Trade Deadline…the week after

I’ve let the action of Trade Deadline 2008 simmer for a whole week. I wish it were a week ago. I never realized how much PR is attached to the exciting announcements of star players going to new teams. So, I want to look at the PR winners and losers from the trades completed.

The Winners

The Washington Capitals, period. The Capitals have been a bottom quarter team for quite a few years. As a hockey fan, I had forgotten the Capitals were even contending. The Capitals came out swinging their PR club this year. I can’t stop myself from watching the Washington results to see how their new teammates are adjusting. Christobal Huet, the biggest steal of the dealing in my opinion, has won both his starts since moving to America’s capital. Huet has sparked a fire under Kolzig, which gives the Capitals a very solid goaltending duo. Nothing creates a solid base for advertisements, marketing and communications like good goaltending (see examples: Mikka Kiprusoff in Calgary (2003-2004), Dwayne Roloson in Edmonton (2005-2006) and Patrick Roy in Colorado (1996 until the end of his career)). Second, the Capitals added a big name player like Sergei Fedorov. Fedorov joins Russian stars Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin. That is a PR professionals trio from heaven. Lastly, Matt Cooke adds excitement for the fans with his gritty play. The Capitals added on-ice talent and PR material to generate communication pieces to bring hope to a struggling hockey club.

I am actually going to put the Toronto Maple Leafs on the PR winner list. Cliff Fletcher didn’t get his Sundin deal, but he did get a nice handful of draft picks. When Fletcher first joined the Leafs, I posted that he needed to focus on a new youthful team. The season has been forgotten by many Leafs fans, so these draft picks (at the expense of Chad Kilger, Wade Belak and Hal Gill) are going to bring the new youthful faces needed to form a new hockey club. The Leafs won at the deadline because they added the assets needed for a stable PR environment in the future. That’s exactly what the doctor ordered for the club.

The Montreal Canadiens, despite my apprehension when Huet was traded, are winners this year. I thought the team needed to add a big name, big results player after Huet left. Instead, Bob Gainey turned what looked like a misguided, quick decision into a smart GM move. Gainey, rather than whine about Marion Hossa going to the Penguins, took the opportunity to show his faith in Carey Price. I think the added pressure might be exactly what Price needed. At first, I thought the loss of Huet would devastate the goaltending core in Montreal, but after watching the New Jersey vs. Montreal game, I am becoming a believer in Gainey’s decision making. Price has to answer the call to duty or face the consequences – angry Montreal fans. I think the trade has turned into a great PR move because it offers a couple benefits. First, hockey fans have their eyes on the Canadiens. People want to see how the team does with the help of the 20 year old goalie. Second, if Price succeeds and proves Gainey right, what a story. See earlier examples of Kiprusoff and Roloson.

The Pittsburgh Penguins, at the moment, are winners. Listen to these names: Crosby, Malkin and Hossa. That is a deadly sounding trio. Now, they all share the same hockey sweaters. While Hossa suffered a minor injury in his first game, he will be back soon. Crosby is back, and Marc-Andre Fleury has returned. The Penguins now have some of the best forwards in the game and the unexpectedly strong goaltending situation with Conklin and Fleury. However, the team could go from winners to losers. Hossa has to perform. In my opinion, to maintain the PR strength of the deal, Hossa needs to resign with the Penguins too. If Hossa falls flat and doesn’t resign, or even if he plays well but doesn’t resign, the team will have a PR nightmare. The Penguins gave up three young players with unknown potentials and limits and a first round draft pick for Hossa. How does losing what amounts to four young, potentially franchise players, become a good PR story unless Hossa performs well and resigns?

The Dallas Stars. Brad Richards. Enough said.

The Losers

The Ottawa Senators were PR losers in my books. What makes a struggling team look better in PR? Change! The Senators needed to change the status quo. They got Martin Lapointe. Lapointe may add leadership in the dressing room, but he does little for PR strategies. Senators fans expect a lot after last season’s results and the beginning of this season. Firing Coach Paddock isn’t enough to convince fans that change is on the way. Some new faces between the pipes would have helped a lot. Ottawa needed to lose Ray Emery and/or Martin Gerber. I was a big Emery fan last season, but he is starting to look like Dan Cloutier. Inconsistent. Gerber lost a lot of his credibility after his performance last season, but if given the choice as a Senators PR staff member, I would have kept Gerber, if a goalie had to be kept. In the end, the Senators still have Emery and Gerber. The change needed for a fresh new message to fans didn’t happen at the deadline. As a result, the Senators were PR losers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning lost big time. There is very little material left for Lightning PR staff. St. Louis and Lecavalier are the last men standing in Tampa. The club has been on a downward spiral that the communication plan of a lifetime couldn’t save. Now, the Lightning lost Brad Richards and made the Stars into PR winners. The Lightning got Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern, but those players can’t fill the void left by a Conn Smythe recipient. Poor Mike Smith has been thrown to the wolves as the new #1 goalie in Tampa. The only news left for PR staff to cover will be the score, which isn’t going to be enjoyable to look at. Media and fans want more than scores. They want human interest stories, hope and most importantly, the Stanley Cup. The Lightning, with the loss of Richards at the deadline, don’t offer any of those potential attention grabbers. Even worse, Richards, upon being traded, implied that the Lightning club is having internal problems. Many in the media speculated at that, but to hear it from a soft spoken guy like Richards, the message is delivered. The Lightning were the biggest losers of Trade Deadline 2008.

Honourable Mentions

The Calgary Flames scored PR victory after the deadline when GM Sutter had a wonderful soundbite. Sutter said that they had a good team as is, and there wasn’t any need for change. Before the deadline, Sutter added Jim Vandermeer to the defensive core, and Vandermeer is proving to be a solid defenseman. Sutter showed confidence in his team, and that was great for producing a few stories in local and national papers and NHL.com.

The Colorado Avalanche recreated the 1996 Stanley Cup team this year by bringing in Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote. The move is great for PR because of the championship memories for fans and the warm, fuzzy stories that PR staff can write thanks to the reunion. The problem is that beyond the memories, the Avalanche lost Ryan Smyth and Marek Svatos this week, and could easily lose Forsberg given his recent injury record. For the time being, the Avalanche deserve mention because of the attention the moves have generated. Currently is a PR pillow for Colorado to rest on.