In a move that seemingly came out of thin air, young winger, Andrew Ladd has been traded to Chicago for Tuomo Ruutu. On paper this looks to be about an even trade. Both players have been injury prone and both have been somewhat disappointing since their original draft, although I felt like Ladd was really coming into his own recently.
You never know who will win in a trade like this, but my initial reaction is one of skepticism. Andrew Ladd has been a first class individual every moment that he has been in Carolina. His play was on the rise.
Ruutu on the otherhand is having a bit of a down year, with production of 6 goals and 15 assists in 60 games. That is a lower point per game average than Ladd's 9 goals and 9 assists in just 43 games.
Both players are restricted free agents at the end of this season. Ladd is currently making $984,000 and Ruutu is at $2,250,000.
Could Jim Rutherford be thinking that he has another Sergei Samsonov acquisition here, when he luckily caught lightning in a bottle when he picked up the talented Russian sniper on waivers? Samsonov had very little production in the windy city as well. Perhaps Samsonov and Ruutu can make everyone forget about Ladd as they skate circles around the opposition? We will see.
The rest of the division is getting stronger, especially the Washington Capitals. They acquired goalie Cristobal Huet from Montreal for a 2nd round draft pick. Will that be enough to get them over the Hurricanes? I doubt it, but it certainly does make them stronger. They also added Sergei Fedorov from the Blue Jackets. So much for staying pat!
So far Florida just added Wade Belak from the Leafs and the Thrashers have yet to pull the trigger on their deal(s).
Brad Richards was sent from Tampa to Dallas along with Johan Holmqvist for Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, and Jeff Halperin. Color me unimpressed. I think Dallas got the better of that deal.
I will keep an eye on things after I submit my pre-game report for the contest tonight with Jersey. What does everyone think of Ruutu?