Dr.Sens(e)
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(AP) St. Louis: With a succession of trades in the already ultra-competitive Central division, the St. Louis Blues joined the fray well in advance of the trade deadline this week, making a couple of much anticipated moves to load up for the playoffs and keep pace with their division rivals.
In the larger of two successive moves, the Blues acquired versatile scoring forward Jussi Jokinen, utility defenceman Chris Campoli, checking forward Jesse Winchester and the Carolina Hurricanes 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft. In exchange, the Blues sent young forward Andrew Cogliano, promising young d-man Sami Lepisto and prospect Kevin Hayes (Blues 2nd rounder, 2010), along with the Blues 3rd round pick in 2012, and their 6th round pick in this year’s draft to the Hurricanes.
When the dust settled on the deal, the Blues have the new top six forward in Jokinen they have been looking for. Still in the prime of his career, Jokinen will become a fixture with the Blues in the short and long-term. The fact he has an extremely reasonable contract ($2M x 2 years), can play all three forward positions and is outstanding in shootouts is a bonus.
The Blues have already engaged in 9 shootouts in only 37 games this season, and could use the help (5-4).
In Campoli, the Blues get a more proven defender than Lepisto, and in Winchester, a solid utility forward the Blues are high on in the longer term. The pick exchange for a 2nd rounder was in consideration of the long-term upside of both Hayes and Lepisto.
The Blues now have a 1st and three 2nd round picks in 2012 draft, along with two 1st round picks in the 2011 draft.
The second deal was a straight forward one. Left winger Marco Sturm for prospect Dennis Persson, veteran depth forward Peter Schaefer, and cash ($1M).
The end result is a major boost to the Blues depth on the wing, with a slight improvement to the top six, but a more substantial upgrade on their third line. To many surprise, Jokinen started out his first practice on the wing of the Blues third line alongside center David Bolland and Dustin Byfuglien.
The team still has several million in cap room that may or may not be utilized in the coming weeks for further upgrades as the trade frenzy heats up. The Blues currently sit in 2nd place in the Western conference, trailing the red-hot Calgary Flames by 6 points, with two games in hand.
The initial line-up for the Blues at practice on Wednesday
Sturm –Thornton – Guerin
Latendresse –Carter –Alfredsson
J Jokinen – Bolland – Byfuglien
Paille – Chipchura – Ruutu
X: Winchester, Tikhonov
Staal – Pronger
Schneider – Chara
Klesla – Campoli
X: Carkner
Howard
Lalime
In the larger of two successive moves, the Blues acquired versatile scoring forward Jussi Jokinen, utility defenceman Chris Campoli, checking forward Jesse Winchester and the Carolina Hurricanes 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft. In exchange, the Blues sent young forward Andrew Cogliano, promising young d-man Sami Lepisto and prospect Kevin Hayes (Blues 2nd rounder, 2010), along with the Blues 3rd round pick in 2012, and their 6th round pick in this year’s draft to the Hurricanes.
When the dust settled on the deal, the Blues have the new top six forward in Jokinen they have been looking for. Still in the prime of his career, Jokinen will become a fixture with the Blues in the short and long-term. The fact he has an extremely reasonable contract ($2M x 2 years), can play all three forward positions and is outstanding in shootouts is a bonus.
The Blues have already engaged in 9 shootouts in only 37 games this season, and could use the help (5-4).
In Campoli, the Blues get a more proven defender than Lepisto, and in Winchester, a solid utility forward the Blues are high on in the longer term. The pick exchange for a 2nd rounder was in consideration of the long-term upside of both Hayes and Lepisto.
The Blues now have a 1st and three 2nd round picks in 2012 draft, along with two 1st round picks in the 2011 draft.
The second deal was a straight forward one. Left winger Marco Sturm for prospect Dennis Persson, veteran depth forward Peter Schaefer, and cash ($1M).
The end result is a major boost to the Blues depth on the wing, with a slight improvement to the top six, but a more substantial upgrade on their third line. To many surprise, Jokinen started out his first practice on the wing of the Blues third line alongside center David Bolland and Dustin Byfuglien.
The team still has several million in cap room that may or may not be utilized in the coming weeks for further upgrades as the trade frenzy heats up. The Blues currently sit in 2nd place in the Western conference, trailing the red-hot Calgary Flames by 6 points, with two games in hand.
The initial line-up for the Blues at practice on Wednesday
Sturm –Thornton – Guerin
Latendresse –Carter –Alfredsson
J Jokinen – Bolland – Byfuglien
Paille – Chipchura – Ruutu
X: Winchester, Tikhonov
Staal – Pronger
Schneider – Chara
Klesla – Campoli
X: Carkner
Howard
Lalime