In a Shocker, the Big Trade Deadline Winners Are….The Phoenix Coyotes!

Jim Neveau, Icy Coyotes Guest Contributor

In years past, the Phoenix Coyotes have usually been the team that gives out all of its good players to other playoff caliber squads. They dealt Derek Morris and Olli Jokinen last year, and trading Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers was just one more nail in their coffin as the tail-spin became worse and worse.

This season, however, the Coyotes turned the NHL on its head by making a series of moves at the trade deadline that not only solidified them in several areas, but also hikes their playoff chances up considerably in the process.

They started out this morning by acquiring defenseman Derek Morris from the Bruins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2011 draft.

Morris, as you may remember, was a trade deadline casualty last season, getting dealt to the Rangers right before the appointed hour past. He has three goals and 22 assists this season, and he is still playing a workmanlike 22 minutes per contest.

Coyotes GM Don Maloney said “Derek is a talented, versatile defenseman who will strengthen our blue line. His leadership and tenacity will be welcomed in our dressing room.” Morris, who still owns a home in the Scottsdale area, agreed to waive his no-trade clause when he found out his destination would be Phoenix.

About an hour and a half later, the Coyotes made another move, shipping Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter to Colorado in exchange for winger Wojtek Wolski.

This move reeks of one of those “fresh start” type of trades, where both teams hope the players they are dealing will find success in a new environment. Wolski has had a decent season, with 17 goals, 30 assists, and a plus-15 so far for the Avalanche. As nhl.com pointed out, however, when you throw out his numbers from October and December, he has had little success, scoring only four goals in November, January, and February combined. The hope, obviously for the Coyotes, is that Wolski can hit another hot streak and help their offense score some goals.

Their next move involved getting Mathieu Schneider from the Canucks in exchange for Sean Zimmerman and a conditional sixth round pick. This trade may not be the most important one of the day for Phoenix, but Schneider is always a candidate to infuse some life into a team’s power play. With the Coyotes sitting second to last in the league with a 14.9% success rate with the man-advantage, the aging Schneider could be a shot in the arm for the struggling PP unit.

Finally, as if the Coyotes hadn’t done enough to shore up their team, they made one last move and acquired forward Lee Stempniak from the Toronto Maple Leafs for fourth and seventh round draft picks. Stempniak has played 61 games, and has 14 goals and 15 assists this season.

Stempniak may not light up the score sheet on a nightly basis, but the grit with which he plays the game was one of the reasons that Brian Burke acquired him, and the Coyotes needed some increased toughness in their forward department. He will certainly provide that to Phoenix, and he is the final piece on what was a really solid day for the Coyotes.

On what was a very quiet day for the rest of the NHL, the Coyotes ended up being right up there with the Capitals in terms of who improved their team the most. By bringing in Wolski to bolster the offense, Schneider to spark the power play, Stempniak to bring a little “truculence” to the proceedings, and bringing Morris back into the fold, the Coyotes served notice to the rest of the NHL that even though they are still the butt of lots of jokes, they are deadly serious about winning this season.

Will these moves result in a Stanley Cup making its way to the Valley of the Sun? Probably not, but at the very least, a parade route planning session wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Jim serves up hockey goodness at the Fanball blog Paint it Blackhawks, some basketball thoughts at Suns Spot on the Fanball network, and random hockey thoughts at TheHockeyWriters.com.

Tags: Boston Bruins, Brian Burke, Colorado Avalanche, Derek Morris, Lee Stempniak, Mathieu Schneider, Peter Mueller, Phoenix Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Truculence, Vancouver Canucks, Wojtek Wolski