The Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes pulled off a trade today that will benefit both clubs. The Senators dealt Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo to the Hurricanes for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore.

The Senators get a top six forward in Cory Stillman who will take some of the pressure off the scoring trio of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley and give the Senators the extra scoring they have been looking for. All of a sudden, Senators have two lines that are very capable of scoring, especially when the foursome are split up evenly.

Mike Commodore gives the Senators another big defenseman who will not give an inch and not be afraid to rough it up with opponents when the situation calls for it.

The Senators also get two players who have won the Stanley Cup. Both won it in Carolina in 2006 and Stillman was also a valuable member of the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning Cup win.

The Hurricanes get Joe Corvo, the offensive defenseman they so badly need to quarterback their mediocre power play. Carolina realized they needed a quarterback for their power play last season and ended up trading Jack Johnson, the third overall pick of the 2005 Entry Draft to Los Angeles for Tim Gleason at the start of the 2006 season, but that trade failed horribly as Gleason is a decent player, but not the defenseman they hoped for, to lead the power play.

Patrick Eaves is a good player who should be a top-six forward for the Hurricanes. He's not as good as Stillman but will still contribute to the 'Canes attack.

This trade will help both teams. Stillman will get a boost in his point total for the rest of the season as he seemed to hit the wall after an outstanding offensive start to the season. He has 21 goals and 46 points in 55 games this season, but only three goals and eight points in 21 games since Christmas.

Corvo could become a 50-60 point defenseman in Carolina, especially quarterbacking the power play with Rod Brind'Amour, Eric Staal, Erik Cole and the like to pass to. One other factor in the trade is that Carolina gave up two players who are eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, while getting back two players who are not.

It is a good trade for both teams.