Always the horses, seldom the jockey...
Daily Commentary on the Dallas Sports Scene - By Bob Sturm - Sportsradio 1310, The Ticket - The Athletic Dallas - The Athletic - Bob Sturm
It's probably not all that illuminating to use points per game to compare blueliners, but just for giggles, here you go:
Skoula: 0.294 ppg (career) 0.245 ppg (season)
Mitchell: 0.192 ppg (career) 0.125 ppg (season)
I don't really know Mitchell that well, so I'm not sure if this is a good trade or not. I trust the men upstairs (especially after Bob's brilliant report on the GM box), so I'm sure we're doing okay. Of course we knew and somewhat feared Marty Skoula when he was an Av, but he has been less than brilliant as a Star.
Anyway, the proof is in the pudding. Let's see the guy play.
Skoula was not playing bad. Belle is a decent prospect. I'm still up in the air over this trade. I agree with the previous post, too bad we couldn't have traded Niinimaa instead...
What does it give the Dallas Stars? The Stars are gunning for top spot in the Western Conference as they hit the stretch drive and Mitchell will be a nice anchor for a solid defense corps. He's not a huge scorer but is a huge guy who moves well and clears both opposing forwards and the puck from the defensive zone.
What does it give the Minnesota Wild? The Wild have lost their top defenseman, but they got two in return. Skoula will step up as their blue-line leader and they won't lose a lot with that swap. Skoula will score a little more, but throw his weight around a little less. In Belle the Wild, who are still trying to scratch their way into a playoff spot, are also looking to the future. He's a 21-year-old kid with good size and strong scoring potential from the blue line.
Short Term Analysis Both teams did well for the short term, but the Stars improved a strong squad a little bit more in the drive for the Cup.
Long Term Analysis It's a good one for the Wild, who got a former first-rounder in Belle.
On a day in which defensemen ruled the movement on trading-deadline day, the Dallas Stars obtained one of the best defensemen available, acquiring Willie Mitchell and a second-round draft pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, in exchange for defensemen Shawn Belle and Martin Skoula.
Mitchell, 28, is a big (6-foot-3), hulking (205 pounds) defensemen that excels in taking care of his end and doling out punishment to opposing forwards. Those are qualities that the Stars certainly need as they duel down the stretch with the Detroit Red Wings for supremacy in the Western Conference.
The Stars, just two points behind Detroit at the top of the conference standings, already possess a nice blend of puck-moving and strong-skating defenders, headlined by Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher. Now, they have the hammer necessary to intimidate opposing forwards looking to set up shop around the Dallas crease.
Mitchell has just two goals and eight points this season, in 64 games, but he registered a team-best plus-15 mark for the Wild and also has a career-high 87 penalty minutes.
The native of Port McNiell, British Columbia also has an impressive, albeit short, playoff resume. He was perhaps Minnesota's best defenseman in the 2003 postseason when the Wild shocked the hockey world by advancing to the Western Conference Finals in the franchise's first, and only, playoff appearance.
That spring, Mitchell had a goal and three assists to go along with a plus-5 rating. Those numbers are even more respectable because Mitchell played much of that postseason with a series of painful injuries.
That pedigree was more than enough to convince Stars GM Doug Armstrong to part with promising young defenseman Belle, 21, and serviceable defender Skoula, who is now joining his third NHL team in four years. Skoula was signed by Dallas as a free agent in August.
Belle, in his first season of pro hockey, with the Iowa Stars, has one goal and three points to go along with a minus-4 rating and 63 penalty minutes in 45 AHL games. He was a first-round choice, 30th overall, of the St. Louis Blues in the 2003 Entry Draft.
The defenseman, 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2005 World Junior championships and also won a gold with the Canadian Under-18 team at the Eight Nations Cup in 2002, where he was named the tournament's top defenseman.
Skoula, meanwhile, had four goals, 15 points and a plus-6 rating in 61 games. The 26-year-old defenseman already has 465 NHL games to his credit, registering 33 goals, 104 assists and a cumulative plus-32 rating.
The trade of Mitchell was the second major move in as many days for the Wild, who remain on the fringe of the Western Conference playoff race, just seven points behind eighth-place Edmonton with 18 games remaining.
Wednesday, Minnesota traded goalie Dwayne Roloson to the Oilers for a first-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, as well as future considerations.
11 comments:
Scoop! Good plus/minus player. I'll wait to pass judgment until THN gives me more to work with.
As for mighty Marty Skoula--good riddance to bad rubbish. Or some such.
I would have rather given up Niinimaa. Skoula had played better recently, course thats why he was dealt.
The return of the big defenseman.
Skoula: 6'3" 220 lbs
Mitchell: 6'3 205 lbs
It's probably not all that illuminating to use points per game to compare blueliners, but just for giggles, here you go:
Skoula:
0.294 ppg (career)
0.245 ppg (season)
Mitchell:
0.192 ppg (career)
0.125 ppg (season)
I don't really know Mitchell that well, so I'm not sure if this is a good trade or not. I trust the men upstairs (especially after Bob's brilliant report on the GM box), so I'm sure we're doing okay. Of course we knew and somewhat feared Marty Skoula when he was an Av, but he has been less than brilliant as a Star.
Anyway, the proof is in the pudding. Let's see the guy play.
Skoula was not playing bad. Belle is a decent prospect. I'm still up in the air over this trade. I agree with the previous post, too bad we couldn't have traded Niinimaa instead...
yeah, looking at all the stats, size, etc.
i fail to see how we got a good trade here... oh well
who cares.
.......so let me get this straight.. The hockey lockout is OVER??!??! Hmm...
http://tinyurl.com/q42rd
What does it give the Dallas Stars?
The Stars are gunning for top spot in the Western Conference as they hit the stretch drive and Mitchell will be a nice anchor for a solid defense corps. He's not a huge scorer but is a huge guy who moves well and clears both opposing forwards and the puck from the defensive zone.
What does it give the Minnesota Wild?
The Wild have lost their top defenseman, but they got two in return. Skoula will step up as their blue-line leader and they won't lose a lot with that swap. Skoula will score a little more, but throw his weight around a little less. In Belle the Wild, who are still trying to scratch their way into a playoff spot, are also looking to the future. He's a 21-year-old kid with good size and strong scoring potential from the blue line.
Short Term Analysis
Both teams did well for the short term, but the Stars improved a strong squad a little bit more in the drive for the Cup.
Long Term Analysis
It's a good one for the Wild, who got a former first-rounder in Belle.
One more, from ESPN.com:
On a day in which defensemen ruled the movement on trading-deadline day, the Dallas Stars obtained one of the best defensemen available, acquiring Willie Mitchell and a second-round draft pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, in exchange for defensemen Shawn Belle and Martin Skoula.
Mitchell, 28, is a big (6-foot-3), hulking (205 pounds) defensemen that excels in taking care of his end and doling out punishment to opposing forwards. Those are qualities that the Stars certainly need as they duel down the stretch with the Detroit Red Wings for supremacy in the Western Conference.
The Stars, just two points behind Detroit at the top of the conference standings, already possess a nice blend of puck-moving and strong-skating defenders, headlined by Sergei Zubov and Philippe Boucher. Now, they have the hammer necessary to intimidate opposing forwards looking to set up shop around the Dallas crease.
Mitchell has just two goals and eight points this season, in 64 games, but he registered a team-best plus-15 mark for the Wild and also has a career-high 87 penalty minutes.
The native of Port McNiell, British Columbia also has an impressive, albeit short, playoff resume. He was perhaps Minnesota's best defenseman in the 2003 postseason when the Wild shocked the hockey world by advancing to the Western Conference Finals in the franchise's first, and only, playoff appearance.
That spring, Mitchell had a goal and three assists to go along with a plus-5 rating. Those numbers are even more respectable because Mitchell played much of that postseason with a series of painful injuries.
That pedigree was more than enough to convince Stars GM Doug Armstrong to part with promising young defenseman Belle, 21, and serviceable defender Skoula, who is now joining his third NHL team in four years. Skoula was signed by Dallas as a free agent in August.
Belle, in his first season of pro hockey, with the Iowa Stars, has one goal and three points to go along with a minus-4 rating and 63 penalty minutes in 45 AHL games. He was a first-round choice, 30th overall, of the St. Louis Blues in the 2003 Entry Draft.
The defenseman, 6-foot-2, 211 pounds, won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2005 World Junior championships and also won a gold with the Canadian Under-18 team at the Eight Nations Cup in 2002, where he was named the tournament's top defenseman.
Skoula, meanwhile, had four goals, 15 points and a plus-6 rating in 61 games. The 26-year-old defenseman already has 465 NHL games to his credit, registering 33 goals, 104 assists and a cumulative plus-32 rating.
The trade of Mitchell was the second major move in as many days for the Wild, who remain on the fringe of the Western Conference playoff race, just seven points behind eighth-place Edmonton with 18 games remaining.
Wednesday, Minnesota traded goalie Dwayne Roloson to the Oilers for a first-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, as well as future considerations.
Luis, take some more ESL classes please.
Play nice.
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