The D-man Factor

With Sheldon Souray off the block, the last of the big-time blueliner UFAs is officially off the market. So what now for teams looking to bolster their rearguard ranks?

Rumour has it that a few teams (very few) are willing to move d-men in exchange for either younger/cheaper talent, similarly priced talent in different positions or less talented players going into their free agent years (meaning cap flexibility next season).

We'll take a quick look at the buyers and sellers and the fantasy implications:

Vancouver: With Bieksa locked up, the signing of Aaron Miller and the chance of either Alex Edler or Luc Bourdon filling a full-time roster spot, Mattias Ohlund is rumoured to be on the move in exchange for a top end forward. Most people are talking Patrik Elias, but assuming the Canucks are taking offers from everywhere, there are a number of other options. Many are talking about Patrick Marleau going to the east, but a swap of Ohlund for Marleau would certainly help the Sharks ease the sting of losing Scott Hannan. The only thing for Vancouver would be to secure Marleau with a long term deal. There has also been talk of Milan Hejduk being on the move...and while an inter-division trade is not the norm, the opportunity for both teams to address needs may result in the setting aside of traditional rivalries. Either way, the Canucks can offer probably the most enticing d-man out there - great at both ends of the ice, affordable and signed through the 2008-2009 season. Any one of Elias, Marleau, or Hejduk would do wonders for the Canucks sometime aenemic offence, but don't expect any of them to produce much beyond their career norms if a trade does go down.

Phoenix: There has been talk of Ed Jovanovski being on the the block in the desert. And while this would make sense, his contract could make a deal less likely than one involving Ohlund. At $6.5 million per year most contenders would need to do some juggling and given that the Coyotes would not want to be saddled with long term contracts, this could prove to be a difficult proposition for teams like the Rangers, who allegedly head the list of interested parties. Now if the Panthers were to step up (they seemed to be interested a couple of weeks back) and offer a package that included Alex Auld, Stephen Weiss and/or Anthony Stewart, they could get something done. And it would be a deal that would make sense for all parties. Wherever Jovo goes look for the numbers to pop...

Anaheim: Let's imagine for a moment that Scott Niedermayer calls up Brian Burke tomorrow and says "I'm coming back next season." Of course Burke's first reaction will be joy at the prospect of having his leader return. But then he will have to face the daunting reality of 3 massive contracts at the back end with an unfilled forward spot that was once occupied by Teemu Selanne. At that point he'll likely need to look at moving Francois Beauchemin. And, like Ohlund teams will be lining up to take a shot. The team that loses the Ohlund sweepstakes will likely step up with an offer. As well, it's possible that Florida could look at a swap...wouldn't Auld and Stewart make sense (especially if Burke is looking to trade Bryzgalov)? Beauchemin as a PP quarterback on another team could have a career year, while any newly acquired forward would probably be paired up with Andy McDonald.

Next time we'll take a look at some eastern teams who could be looking to move d-men including Philly (Denis Gauthier), Toronto (Pavel Kubina), and the Rangers (Paul Mara).