SHOCKING TRADE: ERIK JOHNSON SENT TO AVS, CHRIS STEWART AND KEVIN SHATTENKIRK TO THE BLUES

BIG TIME SHOCKING TRADE:

To St. Louis:

Chris Stewart

Kevin Shattenkirk
Avalanche 2nd Round Draft Pick **(Conditional)

To Avalanche:

Erik Johnson

Jay McClement

Blues 1st Round Draft Pick **(Conditional)

Review:

In one of the most shocking trades I have seen in a VERY long time, both sides moved fan favorites. Erik Johnson who was the 1st overall pick in the 2006 NHL Draft, was the face of the Blues organization. He is a huge guy, at 6'4 236 pounds but still has a great skating ability. The Avalanche were able to get a guy in Johnson that I believe is already a number one defenseman and at only 22, still has a ton of potential he still has yet to reach. I will say it right now, within the next two years, Erik Johnson will be a top 10 defenseman in this league and possibly top 5. Last season at only 21 years old, he put up 39 points and was terrific. The Avalanche also get a quiet but very underrated piece in this deal in Jay McClement. McClement is a very strong defensive Center. Although he won't ever be mistaken for a top 6 forward, he is one of the better bottom 6 guys out there. With his good defensive abilities, Jay should play an important role on Avalanche Penalty Kills. He now provides the Avalanche with good 4th line Center, a role they have been looking to fill all season. The Avalanche also get a conditional 1st round pick but I will explain that in a little bit. Although the Blues moved arguably the face of their franchise, they should be the furthest from upset as they received quite the package of players to help them get over the loss of EJ. It looks like the Blues are trying to build an identity of big strong power forwards as their top six is now packed to the brim with them. Chris Stewart is a terrific Right Winger that has made a name for himself in the past 2 years. At only 23 years old, he has a lot of potential yet to be recognized. He is always happy to go into the corners and the dirty area's on the ice, and almost always he will win those battles. Not only is he able to do the hard work but he is terrific at creating offensive opportunities. Last year, in only his 1st full-time NHL season he was able to produce a whopping 64 points which had him with 28 goals and 36 assists. So far this year he has kept up the scoring pace, as he actually has the exact same Points Per Game (0.83) as last season. He would probably had scored around the same amount of points again this year had it not been for a hand injury that kept him out 21 games. Another piece the Blues were able to pull in was a blue-chip NHL rookie in Kevin Shattenkirk. Shattenkirk has been outstanding this season, and has put up points with ease. Last season he played at Boston University, and this year he jumped straight to the NHL. He will be a top Power Play Quarter Back for many years and he will also provide decent stability in his own zone. At 5'11 he is a little small but he uses his body effectively which is hard to find in such a terrific offensive defenseman. The 22 year old has had 26 points so far this season in his rookie year and should end the year with around 38. In St.Louis, he probably will not be looked to, to be a top pairing defenseman and PP QB right off the bat as Alex Pietrangelo seems to have that covered for the time being. So with the smaller responsibilities Shattenkirk should have the perfect amount of ice time for him to develop his game further as there is for sure still a lot of potential untapped. The draft pick exchanged will be explained here:

From NHL.com, these are the conditions: "The draft picks will be used in the 2011 Entry Draft unless the Blues have a top-10 selection, in which case St. Louis can opt to transfer its 2012 first-rounder instead. If that happens, the Avs will send their second-round pick to St. Louis in 2012 instead of 2011."

Winner Short-Term: Its honestly so big of a deal, I am not sure who wins in the short term but if I had to say I would probably venture that the Blues win. As they get a defenseman in Shattenkirk that fills Johnson's role and also Stewart, who is a premier power forward.

Winner Long-Term: EVEN, Johnson is going to be a SICK defenseman but Stewart is going to be a terrific forward and Shattenkirk is going to be a top PP QB in the league