In case you haven’t noticed, the Milwaukee Admirals have finally righted the sinking January ship, taking five points over the weekend and picking up another regulation win last night against Peoria.

That makes 29 wins on the season for Milwaukee in 55 games. However, the Admirals still stand in ninth place currently watching the AHL playoffs rather than participating in them. Such is life when trying to gain ground in a league full of three-point games.

But with things starting to turn around on the Bradley Center ice, Milwaukee fans have good reason to expect that Admirals will make the franchise’s 10th straight postseason appearance.

Here are four of them:

1) Milwaukee owns three games in hand on eighth place Peoria.

Though not terribly important at this point in the year, the Admirals still have three more games to play on their schedule than does eighth place Peoria. With a huge head-to-head win last night, Milwaukee also moves back ahead in the season series between the two teams and now trails the Rivermen by only a single point. As long as the Admirals match Peoria’s record in their remaining games, then pick up one win in the three games in hand, Milwaukee will leapfrog the Rivermen in the Western Conference standings.

2) Milwaukee has more wins than seventh place Houston, and a better head-to-head record.

Currently Houston stands with two more points than Milwaukee in the same amount of games played. However, if the Admirals can catch the Aeros down the stretch, Milwaukee should win a tie breaker of having more regulation wins because Houston racked up so many points in shootout losses this season. Milwaukee also owns the upper hand on the Aeros as far as the the season series to date (2-0-0-0).

3) Milwaukee carries a strong ratio of goals for to goals against.

So far this season the Admirals have scored 155 goals and have given up 144. That ratio of 1.08 is better than every other team in the conference with the exceptions of Oklahoma City, Toronto and Chicago. Even Midwest Division leading Charlotte has a worse number than Milwaukee (1.07). Two teams ahead of the Admirals in the standings, fifth place Abbotsford and sixth place San Antonio, carry ratios of less than one at .96 and .94 respectively, meaning they’ve given up more goals than they’ve scored.

Over the course of the season that ratio tends to accurately reflect who are the best teams in the AHL and who are weakest. Using this statistic as the actual standings, Milwaukee fans could book home ice tickets for the first round.

4) Milwaukee owns games in hand on its rival chasers for eighth place.

The final aspect Milwaukee has going for them is that the Admirals have games in hand on all of their fellow chasers, with the exceptions of Grand Rapids (stuck at 55 points in 53 games played) and Texas (52 points in the same amount of games played as the Admirals). Milwaukee owns one game in hand on Rochester, which trails the Admirals by a point, and two games in hand on Lake Erie, which trails the Admirals by three points. Further back Hamilton and Rockford are each at 55 points through 56 and 57 games respectively.

Along with keeping the chasers behind them, Milwaukee still has a good shot of catching sixth place San Antonio, which stands with 65 points through 57 games. If the Admirals can match the Rampage from here on out and win their two games in hand, Milwaukee will pass San Antonio. Even if the Admirals can just match the Rampage record wise, again Milwaukee takes the head-to-head match up (2-0-0-0).

So Roundtable . . . How are you feeling about Milwaukee’s chances of making the AHL playoffs? Are you breathing any easier after recent performances? Or are you still expecting the nine consecutive year playoff streak to come to an end.

On the trade deadline, David Poile made a couple of moves that brought in some new bodies to Nashville.

One line of thinking was that it would create some extra bodies on the roster, and maybe we’d see a guy or two sent to Milwaukee for a bit.

Aaron Sims left this comment in the previous post, and I wanted to give it the above-the-fold treatment it deserves.

“Paul Fenton mentioned on the radio show last night that Nashville does NOT need to send anyone to Milwaukee. There is no roster limit after the trade deadline. Bourque & Ellis, with the paper transactions, are eligible for Milwaukee’s Clear Day roster. Josi is not.”

Ah Clear Day.  It’s that time of year already?

Clear Day is Monday March 5th, and the team needs to have their 22-man rosters sent to the league by 3pm ET.  From the AHL’s website…

Only those players included on a team’s Clear Day list are eligible to compete in the remainder of the AHL regular season and in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension. Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts, but only once their respective junior or college seasons are complete.

Clear Day is my least favorite holiday of the year.  Because it reminds me of the headaches of writing about the team AFTER Clear Day.  If you read us at the old blog, it’s where Eric Kent started using the phrase VOODOO ROSTERNOMICS, which really sums it up nicely.

When a guy like Ryan Maki can be left off of the Clear Day list, and then can play 19 regular season games in March and April and then seven playoff games…there’s some of that old black magic going on there.

Which is fine.  I’ve stopped losing sleep about it.  I find my happy place and don’t worry about it.  The “How” doesn’t matter.  General Managers generally manage, coaches coach, players play….good enough for me.

So with that said, I don’t expect too much controversy with this year’s Clear Day list.

Let’s assume that both Bourque and Ellis will be on the list.  They may not be.  But let’s assume the are for our example here.  I imagine there’s a good chance that the other 20 players would likely be:

Smith, Engren, Thang, Flynn, Latta, Mueller, Champagne, Stortini, Lajunen, Wilson, Van Guilder, Dupont, Beck, Puustinen, Laakso, Ford, Blum, Bartley, Sloan, Valentine.

This would leave guys like Kevin Henderson, Ben Ryan, Jeff Foss, and any PTO guy on the “in residence” list.

Kevin Henderson….he’s done a nice job so far.  If he made the Clear Day list, who would he realistically replace?

So to answer the original question in the title of this post….What happens now?  Probably more of the same, personnel wise.  We may get a guy or two back from injury this week.  Maybe we’ll get some juniors guys or some college guys signed to ATO’s later on.  But in the short term?  Probably more of the same.  And if we get the same results we had last weekend, then ‘more of the same’ sounds good to me.

Update 3:30 P.M.

To sum up the day there was a lot of transactions but overall few trades of significance NHL-wise or AHL-wise. Two of the best players considered available, Columbus forward Rick Nash and Buffalo forward Derek Roy did not change teams. Minor changes were made to the Chicago Wolves and Toronto Marlies.

However, Monday was a big day for Nashville, which spent a small fortune of future draft picks to acquire forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Paul Gaustad. Vancouver, San Jose, Boston and Chicago also made roster bolstering trades even if the players involved were picked up to fill in depth roles rather than plug significant voids.

For Milwaukee not a single Admirals player was traded in today’s events. However, with the two roster additions up in Nashville, it is expected that a Predator or two will be shipped back to Milwaukee or will be made available on waivers.

So Roundtable . . . What do think of today’s NHL trade deadline? Any reactions to Nashville’s acquisition of Andrei Kostitsyn? What about the Predators’ pick up of Paul Gaustad, one of the most sought after players available at this year’s trade deadline? What will Milwaukee’s roster look like on Wednesday for the Admirals’ Midwest Division showdown with Peoria?

Update 3:00 P.M.

The trade waters seem to have quieted down after a small flurry of last minute deals. At this point 15 trades went down, involving 31 players and 11 draft picks according to TSN’s count. Nashville acquired two of the big fish available (relative to this year’s deadline crop), forwards Andrei Kostitsyn and Paul Gaustad, without giving up any prospects.

One last minor deal to report: Canucks snag forward Andrew Gordon from Anaheim in exchange for defenseman Sebastian Erixon.

Update 2:38 P.M.

Interesting trade involving Buffalo and Vancouver: The Sabres sent prized rookie Zack Kassian to Vancouver in exchange for the Canucks’ talented first-year Cody Hodgson. With 33 points this year Hodgson is the more established of two former first-round picks, but Kassian has the size Vancouver covets.

The Canucks also pick up defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani, while Buffalo adds former Admirals blue liner Alexander Sulzer. Sulzer played in parts of three seasons for Milwaukee from 2007-2010.

Update 2:29 P.M.

Minor trade involving Toronto and Anaheim. Ducks acquire forward Dale Mitchell, while the Leafs get defenseman Mark Fraser. Looks like G.M. Brian Burke is spending most of his day retooling the AHL Marlies.

Update 2:22 P.M.

Buffalo’s compensation for Paul Gaustad is a first-round draft pick in 2012. This is an extremely high price for an at best third line center. However, the Predators did add a fourth-round pick as well as Gaustad.

The Islanders compensation for Brian Rolston and Mike Mottau is forward prospect Yannick Riendeau and defensive prospect Marc Cantin.

Update 2:18 P.M.

The Boston Bruins have traded defenseman Steve Kampfer to Minnesota in exchange for Wild blue liner, and former Admiral Greg Zanon. From 2003-2006 Zanon played three full seasons in Milwaukee before catching on fulltime with Nashville.

In addition the New York Rangers traded a fifth-round selection to Chicago in exchange for hulking defenseman John Scott.

Update 2:06 P.M.

The trade deadline has come and gone but plenty of trades will be trickling in over the next hour. What I can report is that the Boston Bruins have acquired veteran forward Brian Rolston and defenseman Mike Mottau. Meanwhile, Nashville appears to have picked up checking center Paul Gaustad from Buffalo. Compensation on both trades is unknown at this point.

Update 1:25 P.M.

A couple of more recent trades: Vancouver acquires checking forward extraordinaire Sami Pahlsson for a pair of fourth-round picks in 2012. Meanwhile, Chicago trades for hot commodity defenseman Johnny Oduya from Winnipeg in exchange for a second-round pick and a third-round pick, both in the 2013 entry draft.

Update 1:19 P.M.

A flurry of recent deals to update, though none of the significant impact variety: Tampa Bay has been active so far, trading forward Carter Ashton for defenseman Keith Aulie. In a separate deal the Lightning also picked up defenseman Mike Commodore from Detroit in exchange for a conditional seventh-round pick and defenseman Brian Lee from Ottawa for fellow defender Matt Gilroy.

San Jose made the move to pick up forwards T.J. Galiardi and Daniel Winnik from Colorado in exchange for Sharks forward Jamie McGinn and prospects Mike Connolly and Michael Sgarbossa.

Update 12:28 P.M.

The Minnesota Wild have acquired former University of Wisconsin defender Tom Gilbert from Edmonton in exchange for fellow blue liner Nick Schultz. Gilbert won a national championship at the Bradley Center in 2006 as a member of the Badgers. Gilbert has 17 points in 47 games this season for the Oilers, while Schultz has put up a paltry one goal and two assists in 62 games.

Update 11:25 A.M.

Things remain quiet at this point on deadline day. Only recent news of significance is that ESPN.com’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that Predators G.M. David Poile sent out a text message stating that he is “not trading (Ryan) Suter.”

Update: 9:47 A.M.

Sure enough the Predators are involved in the first trade of the day, acquiring forward Andrei Kostitsyn from Montreal in exchange for Nashville’s second-round pick in 2013 and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2013.

Kostitsyn will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end. He has 12 goals and 24 points in 53 games to date. The best season to date for the former 10th overall selection in the 2003 draft was in 2007-2008 where he scored 26 goals and added 27 assists for 53 points.

Update: 8:50 A.M.

Good morning Roundtable.

Today is trade deadline Monday, the day that marks the last time that teams can change up their rosters via trade prior to the playoff stretch run.

For diehard hockey fans like myself today represents an unofficial holiday, a day to sit back and enjoy the proceedings. So far no trades to speak of, but then again it is before 7 A.M. on the West Coast. The official deadline to submit trades is 2 P.M. central time.

Even though Nashville was already involved in two transactions prior to the deadline, the Predators/Admirals could be active again on Monday. Teams around the league covet top prospect Ryan Ellis, but I believe Predators G.M. David Poile has no interest in moving him. But with the potential to lose defenseman Ryan Suter in the offseason, Poile could be in a go-for-broke mode today.

Here is the recent trade summery for Nashville:

(Feb. 24) Predators trade forward Jerred Smithson for Florida’s sixth-round pick in 2012.

(Feb. 17) Predators trade minor league forwards Blake Geoffrion and Robert Slaney, plus a second-round pick in 2012 to Montreal for defenseman Hal Gill and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2013. Read my thoughts on this trade here.

Big news yesterday as St. Louis traded prized goaltending prospect Ben Bishop. Read my post on that transaction here.

The Peoria Rivermen’s All-Star goaltender Ben Bishop was traded today by the St. Louis Blues to the Ottawa Senators. Bishop, who was stuck on the depth chart behind NHL All-Star Brian Elliott and the more than capable Jaroslav Halak, was dealt for a second-round selection in the 2013 entry draft.

The big news for Milwaukee is that Bishop will be leaving rival Peoria thanks to the trade. The Admirals won the first five games of the season series against the Rivermen, but Peoria has dominated since, taking five in row dating back to a 1-0 decision on New Years Day. Bishop was in the net for three of those victories, posting one shutout and a pair of two-goal against efforts.

Bishop, who was widely regarded as one of the top players in the American Hockey League, signed a one-year, one-way deal with Ottawa as result of the trade and therefore will not be back to the minors anytime soon. Meanwhile, Peoria currently sits in 8th place with a record of 29-24-2-1. Obviously, this trade could have a huge impact on the direction of the Rivermen going forward.

Milwaukee currently stands in 11th place with a record of 27-22-2-2, but owns three games in hand on Peoria. The Admirals have just two games left with their Midwest Division foe.

I know there are a slew of home games coming up over the next week…but if you’re on the fence about whether to come to the game Wednesday against Peoria…. please be advised that this guy is going to be there….and it’ll be awesome.

Sammy Stephens… millions of hits on youtube.  And coming to the game Wednesday to bring some more joy to your life.

Adding to what Ryan already posted this morning, here is the lowdown on the return of Ryan Ellis to Milwaukee.

In his first ever National Hockey promotion Ellis skated in 22 games for Nashville, picking up three goals and six assists while registering a plus-eight rating. Not exactly the profile of a player who was going to be demoted to the American Hockey League.

The reason for Ellis return trip to Milwaukee? A blueline log jam with the Predators. Ellis received under four minutes of ice time in Nashville’s 3-2 win over Dallas on February 19 and has not been in the Predators’ lineup since. He was a healthy scratch in Nashville’s 3-1 win over Vancouver (Tuesday) and in the Predators 3-2 shootout loss to St. Louis last night. No surprise Ellis saw a reduction of playing time soon after Nashville made the trade for Hal Gill.

How badly does Milwaukee need Ryan Ellis back? Since the Hamilton, Ontario native’s original promotion on December 26, the Admirals have won just nine out of 25 games posting a record of 9-14-2-0.

So Roundtable . . . How will you welcome back Ryan Ellis? What kind of impact do you expect him to have with Milwaukee?