Eastside's Hockey Elite Collide

The trade freeze will end June 11.

The time is now 00:02 on June 11th, 2012, in the only time zone that matters. LET'S DROP THIS LIKE A BEAT FATTER THAN ROSIE O'DONNELL.

To Boston:
R Steve Bernier [58]
R Alex Chiasson [64]
Dallas' second-round pick in 2012

To Dallas:
D Shaone Morrisonn [72]
R Byron Bitz [61]
Boston's first-round pick in 2012

May as well consider this two trades in one. I went after Boston's first-rounder and when he said he was cool with trading down if it helped him land Bernier, we haggled and got to this point. I know Bernier's high hitting is a valuable point, but he's definitely below-average in consistency and today's other deal gives me a player who's more or less a carbon copy of him with a lighter contract. Meanwhile...Bitz is defensively responsible, a decent grinder on a contract that's not going to break any banks outside Greece and I was happy giving up Chiasson for him.

...yes, I know I'm probably bending a rule by posting this early. Just remember, I'm overly enthusiastic. Like a newly-adopted puppy, except I can normally be trusted not to pee on the carpet.

Seconded.

If this move were the only one to take place this off-season, it wouldn't make much sense. Fortunately for us, trades don't happen in a vacumn.

With the addition of Bittner from WAS, Morrisonn became redundant. Subsequently, he became free to go to a non-conference team looking for help on defense for a player in Steve Bernier, who can benefit my bottom 6 with some hitting help and a fair balance between OF and OD. As a result, Byron Bitz became expendable for Chiasson, a younger, cheaper player who short-term will help the Baby Bruins, and who long-term has more of a shot of making the big squad down the road.

The draft pick swap seems absurd, until you notice it's only 9 picks difference between the two. I'm confident I can get who I want at #34 in the draft.

This isn't something I'd do with a division rival, but it helps to fill my needs and get redundant pieces off with value by dealing with a non-conference lottery team.

Approved.

Committee rationale: On the surface, this deal looks questionable, especially when you consider the transactions that have included Bernier in the past. Bernier is certainly more valuable than Morrisonn and 9 spots in the draft could be a close enough asset to close the gap. Bitz is a decent player as a 12/13th forward who won't hurt you. Chiasson is just AHL fodder.

Considering that Morrisonn was scratched for the final portion of Boston's season and postseason, he's trading from a position of strength. Because of that, we decided that the value in this trade is close enough to approve.

Entered.

Chiasson CON drop reset.