NHL Trade Breakdown: 2.9.2011

The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching, set to go in effect at 3 p.m. eastern time on Monday, February 28. With just about two and half weeks remaining, it's time for teams to decide whether they are buyers or sellers and for general manager to start negotiations in hopes of building for the playoffs or giving themselves a better shot for next season.

A good numbers of deals went down today, signaling that perhaps the ball is rolling from here on out for these trades to take place. Lets take a look of some of these deals and break down how they affect the teams involved.

Toronto Maple Leafs trade defenseman Francois Beauchemin to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Joffrey Lupul, defensive prospect Jake Gardiner and a conditional 2013 fourth round pick:

Over the last few years, the Toronto Maple Leafs have constantly been a rumor mill for trades, especially involving defensemen. It seems impossible for Tomas Kaberle to avoid this at every twist and turn of his season from a yearly basis. This year, however, he was not alone on the trade block. Francois Beauchemin had long been considered available to any team willing to offer general manager Brian Burke something of substance.

It seems that Anaheim was able to cough up something to his liking. By sending Joffrey Lupul, former first rounder (17th overall in 2008) Jake Gardiner and a conditional fourth round pick in 2013 to Toronto, the Ducks were able to bring a familiar face back to The Honda Center. Beauchemin, 30, spent four seasons with the Ducks and has a Stanley Cup to his credit from playing on their 2007 championship team. And that familiarity to the Ducks, as well as a renewed sense of motivation for playing on a championship contender, could make this a worthwhile acquisiton for the Ducks. It also doesn't hurt that the Ducks managed to shed about half a million bucks in cap space in the process.

But it doesn't come without risk. Beauchemin has largely been a disappointment for the Maple Leafs this year and carries a hefty $3.8 million cap hit this year and next for what has thus far been subpar play. Lupul may not be a gamebreaker, but he is a decent contributor with 25-goal, 50-point potential when healthy that should fill Toronto's need of scoring more goals. And the Leafs gave up an intriguing 20-year old defensive prospect that could have grown into a key asset on Anaheim's blue line along with the likes of Cam Fowler. For a player that has been struggling like Beauchemin, that's not necessarily the greatest gamble.

If Beauchemin truly takes this deal as a reason to step up his game and play with a renewed energy to his game, he can be a nice veteran pickup for a team currently holding onto a seventh-seed playoff position out West by just one point. But if he plays just as he did in Toronto, the Ducks would have been better off holding onto Gardiner and monitoring his progress.

The New York Islanders deal a sixth round pick in 2011 to the Phoenix Coyotes for goaltender Al Montoya:

The New York Islanders goaltending situation is pretty atrocious right now. I know - what else is new? They have traded away Dwayne Roloson, been rejected by Evgeni Nabokov, are never sure when Rick DiPietro is actually healthy enough to play, and have lost two fill-ins from their farm system in Nathan Lawson and Kevin Poulin to injury recently. Sitting on their fifth goaltender who surrendered five goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs in an impromptu start thanks to Poulin injuring his knee during pre-game warmups, general manager Garth Snow had to seek somebody to fill their crease going forward.

Not prepared to deal away any top-tier talent or early draft picks, Snow went the route of a minor deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. He acquired Al Montoya from the 'Yotes in exchange for a sixth rounder in 2011. Montoya, who is a former sixth overall selection for the New York Rangers from 2004, brings with him just five games worth of NHL experience. But those five games from 2008 were rather impressive and include a shutout against the Colorado Avalanche in his first NHL game.

This really is a no-lose situation for both the Coyotes and Islanders. Montoya was never really going to see any more than limited action as a backup to Ilya Bryzgalov in Phoenix, and even that was a slim possibility. For just a sixth round pick, which will help Coyotes GM Don Maloney find more young talent, the Islanders acquired a goaltender who never got a good crack at the NHL despite being at one time setup to be the next No. 1 for the Rangers until Henrik Lundqvist reminded them that he existed within their system. He should receive plenty of time and opportunity in Long Island, with very little pressure for a team that has zero hope of making the playoffs and simply wants somebody to sport their crease that can avoid getting a hang nail in the process.

The Chicago Blackhawks acquire forward Michael Frolik and goaltender Alexander Salak from the Florida Panthers in exchange for forwards Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan:

When not in the playoff picture, and it's rare that they are, the Florida Panthers are always known to be willing to wheel and deal almost anybody on their roster for the right return. Panthers general manager Dale Tallon got in contact with his former employer, the Chicago Blackhawks, and swung a deal with them that sent 22-year old winger Michael Frolik and the Swedish Elite League's top goaltender Alexander Salak to Chicago in exhange for 23-year old winger Jack Skille, career minor leaguer Hugh Jessiman and 19-year old center David Pacan.

I can honestly say that I have no clue what Florida was trying to accomplish in this trade other than try to cut a little payroll. The Blackhawks vastly improved their team with a greater offensive presence at the NHL level in Frolik and a 24-year old netminder impressing enough overseas that he might possibly work his way toward the starting position in Chicago.

Skille is a solid, young winger with a more physical edge to his game than Frolik. But he also generally scores at a smaller clip than Frolik, who at 22 years old could have been a player the Panthers partly build their team around. Skille, 23, is still young, but not at the same level as Frolik.

Jessiman is a bust since his days of being drafted by the Rangers in the first round (12th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. He's been a 20-goal scorer in the AHL. But he's never skated in the NHL because he never really gave a team that all-around impressiveness the Rangers saw in him eight years ago. In Florida, he'll get the opportunity to skate on NHL ice. But it's hard to imagine the 26-year old is going to wow the world at this point.

The addition of Pacan gives the Panthers another fine young offensive player to monitor over the next few years. He currently has 43 points in 43 games as a member of the Niagra IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League. But he's at least a few years away from making an impact in Florida and could just fall into the trap of being another good, young player just being built up to be traded away somewhere down the line.