Swap Meet

The "Huh?" moment of the 2010-2011 NHL season happened Friday night into Saturday morning, when the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche pulled off the surprise trade of the season.  Going to the Blues were Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk while the Avs received Erik Johnson and Jay McClement.  For two teams that are on the outside looking in, and with playoff hopes looking bleaker by the minute from injuries to key players (Jaroslav Halak for the Blues and Matt Duchene for the Avalanche), they both believe that a shakeup will do them good.  Now, before getting into the nuts and bolts of the trade, it's 1-0 Blues after the games last night, as the Blues got 2 goals from Stewart in a 9-3 win over Anaheim while the Avs were shut out by the Sharks 4-0.  Obviously, one game does not define a trade, but one wonders why either team would really want to make this trade.

First, a look at each of the players.  Stewart was coming off of a 28 goal season for the Avs last year, and was well on his way to 30 goals this season before a fight injury cost him a few games.  Since coming back, he had only scored 2 goals before the trade.  Last year was the first really good season for Stewart, who has been rather enigmatic, to say the least.  Shattenkirk is in his first pro season, and although he has put up decent numbers, he is also deemed expendable in the sense that the Avs have some young talent on the blue line that are waiting to be called up, and seemingly, Shattenkirk isn't going to be a superstar.  McClement is a dependable third-line player that you know what you're going to get day in and day out.  Johnson is the former 1st overall pick in 2006 who had missed a season due to injury, and was on the US Olympic team in 2010.  However, he has not put up the numbers expected of him in a Blues uniform, and given that Alex Pietrangelo is looking to take the top spot on the blue line, maybe it was time for Johnson to find his game elsewhere.

Now, for the questions to be asked.  Why would the Avalanche give up 30-goal potential in Stewart, even though he isn't always guaranteed to do so with the effort he puts up?  Is Johnson really an upgrade over Shattenkirk?  How exactly does the trade affect the futures of the coaches, since Joe Sacco is being rumored to be out the door in Colorado, and Davis Payne is likely on a short leash after the year's expectations have fallen short?  The questions will all likely be answered by the end of the year.