ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS - The top players in the NHL that could be on many team's Christmas lists

We have gone through 2 and a half months so far in the 2008/2009 season, and we have yet to see any big trades occur. Sure the Leafs moved Steen and Coliacavo to St. Louis for Lee Stempniak, and our good friend Wade Belak has found a new club in Nashville, but I am talking about those major "blockbuster" trades that keep everybody talking for weeks. A prime example would be when the Bruins shipped star forward Joe Thornton to San Jose. Many thought that this was a poor move by the Bruins, but coincidentally Boston and San Jose are both Conference leaders at this point in the schedule. There are many teams that are very deep in certain positions, and could afford to make some moves. Here are the top players most likely to fall into this category:

G Pascal Leclaire - COLUMBUS BLUEJACKETS

Last year Leclaire took the league by storm with his impressive string of shutout wins. He is a good keeper, but let's face it, what the BlueJackets have been doing for their entire existence in the NHL does not work, and each year they show no signs of making the playoffs. They seem to be stuck in neutral, and they need to be building their team around their young players, and in our opinion, rookie goaltender Steve Mason has proved that he can be a #1 guy. This could be considered a risky move, but the rewards could be huge. As a rookie, Mason has posted an 8-4-1 record with 2 shutouts, a 1.97 GAA (3rd in the league) and .922 save percentage. The emergence of a young star like this could make Leclaire's days in Columbus numbered.



TEAMS THAT COULD USE HIS SERVICE:
-Los Angeles Kings
-Colorado Avalanche
-Phoenix Coyotes
-Tampa Bay Lightning

G Manny Fernandez - BOSTON BRUINS

Manny Fernandez's last few years in the NHL have been interesting to say the least. In Minnesota, he was part of a 2-keeper tandem with Dwayne Roloson. When Roloson was shipped to Edmonton in 2006, Fernandez became the #1 guy, but was soon eclipsed by another emerging keeper in the system, Nicklas Backstrom. Fernandez signed with the Boston Bruins in the 2007 off season and was expected to become the #1 keeper, but fell to injury for a substantial part of the season, allowing Tim Thomas to emerge as the #1 keeper, which has since earned him an all-star selection last year, and a solid #1 spot as the Bruins guy to keep their stellar play in the Eastern Conference rolling. Although Fernandez does help his team, a move before the all-star break may not be a bad idea, allowing Finnish sensation Tuuka Rask to emerge from the Bruins' AHL affiliate the Providence Bruins.


TEAMS THAT COULD USE HIS SERVICE:
-Tampa Bay Lightning
-Colorado Avalanche
-Los Angeles Kings

F Martin St.Louis - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

We can't believe that the Lightning have been playing as poor as they are. Before the season started, we predicted that the Lightning would make the playoffs this year, but nothing has clicked, and the organization has already parted ways with their head coach, Barry Melrose, who in recent days has proved that he may have been the cancer in the locker room. Steven Stamkos was hyped to be the next big thing in the league, but has put up mediocre (at best) numbers, and the entire team has proved time and time again that they are no match for their opponents. Even goaltending, which has been a problem in Tampa for many years, with such heavy confidence put behind mediocre keepers such as Marc Denis and Johan Holmqvist in the past has not been the same since Nikolai Khabibulin won a cup with the team. Mike Smith, who has emerged as the started after he was involved with the trade with Dallas last year that sent Brad Richards away, is an odd keeper to watch. He makes the effort, but almost seems to bulky in net and not capable of making athletic saves. As for Marty, he does produce for the squad, but the Lightning need to branch out and realize that the mentality behind winning a cup with the "3-headed monster" of Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Richards is dead. They made the right move with Richards last year, and now may need to find a new home for St. Louis. It makes sense financially and for the well being of the team to add secondary scoring.

TEAMS THAT COULD USE HIS SERVICE
-Minnesota Wild
-Florida Panthers
-Toronto Maple Leafs (If anybody would do it, Burke would)


D Jay Bouwmeester - FLORIDA PANTHERS

Therehas been talk of trading star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester for quite some time, and if the Panthers want to shake this funk they have been stuck in since their '96 cup run, the time may come to cut the ties with Bouwmeester. Currently, Bouwmeester is the leading scorer for the Panthers, which should say something about the lack of scoring of the team. It is about time that the Panthers add some offensive punch and restructure their team that has long been known as "second bananas" in the Eastern Conference.

TEAMS THAT COULD USE HIS SERVICE:
-Toronto Maple Leafs
-Columbus Blue Jackets
-Phoenix Coyotes
-Tampa Bay Lightning
-Buffalo Sabres


Some other players that may generate some interest around the league are Maple Leafs' blueliner Tomas Kaberle, Minnesota foward Marian Gaborik, and Buffalo forward Maxim Afinigenov.

It is believed that Mats Sundin has set a personal goal of making a decision for his NHL future by Monday, Dec 15 (tomorrow), so we will keep you updated on his playing status.


PP