Swift Swaps

Philadelphia's two major deals on Thursday were definitely the biggest moves of Draft Weekend, but there was no shortage of player movement made in the past few days. Here's a look at some of the significant deals around the league.

Toronto Maples Leafs receive D John-Michael Liles from Colorado Avalanche for 2012 2nd-round pick.
This is a move made by two rebuilding teams at different stages of the process. Toronto has been rebuilding for a while and is inching closer to contention. Meanwhile, the Avs are not so far along and are continuing to shed age and salary. Despite his team's terrible season, Liles had a great offensive year, setting a career high in assists with 40 helpers and notching 46 points. His presence could help the offensivley challenged Maple Leafs, whose production is unimpressive outside of talented young scorers Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, and Phil Kessel. He will likely see power play time, probably with Dion Phaneuf. A power play unit of Grabovski, Kulemin, Kessel, Phaneuf, and Liles could be a fearsome one.

Washington Capitals receive W Troy Brouwer from Chicago Blackhawks for 2011 1st-round pick.
Washington has been running into a problem recently. That problem is that despite their potent offense and two-straight Eastern Conference leading seasons, they have been dealt early playoff losses. What is it that they are missing? It's anyone's guess really, but the acquisition of Troy Brouwer could be a step in the right direction. Brouwer is no superstar, but he blends toughness with 20-goal scoring ability and will add some grit to an already talented lineup. He also bring recent Cup winning experience which could prove invaluable to a team that has is share of postseason woes. Meanwhile, Chicago continues upon the cap-driven dismantling that blew apart their team last offseason.

Minnesota Wild receive W Devin Setoguchi, F Charlie Coyle, and 2011 1st-round pick from San Jose Sharks for D Brent Burns and 2012 2nd-round pick.
After a 31-goal campaign 2 seasons ago, Devin Setoguchi's production has dropped over the past two seasons. However, at 24, he still has tons of potential and a change of scenery could do wonders for his game. He will be leaving a franchise clogged with talent and instantly have a chance to shine as one of the more talented scorers in Minnesota. Also in the deal is Charlie Coyle, a promising young forward who just finished up his freshman season with the Boston University Terriers. The Sharks meanwhile add another All-Star defenseman coming off the best offensive season of his career to play alongside Dan Boyle. The two are very offensively gifted defenseman who will work wonderfully behind a stellar offense. The long term winner in this deal will be Minnesota, and while the Sharks add more offensive talent, they still need a top-tier shut down defender. Minnesota will also need to add more offense in free agency, as well as a defender to fill the void left by Burns.

Edmonton Oilers receive W Ryan Smyth from Los Angeles Kings for F Colin Fraser and 2012 7th-round pick.
Ryan Smyth is a talented goal-scoring, but has lost some of his explosive goal-scoring ability with age. A requested return to his hometown Oilers could bring back some of his old magic. Also, he will act as a mentor for a very young and talented offense. Los Angeles does not get much in return, but with the addition of Mike Richards, they could afford to make a swap like this.

Florida Panthers receive D Brian Campbell from Chicago Blackhawks for F Rostislav Olesz.
This is another obvious salary dump for the Blackhawks. Campbell's contract, with a cap hit upwards of 7 million, was one of the biggest hindrances for the Blackhawks, and now they have dumped it on a team with no cap problems whatsoever. Thanks to a 3.1 cap hit for Olesz, the gain could be bigger, but 4 million more to work with can still come in very handy. Olesz has yet to reach the goal-scoring potential he seems to have, but a move to the much more talented Hawks could help him find a break out performance. Campbell, although coming off one of the least productive seasons of his career, is still one of the league's better defenseman and could be a major piece to build around for the Panthers.

Tampa Bay Lightning receives D Bruno Gervais from New York Islanders for future considerations.
Gervais is a defender with decent potential, but is dipping into his late 20s and needs to break out now. Leaving the defensively pathetic Islanders could help for a better surrounding group could help, but it may be tough for him to crack into the every day lineup in defensively strong Tampa Bay.

Ottawa Senators receive W Nikita Filatov from Columbus Blue Jackets for 2011 3rd-round pick.
Nikita Filatov has been a total bust for the Columbus Blue Jackets after he was expected to be a superstar for many years in Columbus. After a few disappointing seasons, the Jackets have had enough and have sent him to the rebuilding Senators. The Senators have little to lose in this case. Filatov is still young and could still become an explosive scorer. If not, they will continue to search for rebuilding pieces regardless.

Buffalo Sabres receive D Robyn Regehr, W Ales Kotalik, and 2012 2nd-round pick from Calgary Flames for D Chris Butler and F Paul Byron. While Chris Butler could develop into a cornerstone defenseman down the road, the Flames certainly gave up a ton to move Robyn Regehr. Regehr himself is one of the most underrated shut-down D in the league and his presence will be an enormous boost to the Sabres D if he can do well in his first season away from Calgary. Also, Ales Kotalik returns to the only team he's had much success with. He had many strong scoring seasons in Buffalo but has seen limited success resulting in limited playing time since he left. The return to Buffalo could bring him surging back to the player he once was.