Offtopic » Thomas Vanek remembers waking up

in Edmonton http://www.starsshoponline.com/authentic-devin-shore-jersey , Alberta, and turning on the TV in his hotel room to find out where he was heading.It was March 5, 2014, the NHL’s trade deadline day, and Vanek’s bags were packed. He knew he had played his final game a few days earlier for the New York Islanders after rejecting the team’s bid to sign the pending free agent to a contract extension.It wasn’t until the deadline passed when Vanek’s phone started ringing. It wasn’t his agent, the Islanders or some other team’s general manager.“I got a message from a reporter saying, ‘The Montreal media wants to talk to you,” said Vanek, recalling how he found out he’d been traded to the Canadiens. “That was probably the hardest one because it was my first trade deadline deal.”It wouldn’t be his last.The 35-year-old Vanek, now in his second stint with Detroit, has been dealt twice more at the deadline. Red Wings GM Ken Holland informed Vanek he was being traded to Florida on March 1, 2017. And he learned through a friend’s text message that Vancouver had sent him to Columbus last Feb. 26.Though the one-year contract he signed with Detroit last summer includes a no-trade clause, there remains a chance he’ll move once again before this season’s deadline on Monday.“There’s a reason I came back to Detroit because I like it here,” he said. “But at the same time, who knows what’s going to happen? Kenny’s always talking. So if something comes up that makes complete sense, then we’ll take a look at it.”The trading has already begun, with the most notable featuring Toronto’s acquisition of defenseman Jake Muzzin in a deal with Los Angeles on Jan. 28.Otherwise, the trade market remains bottled up with more prospective buyers than sellers. Of the 31 teams Womens Esa Lindell Jersey , 25 are either in contention or within six points of their conference’s eighth and final playoff spot entering play Wednesday.Among the more notable players considered on the market are forwards Artemi Panarin (Columbus), Derick Brassard (Florida), Gustav Nyquist (Detroit), New York Rangers Kevin Hayes and Mats Zuccarello, and Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. And then there’s the Ottawa Senators, who are attempting to determine the trade status of forwards Matt Duchene, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel, all of whom are eligible to become free agents this summer.Last year’s deadline featured 18 trades involving 37 players, including the Sabres dealing Evander Kane to San Jose, St. Louis sending Paul Stastny to Winnipeg and the Rangers moving Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay.Few of the deals made an impact in their team’s’ respective playoff runs. The Lightning reached the Eastern Conference finals, but they were defeated by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, whose most notable late-season addition was defenseman Michal Kempny (acquired in a trade with Chicago a week before the deadline).The expansion Vegas Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final despite getting limited production from trade-deadline addition Tomas Tatar. San Jose made it to the second round before being eliminated, butre-signed Kane.None of the deals came close to matching what’s considered the NHL’s gold standard on March 10, 1980. That’s when the Islanders acquired Butch Goring from Los Angeles to spark what became New York’s run of winning four consecutive championships. Goring wasn’t happy about the deal that also sent forward Billy Harris and defenseman Dave Lewis to the Kings.“It was very upsetting because I was on the second year of a six-year contract and had made a commitment to basically spend my entire career in L.A.,” Goring recalled.It didn’t take long to get over the shock for the then-30-year-old, who had scored 20 or more goals nine times during his 10-plus seasons with the Kings.With Goring, the Islanders closed the season 8-0-4 and lost just six times in the playoffs in winning the Final in six games over Philadelphia. The following year, Goring was named the playoff MVP.He called the adjustment joining a star-packed Islanders team as less intimidating than it might have been as a younger player.“I came into that dressing room and I didn’t have anything to prove. I had a pretty strong reputation about who I was and what I couldn’t do Jamie Benn Jersey ,” Goring said. “I wasn’t taking Bryan Trottier’s job. I was there to be who I was.”Now an Islanders broadcaster, Goring refers to the trade as the “icing on the cake” of his career.“Nobody knew much about Butch Goring, as I played all those years in L.A. There was no exposure,” he said. “And now everyone remembers who you are. The great thing about the trade deadline is everybody talks about Butch Goring.”DEADLINE DAYVanek wondered if the deadline falls too late in the season for players to become comfortable with their new surroundings.“The only thing you can control is being a good person, being a good teammate,” he said. “But at the same time, the team that gets you, they want you to be productive. And that’s the hard part.”Goring doesn’t think so, noting the trade deadline used to be 26 days before the end of the season and now is 40.“If you’re going to acquire a player that’s going to be a difference maker, he’s going to adapt in a hurry,” Goring said.Red Wings GM Holland backs the current deadline.“For those teams that are buyers, you still have 20 games to get that player acclimated to your system. For the teams that aren’t sure if they’re buyers or sellers, it gives them more time,” Holland said.PLANES, UBERS AND FLAT TIRESRyan Hartman won’t soon forget what happened when traded by Chicago to Nashville at last year’s deadline.With a stop-over in Toronto, it took him 8 hours to fly from Chicago to Winnipeg, where he would join the Predators. And that was after beginning the day contending with a flat tire.He used Uber to get to the Blackhawks practice and then had to use it again — this time with all his equipment — to return home and pack before heading to the airport.“I had an issue with it all year and someone told me at the beginning of the year, ‘You’re going to end up getting a flat tire at the worst time possible http://www.starsshoponline.com/authentic-jason-spezza-jersey ,'” Hartman said. “Sure enough.”LEADERS (through Tuesday)Points: Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), 99; Goals: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington), 42; Longest point streak: Patrick Kane (Chicago) 18 games (Jan. 3 to present); Rookie points: Elias Petterson (Vancouver), 54; Wins: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas) 29.GAME OF THE WEEKThe Colorado Avalanche visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday in a game between two Western Conference wild-card contenders. TORONT0 — The Toronto Maple Leafs gave indications that they are learning how to win at home while the New Jersey Devils have yet to get their act together on the road.After losing four of their previous home games, the Maple Leafs (10-5-0) defeated the visiting Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday night and their record at Scotiabank Arena stands at 4-5-0.The Devils (6-6-1), after thumping the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-1 Monday for their first away win of the season, were trounced 7-3 by the Ottawa Senators om Tuesday and are 1-5-0 on the road.Article continues below ...Despite the win over Vegas, Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock was not totally convinced. “I thought we started real good the first 10 minutes and then I thought we got fooling around with the puck and they showed us how fast they were,” Babcock said. “I thought they really dominated the second period. We were lucky to get out of the second. I didn’t mind our third. In the end, when you look at this game, it’s kind of like when Pittsburgh left here with the points or Dallas left here with the points. You thought you had done enough to win, and you didn’t. Tonight, the shoe is on the other foot and we’ll take ‘er and maybe we can loosen up at home a little bit and play.”The Devils will be playing the sixth game of a seven-game trip Friday in Toronto during the Hall of Fame weekend festivities.They lost in Ottawa despite taking a 2-0 lead at the 11:20 mark of the first period.“Those first 10 minutes we got rewarded for what we wanted to do,” Devils defenseman Andy Greene said. “We were playing with speed, we were playing a north-south game and we were getting rewarded. You’d think it would be easier that way to just stick with it. All of a sudden we were moving east-west, we stopped moving our feet and that seems to be the problem.”The Devils have been searching for consistency. They have not won two in a row since opening the season with four straight wins. They could have some help soon in the return of injured players.Jesper Bratt (jaw fracture), Steven Santini (jaw fracture) and Stefan Noesen (upper body) are still on injured reserve but practiced with the team Thursday in Toronto.Bratt, who has yet to play in the regular season John Klingberg Jersey , appears closest to a return and it could happen on Friday or Sunday when the trip ends against the Winnipeg Jets.“It is a possibility,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “He’s really done a good job. His recovery’s gone well, we’ve pushed him really hard, so physically he’s in shape and ready to go. Hopefully he gets cleared here and hopefully he’s back before the end of the trip.”The left winger had 13 goals and 22 assists as a rookie last season. Goaltender Eddie Lack was put on waivers Thursday and that would clear a roster spot for a return of Brett or possibly Noesen, who was injured Oct. 30.The Devils will be facing a hot goaltender in Toronto’s Frederik Andersen, who has allowed one goal in his past two games. He stopped 36 shots against Vegas and has made at least 30 saves in six of his eight win this season.“I, personally, feel good,” Andersen said. “We’re keeping (opposing players) a little bit more to the outside, which is helping me out, seeing the puck better and clearing the shooting lanes. It’s not so many times I have to fight through traffic and, obviously, that makes my job easier.”“It seems like he’s got no pressure on him,” said Toronto right winger Mitch Marner, who scored a goal Tuesday. “He just goes out there and has fun with it. He’s a pretty quiet guy but this year he’s opened up a lot. He jokes around a lot. …When he gets to the rink, he’s a very serious guy. He really focuses and gets ready for the games.”