As has become yearly tradition, it’s time for a two-sentence take on every deadline deal made over “deadline week,” given nobody seems to wait for the actual day anymore. That’s a lot of total sentences, so let’s get right to it, starting with the Avs’ big acquisition on March 14, and moving up to the deadline itself on March 21. The Avs were at the “just a piece more to get over the hump” phase of their ascendance, and Manson perfectly fits their puzzle. The assets they spent may be valuable but when you’re the prohibitive Cup favourite (and they are, betting-wise anyway), you have to borrow from the future to go get yourself a ring now. A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Fitting in a “perfect puzzle piece” sometimes starts with a single, smaller step too. The previous two sentences above (about taking a small step towards a greater purpose) apply here too, as this was obviously related to the bigger additions the Panthers made next. But the Rangers ...