Commodore Moved To Tampa Bay, Edm-Min Flip Defensemen

It's about 1 p.m. now - two hours away from the deadline - and a few more moves are trickling down. Nothing major aside from the Andrei Kostitsyn trade from earlier today, but a couple of moves were just made. The Detroit Red Wings dealt defenseman Mike Commodore to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick. Also, the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild swapped Tom Gilbert and Nick Schultz, respectively, in a move that brings both players to their home towns.

While offense is rarely a struggle for the Lightning, defense has not been up to snuff this season. While a long-term goaltender should be on the radar for GM Steve Yzerman, grabbing Commodore for a late pick is still a great move to help strengthen the group in front of the net.

Meanwhile, Schultz' 10-year tenure with the Wild comes to a close as he heads home to play for the Oilers, while his counterpart in the deal in Gilbert also goes home to Minnesota. Gilbert has some more offensive upside than Schultz, which is an area the Wild can always improve upon. And Schultz' defensive abilities will undoubtedly help as Edmonton's young scorers continue to boost the offensive side of the Oilers' game.