SB Nation - Petri Kontiola

Now that the dust has settled: Trade Reaction

Matthew Dirt — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:04:44 -0000

Forgive me for being so late on this - I was insanely busy on deadline day then yesterday had to take a nap in the afternoon to survive seeing The Watchmen at midnight (My review - it's good).

So... has it sunk in now that Wiz is no longer a Hawk? Every thing that I've read has people coming around to the fact that the Hawks probably got to upper hand on this trade. Wiz was without a doubt one of the most likable Hawks. He was the type of player that you like so much off the ice that it's easy to overlook his production during actual games.

We didn't get to see much of Wiz this year as he started the season on IR and missed half of the season so far. In the 31 games he played with the Hawks this year he had 2 goals and 11 assists - so he's averaging .42 points per game. You're not going to sign Wiz as an offensive D-man though despite his hard, if inaccurate, slapshot.

Enough has been said about Wiz that I won't go in to much more detail. He'd lost his spot on this team with the play of the other blue liners really taking a step up but he'll still be missed by the fans here. Although anytime you lose an expendable guy on your favorite squad and add a guy who makes a fan of the other team write something like this - you've probably won the trade.

So Ducks fans - You're not getting one of the best players in the NHL but you're certainly getting one of the more likeable ones. And anyone who does this to Tootoo is someone worth having.

What about the other aspect of the trade though?

As for Kontiola - This seems to be the most puzzling aspect of the trade. The Hawks are weak down the middle, right? So they trade one of their better center prospects? They must be hoping they can sign Pahlsson

Last year Kontiola played his first year in the AHL and had 68 points in 66 games. He finished the season +17 and seemed like he was destined to get to Chicago at some point (despite only getting 5 points in 12 games in his cup of coffee with the Hawks). This year though he'd fallen off his pace and has only 53 points in 61 games with a big drop in his +/- (down to only +3). I don't get a chance to watch many Rockford games so I can't say how well Kontiola has played but as Sam pointed out, he barely got a chance in training camp and the Hawks obviously don't put much stock in him.

Personally, I quickly took over his spot in NHL '09 so he can't be all that good, right?

The Hawks also acquired Logan Stephenson in the trade and he's the man of mystery in this trade. The best info I could find on him is here. It could turn out that he's a big steal for the Hawks and I think we have to give Tallon some leeway here with his recent trades. Stephenson was a 2nd round pick (35th overall) by the Coyotes and adds some size that the Hawks need on the blue line - He's listed as 6'2" or 6'3" depending where you look. At just under 200lbs, you hope he's going to add weight but seeing as how he's still young and that could come in time.

Overall, if it weren't for the fact that Pahlsson has mono ( I once thought I had mono for an entire year. Turns out I was just really bored. ) I'd really be excited about this trade. On paper I think the Hawks have the clear advantage but with Pahlsson still weeks away from coming back to play it's unlikely he'll see much playing time with the Hawks before the playoffs. If the Hawks are able to sign him for a one-year low cost deal to see how he works out for the team, the trade will be a great success. Otherwise, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Hawks trade Wiz for Pahlsson

SamFels — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 20:41:55 -0000

Reports are that it's Wiz to Anaheim for Pahlsson. I knew that rant would trigger something.

Update: So it appears it's official, Sami Pahlsson for Wiz and an undisclosed pick. Initial reaction: This trade has everyone blowing up at The 300 Level (what doesn't?) and Blackhawk Zone, but I can't get that worked up about it. For me, you have to separate the idea of James Wisniewski from the reality. The Idea of Wiz is he's a head-banging, forward crashing nutcase who can join the rush with a big shot and is a tough guy. The reality is that Wiz is a smallish d-man, who's had multiple knee operations, who does have a big shot but takes forever to get it off and isn't all that accurate when he does, who's been way less physical this year and hasn't fought once. He was playing on the 3rd pair and had a tendency to be a fire drill in his own end. So you essenitally gave up a 5-6 d-man. I love the guy, but I'm not going to be writing heartbroken songs with sing-along choruses at his departure. He'll be replaced on the PP by Seabrook or Keith, the two of them together on the second unit, and when the PP was lighting up the world is was Biscuit and Dunc on the second unit anyway. Yes, he was a personality, and easy to root for and love, but as for what was on the ice, I'm sorry, it just wasn't that much.

However, the Hawks didn't get much in return either. Besides for one hellacious playoff performance, Pahlsson just hasn't been that effective a checking center. He's negative on +/- and Behind the Net for most years. It's a guess as to how much checking he'll actually do, as the D-Ladd Soul line has been doing that, and well, and also been the main scoring threat. Will the they now just concentrate on scoring? If Pahlsson is going to be the center of a checking line, with what wingers? Buff? Brouwer? Versteeg? That won't work. So is he here to just win a draw and get off the ice? That makes him a glorified Yanic Perrault. He's a decent PK'er, and that unit could use some help. All in all, it's not a deal to make one smile, but I don't know if you should kick things either.

Update: It appears Kontiola may be going as well, and now I don't like this deal at all. It's clear the Hawks don't like Kontiola, because with a gaping hole at center after the trade of Robert Lang, Konti got all of 3 days at training camp before he was deemed "not the answer". Konti never got a shot at his natural position under a real coach, and I feel we may come to rue this one.

The AHL all-stars: Two Girouxes, Rory and a Brodeur

James Mirtle — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:15:07 -0000

The AHL also announced its all-star teams this week, and they give you a decent idea of who some of the top talent is in the NHL's minor league:

Team Canada

Forwards	Defensemen	Goaltenders
Steve Downie, Nor	x-Johnny Boychuk, Pro	Mike Brodeur, Roch
x-Alexandre Giroux, Her	Kyle Cumiskey, LE	Barry Brust, Hou
x-Claude Giroux, Phi	Cody Franson, Milw	x-Brian Elliott, Bing
Mike Iggulden, Bri	Bryan Helmer, Her ("C")
Jason Krog, Man	x-Derek Joslin, Wor
Corey Locke, Hou	Andrew MacDonald, Bri
Brett MacLean, SA	Brett Palin, QC
Mark Mancari, Por	Danny Syvret, Phi
x-Chris Minard, W-B/Scr
Cal O'Reilly, Milw
Teddy Purcell, Man
Martin St. Pierre, Pro
Mike Santorelli, Milw		x-starters

The tough thing about these all-star games is that, not only do you have to hope no one gets injured, but there's also the problem of call ups to consider. Claude Giroux just torched the AHL in his first pro season with 17 goals in 31 games and is now up with the Flyers, perhaps permanently given their injury woes.

At least they don't have to worry about Captain Helmer missing the game. (Great character guy. Was good to see him get some time in the NHL with the Caps as part of his swan song.)

Three Milwaukee players here, all Nashville picks in the midrounds. Franson's a great example of the depth the Predators have on defence now; he's only 21, big and skilled and would be in the NHL with most franchises. (Not bad for a third rounder.)

Purcell looks like a really good NHLer, someone we'll see play a role with the Kings when they're climbing the standings a year or two from now. He probably misses this game, too.

Boychuk leads AHL defencemen in scoring for the Baby Bruins, and I bet the Avs are kicking themselves for dumping him this summer.

And looking at the goalies, I wonder if the Sens will give Elliott a shot in goal if Gerber and Auld continue to struggle. (And in case you're wondering, Mike Brodeur is a distant cousin of Marty. He started the season in the ECHL and has been very good for Rochester in a dozen games so far.)

Team PlanetUSA

Forwards	Defensemen	Goaltenders
Keith Aucoin, Her	Rory Fitzpatrick, Roch ("C")	Jeff Frazee, Low
x-Chris Bourque, Her	Jonas Junland, Peo	Daniel Larsson, GR
x-Nikita Filatov, Syr	Mattias Karlsson, Bing	x-Cory Schneider, Man
x-Nathan Gerbe, Port	x-Jakub Kindl, Gr. Rapids
Martins Karsums, Pro	Ben Lovejoy, W-B/Scr
Tim Kennedy, Port	Bobby Sanguinetti, Hart
Petri Kontiola, Rock	Jaime Sifers, Tor
Drew Miller, Iowa	x-Yannick Weber, Ham
Joe Motzko, Chicago
Michael Ryan, Albany
Ryan Potulny, Spr
Jeff Taffe, W-B/Scr
Ryan Vesce, Wor		x-starters

Vote for Rory paid off! The plucky defenceman gets the captain's 'C' while playing for his hometown Americans despite having a pretty pedestrian season so far.

Aucoin's another veteran worth pointing out: a 5-foot-9 30-year-old playing for one of the best teams in the league, he leads the AHL in scoring by a mile with 48 points in 34 games despite missing some time while playing three games with the Capitals in the NHL.

Filatov's with Columbus at the moment, so his participation's in doubt.

Karsums is a talented young Latvian who I saw at the world juniors quite a bit when they rolled through B.C. two years ago. He's eighth in league scoring and should see time with the big-league Bruins in the near future.

Weber looks like another good one for the Habs, too, who also have P.K. Subban on the way on the blueline.

Kindl... don't tell me you're suprised the Red Wings have another European stud coming on the blueline.

Speaking of Detroit and potential gems, so much for Jimmy Howard as the goalie of the future: Sweden's Danny Larsson has outplayed him by a mile and makes the team here. He was a late third-round pick in 2006.

I know there are some readers who see a lot more AHL hockey than I do; let me know what you think of the teams and some of the players' play to date.