More photos » Marcio Jose Sanchez - AP

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Eric Belanger has been traded to the Washington Capitals for Washington's second round choice in the 2010 NHL entry draft. Frankly, I have absolutely no problem with this move at all. Belanger was an unrestricted free agent and would have likely walked on July 1. He's certainly not irreplaceable, and is a nice role-player on this squad, but is a good fit as a rental down the stretch for a team like the Capitals.

So, let's say good-bye to our second-line center. He was a very streaky guy. He'd have stretches of multi-point games, then vanish for two weeks. Frankly, looking at his numbers this year, his trade value has never been higher. Put him with a guy like Backstrom or Semin, and he's looking at a definite career high in points the rest of the way.

Belly, I'd like to thank you on behalf of The Team of 18,000. Now go get a cup.

More photos » Ross D. Franklin - AP

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Here you are, Wilderness readers, a place to join together and discuss all of the happenings of the day. I will update with trades as they happen.

Check out a nice preview of the Western Conference at the deadline by FanHouse's Bruce Ciskie.

For now, a few questions to discuss:

1. Do the Wild make some moves, and if so, who and for what?
2. Is this the last we've seen of Owen Nolan and Eric Belanger in Iron Range Red?
3. Will Brian Burke add truculence?
4. With Ilya Kovalchuk already in NJ, are there any blockbusters out there?
5. Does Eklund's site crash due to "too much traffic" again this year? (FYI, I don't really care, I just wanted to make fun of him, and this question allows me to do so.)
6. Will CapGeek.com survive the day?
7. Will Pierre McGuire annoy me so much that I won't be able to watch anymore?

Here we go, trade deadline, 2010. Enjoy.

TRADES:

Derek Morris traded to Phoenix Coyotes from Boston Bruins for a 4th round pick in 2011. (9:32 am)

Martin Skoula from Toronto Maple Leafs to New Jersey Devils for three hockey pucks and a used traffic cone (ok, it's a 5th rounder). (10:00 am) Update: I am informed the traffic cone involved is indeed Martin Skoula. Apologies for reporting too soon.

Boston Bruins acquires Dennis Seidenberg and Matthew Bartkowski from Florida Panthers for Craig Weller, Byron Bitz and a 2nd round pick. (10:33 am)

Aaron Ward to Ducks from Hurricanes for Justin Pogge and 4th round pick (10:47AM)

Scott Walker to Capitals from Hurricanes for 7th round pick (11:27AM)

Yan Stastny to the Vancouver Canucks (Manitoba Moose); Pierre-Cedric Labrie to St. Louis Blues (11:39 am).

Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter from Phoenix Coyotes to Colroado Avalanche for Wojtek Wolski (11:42 am)

Detroit Red Wings send Kris Newbury to the Rangers for Jordan Owens (11:54 am)

Vancouver Canucks send Mathieu Schneider to the Phoenix Coyotes for Sean Zimmerman and 6th round pick (12:22 pm)

Tampa Bay Lightning have sent Jeff Halpern to the Los Angeles Kings for Teddy Purcell and a 3rd rounder (12:32 pm)

****Eric Belanger to Washington Capitals for a 2nd round pick (12:45PM)****

Curtis McElhinney from the Calgary Flames to the Ducks for Vesa Toskala (1:09 pm)

Raffi Torres from Columbus Blue Jackets to Buffalo Sabres for Nathan Paetsch and a 2nd (1:20 pm)

Atlanta Thrashers trade a third and fourth rounder to Buffalo for Clarke MacArthur.

Columbus trades Milan Jurcina back to Washington Capitals for ??? (1:50PM)

Toronto Maple Leafs trade Lee Stempniak to Phoenix for 4th and 7th rounders (2:06 pm)

Joe Corvo from Hurricanes to Capitals for Brian Pothier, Oskar Osala and second round pick (2:07 pm)

Andrew Alberts from Carolina to Vancouver for a third-round pick. (2:09)

Stephane Yelle  and Harrison Reed traded from Carolina Hurricanes to the Colorado Avalanche for Cedric McNicoll and a 6th round pick (2:10 pm)

Fredrik Modin from Columbus Blue Jackets to Los Angeles Kings for future considerations (2:10 pm)

Joey MacDonald of Toronto to Anaheim for 7th round pick in 2011 (2:15 pm)

Mathieu Roy of Columbus to Florida for Matt Rust (2:27 pm)

Lubomir Visnovsky of Edmonton Oilers to Anaheim for Ryan Whitney (2:32 pm)

Chris Peluso to Toronto from Pittsburgh for 6th round pick (2:39 pm )

Dustin Boyd Calgary to Nashville for fourth round pick (2:43 pm)

Alexandre Picard from Columbus to Phoenix for Chad Kolarik (2:52 pm)

Steve Staios of Edmonton to Calgary for Aaron Johnson and a 3rd rounder (3:05 pm)

Petteri Nokelainen of Anaheim to Phoenix for a 6th round draft pick (3:48)

Phoenix trades Anders Eriksson to the NY Rangers for 7th round pick & G Miika Wiikman (3:49 pm)

More photos » Paul Battaglia - AP

4 months ago: Minnesota Wild center Mikko Koivu (9) is congratulated by teammates Marek Zidlicky, center, of the Czech Republic, and Andrew Brunette (15) after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the first period in an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 in St. Paul. The Wild won 3-2. (AP Photo/Paul Battaglia)

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Michael Russo is reporting that the Wild and Marek Zidlicky have agreed to a new contract for three years, $12 million. The sticking point was apparently the no-trade clause, which ended up being for the first half of the new contract.

Marek Zidlicky

#3 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Feb 03, 1977

This contract ensures that Zidlicky will be around through the 2012-2013 season. Say what you want, but Zidlicky has been the only defenseman on whom the team can rely to get points, until we see what the team gets from Cam Barker. I have absolutely no problem with this deal, even with the Islanders getting a 2nd round in return for Andy Sutton.

From Buddha:

My thoughts are as follows, and this may not be the popular opinion. Zidlicky is an excellent offensive d-man. He is no Mike Green, but he is the record setter for points by a defenseman in team history, with 21 games still to play. The $4 million per year cap hit is the current going rate for a player of his ilk. Fletcher signed a good player to a good deal. He did not over pay, and he did not over sign for term, either.

Russo says the no trade clause is for the first half of the deal, which is fair, I guess. I hate NTCs, but if it is what it took to get the deal done, so be it.

Let's face it. Zidlicky is a better offensive d-man than any other guy on the team, save for Barker, who is a relative unknown right now. Burns may come around, still, but I have my doubts. He fits the system perfectly. Sure, his defense is lacking, but so is every offensive d-man. Guess what though? He isn't Martin Skoula, and he is not making nearly $5 million per like Kim Johnsson was.

I was certainly hoping to see him get traded. Not because I don't like Zids, but because I wanted to see what Fletcher could get for him. With second round picks flying around for mediocre d-men, it would have been interesting to see what the package was.

Alas, we shall never know. Welcome back, Zids.

In other news: Clayton Stoner has also signed a two-year extension. It's a $1.1 million deal; one-way deal in 10-11 and a two-way deal in 11-12 at $105K in the AHL. Not a bad move frankly, the kid showed promise before his hernia. We'll see how he recovers.

Clayton Stoner

#7 / Defenseman / Minnesota Wild

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Feb 19, 1985

Ok folks, what do we think? Decent deal?

We're keeping our ears to the ground for word on a Guillaume Latendresse contract and an Owen Nolan or Eric Belanger trade.

Alright, we're going to do a bit of house cleaning with this one. Still have some left over things that are a couple days old, but still relevant (hopefully). Enjoy. Walks should return everyday now.

Wild News:

Barker welcomes break to make new adjustment | StarTribune.com - Chip Scoggins with a piece about Barker. Probably going to be a few of these as the season winds up.

Havlat reflects on Olympic experience | StarTribune.com - Some good stuff, quotes and such.

Zidlicky's Wild days might be numbered | StarTribune.com  - This is going to be the story of the next two days. He signs on the bottom line, or he's gone.

No-trade clause is a hang-up | StarTribune.com - Russo back on the beat. Zidlicky wants a contract long NTC. No way. If he deserves an NTC, then everyone does. Makes no sense for the Wild to do that.

Trade deadline approaching, hangup in Zidlicky deal | StarTribune.com - Russo's Rants on the topic.

Prohockeynews.com The Best Place for Minor Hockey News - This is my piece for PHN about the Right Wing prospects in the system. Spoiler alert... there aren't any.

KiPA's Korner:

Hitting The Post: Hold your head up - He's right, silver is what the Cup is made of. Congrats Team USA.

Hitting The Post: Returneth, the NHL has - KiPA returns to NHL recapping.

Left over Olympic Stuff:

NBC awkwardly and abruptly ends Olympic coverage - Fourth-Place Medal - 2010 Olympics Blog - Yahoo! Sports
 -This was the final straw for me with NBC.

Crosby delivers gold to Canada; Wild news | StarTribune.com - Russo's Rants after the Gold medal game. Hey, I told you some of this was kind of old. Still...

Down Goes Brown: Canada Wins Gold - Toronto Maple Leafs Blog - Humor. Commentary. Despair. - DGB with a little bit of an emotional response to the Canadians winning. I can understand that feeling. Wish it would have been us.

Alright. Real, updated Wilderness Walks going forward. Hope you enjoy. Going to be a fun couple days.

-Buddha

Did you fall in love with Ryan Kesler, Zach Parise, Jonathan Toews or Tore Vikingstad during the Olympics? Well, I can't help you follow Vikingstad for the rest of the DEL season with the Hannover Scorpions, but the NHL is looking to help you with your hockey fix.

FREE PREVIEW OF NHL(r) CENTER ICE(r) PACKAGE
AVAILABLE ON DIGITAL CABLE FROM MARCH 2-8

Race For The Cup(tm) Offer Gives Hockey Fans Live, Out-Of-Market Games On Cable for Rest of Season For Special Price

 

NEW YORK, March 1, 2010 -Cable systems will be offering digital customers a free preview of the NHL* Center Ice* package from March 2-8 to get fans back into the NHL hockey spirit after a break for the 2010 Winter Olympics, announced package distributor iN DEMAND L.L.C. and the National Hockey League (NHL). Among the cable MSOs offering the package distributed by iN DEMAND this year are: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems, Bresnan Communications, Charter Communications, Midcontinent, plus a number of independent MSOs.

With NHL Center Ice, the out-of-market subscription package of live NHL games, digital cable customers can check out up to 40 out-of-market games per week across 14 channels, including a wealth of enhancements to enrich the viewing experience. Following the free preview, in DEMAND L.L.C and the NHL are presenting the NHL Center Ice Race For The Cup offer which delivers this service in addition to select games from the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup(r) Playoffs for two installments of $39.95 each or a one-time payment of $79.90.

Package enhancements include:

MULTI-SCREEN MOSAIC: This season, fans continue to receive free enhancements, including the popular rotating mosaic of multiple screens that shows all the live action games being played around the League, along with score, time clock and channel location. The multi-screen mosaic can be found on the first channel of the system's package lineup.

SAME DAY REPLAYS: One new enhancement which became available for the full season this year is replays of same day games. Free to all NHL Center Ice customers, the package re-airs each current day's game beginning approximately one hour after live play ends so that fans can see games they might have missed. Each game will replay in its entirety, repeated continuously overnight and the next day, on the same channel, until the following day's live games begin.

DUAL FEEDS: Returning this year are the popular "dual-feed" telecasts, which deliver both teams' announcers. Whenever possible, iN DEMAND delivers both the home and visiting team broadcasts of the same game so that fans can choose which telecast they want to watch.

STAT CHANNEL: Cable customers also receive NHL CENTER ICE EXTRA(tm), a live source for scores, statistics, game previews, game recaps and schedule information. This can be found on the second channel of the system's package lineup.

HD GAMES: The package also offers up to 12 games each week in high definition. HD availability varies by system.

Throughout the regular season, NHL Center Ice provides fans the opportunity to watch over 1,000 live NHL games, plus select games from the first two rounds of Stanley Cup* Playoff competition. More information about NHL Center Ice is available at www.gethockey.com. Residential customers as well as commercial establishments can order by calling 1-888-SPORTS-iN or their local cable provider. Blackout and other restrictions apply.

So, here's your chance to see what you've been missing, and see some really cool technology in action with the Center Ice add-ons.

Hey there Wilderness;

We're planning on sponsoring the Twin Cities version of NHL Tweetup and pairing it with a Hockey Wilderness viewing party. Check out the site for more information on NHL Tweetup.

We've heard from many who would prefer it be on a night where the Wild are on the road, and we're working with some bars and restaurants around the X who would love to have a decent sized gathering on a non-game night. Also, we want to avoid the state tourney, so that week is out.

So, what we need from all of you is a vote for the night of the event, and if you have a suggestion for location, let us know in the comments.

EDIT: We may need to get out of the Xcel Energy Center area in order to have this in March and avoid tourney traffic.

Thanks!

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With Niklas Backstrom's back ailing and Josh Harding coming off of a hip strain, the Wild have decided to bring up Wade Dubielewicz from the Houston Aeros. Now, does this mean that Dubie is going to finally get some playing time? I can't even imagine that happening. However, does it mean that Ms. Conduct will be happy because I believe Barry Brust is heading back to Houston.

Since being thrust into the starting role with the Aeros with Anton Khudobin being called up to the Minnesota Wild, Dubie has posted a 2.45 GAA through eight games.

"I’ve felt okay [since being called on to start]," Dubielewicz said. "I feel like these last couple games, I’m really starting to elevate my play. So far, so good."

Learn more about the former DU Pioneer and New York Islander thanks to our friends at Zamboni Chronicles.

In one of the cheapest of cheapshots, the Dallas Stars' Mark Fistric received a match penalty for hitting the Calgary Flames' Eric Nystrom in the head with Nystrom's own helmet in a fight last night.

Sure, you can say that it was done unintentionally, but that would be ridiculously untrue. He grasped the strap and swung it at Nystrom's head. Frankly, at that point the referees screwed up by not jumping in immediately.

The best thing that happened here was that Fistric received a match penalty, so Colin Campbell and his Wheel of Justice cannot possibly let him off the hook, then again Fistric isn't a superstar anyway, so it doesn't matter much.

So Wilderness, for how long will Fistric be suspended?

EDIT: OF COURSE NOT!! A moron named Colin Campbell, in his infinite wisdom, determined a fine would be good enough. What a fuck head. Check it out on Defending Big D