As I had anticipated, Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland stood pat with his current team and did not budge by the trade deadline. Due to how close the Wings were to the salary cap maximum, Holland would have had to traded or waived one of our current players in order to acquire another. While our GM did inquire about a few players including the Ottawa Senators' Chris Neil, Holland was never close to a deal.

Frankly, I think we've seen the positive impact that some of our Grand Rapids players have had on our lineup of late -- Ville Leino, Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader and Jonathan Ericsson to name a few. These players will be brought up upon the conclusion of the regular season when the salary cap no longer matters. I personally view the addition of a Leino or Helm on the fourth line and Ericsson on the blue line as a positive -- an addition like that of acquiring a depth player at the trade deadline. While goaltending is certainly our biggest issue, we weren't going to be able to find an affordable player so I don't mind that Holland didn't change things up today.

There were some other Western Conference teams that didn't make any changes close to the deadline including the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville Predators and Minnesota Wild.

But how did other top teams in the Western Conference improve by the deadline?

• Chicago acquired Samuel Pahlsson, defenseman Logan Stephenson and a conditional pick in the 2009 draft from the Anaheim Ducks much to the dismay of Earl Sleek at Battle of California. Pahlsson really impressed me in the Ducks' 2006-07 run to the SCF and could've even earned the Conn Smythe, but he hasn't played quite so amazing since then and is currently on injured reserved. The Blackhawks gave up defenseman James Wisniewski and forward Petri Kontiola.
• The Ducks also shipped Travis Moen and Kent Huskins to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Nick Bonino, Timo Pielmeier, and a conditional pick. The Sharks were also close to the cap ceiling so they didn't have much room to do something big. This trade brings some depth to their roster and Moen played a role in the Ducks' SCF run so I think this is a good move for San Jose, but not anything that has me terrified about how San Jose improved their team by so much while we did nothing. It just gave them some depth and players with SCF experience, which is a slight cause for concern but not overly scary.
  
• The Calgary Flames made the biggest move in the Western Conference when they traded for Olli Jokinen of the Phoenix Coyotes and a 2009 third round pick by giving up Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a first round draft pick in '09 or '10. Kent at Matchsticks & Gasoline isn't too crazy about this trade from the Flames' perspective as he views Calgary's depth to be a problem and they gave up two forwards for one, even if Jokinen is a good player. The Flames also managed to bring back Jordan Leopold in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche by giving up defensemen Lawrence Nycholat and Ryan Wilson and a second-round pick in 2009. Kent is a big fan of this move. I can't say offensively, I'm really that much more worried about the Flames if I've even changed my opinion at all. Leopold has been a difference maker in the first three games the Wings played against the Avs this season so he can be a problem, but again I don't think will make or break that team's success in the postseason.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets made a smart move earlier in the day by sending goaltender Pascal Leclaire and a second round draft pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward Antoine Vermette. It seems like a reasonable trade for both sides -- Ottawa desperately needed a goaltender and Columbus gets a forward that can win faceoffs, kill penalties, and score as well. 
  
• It wasn't a trade, but the Dallas Stars picked University of Michigan alum Brendan Morrison off of waivers.