The trade deadline -- the craziest in league history, according to newly minted Maple Leaf Ron Francis -- has come and gone. And we can only hope that salary-dumping GMs George McPhee and Glen Sather each have a good cell phone plan. After all, the Rangers and Caps are trying to cut expenses.
Now that the deadline has passed, here are a few random notes of interest around the Hrinks:
Boston GM Mike O'Connell wanted to do one deal with the Caps for defenseman Sergei Gonchar and center Michael Nylander. But McPhee wanted to break the transaction into separate trades. Why two deals, instead of one? "I wanted another 24 hours to go over my notes on Nylander," McPhee says. "Because he'd been hurt for most of the year, he was kind of a wild card. I wanted to make sure there wasn't any further interest in him. It was more for my own peace of mind." Nylander, who played with Bruins coach Mike Sullivan in Calgary, can be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
In another Caps-related note, there are conflicting stories circulating about the negotiations to deal goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who ended up staying in D.C. One source says the Caps were frantically trying to move Kolzig and his salary -- $12.75M over the next two seasons -- right up to the final minutes before the deadline. Another source said the club fielded a final offer for their stopper in the morning, turning it down. Either way, one thing is certain: The Caps absolutely did want to move Kolzig, but they couldn't get anyone to swallow the entire contract.
To update a note from last week, any club looking to speak to ex-St. Louis coach Joel Quenneville about a coaching job must first get permission from the Blues. Quenneville remains under contract with the Blues. So if a team -- say, the Avalanche -- wanted to make a late-season coaching change and bring in Coach Q, they'd first have to call Blues GM Larry Pleau. That being the case, it's hard to imagine that Quenneville will turn up behind another bench until next season. In the interim, Quenneville did a nice job as an analyst on TSN's trade deadline spectacular.
With self-proclaimed "lame-duck" GM Brian Burke ready to move on, star right wing Todd Bertuzzi staring at a lengthy suspension for his amazingly dumb assault on Avs forward Steve Moore and inconsistent goaltending from starter Dan Cloutier, the Canucks will need a few laughs in the coming days and weeks. So maybe that's why they acquired veteran defenseman Marc Bergevin from the Penguins. Bergevin is widely regarded as one of the league's funnier guys. He has the ability to relieve some of the tension that can build up around a team. Pens GM Craig Patrick asked Bergevin if he wanted to go to the Canucks, who'd made a call to Pittsburgh to inquire about him. After consulting with his wife, the 38-year-old defender/comic agreed to go.
Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk hasn't been shy about spending money to help his hockey team. In a deadline-day deal, GM John Muckler plucked veteran defenseman Greg de Vries from the Rangers for D-man Karel Rachunek (who'd asked for a trade) and minor-league center Alexandre Giroux. In doing so, the Senators take on the final three years of de Vries' contract. He's scheduled to make $3.1M next season, $3M in 2005-06 and $2.7M in 2006-07. The 31-year-old de Vries is making $4.2M this season.
Coyotes GM Mike Barnett was able to find a taker for underachieving/overpaid left wing Brian Savage, who was dealt to the Blues on Tuesday. Savage is due $7.5 over the next two seasons. But there is a catch to the deal. The Blues can return Savage to Phoenix at the end of the season. They'll pay the remaining amount of this year's salary -- approximately $350K. When Savage returns to the desert (and he will return unless he opts to take a huge pay cut), the Coyotes likely will buy out the remaining two seasons. A normal buyout is two-thirds the money over twice the remaining term. In Savage's case, the Coyotes will owe him $5M, payable over four years.
EJ Hradek covers hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com. Also, click here to send EJ a question for possible use on ESPNEWS.