It's not really Avalanche related, but I do want to talk a bit about today's trade that has goalie Hannu Toivonen going from the Bruins to the Blues. Boston gets Carl Soderberg in return, but, he is irrelevant; if Boston is making a trade, you know they are going to be the team that gets the shaft. Toivonen was marvelously inconsistent last year, prompting the Bruins to trade for Manny Fernandez. But, he looks to have tons of potential. In the near term, he can split time with Manny Legace - a guy I think would make a great backup for Peter Budaj, by the way. It would not shock me to see Toivonen as the starter before long, though.
Other than Paul Kariya (and now Toivonen), the Blues haven't been crazy busy this offseason. Still, I like the direction they are moving in. They seemed to improve substantially after changing coaches last season (as the Avs saw first hand), I think they'll continue to make strides next year. Perhaps Detroit will have some competition in the lousy Central division after all. And hey, if not, they can just trade some guys at the deadline and sign them again next summer.