Arnott for Steckel

			2011 Season				2011	Remaining
To Washington	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
Jason Arnott	Forward	36	62	13	11	24	$4.5 million	0	UFA
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To New Jersey	Position	Age	GP	G	A	P	Cap Hit	Years	Cap Hit
David Steckel	Forward	29	57	5	6	11	$1.1 million	2	Same
2012 2nd Round Draft Pick

If you were watching the Trade Deadline coverage all day on Monday, you would have heard most analysts say that the Capitals were in dire need of a second line centre and with one of the last few deals of the day, it looks like they found one with Jason Arnott, acquiring him from the Devils for David Steckel and a 2012 2nd rounder.

This looks like an expensive deal for the Capitals, but in Arnott, they receive the centre they were looking for, as well as a veteran player that has won a Stanley Cup before and should be able to play with most of the rugged wingers that the Capitals have on their roster.  Anott has not had a great season with a poor Devils team this year, but he could just as easily turn it around with these new surroundings.

The Devils, on the other hand, get a little bit more defensive depth in their line-up with a faceoff specialist like David Steckel.  Steckel, who has been a staple defensive player for the Capitals in the past couple seasons, had his name whispered around  in the rumour mill, which was somewhat surprising seeing as though the Capitals were trying to be more defensive as a whole.  Nevertheless, the Devils were also able to cut some salary for the remainder of this season, plus they'll have Steckel for another couple years.

Not much doing salary cap wise, as the Devils sorted out all of their early season problems and they are the team cutting salary today, while the Capitals have found some LTIR discounts that were able to fit the remainder of Arnott's salary under the cap.  Both sides are good this year.  In the 2012 season, the Devils are sitting with 14 players and two buyouts for $47.6 million, which gives them at least $12 million for nine players.

In the draft, Arnott belongs to Chris M., who goes into the new week in 3rd spot, one of the money spots, 15 points out of 2nd, 35 points out of 1st and 19 points up on 4th, so it might take some time to make a move in the standings.  Arnott's move to Washington, a team that is having trouble with their offense, may be a bit of a wash for points, but we shall see.

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