Trading places

Sporting News, The, March 26, 2001 by Larry Wigge

The separate deals involving Rob Blake, Teemu Selanne and Keith Tkachuk changed the NHL landscape as never before

The trading deadline had come and gone, and Devils G.M. Lou Lamoriello was talking to a friend about trades and near-trades before his team took the ice in Denver last week. "Chemistry is a big thing," he says. "You can really jeopardize your chemistry if you make the wrong trade."

Lamoriello's voice trailed off as reporters approached him. The G.M. of the defending Cup champions would rather not give away any secrets, so he changes the subject quickly. Very quickly.

Hours before, Lamoriello was a bystander to the NHL's trading frenzy. But the buzz in Denver--and throughout most of the league--was about the Blues obtaining left winger Keith Tkachuk from the Coyotes. The consensus was that the deal easily could have a galvanizing effect on the Blues, much like Colorado's acquisition of All-Star defenseman Rob Blake and San Jose's trade for high-scoring right winger Teemu Selanne.

"Now," Devils defenseman Scott Stevens says, "St. Louis has two home-run hitters--Mark McGwire and Keith Tkachuk."

The Devils won't have to worry about the Blues until the Cup finals, if at all, but the Avalanche will see the Blues once more this season--and for the first time with Tkachuk and former Flames center Cory Stillman.

"If you asked me who was the best, most passionate left winger I've ever had to face, it would be Tkachuk," Avs defenseman Raymond Bourque says. "He doesn't take no for an answer when you try to clear him out in front of the net. It's like a wrestling match whenever he's around.

"And he doesn't lose those matches very often."

To win the Stanley Cup, a team can't be predictable. It also can't be too small. It can't be too big and slow or too fast with no muscle. And it won't win without being a threat in all three zones.

"We needed to change the personality of our team," says Blues G.M. Larry Pleau, who had been talking to the Coyotes about Tkachuk for three months. "We had become a little comfortable as a team, not as strong in the puck area as I'd like.

"Keith is one of a handful of players in this league who can bring a blend of leadership, physical presence and scoring ability to the table in one package."

Pleau only smiles when he is asked if having Eric Lindros fly in for a physical was a bluff to force the Coyotes to accept what the Blues were offering for Tkachuk. If it was, it was the greatest smoke screen since the Oilers traded Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles in August 1988.

You want impact? Presence? Tough to play against? Now the Blues have all three.

"For a while there we were hoping we'd play St. Louis in the playoffs," Oilers G.M. Kevin Lowe told reporters. "Now ... I'm not so sure I want to see them, especially if Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis are healthy."

Tkachuk clearly is the best power forward in the game. But there are, of course, negatives. He never has won a playoff round (he's 0-for-7) while playing 10 years for Phoenix/Winnipeg. That, plus he has a reputation for being selfish and individualistic.

"They say that about every goal scorer," Blake says. "But you have to be a little selfish to keep your focus on scoring goals and fighting through the defense."

Tkachuk, 28, focused on positives when he was asked about the deal. "I'm looking forward to not being the captain and just worrying about myself instead of 23 other guys," he says. "It was nice being captain but it'll be great just to be an ordinary player again."

Some say the 6-2, 225-pound goal-scoring machine never will be ordinary.

"You want to know what the best part of this is?" Tkachuk says. "I'm going to a team that has a legitimate chance to win the Stanley Cup, and that is the best feeling in the world."

There's a level of talent at which you can throw out the worries about damaging the chemistry of a team. Stars such as Blake, Selanne and Tkachuk enhance the way players get along in the dressing room, if anything. After six games with the Avalanche, for example, Blake had a plus-minus rating of plus-12, stark contrast to the minus-8 he accumulated in L.A.

"It's a coach's dream," Avalanche coach Bob Hartley says. "Having a player like Rob Blake makes my job easier, just like when we got Ray Bourque from Boston before last year's trading deadline. You tap players like Blake and Bourque and Adam Foote on the back and forget about the defense, totally forget about the defense. You let them worry about how many minutes they can or can't handle."

Bourque and Blake now make for a scarier blue line for opponents, especially on the power play.

"He makes you look pretty good," Blake says. "He's always in the right spot and he gets the puck to you when you want it. He's the ultimate defenseman. He's one of the greatest defensemen ever to play."

Says Bourque: "From the get-go I told Rob, `Just do your thing.' He's got a bomb for a shot, and he gets into the holes so well, and he skates so good and handles the puck. To have another weapon like that at the point with the people we have up front ... it's pretty scary."