The Flyers and the Blues stopped working for a Eric Lindros deal soon after Larry Pleau called Bob Clarke and asked him for a list of names that would work for the Flyers in any deal.
Clarke came through with the list and, I believe, Pavol Demitra was on it. Pleau decided the deal wasn't going to work and let Philadelphia know he was going to go in another direction.
That direction pointed West as Pleau already had erected the framework of a deal for Keith Tkachuk some time ago. Pleau had been chasing Tkachuk for a while, back when Bobby Smith was still the GM of the Coyotes. So, Pleau knew what Phoenix would want in return for Tkachuk. St. Louis was stocked with younger players, and Phoenix was definitely looking to the future.
The fit was much better with the Blues than with the Flyers, and St. Louis didn't have to give up Demitra. Pleau, simply, had more flexibility dealing with Phoenix than with Philadelphia. He was also worried about Lindros' medical situation. There were reports that Lindros had taken a CAT scan and the results concerned doctors. But it turns out, that was not the case. Pleau said Lindros passed all tests with flying colors; however, there was the pervading worry over a player with a history of multiple concussions. Just how much risk should a team take?
Pleau decided Lindros was not worth the risk, and the deal died.
The Tkachuk deal broke a logjam, after which a flurry of smaller deals went through. For whatever reason, teams seem to sit around and wait until the big deal of the day gets done. After that, it's business as usual.
The team that was probably affected the most was Toronto. The Leafs were waiting to make a last-ditch effort at obtaining Lindros, but they had to wait in line behind St. Louis. According to Clarke, Toronto made a late offer that did not include Tomas Kaberle, who the Flyers wanted very much. There are also reports that the Rangers came in with an almost comical offer for Lindros right at the deadline.
In Buffalo, the Sabres re-acquired Donald Audette and picked up Steve Heinze for an obvious offensive upgrade. Having goal scorers is always a good thing and doubly so when Dominik Hasek is your goaltender. There are no long-term commitments involved, either. Audette and Heinze can both walk away. In Audette's case, if he walks at the end of the year, Buffalo gets a compensatory pick for his free agency.
Buffalo made a couple of nice additions without tying themselves to long-term financial committments. It's doubtful that Audette will remain in Buffalo. But these two guys will be playing exceptionally hard because it could mean significant dollars when they sign free-agent contracts next year.Al Morganti covers the NHL for ESPN.
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