The trade deadline causes havoc with fans' and players' emotions. Riding the crests of waves of optimism and of despair where everyone learns who is leaving and who is staying. Sometimes, the decisions hurt the fan base and help others, and sometimes it's a purely business decision, especially in the current CBA Salary Cap era of the National Hockey League.

Subsequently, the Edmonton Oilers really took it on the chin tonight.

Ryan Smyth was supposed to stay put. He, along with everyone in Edmonton, was pretty confident that he was going to sign a multi-year deal and stay an Oiler for a long time. It would be fitting on the day that Mark Messier's jersey would be retired in Edmonton, that another captain would then carry the torch for the Oilers into a new era.

I am sure that among the Oiler faithful, time stood still when they learned that Smyth went to the New York Islanders in a trade and the timing really could not have been worse.

As the Oilers were most likely stunned, but happy for Messier's celebration of greatness, the Coyotes were on the opposite end of the spectrum. They knew their role and where they stood. They were rebuilding and setting the vision of what is to come for the franchise of the future.

So, they had nothing to lose and took advantage of the situation.

Owen Nolan chose to stay in the Phoenix Valley and was relieved and pleased about it. The power play woke up just for him as the Coyotes opened the scoring in the first period on a power play goal by Nolan that was the first for the anemic franchise in many, many weeks.

With Georges Laraque's departure, Josh Gratton's status with the Phoenix Coyotes became elevated to a higher level and now he was given an opportunity.

He took it with a convincing bout against Danny Syvret.

As with most of Gratton's altercations, the Coyotes elevated their game even further with Nick Boynton getting into a scrap, and Yanick Lehoux scoring his first goal since returning to the franchise as a Phoenix Coyote. Oddly enough, the last time he scored in a Coyotes uniform was when the Coyotes faced the Minnesota Wild and Dwayne Roloson was the goaltender of record. Lehoux scores again on Roloson in the net for the Oilers.

Steven Reinprecht would cap off the night with another goal ending the contest 3-0.

There was a time in the third period where the Coyotes got into penalty trouble and the Oilers had a 5-on-3 man advantage for 1:39. Thanks to Keith Ballard, Zbynek Michalek, and Fredrik Sjostrom blocking shots, Curtis Joseph made incredible saves and earned his fourth shutout of the season (his 51^st of his career).

If Smyth was still part of the Edmonton Oilers, the outcome may have been different, but the Coyotes played differently tonight. The team may have realized that they survived so they can play their hearts out again. It's a survivor mentality that could bond teams and cement franchises.

At the very least, the Coyotes have players that want to stay with the team, and that desire can make a world of difference in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Original post by PB and software by Elliott Back

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