EDMONTON -- You never get a true read on trade-deadline pickups until the Stanley Cup playoffs end, which is why Butch Goring approached folk-hero status in Long Island in 1981.
Goring not only gave the New York Islanders a No. 2 centre to spell Bryan Trottier off, he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
So we will wait to anoint Brian Campbell as the second coming of Paul Coffey in San Jose until we see how far the 106-point Sharks go this spring. But right now the former Buffalo Sabres defenceman is clearly the best addition any NHL team made on Feb. 26 or in the leadup to the deadline.
You can make a case for goalie Cristobal Huet in Washington (8-2, 1.83 average) and Joe Corvo (18 points in 20 games, plus-6) in Carolina, too, but Campbell has given the NHL's hottest team exactly what it needed -- a blueliner who could easily transport the puck up ice and run the power play.
He's got 16 points in 17 games which gives him 59 on the year (third-most for defencemen after Nick Lidstrom's 66 and Sergei Gonchar's 62), and is also plus-10 in San Jose. He's yet to lose a game in regulation, which makes it even better. The Sharks have just two shootout setbacks since Campbell's first game Feb. 27 in Columbus -- to Edmonton and Phoenix.
It's always a crapshoot picking up players at the deadline. Some deals seem great on paper, but the additions struggle, like defenceman Mike Commodore's doing in Ottawa, or they get hurt like Adam Foote (hip) for Colorado. But Campbell, who grew up with Joe Thornton which should give them a leg up to sign the unrestricted free agent July 1, has been terrific.
The Sharks thought Matt Carle would be their puck-mover and signed him to a three-year deal for an average of $3.4 million, starting next year. But he's sitting now, while Campbell plays, averaging 25 minutes a night.
And the Sharks? They're sitting pretty.