In A World of Sports

The Ottawa Senators have decided to shake up their lineup a bit to help get them out of the funk that has recently plagued the team.  Today they swapped Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore.  This move comes in spite of a 6-1 statement win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. 

In this trade, Ottawa gets a couple of guys who have Stanley Cup experience.  Stillman has been a champion twice, once with the Lightning in 2004, and then also with Carolina in 2006.  Commodore was also a 2006 Stanley Cup winner with Carolina.  Stillman has pretty good offensive potential but I have never really been a fan of him.  His shoulder pads make him look like he has no neck and he’s pretty soft in my opinion.   In fact I straight up don’t like the guy, watch a few upcoming Sens games and you’ll just grow a distaste for the way he plays the game (he plays only when he has the puck).  Commodore is a pretty tough competitor on the blue line but his offensive game is very limited.  He is pretty responsible in his own zone but will never give you more than 8 or 9 goals from the back end.

Patrick Eaves is a pretty fast skater and I like his ability to upset the defense with his speed and intensity.   He is also ok in both ends of the ice, putting up some numbers and knowing that he has to play defensively as well.  He is also only 23, so I think his game is still going to grow, particularly his offensive output.  Corvo is a good puck moving defenseman and I think he will do well for Carolina in their bid to make the playoffs.

I understand this move in the sense that they want to win a cup badly in Ottawa, but talent wise I don’t think this is an upgrade.  You get a couple of guys who know what it’s like to win, but I don’t think this is the talent they need to get it done.  Also, both Commodore and Stillman are UFA at season’s end, so you really get a sense that they want to win this year.  Either they still have to make a major push for another top line guy (Mats Sundin or someone of this caliber) or they lost a couple of good players, especially Eaves, for two rentals that I don’t think brings them any closer to cup contention.