NHL Trade Deadline: Jeff Carter's a King

Did the LA Kings just get better and better? Fans just got a surprise acquisition from a team in the low-part of the division. That team being the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Jeff Carter is finally heading to LA in a trade that sends Jack Johnson and a draft pick back to Columbus. That means he'll finally be reunited with Mike Richards but not in Philadelphia where they first became a good pair on the ice. He was traded after just 39 games and not including the ones where he was injured, but he is definitely making some headway after helping the Kings win their first game with him. Dustin Brown got a hat trick in that game as well, but nothing's as important right now as Jeff Carter.

I think the Kings needed to find some way to score goals, but now with Jeff Carter, that doesn't seem like much of a problem now. After all, he's repaired with Mike Richards after their hot one-two punch in Philadelphia before they blew up their core teams and shipped them to the Western Conference.

Unfortunately, now with Carter, the Kings need to find some way to gain some success from that Philadelphia connection. They have 129 goals in 61 games, which is ranked 30th in the NHL.

"You look up and down that lineup, they've got some great players," Carter said to ESPNLA.com. "I think it's just a matter of time before things start going their way."

As I said, they're going to need to do this quick. If they have a shot at making the playoffs, they're going to have to do some ground-work and make it back into the playoff picture. Their next two games should not be too tough for this team, although they are on the road and that might factor into how well they play. They're at Nashville and at Minnesota before a home tilt against the Ducks. So if they want to pick up points, I think their next three games are going to be relatively easy ones for them.

Jeff Carter an impact in LA? I think so. But do others think so? We'll just have to wait and see. He's already played in one game and was a factor in them winning. But what about two or three or more? Well, let's just watch and see how far this Kings team can go with Jeff Carter as their new man on the ice.

Vermette Headed to Phoenix

It's been a while since I did my last post. Actually, it's been almost a full month, but we're back into the swing of things as the trading deadline heats up but one team has already got a fighting chance to stay in the playoffs thanks to a new acquisition.

The Phoenix Coyotes have acquired Antoine Vermette from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for several draft picks as well as minor league goalie Curtis McElhinney, whom I didn't know was on the Blue Jackets. But that's off the story for the moment.

"We are extremely pleased to acquire Antoine," Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said to the media. "He is a smart, skilled, two-way center who will be a great addition to our lineup."

If the Coyotes make the playoffs, the conditional fifth-round pick they gave away will become a fourth-round pick. This comes in the wake of the stories that are buzzing around the Blue Jackets that captain Rick Nash and center Jeff Center would be traded and that they were looking for potential buyers. Instead, the Jackets dealt away Vermette.

Anticipation of more players leaving Columbus? Absolutely. The Blue Jackets have the worst record in the NHL and they are looking for ways to build their team again. But this hasn't happened since they went to the playoffs a few years ago. Steve Mason has been erratic in goal and the trade for Curtis McElhinney might signal that backup goalie Curtis Sanford is indeed out, who becomes a free agent this summer.

The Coyotes are getting the best deal out of this because Vermette has proven himself as a valuable player to any club. Unfortunately, his production was down this season and he was looking for a way to build it up again. Well, now that the Coyotes are streaking right now and with the addition of a new player, it sounds as if they're right on target to make the playoffs yet again and he's on the right target to prove he's another valuable player to a team.

What will happen in Phoenix? Vermette brings luck? Will it help the Blue Jackets survive and maybe win a few games before the entire season's over? The rest of the season will have our answers for us. As far as I know, Phoenix is on that right track to become a playoff contender yet again. And for the Blue Jackets, well, it's time for another rebuild.

Did Ovechkin Need to Pull Out of the All-Star Game?

Alex Ovechkin received a three-game suspension against the Penguins a few nights ago. Today, he took it to the extreme when he announced that he will not be present for the All-Star Game on January 29th.

He said, "My heart is not there. I got suspended, so why (do) I have to go there?"

The Capitals general manager George McPhee supported Ovechkin's decision to back out of the All-Star Game.

"He really doesn't feel like he deserves to be there and doesn't want to be a distraction," McPhee told ESPN.com earlier today. "When he came in this morning, he said, 'I'm a suspended player and I don't deserve to be there.'"

Excuse me, but there are several problems with Ovechkin not being there and I'll just give you a few right here. 1) He's the biggest star in the league. 2) He puts his team on his back when they are down and 3) He is one of the reasons people watch the All-Star Game.

So I'm sorry, but I don't support this decision. It looks dumb and it sounds dumb. You need to be out there in the All-Star Game and playing. I don't agree with the NHL either on why they won't give Ovechkin a suspension for not participating. Back in 2009, Red Wings players Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk were suspended one game for not participating in the All-Star Game. This time, they chose not to go on with this matter.

They should tack on another suspension. Add a couple games in his suspension or at least fine him a whole lot of money. I don't like why players keep trying to get out of the All-Star Game. One of the main reasons people watch this game is so they can watch their favorite players and favorite all-stars perform on the ice. Is this Ovechkin's way of saying "You did something to me, I'm going to do something back to you?" Is this what this is about? This sounds really dumb and Ovechkin knows he is a big star in the league and that if you miss the All-Star Game, you are letting a lot of your fans down. That's what he's not getting at and I hope that he learns this down the road.

Ben Blood Needs to Learn Captaincy

It's been a full week and a half since the last post and I'm sorry I didn't post anything up sooner, like my thoughts on the Cammalleri trade and such, but I'm busy with school and well my teachers like to give a lot of work. But that's all done now as we head back into the frame and I'd like to talk about something outside the realm of the NHL and that's about the game between North Dakota and Minnesota and a brawl that happened after the game.

Ben Blood, an assistant captain for the North Dakota men's hockey team and a fourth-round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, got into an altercation with a Minnesota player after the game. He was mad after an opposing player who came off the bench, slashed at his legs. Later, North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol stripped Blood of his assistant captaincy, meaning that to earn it back, he has to prove himself as a leader on the ice in a positive aspect.

I never followed the kid that much because I was too busy covering the NHL and the MLS but I hear from people who knew and wrote about him, that he was a very good assistant captain and a good draft pick for the Ottawa Senators. But this altercation might change some minds. In fact, Bob's Blitz, a local blog that covered the game, says that Blood should not play another game for the Fighting Sioux.

Whoa, whoa. Calm down a little bit. Just because he got into a scrum with a Minnesota player doesn't mean that he should be kicked off the team. He's young and he needs time to develop his attitude and his respects for the opposing team, even if they did something that might seem a little over-the-top or edgy. But let's look at something much better than just a kick-off.

I think stripping the captaincy is a great idea for now because it'll teach him that being a leader means not getting in over yourself all the time and going after an opposing player, even in the handshake line. The thing he needs to work on is biting his tongue. As team captains or an assistant captain, you're supposed to find some peace between the two players and provide leadership without physically engaging the other players because of something you believe is wrong. A captain should make wise decisions and make those decisions that are not based on personal vendetta but on a career and the great choices you have when you make the right decision. And certainly, fighting another player was not the right decision.

Ben Blood might never get his assistant captaincy back, but he is a good player. He just needs to learn how to control his attitude and his temper and just play hockey. After all, it's just a game and a game should be fair and not full of this kind of a mess. Let's just hope he is able to control his temper by the time he gets to be an Ottawa Senator or whatever team he gets traded to (if Ottawa decides to trade him away.)

Should Brad Marchand Have Been Suspended?

Welcome to 2012, puckheads! Okay, I know this seems a bit late and such, but I was a little too busy recently with my classwork, especially since it's Jan Term and it seems like it's becoming a living nightmare of some sorts. But I hope you can forgive me now as we discuss another big hit problem that occurred in last Saturday's game between the Bruins and the Canucks.

Bruins forward Brad Marchand was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for clipping Canucks defenseman Sami Salo in last Saturday's game. Later on, he was given a five-game suspension and will forfeit approximately $152,000. As every player generally is, Brad Marchand was disappointed with the suspension.

"I'm obviously a little disappointed, but I wasn't expecting as many games as I got," Marchand said. "That's the decision, and we have to move on."

But like other players in the league, he says he will not change his style of play. As many of you remember, Alex Ovechkin and Matt Cooke previously had statements that they would not change their style of play. But will Marchand hold up his word? Or do we sense a change? And should he have been suspended?

Once again, the popular issue of head shots comes to play. Of course, it did give Sami Salo a concussion so I believe there is some justice behind this ruling. But just like many other players and team personnel from around the league, there are going to be multiple stories. I personally believe that if you cause a player to get a concussion, there should be justice. So I'm going to believe the stories about Salo getting a concussion for right now. If there's more developing stories in the future, that might change.

Bruins President Cam Neely believes that the suspension is too long because he believes there was no malice behind that hit.

"I personally believe with Brad that it was more of an instinctual move." Neely said.

Okay, so let me get this straight. Marchand used his instinct and because of that, he landed one player with a concussion and landed himself with a five-game suspension. I personally believe that you should use your instinct if it helps your team. But if it involves a certain player getting injured and such, then I probably wouldn't use my instinct and instead I would use my brain and find the most probable outcome that wouldn't affect the player or myself in any way. Obviously, that is not what Brad Marchand did.

The suspension is fair because it shows the justice behind giving other players serious concussions. We don't need any more good players out of the game and I believe that Marchand should not be disappointed because this is exactly what people around the league are trying to get rid of. The dirty hits need to stop and if it's for personal vendetta, then it definitely warrants a lot more. So listen, puckheads, we don't need our good players out of the game. So Marchand definitely got the justice that he most righteously deserved.