On one side of the Montreal Canadiens' balance sheet, the price was wrong for Marian Hossa. But on the other side of the ledger, general manager Bob Gainey determined the price - or rather the time - was right for 20-year-old goaltender Carey Price.
On a quiet NHL trade deadline day for the six Canadian clubs, Gainey made the most noise by giving up No. 1 goalie Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals for a 2009 second-round draft pick. The move shocked Montreal's fault-finding fandom. But a calm Gainey was ready to take the heat.
"There is a risk reward that we, I, have decided to take," he said. "It was a clear decision to make our goal available to two premier, young goalies [Price and Jaroslav Halak] I think with the competition those two young players can create, there is a risk there, but they are quality players."
Gainey reminded his critics that last spring his organization made the decision to employ Price as the top netminder with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL after his junior season had ended. Price responded by leading the Bulldogs to the Calder Cup championship.
Price, 13-9-3 in his rookie campaign with the Canadiens, was in goal for the 5-1 win against the Atlanta Thrashers at the Bell Centre last night.
Huet is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Gainey and Huet had not engaged in talks on a contract extension, but Huet's play lately may have made Gainey's decision for him.
"I didn't play well enough the last three weeks, so I guess I didn't help my cause," Huet admitted. "Now I have a chance to join another team and try to help them jump into the playoffs."
The fifth-place Canadiens have come together this season for a surprise rise up the NHL's Eastern Conference standings. This rapid growth prompted Gainey to admit last week that he was hoping to add an impact player to improve his team's chances in the playoffs.
He did make a push for Hossa from the Thrashers, but the price of three roster players, plus a prospect or draft pick, was too steep. Ditto for Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray.
The Penguins gave up Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, prospect Angelo Esposito and a first-round draft pick for Hossa.
"Just to shape it for you," said Gainey, who held talks on and off with his Thrashers counterpart Don Waddell for the past three days. "At a point [yesterday]we spoke to Atlanta and they asked for four elements, three who were skating in our game [against the Thrashers]
"When you add it up, minus what was leaving, what was staying and in view of our objective to get into the playoffs, we wouldn't give them what they asked us for. We made them an offer with less elements involved and they made their decision."
Hossa, Brad Richards, Brian Campbell were the three biggest names in the 25 trades and 45 players who were moved yesterday. But NHL trade deadline day was rather dead in Canada.
The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers were silent. Gainey made a solo move and so did Murray. The Senators' GM acquired some sandpaper and leadership in forward Martin Lapointe, 34, from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a 2008 sixth-round pick.
"Marty's a terrific man," Murray said. "When he came through as a young player, I saw character galore in him. He hasn't changed. He's maybe lost a step. He plays with great determination and grit, a real character guy. I really like the fact he's won, and his presence in the room will help us and help the leadership group.
"He's not afraid to step on toes. That's only part of what we need, but we certainly needed that gritty kind of guy that will show up at critical times in games."
With his team's recent slump, Murray was asked whether head coach John Paddock's job was safe.
"I think winning makes everything safe," said Murray, who added he hasn't "addressed" returning behind the bench.
The Vancouver Canucks dealt frisky forward Matt Cooke, a potential unrestricted free agent in the summer, to the Washington Capitals for Matt Pettinger.
Toronto Maple Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher stockpiled four draft picks in exchange for defenceman Hal Gill, tough guy Wade Belak and forward Chad Kilger. Kilger and Belak went to the Florida Panthers for third-round and fifth-round selections this June. Gill was shipped to the Penguins for a second-round pick in 2008 and a fifth-round choice in 2009.