McKenzie: Senators are much improved
 Cory Stillman Bob McKenzie
2/11/2008 6:53:07 PM
By this season's meager standards, the Ottawa Senators' four-player trade with the Carolina Hurricanes qualifies as nothing less than a blockbuster and should be the catalyst to get other teams to follow suit with only two weeks until the trade deadline.
This is a good trade for Ottawa.
The Senators have added three Stanley Cups to their roster - two for Cory Stillman and one for Mike Commodore - and they have added a legitimate top six forward and a top four defenceman. If Stillman and Commodore play to their potential, the Senators are much improved. Stillman's secondary scoring is particularly welcome.
The deal makes sense for Carolina because they get a good, young, but oft-injured, Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo will help the power play.
Both players will be in the fold for another couple of years, while Stillman and Commodore become unrestricted free agents this summer and there's nothing to stop the Hurricanes from taking a run at both of them on July 1.
Now we'll see who else is going to get busy.
It's down to crunch time for the Atlanta Thrashers and Marian Hossa. If Hossa won't sign a long-term extension, expect the Thrashers to commence the shopping process.
As for the daily Peter Forsberg update, he's now apparently waiting until the end of this week before making his decision on whether he's physically able to come back to the NHL.
He's continuing to test his wonky foot and will only sign if he's confident it's good to go.
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