Wow. Edmonton trading Ryan Smyth turned out to be more controversial than I thought.
USA Today? Not a big fan of the move.
Mike Heika from the Dallas Morning News? Not a big fan of Smyth: "Bottom line: Smyth has never had more than 70 points in a season and was asking for MVP money. He wasn't worth it, and his agent wouldn't listen, so Oilers GM Kevin Lowe did what he had to do. I laughed out loud when they said on television that Smyth was devastated by the trade. Well, if he would have signed a contract that was closer to Shane Doan's or Brenden Morrow's, then he could have stayed with the Oilers for the rest of his life."
Terry Jones? Curious how the two sides couldn't come together over $100,000.
Anaheim GM Brian Burke? Kind of mad about the trade process in general: "I talk to Florida assistant GM Randy Sexton about Todd Bertuzzi, and he tells me "the guy we 'like is Perry.' I offer him profanity. If you are offended by profanity, it's difficult to make a trade in the NHL. If you are going to try to rob me, at least wear a mask."
Me? I'm shocked Buffalo isn't getting more guff for what they got for goalie Marty Biron: a second round pick and the opportunity to obtain Ty Conklin, the goalie who cost Edmonton the Stanley Cup. If the Sabres had traded Biron last season, when everyone wanted him, they could have gotten a huge return. It seemed like a big waste.

This time of year, I'm kind of scared to write anything, because by the time any kind of trade speculation goes up, it's already kind of outdated. So I'm trying to type as slowly as possible while I watch the sites.
I'm a bit shocked the Isles are/were maybe thinking of parting with Jason Blake. Supposedly, a bunch of Western teams are very interested, and the Isles are wisely not considering moving Blake within the East.
Now obviously, I'm not any kind of GM/backup goalie, but I think the Isles are interested in moving the solid Blake, who they haven't been able to re-sign, because they have the sense that he's in the middle of the best season he'll ever have. Since the Isles are a bubble team on their best day, why not trade while the value's highest?
Also, the Violent Femmes are doing Wendy's commercials? I thought they kind of sold out when Ethan Hawk sang one of their songs in REALITY BITES, although I'm not sure if they had a say in that. Then I knew they sold out when they did SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH. So yeah. Acoustic punk is no longer viable. And that's no rumor. It's a P5 statement of fact.

I think I should have seen Keith Tkachuk to Atlanta coming (login info.).
I haven't watched a ton of the Thrashers this season, but one interesting thing I noticed is that Bob Hartley likes to put his offensive wingers on with defensive centers, especially in the defensive zone. Tkachuk is a nice upgrade over Bobby Holik and the injured Steve Rucchin. His game has a tad more offense, but he's still gritty and will keep opposing lines honest.
Now was he worth all of the picks Atlanta gave up? I kind of doubt it. I don't think the Thrashers have the goaltending to get far in the playoffs. In fact, I would have kicked the tires on San Jose goalie Evgeni Nabokov.
Also, the New York Times weighed in on the instigator debate:

But there is no evidence that the N.H.L.'s stars, under the current rule, are being forced to fight more to protect themselves, or that they are being roughed up more. Given the 35 percent drop in fighting penalties since 2003-4 — as well as the increase in penalties for all other kinds of infractions — it would seem that the stars are being physically abused less often under the current rule.

Isn't the instigator issue that stars don't usually fight to protect themselves? Isn't that kind of why you need someone to instigate?