Monday, February 28, 2011

Dvorak to the Thrashers


2011 Season2011Remaining
To Atlanta
PositionAgeGPGAPCap HitYearsCap Hit
Radek DvorakForward345371421$1.7 million0UFA
2011 5th Round Draft Pick
--------------------------
To Florida
PositionAgeGPGAPCap HitYearsCap Hit
Niclas BergforsForward2452111829$900,0000RFA
Patrick RissmillerForward321000$1 million0UFA

The first trade of the deadline day festivities sees the Thrashers acquire veteran forward Radek Dvorak for their playoff push, giving up on Niclas Bergfors and throwing in Patrick Rissmiller in the deal.

Dvorak isn't going to bring a great deal of scoring to the Thrashers line-up, but he should be able to bring some of the intangibles that some other young players may not have.  The Thrashers were not happy with the returns from Bergfors, who they acquired in the major Ilya Kovalchuk deal, so this deal accomplishes a couple of things for the Thrashers, as they try to make a push into the playoffs.

For Florida, the big part here is Bergfors, who has shown some flashes of offensive skill, but has yet to make it into a consistent part of his game.  With Florida looking to rebuild and get younger, why shouldn't they take the chance on him, especially with free agency looming for him.  The Panthers could name their price for him this Summer.

ImplicationsThe player of note again here is Bergfors, who belongs to Wayne H. in the draft this year, sitting in 8th place in the standings.  Going to Florida will likely hurt his point production, which hasn't been great as it is.  If the Panthers continue to sell off a number of their assets, Bergfors may not have anyone to play with down the stretch.

The Thrashers are falling away from the Eastern Conference playoff race, but I'm not sure that Dvorak is going to help them too much, unless they have more up their sleeve here.  Stay tuned.

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