On Monday the Senators and Hurricanes completed a trade (an increasingly rare transaction in the post-lockout NHL), as the ‘Canes sent forward Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore to Ottawa for winger Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo.

As the Capitals primarily threat in the Southeast Division, any move that affects the Hurricanes affects the Capitals as well. As a whole this trade is pretty fair as the Senators picked up a forward to help their offense beyond the dynamo line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza and another solid defender, while the Hurricanes get a more offensive inclined defenseman and a young winger. But this trade is more about the future than about the remainder of the 2007-08 season for the Hurricanes. While Stillman and Commodore are both unrestricted free agent this July, Eaves can still be held as a restricted free agent for another couple seasons and Corvo’s contract runs through the 2009-10 season.

All things considered this will probably end up being a fairly good trade for Carolina, but for the rest of this season the reality is they’ve given up a forward who was tied for second on the team in goals and was fourth in points and their best all around defenseman for a winger who will probably become a top six forward (but isn’t at this point) and a puck moving defenseman (who is nicknamed ‘Uh-oh’ for his defensive shortcomings and has some off-ice issues, to say the least). The ‘Canes aren’t exactly waiving the white flag, but with this move the Capitals should have a less difficult time winning the division.

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