The most unexpected was the transfer of Marian Gaborik to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

NHL

The New York Rangers received substantial compensation from Columbus for Marian Gaborik (pictured) - three players plus a sixth-round draft pick in 2014
Photo: Reuters

The NHL met the ban on player trades ahead of the playoffs with a series of deals, some of which looked quite interesting. The former underdog Columbus Blue Jackets, fighting for a place in the playoffs, acquired the famous Slovak sniper Marian Gaborik from the New York Rangers. The Washington Capitals, who cannot make it into the top eight, traded experienced Czech forward Martin Erat from the Nashville Predators. And the Pittsburgh Penguins will be helped in their campaign for the Stanley Cup by the famous Finnish forward Jussi Jokinen, who played for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The saturation of trades on the last evening before the trade ban came into effect is a common occurrence for the NHL. And this season was no exception to the rule. On Wednesday, the league's clubs made a total of almost two dozen transactions - despite the fact that at the beginning of the week they were quite active in the market. Most, of course, will not fundamentally, at least in the near future, change the appearance of the teams that committed them. But some can have a fairly significant impact on the balance of power.

“Pittsburgh,” for example, this spring, with its transfer activities, very convincingly showed that it is not going to go on summer vacation without the Stanley Cup. In terms of the number of high-profile transfers, the club, which already has a golden roster decorated with two diamonds - Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, has become the undisputed leader in the NHL. And in March, Pittsburgh received sufficient reinforcements in the person of Brendan Morrow, Jerome Ignea and Douglas Murray, who moved from the Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks. But Penguins general manager Ray Shero decided not to stop there and, just before the deadline, agreed to acquire Jussi Jokinen from Carolina. The price for him was, I must say, attractive - a choice in the sixth or seventh round of the next draft.

In the current championship, the Finn, however, is not a hero (6 goals and 5 assists in 33 matches). But he has a reputation as an extremely reliable centre-forward who can score the goals that matter. But 30 years is still not the age to talk about some kind of irreversible decline.

It is likely that Pittsburgh was pushed into this deal by the injuries that have plagued its two superstars. Malkin has been out of action twice already during the championship, Crosby is now healing a jaw broken by a puck. For the time being, Pittsburgh did not notice any losses. But just this week I noticed it. Having gone on a 15-game winning streak, setting a league record, without Crosby he made two misfires in a row, losing to both the Buffalo Sabers and the New York Rangers with large scores - 1:4 and 1:6, respectively. Reserves will not hurt in the battle for the Stanley Cup.

Washington made an interesting exchange. The club, which was considered one of the favorites of the season, cannot yet break into the cup eight: the distance between it and the Capitals is now three points. To increase the chances of gobbling it up in the final stretch of the regular season (and the team has ten matches left to play in it), the Washingtonians sacrificed the young Swedish talent Filip Forsberg, who is currently performing in his homeland. He was given to Nashville, and in return the Capitals got Martin Erat. Washington's offensive line - with Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Ribeiro and, of course, Alexander Ovechkin, who finally tuned into the scoring wave in March - looks completely formidable with the advent of Erat.

Martin Erath, 31 years old, is a striker who has played his entire rather long NBA career (he came to America 12 years ago) in one club. And in almost every season, he brought Nashville what it expected from him - a good portion of goals and assists. In five regular championships, Erat reached the 50-point mark. In the current one, shortened by half due to the lockout, it will, of course, not be reached. But 4 goals and 17 assists in 36 meetings is also a good indicator.

The authorship of the brightest and most unexpected trade, of course, was shared between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers. Until this season, the Blue Jackets preferred to play the role of donor to other clubs. So, in the same summer, the Rangers acquired such a star as Rick Nash from the Blue Jackets. And for the first time, the eternal outsider without tournament ambitions - the Blue Jackets - decided to become an attacking star. It's clear why. The Blue Jackets (largely, by the way, thanks to Russian goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky) have a real opportunity to get into the playoffs. In the West he is now 11th, but only two points from the top eight. And if there's one thing the Blue Jackets lack to be more or less happy, it's offensive productivity. He has 87 goals, which is the worst in the league.

The Rangers' compensation for Marian Gaborik was substantial: three players (Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard and John Moore) plus a sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft. But it's possible that it was worth it. This season, Gaborik is playing, let's say, inconsistently (9 goals and 10 assists in 35 matches), but in previous ones he often found himself at the top of the sniper list, scoring more than 40 goals.

However, it is possible that the Rangers have become stronger thanks to the Gaborik exchange. The fact is that for the sake of Nash, he parted with two main forwards at once - Brandon Dubinsky and Artem Anisimov. The New Yorkers have lacked depth in their lineup lately: the striking units are basically fine, but they need someone to support them. So, Dorsett, Brassard and Moore, who moved to the Rangers, may provide such depth.

Alexey Dospehov

NHL Regular Championship

New York Rangers - Pittsburgh 6:1. “Philadelphia” – “Montreal” 5:3 ( Bryzgalov reflected 14 out of 17 shots - Emelin, 1+1). “Calgary” – “Edmonton” 2:8 ( Yakupov (“Edmonton”), 2+0). "Anaheim" - "Dallas" 5:2. “San Jose” – “Minnesota” 4:2.

Tournament table

Eastern Conference

IVPOPSHO

Atlantic Division
1. Pittsburgh	38	28	0	10	125:94	56
2. New York Rangers	36	18	3	15	88:87	thirty
3. New Jersey	36	15	9	12	89:100	39
4. New York Islanders	37	18	3	16	108:115	39
5. Philadelphia	36	16	3	17	100:111	35
Northeast Division
1. Montreal	36	23	5	8	114:89	51
2. Boston	35	23	4	8	100:77	50
3. Toronto	36	20	4	12	112:100	44
4. Ottawa	36	19	6	eleven	91:79	44
5. Buffalo	37	14	6	17	98:114	34
Southeast Division
1. Winnipeg	38	18	2	18	93:115	38
2. Washington	36	17	2	17	107:104	36
3. Caroline	35	16	2	17	96:106	34
4. Tampa Bay	35	15	2	18	112:106	32
5. Florida	37	12	6	19	91:127	thirty

Western Conference

IVPOPSHO

Central Division
1. Chicago	35	27	3	5	119:76	57
2. Detroit	36	18	5	13	94:94	41
3. St. Louis	34	18	2	14	98:94	38
4. Nashville	37	15	8	14	92:100	38
5. Columbus	36	15	7	14	87:97	37
Northwestern Division
1. Minnesota	36	21	2	13	100:94	44
2. Vancouver	36	19	6	eleven	94:93	44
3. Edmonton	36	16	7	13	99:98	39
4. Calgary	35	13	4	18	96:126	thirty
5. Colorado	36	12	4	20	87:114	28
Pacific Division
1. Anaheim	37	25	5	7	116:92	55
2. San Jose	36	19	6	eleven	92:88	44
3. Los Angeles	36	20	3	13	104:91	43
4. Phoenix	36	15	6	15	97:102	36
5. Dallas	36	16	3	17	96:112	35

Clubs created exchange moments