As TSN reports, the Senators traded defenceman Joe Corvo and left winger Patrick Eaves to the Carolina Hurricanes for rugged defenceman Mike Commodore and scoring winger Cory Stillman.
I think this is a really good trade for both teams as Carolina gets their much needed puck moving defenseman and a good young player in Eaves.
As for Ottawa, they acquired the best player in the transaction in Stillman, a two-time Cup winner with Tampa Bay and Carolina who is a consistent 20+ goal scorer and can play on their top two lines.
What may be even more beneficial to the Senators is Commodore, a 6'5, 230 pound rearguard who has been to two Cup finals, winning one with Carolina in 2006. He might end up playing with Wade Redden which would provide some much needed muscle to that pairing.
Not to mention the glorious red afro that Commodore traditionally sports in the playoffs ... that thing is awe inspiring.
The presence of Stillman should push Randy Robitaille back to the third and fourth lines, perhaps even to the bench and I'm not sure too many fans will be shedding tears over this turn of events.
What will be the lasting memories of Corvo and Eaves?
Certainly mixed in the case of Joe "Uh Oh" Corvo who could skate and shoot but often seemed jittery in his own zone. Mike Commodore is perhaps Corvo's opposite in that sense while Patty Eaves is a strong young player who never seemed to find a niche, either due to injury or inexperience.
Both Commodore and Stillman are unrestricted free agents this summer and this should leave Ottawa some much needed salary cap room to make further improvements. If Martin Gerber is moved, this may open up some salary in the summer for the likes of Brian Campbell, Dan Boyle or even ex-pat Marian Hossa.
Who knows. Perhaps even Redden will still be in the mix, especially if he has a strong playoff showing.
It will be interesting to see once the smoke clears if Murray settled on Stillman because Carolina GM Jim Rutherford didn't want to part ways with power forward Eric Cole.
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