11 season.

Beyond the trades involving these players, I wasn't sure what to expect in the few days between the lifting of the roster freeze and the trade deadline. As it turns out, we have seen several moves, leading up to what could be the busiest trade deadline day of all-time. Here's a summary of what's gone on since the conclusion of the Olympic hockey tournament.

- The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired D Jordan Leopold from the Florida Panthers for a second-round draft pick.

*Instant Analysis: Traded at the deadline yet again, though this time TSN revealed it before I did, Jordan Leopold will help solidify the Penguins defence down the stretch and into the playoffs. He's an upgrade on the departed Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, and with Martin Skoula in the mix this year, the Penguins are arguably better on the back end then they were last Spring.

- The Nashville Predators acquired D Denis Grebeshkov from Edmonton for a second-round draft pick.

*Instant Analysis: While the Oilers would have rather moved Tom Gilbert (unfortunately there are no takers) they did well in getting something for a player who will not be returning to their team next year. Grebeshkov is an RFA seeking a raise. Short-term though, he can help the Preds.

- The Chicago Blackhawks acquired G Hannu Toivonen and D Danny Richmond for G Joe Fallon.

- Columbus traded D Dylan Reese to Long Island for forward prospect Greg Moore.

- Anaheim traded RW Evgeny Artyukhin to Atlanta for D Nathan Oystrick and a conditional draft pick.

- The Boston Bruins acquired D Steve Kampfer from the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional draft pick.

- The Ottawa Senators acquired D Andy Sutton from Long Island for a second-round draft pick.

*Instant Analysis: GM Bryan Murray isn't fooling around. He saw a weakness on his team, identified it, and dealt with it. Andy Sutton gives them all kinds of mean on defence and will be a nice supplement to the already adept shutdown play of Anton Volchenkov.

- Edmonton traded forward prospect Matt Marquardt to Boston for D Cody Wild.

- The Chicago Blackhawks acquired D Nick Boynton from Anaheim for future considerations.

*Instant Analysis: Chicago is clearly loading up for a long playoff run, but I'm not sure this was the right depth defenceman to target.