WHAT'S NEU? The NHL trade deadline has come and passed with yesterday’s 3:00 pm cutoff and there was one surprising element that struck me.  If you haven’t noticed, there were only two goalies involved in trades this deadline day and they were traded for each other.  Last month there was Buffalo Sabre Jhonas Enroth traded for Dallas Star Anders Lindback.  Yesterday, this trade also involved the Buffalo Sabres, this time it was the Sabres trading Michal Neuvirth for New York Islander backup Chad Johnson.  I know why the Islanders did this trade but I am scratching my head wondering what the Sabres were thinking. Chad Johnson parlayed his fine season with the Boston Bruins in 2013-2014 into a nice 2-year deal to serve as backup to Islanders starting goalie Jaroslav Halak.  Johnson posted numbers of 17-4-3 with a .925 SP and a 2.10 GAA while with the Bruins but didn’t fare so well in his stint on the Island.  As the Islanders backup, 8-8-1 with a .889 SPP and 3.08 GAA, not exactly what you are looking for in a backup especially when you believe you have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup this year.  So off he went to the Sabres for Neuvirth. Now, some of you are wondering why the Islanders would want a Buffalo Sabres goalie, especially from a terrible Sabres team and a goalie who has posted a 6-17-3 record with a .918 SP and 2.99 GAA.  Neuvirth was a victim of the Sabres young defense and lack of experienced talent up front and a closer look at his metrics, you can see that they really aren’t that bad considering the circumstances he was playing under.  In 9 games started since the All-Star break, Neuvirth has posted a 2.28 GAA and a .938 SP.  Also, his numbers playing on home ice vs. away are significantly better with .929/.907 and 2.54/3.49 differences.  Now, those kind of numbers got me thinking because Neuvirth is only 26 years old and has also won back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 2009 and 2010 so you know he has what it takes under pressure.  He has a little bit of NHL playoff experience appearing in 9 games while a member of the Washington Capitals in 2010-2011.  So why would the Sabres, who are in a rebuilding mode, give up on him as he seemed to fit into their scheme?  Neuvirth is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) at the end of this season and perhaps they tried to sign him to an extension but he wanted to test the market and see what he could get. If the Sabres didn’t try to sign him, then they probably made a big mistake because they probably could’ve gotten him at a fairly reasonable price since there weren’t a lot of teams in search of goaltending help at the trade deadline and most teams seem settled in the crease for the foreseeable future, except for possibly Edmonton. With the Buffalo Sabres stockpiling talent and draft picks, you know it will take a few years to start to gel, but Neuvirth could’ve been a building block behind that talent.  I’m sure he is happy to be on a team bound for the playoffs and that can also make some noise in those playoffs, but to me, it sure seemed like the perfect fit for not only the Buffalo team, but for the player as well. POST MARKS: Will return next week.