Official: Flames Trade Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust To Rangers For Ales Kotalik, Chris Higgins

After 24 hours of unknown circumstances and wild speculation, the Calgary Flames and New York Rangers have finally completed a major trade that will send Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the Rangers for Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins.

From Darren Dreger of TSN:

One of the most bizarre trades I have ever covered. Jokinen+Prust for Higgins and Kotalik. Good night.

Bizarre is right. Most of the hockey world is simply relieved to have this deal over and done with. So ultimately, what was the hold up?

It appears that the Flames simply wanted to keep Jokinen in the lineup to face the Philadelphia Flyers at home on Monday night. He was largely invisible in that contest and the Flames lost 3-0. But the decision to keep Jokinen (and therefore Prust) in Calgary red for just one more game had interesting implications on Flames practice Monday morning.

Eric Duhatschek of The Globe and Mail:

As of noon today, Jokinen and Prust were still on the team and were on the ice earlier in the morning, preparing to play in Monday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Still, the tension in the air was palpable whenever you turned. Neither Jokinen nor Prust spoke in the dressing room following the morning skate; and when Jokinen came off the ice, he looked decidedly unhappy.

It has to be awkward lacing up the skates for a team that you know is actively shopping your services. In this case, in fact, it seems Jokinen was all but gone. Dreger's 'bizarre' description is really the only word that describes this whole thing.

In Calgary, fans are just downright upset with the deal. Cue Kent Wilson from SBN's Matchsticks and Gasoline:

Kotalik is terrible. His contract is terrible. If Sutter doesn’t flip him for something else (be it another player or basket of fruit) it’s an absolutely brutal acquisition.

Higgins was once a good player who may or may not be recoverable. He’s probably a step up from Nystrom et al.

Rangers fans at SBN's Blueshirt Banter likely echo those same thoughts, which means they're obviously happy the deal is now done. Some fan comments:

PARTY AT MY PLACE

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

dear god! the apocalypse!!! it’s happening!!

It appears that any trade between the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames will have to wait at least another day.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie:

Jokinen/Prust for Higgins/Kotalik not expected to happen today and may not happen at all tho still possible this deal is done after game.

He also mentions that Olli Jokinen, one of the centerpieces in the deal, is expected to be in the lineup against Philadelphia on Monday evening. That simple fact alone could be what’s holding up the deal.

McKenzie again:

Sources tell TSN that while the Rangers thought they had the deal basically agreed to on Sunday night, the Flames weren’t ready to pull the trigger, in part, because they felt they needed Jokinen in the lineup tonight against Philadelphia in Calgary. There are reports that Kotalik isn’t prepared to waive his no-trade clause to go to Calgary but the indication is the Rangers were fully able and prepared to do this deal, but Calgary backed away at the last moment.

There are a few questions here. First off, how awkward is it playing for a team that you know is actively trying to trade you? And how awkward is it if the only thing holding a trade back is that your old team just wants you around as a weapon for one more game?

The other question that fans on both sides of the puck are asking this morning is just how Ales Kotalik managed to get a no-movement clause out of Rangers general manager Glen Sather.

As always, stick with SBNation.com, our Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter, and our Flames blog Matchsticks and Gasoline for the latest information and reaction.

It appears that Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter has taken care of his teams' lack of scoring by picking up forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers, Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins in two separate deals on Sunday afternoon.

Well, at least on the surface. Could Sunday's transactions just be the tip of the iceberg? With the Kotalik for Olli Jokinen swap not yet solidified, could the Flames be holding up the deal as they try to work out yet another trade with another team?

Follow along here for a second. Sutter traded away defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom and AHL defensive prospect Keith Aulie to Toronto for three forwards and a defenseman: Hagman, Stajan, Mayers and Ian White.

Then, later in the evening, he traded away struggling veteran forward Jokinen, a deadline day acquisition last March who simply didn't put the puck in the net as a member of the Flames. Typically a 30-goal scorer, Jokinen had just 11 through 55 games this season. Sutter also shipped off Brandon Prust, a chippy grinder who is known as an agitator more than for his scoring talents. In return, the Flames picked up forwards Kotalik and Higgins, although as mentioned, that trade is not yet finalized.

So on the whole this Sunday the Flames made a net gain of two NHL players, bumping them to 25 total contracts, over the limit of 23. Simply put, Sutter and the Flames must make some other transaction just to get under the roster limit. They only have one player currently on the NHL roster with a two-way contract, Mikael Backlund, meaning they'd have to put at least one NHL player on waivers to get under the limit. The more likely scenario: they just make another trade. Ah, the intrigue. 

Over at SBN's Matchsticks and Gasoline, Flames fans are downright confused about the player movement, especially on the Kotalik front. It's not like Kotalik is a major step up from Jokinen -- in fact, if you ask Rangers fans they'll probably tell you he's a severe step down and that including Higgins in the deal isn't much of an improvement either. Kotalik is also still under contract for two more seasons while Jokinen is a free agent in just a few months. 

There's no doubt that you can understand the confusion, which means there's no doubt you can understand how that confusion leads to comments like this, from M&G's editor Kent Wilson.

[Sutter's] real target can’t be Kotalik. Just can’t be.

Who knows, the deal could not go through, Kotalik could stay a Ranger and things go on as normal. Or, this could just be the start of something even more drastic. Time will tell.

While it’s apparently close to complete, it appears that the pending trade between the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames is being held up by one of the teams.

Speculation is rampant that more players may be involved or that another team may be involved as well, but for now all we know is that the deal sending Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins from New York to Calgary in exchange for Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust is ‘not likely’ to be finalized tonight.

From TSN’s Darren Dreger on Twitter:

Trade call is unlikely tonight. Sounds like the Flames are holding this deal up.

Head on over to SBN’s Blueshirt Banter and Matchsticks and Gasoline to join the discussion throughout the night as developments occur.

Fans of both the New York Rangers and the Calgary Flames reacted to a major trade that has been reportedly completed by the two teams tonight. Veteran forward Olli Jokinen was sent to New York along with 25-year-old Brandon Prust in exchange for underachieving forwards Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik. While that deal may be on hold for the time being, there's no stopping the people from letting their feelings be known on the deal.

Kent Wilson at SB Nation's Flames blog Matchsticks and Gasoline had strong opinions about the new pieces on his team. On Kotalik:

Ugly stats line. Especially ugly considering his $3M contract. Kotalik is a guy who has teased GM's for years given his size, hands and cannon of shot. Truth is, he's stunk at ES for a long time. He's useful on the PP and in the shoot-out and that's about it. He has to be heavily sheltered in order to be effective.

The slight positive is: he's had some dreadful luck this year, so those counting numbers aren't quite indicative. A PDO of 93.8 is about as bad as it gets for an NHLer.

That said, Kotalik is a poor bet to be a value player considering his price and history and he's signed for another couple of years. He's a... curious player for Sutter to trade for to say the least.

And here's what Wilson had to say about Higgins:

Once upon a time, Chris Higgins was a tough minute option for the Montreal Canadiens. He's also scored more than 20+ goals a couple of times in his career.

Unfortunately, he seemed to step into an elevator shaft at some point in the near past. He hasn't been that useful for the Rangers, who originally acquired him to be a top 6 player. One part of explanation may be the percentages: his PDO is just 97 and his personal SH% is 4.5 - which is about what you'd expect from an average defenseman. That said, he's in the red in terms of possession on the Rangers and is an injury threat besides.

Again, not a guy one would expect Sutter to look at. The real good news is: if Higgins sticks around, his contract ends this year.

Over on the other side of the coin, commenters at SB Nation's Blueshirt Banter had mixed reactions. Here's a taste of some of those comments:

This trade is just flat out awesome. Jokinen is a UFA at the end of the year, so the Rangers dumped Kotalik and the $3 million contract for the next two years. Sather did a salary dump for the future and a team upgrade for this season in the same move.

I believe there is a warrant out for Glen Sather’s arrest, rape is illegal in Canada.

Hardly a brilliant trade – more like finding a compatible dance partner. Supposedly Sutter wanted Jokinen out. We need a center. They’re probably happy getting Higgins – who’ll fit that system better and may find his game again.

The best part is that Jokinen is a UFA after this season, Prust is an RFA.

This is a great deal….

I don’t know what Ollie’s problem was in Calgary…but I don’t see how he could be any worse then who’s on the squad (LOL at the Flames fans saying the same thing!!!)

I hope Sather doesn’t follow his normal pattern by following this up with a dumb trade….

Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting on Twitter that the Calgary Flames will be sending Olli Jokinen to the New York Rangers in exchange for Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins. Brandon Prust is also reportedly on his way to New York.

The Flames have been extremely busy bolstering their offense today, adding several pieces in a trade with the Maple Leafs earlier in the day and now, apparently, adding a few more pieces here. Jokinen hasn't performed exceptionally well in Calgary this season, his first full year there after being traded by Phoenix at the trade deadline a year ago.

It's essentially a lateral move salary wise, as Jokinen has a salary cap hit of $5.25 million, while Kotalik and Higgins have a combined cap hit of that same price. Prust has a menial cap hit of just $500k.