The 2012 NHL trade deadline has finally arrived, as today teams will overpay for players with expiring contracts, while other teams use the draft picks to build for the future. In the past, sports betting enthusiasts across the nation have been entrenched in watching the amount of coverage the sports stations in North America provide the final day of deal making. However, as we close in on the three PM deadline, fans and handicappers alike can’t help but wonder if this event is a little overhyped. Here is the latest news pertaining to the NHL trade deadline. As of this writing, only three trades have been made, as the Nashville Predators hope to have upgraded on scoring, as they are bringing in Andrei Kostitsyn to join his brother Sergei. The former Montreal Canadiens, has experienced a bit of a down year, as he along with the other Montreal players, simply haven’t done much this year. Since the Habs are in dead last in the Eastern Conference, the team’s management has attempted to make today their big spending day. For all intents and purposes, today’s deal allows Kostitsyn a fresh start as he heads to free agency, while also allowing Montreal to rebuild. The two other deals made today, include March Madness betting defensemen Mike Commodore being traded from Detroit for a conditional pick to Tampa Bay, while Nick Schultz and Tom Gilbert trade places in Minnesota and Edmonton. Commodore being moved comes as no surprise, as Detroit acquired Kyle Quincey last week from these same Tampa Bay Lightning for a first round pick. On the other hand, the Schultz for Gilbert move signifies two organizations finally giving up on players that by all accounts should have blossomed into something by now. With none of the three teams (Tampa, Edmonton, Minnesota) expected to make the playoffs, all three defenseman will probably become unrestricted free agents at the end of the year. From looking at the message boards and online social networking services regarding the NHL trade deadline, it appears as though fans are frustrated. Essentially, as the name of this article suggests, the trade deadline is overhyped and always turns out to be underwhelming. But with good reason for both scenarios, as on the one hand, there have been monumental trades in the past. Conversely, this season has had plenty of teams grow closer in the standings. For example, the eighth spot in the East and the 15th spot are only distinguished by seven points, meaning teams do not want to throw in the towel, when they are pretty close to the playoffs. At the same time, with so few sellers and plenty of buyers, it will be difficult for bookie software agents to set odds on which teams can make the biggest splashes. The other issue is, that because teams are so close to the playoffs without adding a big piece, they feel they do not have to necessarily spend. Meaning to say, while on paper it appears as though sellers have the pick of the crop, teams in the hunt won’t be doing anything crazy. Therefore, the trade deadline becomes overhyped with potential deals. At the end of the day, fans will feel underwhelmed, and when their team misses the playoffs, they’ll look back and wonder what could have been.
