Deadmarsh becomes a father figure for the Kings.(Adam Deadmarsh; Los Angeles King hockey team)

We could wait to see who wins the Stanley Cup to declare which team was the big winner at the NHL's trading deadline. But two little girls named Madison and Alexis Deadmarsh already have helped convinced me which team deserves that title.

Regardless of how far they go in the playoffs, the Kings clearly made the best deal in acquiring right winger Adam Deadmarsh and defenseman Aaron Miller from Colorado for All-Star defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht.

The Kings already have became kings of the playoff upset. They rallied to beat the Red Wings in the first round and then stole Game 1 from the Avalanche in Round 2. That explains the decision to eliminate all the other candidates.

Candidates such as the Avalanche and Blake; the Blues and left winger Keith Tkachuk; the Devils and defenseman Sean O'Donnell; the Maple Leafs and defeseman Aki Berg; the Sabres and lorwards Donald Audette and Steve Heinze; the Penguins and goaltender Johan Hedberg; the Stars and defenseman Grant Ledyard. These deals won't compare to the Kings' acquisition no matter how far the other teams go in the playoffs.

Deadmarsh's twin daughters, Madison and Alexis, still don't understand what happened the night of February 21 when the Kings were six points out of a playoff position and looking for excuses because of Blake's impending free agency and imminent trade. Regular feedings and dry diapers are more important to the youngest members of the Deadmarsh clan than power plays and penalty killing right now.

Madison and Alexis were born six weeks prematurely--only six days before the Avalanche traded their father to Los Angeles. The twins had no vote in their future when their dad said a tearful goodbye to his infant daughters in incubators at the intensive care unit of a Denver hospital. The girls are now 8 pounds each, and they know how special their daddy is to them--and to the Kings.

It's not popular to trade a star like Blake, but in this case the Kings made the right choice because the team was out of the playoffs when the deal was made. Before the deal, the players say, they Looked to Blake to get them through every difficult situation. Now that he's gone, the Kings have become self-reliant--and adding Deadmarsh and Miller as leaders has helped show the players they can fend for themselves.