Artem Anisimov's tricep injury, which will reportedly keep him out of the lineup for two to three months, may inadvertently have a much larger impact on the Columbus Blue Jackets and, even more so, the NHL landscape - an impact that goes far beyond just his disappearance from the ice.
The Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers were reported to have been, for some time, talking a trade that would potentially have involved Anisimov and Oilers winger David Perron. Nothing came to fruition though and it now - after Anisimov's injury - seems almost certain not to happen.
But like they always say, when the Hockey Gods close a door, they open a window - or break it with a puck "accidentally" while practicing slapshots against the side of the garage.
With Anisimov, and Columbus, no longer in the picture, speculation has begun to build that the Ottawa Senators could instead fill their space on the dance card, and goalie Craig Anderson's name suddenly has been popping up in the mix.
Initially, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun mused that the two sides could potentially find common ground on a deal for a defenseman, possibly Patrick Wiercioch. Marc Methot, another player whose name has come up often in recent trade speculation, is due to return to the lineup from injury, and the team will need to make a roster move in order to make space. Enter the Senators, who need help on defense, according to NHL.com; they're second-to-last in terms of shots against per game.
Then, TSN's Shawn Simpson mused that a big deal could be possible between the two sides, if the Oilers are willing to part with Jordan Eberle and the Senators are open to moving Anderson.
Of course, the Senators are extremely poor defensively and so Anderson - and to a lesser extent, back-up Robin Lehner - tend to be the lone bright spot for the team on their own end of the ice on a night in, night out basis. Shipping him out seems like a pretty clear cut case of cutting off your nose to spite your face - or would it be cutting off your face to spite your nose?
While the trade seems unlikely, for a couple of teams desperate to turn their seasons and their organizational fortunes around, nothing can be considered too far-fetched or out of the question.
