To
(S41) C - Gifford Shock
(S41) RW - Brady Stropko
To
S48 CGY 2nd
S48 STO 3rd
Regardless of what happens between now and the end of the playoffs, I am confident that the above will go down as trade of the season. Stockholm, seemingly on the cusp of glory in S43 and S44 before they were stymied by Cologne who refused to die, seemed completely dead when they slumped to the bottom of the EU conference immediately after because of the upstarts in Helsinki and Riga. Things hit a particular low when Blake Campbell left in free agency. And while we can point to the trade for Weinstein (and maybe even the S47 draft lottery) as the first sign of a turnaround, there were probably numerous members who still thought Davos would make the playoffs over the Vikings.
This trade, though, it addressed a major issue. Stockholm went for star quality over depth before this season and it backfired spectacularly, way more, though less publicised, than for Quebec a few seasons earlier. It's almost a new team now, as the only remnants from S43 are Prince Karnage, 3 Moons and Von Karma, now with added depth. Good quality depth too as Shock and Stropko are probably the best inactives out there, even in their old age. And at what price! Those are two picks almost certainly lower than 16th overall and that is absolute pennies in today's market.
Whisper it, but the Vikings may just be serious title contenders and this was a big reason why.