It was no secret going into the trade deadline that the Blackhawks were in the market for a third line center to complete a team they think can compete for the Stanley Cup.  The deal breaks down as James Wisniewski and minor leaguer Petri Kontiola to Anaheim for center Samuel Pahlsson, minor leaguer Logan Stephenson, and a conditional draft pick.

In Pahlsson the Blackhawks get exactly the player they wanted.  Pahlsson won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks a couple years ago and won a gold medal with Sweden in the Olympics, giving him the experience the Hawks were looking for.  He’s an excellent defensive forward and ranks toward the top of the league in face-off percentage.

Again, the main draw for Pahlsson is the experience and history of winning that will be extremely important in the locker room when the playoffs come around.  If you get in that situation of being down a couple of games in a series, Pahlsson is the kind of guy you can look to for some perspective and direction.

The downside is that Pahlsson has never been an offensive stat-filler.  His best season was two years ago when he had 8 goals and 18 assists, though he did have 3 goals and 9 assists in the Ducks’ playoff run that season.  Another issue is that Pahlsson is out right now with mono and won’t be back for a few weeks.  It’s tough enough coming onto a team mid-season, but Sammy will have even less time to adjust before the playoffs than usual.  While I understand the point that he is mainly being brought on board for once the Hawks are in the playoffs, it couldn’t hurt to get him comfortable before that happens.

Plus, with some of the moves Calgary made today, it would be nice to have the Blackhawks at full strength as soon as possible.  The Flames are a point ahead of the Blackhawks right now and with Vancouver still in the mix in their division, it would be nice to make sure you finish ahead of the second place team there in terms of home ice.  Calgary grabbed a couple of guys I hoped the Blackhawks would be able to land in centerman Olli Jokinen and defenseman Jordan Leopold. Wait, flames fans are not happy?*

In terms of losing Wisniewski, it shouldn’t hurt the Blackhawks too much.  He was gone for most of the first half of this season and I’m sure a lot of fans didn’t really notice, but he’s a solid defender that was a great fit in Chicago.  He’s a good pick-up for the Ducks and will fit in well with their physically intimidating style.

Overall, you have to be happy with this trade as a Hawks fan.  This was not one of the flashiest trades they could have pulled off, but the more I think about it, the more I like it.  It would have been nice to get an offensive presence from a guy like Jokinen, or a bigger body like Nik Antropov, but in the end they went with the defensive specialist with Stanley Cup experience.  Moreover, they probably got Pahlsson for cheaper than they could have gotten those other guys.  This team has enough offense and is sorely lacking in the experience category.  In the end, Chicago addressed its biggest need and didn’t give up anything that will hurt them this season in the process.  Well done Mr. Tallon.

*h/t: Puck Daddy

More on this tomorrow, but TSN is reporting that the Blackhawks traded defenseman James Wisniewski to the Anaheim Ducks for center Samuel Pahlsson.

Pahlsson has the reputation for being an excellent defensive forward, but has been severely lacking in production the last few seasons.  Wisniewski seemed to fit the mold for a defenseman in Chicago, but was by no means one of the more talented players on the team.

Pahlsson came at a lower cost than other free agents such as Antropov, Moore, or Jokinen would have.  I’ll google-stalk this guy tonight and have a breakdown tomorrow.

Martin Havlat scored a great game winner in overtime last night as the Blackhawks beat the Ducks 3-2.  After scoring two in the first and giving up two in the second, a scoreless third led to the extra period, where Havlat made a steal and held off a Ducks defender to score the winner.

Troy Brouwer scored first just over a minute into the game and Andrew Ladd finished up a pretty passing sequence with a goal from Havlat and Dave Bolland later in the first.  Cristobal Huet was back in net and was great aside from a stretch of about two minutes in the second.  Huet let in the first goal after he gave the puck away behind the net, and the second on a scramble where he looked like he walked into a spiderweb.  Huet came back with some great saves in the third to keep the game tied up though, and stopped 26 of 28 shots for the game.

The win was great, but it’s the trade deadline that is on fans’ minds today.  One guy that might have been moving if the Hawks weren’t having success is Havlat, but they can’t afford to give him up now and are actually working on an extension.  This is huge, because Havlat was pretty much a flop with that contract he got to come to Chicago.  This season, Havlat has taken a more active role defensively and seems to be more of the old Marty.

The main thing the Hawks seem to be out to get is a center.  With a ton of young players to move (not those young players) there is virtually no one on the market that is untouchable.  To me, the most important thing the Hawks need is some experience.  A tough, experienced center would be ideal.

A few guys to keep an eye out for are Nik Antropov, Dominic Moore, Keith Tkachuk, and Olli Jokinen.  Antropov and Moore are both with the Maple Leafs and both could move today.  I think Antropov is a better fit as the Hawks could really use the size.  Tkachuk probably stays in St. Louis from what I’ve read; maybe that’s because he’ll just end up back there again anyway.  Jokinen is a very intriguing idea for the Blackhawks, as he has good size and is a great passer.  That one could come down to how desperate Phoenix is to get young and how much the Hawks are willing to give up to get him.

It’s possible that Chicago tries to add that experience on the blue line instead of up front though.  There are plenty of guys here that fit the needs of the Blackhawks.  They simply want playoff experience, toughness, and leadership.

The deadline is at 3:00 PM eastern and we’ll let you know if the Hawks pull anything off.

ESPN is reporting that the Bulls and Knicks have agreed to a trade and are awaiting league approval.  The deal would send Larry Hughes (!!!) to the Knicks for Tim Thomas and Jerome James.

So Hughes’ short time with the Bulls has come to an end, and Chicago will welcome James and Thomas.  Is it me or does Tim Thomas change teams, or at least almost change teams every year at the trade deadline?  Anyway, more on this later from Stormin’ Norman I’m sure.  Just wanted to give the heads up and give some of you a reason to drink at lunch.

In my brief analysis Thomas seems to fill in the role that Gooden left open yesterday.  A big man that can shoot the ball.  I’m not sure but I think Jerome James is out for the year.  But he’s 7’1″!  Biggest thing here is getting rid of Hughes. Obvs.

Also, in bad Google search news: I went to look for a picture of Hughes with the search “Larry Hughes Sucks, Bulls”  and Google responded with “Did you mean Larry Hughes Sucks Balls?”  Now that you mention it…

The Bulls made a blockbuster trade today, and thankfully it did not involve Brian Cardinal.  Brad Miller is coming home (so to speak):

The Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings have reached tentative agreement on a trade sending Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons, ESPN.com.

One source said the Bulls players were pulled off the team bus Wednesday afternoon and were told they had been traded.

Michael Ruffin of the Bulls also was told be was being traded to Portland in a separate deal, the source added.

Does this address our low-post problems?  Defensively Miller is average and will hopefully play well off of TT and Noah.  Offensively?  Miller can score and is a great passer, which this team needs to help the offense flow better (since VDN refuses to implement any kind of cohesive offense).

Also contractually, we get Noce off the books and out of the rotation, which is good for all involved.  Miller is another $11 million that will come off the books in 2010.  Couple that with Hughes $13 million and that leaves a lot of cap space for the summer of LeBron.  Salmons has a reasonable $5 million a year and comes off in 2011.  While he duplicates Deng’s position, he can play the 2 also.  I’m not sure how he is defensively, but he is definitely longer than BG so he can help defend bigger guards as well.  More analysis of this trade to come, but it looks like a good move.  I know, I know, no Amare or Bosh, but its not bad.

***UPDATE: Rumor has it that Ruffin is going to Portland for Ike Diogu.  It is unclear whether Diogu then goes to the Bulls or if he is going to the Kings. (Thanks to Matt from Sharapova’s Thigh for the tip).

***UPDATE: Diogu is going to the Kings. (Thanks Adam).

The Cubs continued their payroll cutting ways this off-season, dealing Mark DeRosa to the Indians for three pitching prospects. Combined, the three prospects play something like eight less positions than DeRosa.

I know nothing about these pitching prospects, but you have to think the goal of the trade is to clear some room to spend some money and hope that these guys can contribute. The Cubs also signed infielder Aaron Miles and have a deal in the works to send Jason Marquis to Colorado.

As of now, it’s hard to see the Cubs being better next year than they were this year. Peavy talks have died down, and DeRosa was thought to be part of that trade anyway. DeRosa carried the Cubs for a stretch this year while having his best season ever.

Let the conjecture begin on who the big signing will be with the extra money. Milton Bradley is the rumor right now, with Peavy and Brian Roberts still on the periphery. Also, it’s time for guys who provided quality depth to step in and play a major role. Fontenot and Marshall come to mind as guys that will be much more important in 2009, with a possibility of Samardzija starting still floating around.