The trade deadline is on the 26th of the month, however, the Ottawa Senators have already dealt a huge trade that involves 4 players. They might not have been in my top 10 of players I wanted to see in a Sens jersey but they are mighty close. Senators GM Bryan Murray announced the trade that brought in winger Cory Stillman and defenceman Mike Commodore from the Carolina Hurricanes and sent defenceman Joe Corvo & winger Patrick Eaves in return in a message to the NHL that Ottawa means to win the cup. The 34-year-old Stillman, from Peterborough, Ontario, won championships in consecutive seasons, with Tampa Bay in 2003-04 and then, after the lockout year, with Carolina in 2005-06, when he had 26 points (nine goals) in 25 playoff games. Stillman will be put on a line with fellow Peterborough product Mike Fisher.
Mike Commodore also reached the 2004 & 06 finals – in the first he was part of the Calgary Flames team that lost to Stillman and Tampa. He then joined Stillman at Carolina to hoist Stanley up in 2006. The immediate plan for Commodore is to pair him with Wade Redden in an all-Western Canadian tandem.Commodore, a 28-year-old who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 230 lbs., also won a Cup with Carolina and made it to the finals against Stillman’s Lightning four years ago as a member of the Calgary Flames. You may remember his big red afro and the legions of fans along the Red Mile who wore flamboyant wigs in his honour. The new duo are expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Senators take on the Buffalo Sabres at Scotiabank Place.