ESPN

	THE TRADE
	RANGERS GET: Alexei Kovalev, F Dan LaCouture, F Janne Laukkanen, D Mike Wilson, D PENGUINS GET: Mikael Samuelsson, F Rico Fata, F Joel Bouchard, D Richard Lintner, D Cash

When was the last time a trade was made in the NHL and neither team liked the outcome?

Of the more than 2,000 e-mail responses we got in 18 hours, there wasn't a single Penguins fan who liked the trade. And the Rangers fans who liked the addition of Alexei Kovalev added that the team needed a steady defenseman rather than another goal scorer.

Another thing both Penguins and Rangers fans agreed on: It was all about the money. The Penguins need to save as much as possible, and the Rangers will continue to spend it in hopes they can buy their way into the playoffs.

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There may have been eight players in the deal, but this trade was Kovalev for $4 million. Period.

Lou
Pittsburgh

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The Rangers simply bought yet another high profile player. Pittsburgh should have been able to get more proven talent in return for a star like Kovalev (had they not been motivated only by financial concerns). A trade like this only underscores the need for the NHL to seriously consider contracting at least two teams, so the financial gap between the Rangers and Penguins can be reduced.

Anthony
Garden City, N.Y.

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I can't believe Sather did this!!! I have never been more mad at a Rangers move. Samuelsson, Fata and Bouchard are what the Rangers needed for the future. Sather is looking a lot like Dan Duquette giving up the future for a small chance at the playoffs. I have watched the Rangers my whole life -- I was at Game 7 in '94 -- and this breaks my heart. The only way this deal can be positive is if the Blueshirts can make the playoffs and go deep!

David Hendler
Goshen, N.Y.

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Unreal. Kovalev, a world-class talent, is back on Broadway for a bunch of scrubs. Lintner? Bouchard? Rico Freakin' Fata? Plus, the Rangers get LaCouture and Laukkanen, who is good when he's healthy. Bottom line: Great deal for the Rangers, since they didn't have to deal Jamie Lundmark, but it just goes to show, the more things change, the more things stay the same. Rangers miss the playoffs for the sixth straight year. Enigmatic Alexei will hear the boos on Broadway in two weeks.

John Maillard
Toms River, N.J.

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Sather has truely lost it. Instead of improving the second worst defense in the league, they pick up another sniper? Sort of like a starving man buying a brand new pair of sneakers! Actually, it's fun watching a franchise with so much money run into the ground year after year.

Mark Bodmer
Boulder, Colo.

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Again, my beloved Pens are relegated to being the doormat for the rich teams of the NHL. First the Jaromir Jagr trade, now this garbage deal. It is so frustrating, and I am sure fans of other small market teams feel the same way: that the elite few who have the coin take the talent from the rest of the league that can't afford it. The NHL has become synonymous with baseball, and the only thing that can save the game is the the new CBA in '04. Hopefully the NHL does a better job than Selig and the boys, otherwise, hockey won't be around much longer.

Rob Mowry
Chicago

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Incredible! This trade just gives me one more reason to hate the Rangers. As Pittsburgh Steeler Lee Flowers would put it, the Rangers are "paper champions." The amount of individual talent on this team is sickening ... and still, they're in last place and on the verge of missing the playoffs for the sixth straight season! For all the Rangers haters out there, like myself, I would love to see them fail to make the postseason again.

Gale Kolanko
Pipersville, Pa,

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Better sign Steve McKenna long term so he can pick up where Kovalev left off next season. (Sarcasm Gushes)

Steven Wargo
Pittsburgh

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Rangers buying another player. Typical for them, a fantastic scorer that can't play defense just like the rest of the sorry Blueshirts. Highest payroll in hockey and the worst results. Someone tell Glen Sather that just acquiring the biggest names in hockey doesn't bring chemistry and hardwork to a team.

Dan McBride
Massapequa, N.Y.

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Alexi Kovalev to the NY Rangers (...spit) today for four guys nobody has ever heard of.

So let me sum this up for you, sports fans: That's Jaromir Jagr, Darius Kasparaitis, Robert Lang and Alexei Kovalev in the last two years for NOT ONE NHL-CALIBER PLAYER capable of scoring 20 goals on one of the top two lines or as a top-four defenseman. For a small-market team to get that type of non-return for superstars is a disgrace!!! Who is left to score goals in Pittsburgh? Can assistant Joe Mullen come out of retirement? And Mario wonders why nobody goes to the games. Three reasons: 1) It's the economy stupid; 2) the Pens suck; 3) you gave up every superstar on the whole darn team and got absolutely nothing back. I may swear off of every sport run by morons and watch the NFL ONLY from now on. The NHL is an absolute mess!

There, I feel better. Thanks for listening.

Marc Campbell
Grayslake, Ill.