Trading at frantic pace
The NHL's amateur draft, chockablock full of wide-eyed teenage dreamers, became the barely audible background music in the elevator last night, amid a flurry of trades that included star center Olli Jokinen moving from Florida to Phoenix, winger Alex Tanguay going from Calgary to Montreal, and the Flyers' R.J. Umberger getting dished to Columbus.
Amid the frantic swap meet, which also saw the Kings send Mike Cammalleri to the Flames, the Islanders twice traded down in the first round to acquire extra picks. Originally slotted to select at No. 5, Islanders general manager Garth Snow yielded the spot to the Maple Leafs for the No. 7 pick, as well as second- and third-round choices. Two picks later, Snow gave up No. 7 for Nashville's No. 9, picking up yet another second-round selection. Drop down, load up was the mantra for Snow, the former Olympic goalie from Wrentham.
Rarely, if ever, has the floor been as busy a beehive on draft day as it was last night at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa.
The first round is usually slow, sometimes painfully so, but with all the deals weaved early into the selection process, the No. 8 pick, owned by the Coyotes, wasn't called until 8:30 - some 90 minutes into the proceedings.
The Bruins, believed to be in trade talks much of the day Thursday and early yesterday with the Islanders, stood pat with their No. 16 pick and selected Joe Colborne, a Junior A center from Alberta who reminds some of ex-Bruin Joe Thornton. In fact, Colborne's nickname is Jumbo (the moniker hung on Thornton prior to his arrival here as the No. 1 pick in September 1997).
"I'm not buying it," said TSN's Pierre Maguire, during the network's broadcast from the arena floor. "He's got a long way to go to be Joe Thornton."
Maguire added that Colborne, who will attend the University of Denver this fall, is at least three years away from making the NHL. Draft guru Bob McKenzie, another of the TSN cognoscenti, categorized Colborne as "a home run or a strikeout," and added that Colborne's speech and mannerisms are very reminiscent of Thornton.
By the view of Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli, Colborne is likely a couple of years away from cracking the lineup, but he and his staff are impressed by the big kid's hard shot and ability to put the puck in the net.
"I think the comparison to Joe is fair, in a sense," noted Chiarelli, commenting a few minutes after selecting Colborne. "He's big and rangy, like Joe. But Joe is more of a passer, and this kid is a pretty good finisher . . . he really snaps off a hard wrist shot, with a really impressive release."
Chiarelli said he tried to move up in the draft, with an eye on acquiring one of the top handful of picks, but his talks were all but finished by Thursday night. His target all along, said Chiarelli, was Colborne.
"I know that's said all the time," said Chiarelli. "But we like this kid a lot . . . he's who we wanted all along."
Jokinen, the 29-year-old Finnish pivot, was shipped to the desert for a couple of defensemen, Keith Ballard and ex-Bruin Nick Boynton (dealt out of Boston two years ago for Paul Mara). Jokinen's departure from Sunrise was considered a fait accompli, the Panthers eager to change their roster in hopes of ending a seven-season playoff drought. The Panthers also picked up the 49th overall pick in this draft, which will conclude today with Rounds 2-7.
The deal only served to put Jokinen smack dab in the middle of another huge project in Phoenix, where the moribund Coyotes reportedly lost $30 million last season. However, the Coyotes have some promising kids in place, and they'll now look for the broad-shouldered Jokinen to help them end their streak of five straight playoff DNQs.
Tanguay, due slightly more than $5 million next season, was rumored to be on the move at the trade deadline in February. A number of teams were believed to offer a first-round pick for the Quebec-born sniper, and that's just what the Canadiens handed over last night to bring him to Montreal. He has only one year left on his contract before he is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent, but after surrendering a first-rounder, it's likely the Habs will try to tie up the 28-year-old to a long-term deal.
The Canadiens yesterday also received permission to talk contract with Leafs icon Mats Sundin, who appears unlikely to continue his career in Toronto. If he were to sign as a free agent in Montreal, the Habs are believed to be willing to send a first-round pick to the Leafs as compensation. A Montreal offense enhanced by both Tanguay and Sundin could spell trouble for everyone, including the Bruins, in the Northeast Division.
Umberger, the former Ohio State standout, now returns to Columbus, where the Blue Jackets have yet to make the playoffs after seven seasons. He'll not only help the Jackets' marketing plans, but also should help coach Ken Hitchcock, another ex-Flyer, build some consistency and reliability into what often has been a helter-skelter and unreliable offense.
The constant buzz and flurry of trades, felt Chiarelli, was somewhat surprising.
"But it was a very strong draft," he said. "I don't know all the reasons for the jockeying, but I think it was a matter of teams identifying personalities they liked, and they wanted to have them."
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com.
