Ready to Go. Our Line Starts.

That's right, the Lounge has fired up Republica's "Ready to Go," one of the tunes the Kings of the late 1990s skated to during warmups before yet another crushing loss at the Great Western Forum.

Ah, those Inglewood nights, the mix of folks in Warren Rychel and Marty McSorley sweaters hoisting adult beverages in the vast parking lots at the neighboring Hollywood Park horse track. The Kings fans in that lot were definitely ready to settle some issues.

And tonight there definitely are some issues in the Lounge as we await the Rangers' visit to Winnipeg. The Maple Leafs are getting sticks up in the faces of the Flyers; stitches aplenty at the Wells Fargo Center. The Canadiens look like mere mortals, perhaps even worse, and the Panthers have evened things up after one period.

Any way you look at it tonight, the table is full, and I mean full even after I clear the main table of all the fixings for the Lounge's chicken tacos. And I do make some pretty fine tacos.

If I weren't here at the Lounge, I would be at the Flying Puck on Seventh Avenue and 30th Street, or at Five Guys on 34th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues. Rangers fans will have to make these venues two points of interest. Another would be Jimmy's Burger Shack on 31st Avenue just across from MSG near Eighth Avenue. If you go there, get the No. 9. Burger, bacon, fried egg, cheese. Goes down like candy.

OK, enough with the preliminaries and naked plugs. Hungry? Ready for hockey?

Good. You've come to the right place.

Updating the Trade Updates

More trades have been approved. Vancouver lands defenseman Andrew Alberts, sending a third-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Florida Panthers have added defenseman Mathieu Roy. The cost was forward Matt Rust, who goes to Columbus.

Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky is returning to Southern California. The Edmonton Oilers have traded Visnovsky, a former Los Angeles King, to the Anaheim Ducks. Headed to Alberta is defenseman Ryan Whitney. Lubo is a great addition to the Ducks.

Toronto has grabbed defenseman Chris Peluso from Pittsburgh, which will receive a sixth-round pick.

Forward Dustin Boyd is now with the Nashville Predators, who sent a fourth-round pick to the Calgary Flames.

Anaheim's Crease Grows Crowded

The Anaheim Ducks have added goaltender Joey MacDonald to their roster, sending a seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who are cleaning house.

After Hours Trade Reports Are In

The first of the trades to trickle in after the deadline involves forward Lee Stempniak, who is moving to the Phoenix Coyotes from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will pocket a fourth- and a seventh-round pick along with defenseman Matt Jones.

Another trade comes out of Washington, which sends defenseman Brian Pothier, forward Oskar Osala and a second-round pick to Carolina for defenseman Joe Corvo.

Los Angeles has grabbed forward Fredrik Modin from Columbus, which is slated to receive the always informative future considerations. Check is in the mail.

Martin Skoula to New Jersey

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved defenseman Martin Skoula to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Well, Wednesday is full of more moves for him as Toronto ships Skoula to the New Jersey Devils for a fifth-round pick in the June draft.

Skoula, who was projected to be a future star for the Colorado Avalanche, never reached that level and now joins a team in the Devils, who had a four-goal lead before giving up three goals in the third period and hanging on to a 4-3 victory at San Jose late Tuesday night.

Trade Winds Update 11:30 PM Eastern

Just three trades to report since we mentioned that defenseman Andy Sutton was headed from the New York Islanders to the Ottawa Senators for a second-round pick.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded left wing Alexei Ponikarovsky to the Pittsburgh Penguins for defenseman Martin Skoula and left wing Luca Caputi. Caputi has spent some time with Pittsburgh and also in the American Hockey League with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The Anaheim Ducks have sent defenseman Nick Boynton to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for future considerations.

The Edmonton Oilers have acquired left wing Matt Marquardt from the Boston Bruins, who are receiving defenseman Cody Wild. Marquardt has spent time this season with Providence of the AHL and Reading of the East Coast Hockey League. Wild has played in the AHL with Springfield and in the ECHL with Stockton.

We here at the Lounge will pass on any information we get on any player movement as we approach the NHL trade deadline, which is at 3 pm Eastern on Wednesday.

Kovalchuk Makes the Devils Must-See TV

Normally, tonight would have been a good night to go get a pie, a bottle and a record needle for the old turntable.

Except for the Phoenix/Chicago game at 8:30 Eastern, the Friday night NHL playlist would not match up well with what I can throw on the record machine. Then the big trade popped up on the radar, and now the Lounge will have to go with the Toronto/New Jersey game on the big screen and the Atlanta/Washington game on the small screen.

Both start at 7 Eastern. Ilya Kovalchuk, formerly a Thrasher, will skate as a Devil. Phaneuf, as a Leaf, perhaps lining him up. The Capitals are on a run. The Devils have been in a scoring funk, but now they, or perhaps their fans, are feeling ready for a Cup run.

Ilya Baby, that tall order is on you.



Yes, the band is registered under the name Smith in the Lounge jukebox. (I know what has you puzzled. Leslie Uggams had a TV show? Ten episodes and out in 1969. Check out who is centering a line of Jim Nabors and Jackie Vernon in Episode 5. Smith had to go end to end that night. Not a lot of scoring punch otherwise.)

And while Ilya Baby takes the ice in Newark -- and if there is an argument for an NHL team in Hamilton that I WILL agree with, it's that the NHL is in Newark -- the Thrashers will put their young ones through the grinder again tonight. They have been hanging in there, but now the franchise will have to rely solely on the youngsters, that is, if it doesn't cannibalize its own future as well as it's present.

And with that, I give you the Buoys, who had a little tune about strange meat, and we're not talking about the dirty water hot dogs bobbing for customers at the vendor cart in front of the Adult Video Arcade on Eighth Avenue and 40th Street here in Manhattan.

Talk to you tomorrow.

Let's Make a Deal

The Calgary Flames appear to be in sleep mode, the New York Rangers are moving their problems for those of another team, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are the best team to have won nothing since 1967.

And the pressure is on each of those organizations today. You have to like getting out of bed and going to the Web (no dead tree editions in the Lounge) to read up on who is making a run for the Cup ... in February.

OK, so there will be a long break after next week that leaves the season as a sprint through March and the first few weeks of April. But I see the standings in each conference as a work in progress. There's going to be some bumping and some teams are just going to find out that the tap is dry.

But it is fun to open the morning with this set-up line: A Sutter, a Sather and a Burke walk into the bar.... You can supply your own punchline, and there are many.

I've never been a fan of Darryl Sutter as a coach or a general manager. His "they have to work harder" line after every Sharks loss grew old pretty quick. And he is quick to put the "they" in every sentence. They, as in, not me, you understand. I do.

He is dumping parts, the latest being Olli Jokinen, who is leaving Flames to join the Rangers. The Blueshirts are in Los Angeles tonight to face the Kings. And to those folks in Calgary, I'll tell you this: Happiness is seeing the door quickly slam shut as OJ goes out of the room.

A former King, Islander, Panther, Coyote, Flame. Perhaps you can tell where this is going. Go, OJ, Go.

Larry Brooks of the New York Post looks at the deal as one where two people on the same block are holding garage sales. A trade is made. Your discards for mine. And someday, we'll share the cost of a ride to the dump. Lots of questions are raised. Few are answered.

Glen Sather's Rangers have hit February with little momentum going into the Olympic break, save for a victory Sunday night against the Colorado Avalanche. Should the Rangers win tonight in Los Angeles, then the fans who drink blue Kool-Aid will say all is well, we are back in the race.

Stan Fischler is one who thinks Go, OJ, Go will thrive this season in Manhattan and decide to stay at MSG 4.0 for another season. (I see that Stan has discovered the new mix of Kool-Aid being served as Orange Drink at the Nedick's stand at Penn Station.)

Maybe so, but OJ is not answer to winning the Cup. Darryl Sutter tried that move in Calgary. Didn't work. And after watching his Flames go down meekly at home last night against the Philadelphia Flyers, he may see a few more moves that need to be made.

And now for a team that will truly not be printing Stanley Cup finals tickets. Yes, that's you, Toronto. But Brian Burke is smiling today. He is living off the glow of the trade for Dion Phaneuf, and Puck Daddy reports that if all goes well, the Maple Leafs will be printing money as we speak.

Somethings never change in Toronto.

Losing at the rink. Winning at the bank. So you cannot turn the thumb down on Burke today in Toronto. But someone has to feel some heat. That mean's you, Ron Wilson.

Folks in the Lounge, we introduce you to Damien Cox of the Toronto Star. He sets the bar high for Wilson, who has not been able to win so far with what could be described as the best and the brightest from the Island of Misfit Toys.

Cox, you see, says Wilson is in trouble and needs to win in Vancouver during the Olympics. Yes, you heard Cox right. Wilson needs the United States, they of the smallish forwards, banged up defense and Tim Thomas or Ryan Miller as your starter in net, to produce a medal.

OK, have you seen the Bruins' Thomas lately? Strike 1.



Did you see Sidney Crosby have his way with the Sabres' Miller last night? Strike 2.

Now I think the world of Jonathan Quick, who is the third goaltender on Team USA, but if the Rangers -- with Go, OJ, Go -- torch the Kings goalie tonight, then it's time to prepare Wilson for the worst that the Toronto news media has to offer.

Cox has set the bar pretty high. For a hanging, perhaps?

Burke Adjusts the Storyline in Toronto

You have to admit that the royal suit worn by Don Cherry in the Coach's Corner segment last night was his most tasteful ensemble yet. Scary, but true.

Too bad there was so much time spent discussing life in Stratford, Ontario, during the Hotstove portion of the show, because it would have been nice to hear more about the moves that were being made by Brian Burke in Toronto.

Dion Phaneuf is coming from the Calgary Flames to the Maple Leafs. J.S. Giguere is leaving the Anaheim Ducks to help the Monster in Toronto. The Toronto Globe and Mail doesn't publish a paper on Sundays, but that doesn't stop them from putting out a full report when news happens.

Burke told David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail that the moves were made to break up the country club feeling of privilege that exists in Toronto.

Well, I don't know about Mr. Burke, but perhaps his team would feel less like the entitled class if the team wasn't granted the royal status on "Hockey Night in Canada," which usually schedules the Maple Leafs in the regal 7 pm Eastern time slot.

On Saturday, a very hot Ottawa team played host to Montreal in the afternoon slot. Sometimes, neither Ottawa nor Montreal merit a national audience on CBC, that is, unless they are playing the Leafs. (Francophones can catch the Habs nationally on RDS; Radio-Canada, the French television branch of the CBC, surrendered "La Soirée du Hockey" in 2002.)



Toronto is the center of the hockey universe, at least that is what we hear out of Toronto. Other teams that move from the end of the line to the middle are just that, middling teams. But when the Leafs move from the rear to a seat somewhere between the last row and the front row, they become contenders. That is what Burke is working against.

In Eric Duhatschek's thumbs up review of the Burke moves, he looks back at the 1992 Calgary-Toronto swap that included Doug Gilmour.

Gilmour’s presence turned the Leafs from a laughingstock into a contender.

He made them better, but a Cup contender? Well, they did lose to the Los Angeles Kings in the Campbell Conference finals in 1993. But contender should mean more than that. It should mean a contender to win the Cup from the start of the season through to the playoffs, not just in years when the really good teams are upset early and only the middling teams remain to win the Cup.

The good thing to come out of Burke's moves is that the Maple Leafs are now a more interesting team to watch the rest of the season.