Pre-Olympic Break Trades

There was a flurry of activity leading up to the NHL Olympic break.  Massive deals saw Phaneuf coming to Toronto from Calgary and Toskala heading to Anaheim in exchange for Giguere. After failing to renegotiate his contract the Atlanta Thrashers dealt franchise player Ilya Kovalchuk to New Jersey.

However the team that made out the best was perhaps the Green Party of Canada who acquired veteran enforcer Georges Laraque from the Montreal Canadiens.  While the GPC has maintained record levels of youth and enthusiasm it has been clear that they have been suffering this season from a lack of size.

With Laraque now in the lineup the GPC is setting their sites on a long playoff run but team captain Elizabeth May was quick to point out that it will take Laraque a few games to become accustom to the systems employed by the Greens.

It is expected that Laraque will join the Quebec line providing the up-tempo energy to compliment the skill play of assistant captain Jacques Rivard.  He should also see ice time as a key component of the Green's penalty kill.

While they have traditionally shied away from the rougher aspects of the game rumors are floating around that Laraque is looking to make an example of Dimtri Soudas when the Greens meet the conference leading Conservatives in March.

This is a cross post from http://www.davebagler.ca.