(Note: The Weekly Reader will return to its normal Friday spot this week.)
At the trade deadline, Michal Kempny was like an art-house flick playing in a multiplex of blockbusters. The Chicago Blackhawks defenseman was acquired by the Washington Capitals for a conditional third-round pick a few days before the trading closed. It was a tweak, a minor move involving a little-known player. No one on Erik Karlsson Watch gave it a second glance.
Fast forward to the Eastern Conference finals, and the Kempny move looks like one of the shrewdest maneuvers of the deadline.