Minor move tells us some things

I guess my question about teams being able to make trades during the NHL playoffs got answered -- albeit by a very minor deal.

According to Puck-rakers the Jackets dealt 2006 7th round pick winger Matt Marquart to the Boston Bruins for 22 year old Jonathan Sigalet.

Here is the Hockeysfuture.com's profile on Marquart:

A mammoth of a player, Marquardt already has NHL size. He's a relentless and punishing hitter with the ability to change the momentum of the game with his checks. However he also possesses surprising soft hands and an accurate shot. As can be expected, his skating requires plenty of work, although with his work ethic that should not be a problem in a few years.

Here is sportnets.ca profile on Sigalet (pictured left):

Assets
Has offensive potential and the ability to play an all-around game. Displays plenty of character on and off the ice.
Flaws
Needs to fill out his 6-1 frame in order to maximize his potential. Must play with more consistency to become an NHL regular.
Career potential
Top six defenseman.

The Jackets had til June 1st to get Marquart signed or they risked losing him as he'd go back into the draft. Obviously those terms could not be reached so Howson dealt him for what he could get. Now its the Bruins problem to get him signed which obviously for them they think they can or they wouldn't have pulled the trigger.

For the Bruins they get a big young kid who has seen his stock do nothing but rise since the Jackets drafted him. He had 16 goals his draft year but his after that he notched 41g and then last year had 43 in the QMJHL.

The Jackets continue to add defensive depth. Sigalet is certainly still young at age 22 and is seen as a PP QB at the AHL level of which he's spent 3 years. He had 22 and 23 points over the past two seasons. He's got 1 NHL game under his belt.

To me this deal is more of a swap of depth. The Jackets have depth at forward and the B's have depth at defense and with the June 1st signing deadline as a motivator assets were moved. Or they were synergized so to speak.

As far as where will Sigalet fit within the Jackets system? With Rome/Methot/Russell/Tollefsen/Wilson duking it out for the 5/6/7 defensive positions on the Jackets, Sigalet could also put himself in that mix but most likely will add needed depth on the Crunch blueline and join the likes of Plekanov, Clitsome, Motherwell and certainly an AHL vet Dan Smith type player or two back there.

I, however, won't rule him out of competing for a spot on the big squad. We've seen what depth guys from other teams in Rome and Wilson can look like next to our regulars. Unfortunately that tells me most of all I needed to regarding just how bad our blueline really was.

So another minor deal for Howson and its clear he is continuing to build defensive depth. Not sure about the rest of you all though but I'm ready for some big stuff. Of course that won't happen til after the playoffs as its kind of a gentleman's rule not to take any attention away from the NHL's crown jewel the Stanley Cup playoffs -- especially the finals.

What we, or at least I, know now is that nothing is stopping teams teams from talking trades so once those finals end we'll see how quickly Howson is willing to fire the canon instead of these pop guns.

-LTL