Bruins make trade with Panthers; Horton to Boston, Wideman to Florida

Wideman’s off the Bruins’ official roster page, and Horton off the Panthers’ one.

This may not have happened if you guys hadn’t had Toronto’s pick… I think trading Kessel could turn out to be one of the best trades in Bruins history.

Anyway, congrats, I’m pretty sure Horton’s gonna turn out wonderful, as well as Campbell and Hall/Seguin… lucky bastards! ;-) hahaha

Wideman and #15 for 25 goals! This looks like great value move for the Bruins.
Who voted that they hate it?

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!~
BYE WIDES!!!!!

Why was Campbell included?
Nathan Horton – Welcome to Beantown. We will be watching you :)

I really like this

This is amazing. I mean, as of this post, NINETY percent of us love the trade (I include myself in that number). Holy shit! I didn’t think you could get 90% of Bruin fans to agree on whether the sky was blue.

In other news the NHLPA did something or other because of Revenues being or 2.1 Billion dollars or something….well anyway there is a 5% increase to the Cap for next season…which according to some dude on Hockeytraderumors who actually did the math means next years Cap will be about 59.64Mil. A hell of a lot better then what i thought the team had to work with

Toronto gets
Lucic
First in 2011

Boston gets
Kaberle
Kulemin
Stalberg

Quite a bit to give up for Horton but I still like this trade. The change of scenery should be good for Horton, and playing on a line with Marc Savard certainly wont hurt him either.

RIDDANCE.

I read Savard was almost part of this deal. Glad he wasnt.

But it looks like they want to spend less for netminding next year, so I think that rules out one potential Thomas trade partner.

Nathan Horton, C Oshawa Generals (OHL)

Red Line Report 2003 Draft Guide
Ranking: #2 of 281 (Behind M-A Fleury)
Projection: 1st line power forward
Style compares to: Joe Thornton-lite/Bill Guerin

Entered season as top-ranked player, but was maddeningly inconsistent. Terrific size, speed, strength and a bit of a nasty streak all add up to world-class prospect. Outstanding skater for a big man who can make plays at top speed and is adept at giving and receiving passes. Has excellent hands and a shot that he can get off in tight quarters, but sometimes doesn’t look like a pure finisher. Very strong on the puck, has a solid work ethic, and understands defensive concepts. Year has been marked by too many highs/lows. Needs to play a physical style but occasionally plays on the perimetre. If he learns to compete hard all the time, Horton has the highest upside (of any ‘03 prospect). Struggled for quite a while after getting jaw broken by fellow top prospect Anthony Stewart in early season fight, but could be a franchise player. Once he’s comfortable with the role of true power forward, he will be a force.

RLR 2003 Awards section:

1. in “Best Pure Skaters” category": Rare for such a big man to have the combination of power, acceleration and balance that he has.

The Hockey News 2003 Draft Preview
Ranking: #3 of 100

There is a train of thought that says Nathan Horton could wind up being a better NHL player than Eric Staal if he shows more consistency in his game. The book on Horton reads like this: smart player, above-average skater who competes very well, smart defensively and responsible in his own end. He has the makings of a budding power forward who can put up points and finish plays. But he could use his size better.

There were times this season when scouts wished they could see the Horton they saw in 2001-02. He played a hungrier game then.

“Consistency is a concern, but we heard the same thing about (Ilya) Kovalchuk and (Jason) Spezza,” said one GM. “These guys sometimes get bored. But he turned it up in the playoffs when he had to.”

Scouts still talk about the time Horton took a beating in a fight with Anthony Stewart of Kingston and how he wasn’t the same player for about a month after.

“But he came back at the end of the season and he had a couple of great playoff games.”

Hockey’s Future Magazine, June 2003 Draft Issue
Ranking: #3 of 240 (Behind Eric Staal, M-A Fleury)

The Analysis: Nathan Horton is a power-forward type center with enough finesse elements in his game to be offensively productive at the NHL level. For his above-average size, he has great skating ability. He also has terrific touch around the net and the offensive awareness to develop plays. His overall offensive ability is coming out of the raw stages that plagued him earlier in his career. Horton continues to show promise of being a consistently productive offensive force. He is an agile enough skater currently to handle OHL defensemen down low but could use a little refining at the next level. He’s an exceptional skater with great straightaway speed, excellent puck skills as well as an accurate wrist shot and slap shot. Horton goes to the net with tenacity and is physically dominating in traffic and along the boards every game. He is great on the forecheck and he can force defensemen to make mistakes and create space for his smaller teammates. His defensive responsibilities need work, but that will come with time and increased opportunities to learn that aspect of the game.

The Skinny: Horton has the potential to be somewhere in between a Joe Thornton and a Jason Arnott or Keith Primeau-type player in terms of offensive production. His bull in a china shop mentality will serve him well through the rigors of the NHL grind. Expect him to be a team’s No. 1 center in the future or a great No. 2. One of the top prospects this year, Horton is expected to be among the top five picks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Internation Scouting Services 2003 NHL Draft Guide
Ranking: #1 of 250
Report Card
Size/Strength: A
Skating: B+
Shot/Scoting B+
Puckhandling: B
Hockey Sense: A
Leadership: A+
Poise: A
Defense: B

Skill: Blue-chip prospect. Good neutral-zone player. Has a nose for the net. Has a good scoring touch. Explosive skater. Strong in the corners and in front of the net. Protects the puck well- a real team leader.

Overall Game: Highly skilled, tough power forward with tremendous upside. He shows great strength and balance. What makes him ISS’s #1 ranked prospect is his ability to dominate both offensively and physically, and control the pace of the game. After suffering an injury, he bounced back from a somewhat disappointing regular season filled with high expectations. Horton elevated his game in the playoffs, displaying his franchise player qualities.

Weakness: His only need is consistency.

ISS forecaster: The total package; look for Florida to add Horton to complement Bouwmeester and Luongo.

From a Habs fan on Puck Daddy:

F$#%in Panthers. Dammit, Boston just replaced Kessel with someone less whiny, more experienced, and with two working testicles

From the @NHLBruins twitter feed: http://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/16797572056
Click through for the media conference call with Horton and Campbell. Big things I noticed: Wants to play in the playoffs. Wants to have fewer than 5 coaches in the next 7 years.

There is a GOD!!!!! i never wanted Wideblow, i still miss Boyes :(

not that i needed a reason to drink but Widemen getting traded was the reason yesterday so happy! i cried with tears of joy because i never thought this day would come!

As I said before, I don’t care who you are— if you’re on the Bruins roster, there is a possibility you’ll get traded this offseason (unless your name is Tuukka Rask).

The B’s are in a fantastic position with this pick and Horton just adds to that. Don’t trade Savard? Why not? That would clear up huge amounts of cap space and let’s face it, most of us aren’t 100% confident in him after that horrific concussion. If you get rid of him and Thomas, the possibilities are endless. The free agency is insanely deep and worth selling half your team (IMO) to rebuild with some stars.

Things I really want to see:
-Get rid of Thomas and his contract
-Resign Recchi
-Resign Satan (if at all possible)

Anyone hear anything about PJ Stock saying that Kaberle to the B’s was a done deal? It popped up on PD chat…