S75 RIG - VAN Jeff Odinson Trade Tree (PART 1)

[TheNeonShaman 214]

Disclaimer: All stats are from before Season 83 begun.

 

Today I am back again with another trade tree, and this is a big one. Again, Riga is involved in a blockbuster, this time we will be going through the Season 75 trade tree that brought Jeff Odinson @GoldGear88 to Riga. Now Odinson was not the biggest piece of the trade, but as the only player in the trade they get the honor of having trade tree name. The trade was fairly big and it looks like this:

 

 

Riga sent over 6 picks and a ton of futures in exchange for Jeff Odinson and a bunch of futures. The teams seemingly required a change up of their prospect pools, and that is exactly what happened in this draft day blockbuster. However, some pieces did not stay on the teams for long. The trade tree is then born. Here is what it looks like: 

 

 

I'll make sure to simplify and go through every trade, along with a full analysis of which team won the trade at the very end of the second part. As always, here is the color code that is with all my trade trees:

 

 

Now, I've got a trade tree to look at!

 

RIGA 

The Riga side looks originally like the less crazy side. It does have less trades than the Vancouver side, however there is one specific trade later down the Riga branch that is an absolute nightmare to go over. We'll start with what happened to the return from the original trade. 

 

 

This return is highlighted by the two firsts acquired. Though Jeff Odinson was still a decent depth pickup for the season. They played a full season for Riga and put up 13 goals and 32 points. After that season, Odinson decided to leave the trade tree and head to free agency. The S75 Malmo first was not used by Riga, which we'll get to. That leaves two other season 75 picks. The Moscow 1st was used to select Joe Kelly @emidas. Kelly, a 16 year old winger, made their debut with Riga the following season and had a great rookie year, putting up 23 goals and 51 points in a full 72 games. Unfortunately Kelly wouldn't play with Riga again, and would be traded. The final pick, a Vancouver 2nd rounder, was used to pick Vivek Weiner @coochiman, a big center who had very productive years in the minor leagues. Unfortunately the success would not translate to the VHL. Weiner debuted in season 76, and they had 1 point in 46 games played, causing them to be traded halfway through the year.

 

Trade Grade: C-. While Riga got some productive season, it just goes to show that this original trade was a failure for the team, as none of the assets acquired were on the team by the end of S76.

 

 

Now to see what happened with the Malmo pick. It was used to swap firsts, Riga got a S78 1st from Toronto for the S75 first. With this pick, the defenseman Milk Jugs @NerdyCowz was picked. Jugs played a full season and started the S80 year with Riga. Jugs was not able to put up a single point in any games, and their contract had to be moved. So Jugs was packaged with two S81 picks (a 3rd and a 4th) and sent to Seattle for a 4th. The 4th was used to pick Logan Clark @logansgc, who retired after a single season in the minors.

 

Trade Grades:

1st for 1st: B. Kind of a weird swap, trading a current first for a first 3 seasons down the road. Didn't hurt though. Didn't really help either.

Jugs + Picks for 4th: D+. A roster player (granted, one who would retire) plus two picks for just a 4th. And the player picked with the 4th retired. Very unfortunate trade, even if it was necessary.

 

 

I'm not sure why, but after Kelly's breakout rookie year, they were on the chopping block. Maybe their build was going in the wrong way, maybe they didn't fit the team, maybe GM Hedgehog @hedgehog337 had some sense that Kelly was a one hit wonder. Hedge would be right. After trading Kelly to DC for just a 3rd, Kelly would struggle massively and then get traded again before retiring at the end of the season. Unfortunately, Riga's developing struggles continued, and the 3rd turned into Miks Sunish @Anomalijs, who retired in the minors.

 

Trade Grade: C+. Amazing 6th sense by Hedge to trade Kelly before their numbers crashed, but the 3rd turned into just another fail to keep a prospect in the system.

 

 

Here's the big trade I mentioned earlier. This is going to be a lot so just be ready to take in a lot of information. Riga had a lot of players and prospects. Malmo was selling. Riga decided to send a literal avalanche of players to Malmo for 3 in return. Chance Rust @turkey2349 was a decent depth player. Chase Crosby @Wreckening wasn't performing in the majors. Connor Sim @SimmerDown99 was a rookie who put up alright numbers in Riga. Eddie Dams @Eddie Dams, Nikolas DAndrea @Nikdandrea34, and Teppo McBighit @monttu were prospects who hadn't yet broken into the majors. Vivek Weiner couldn't find traction in Riga. Those 6, along with 2 2nds and a 3rd, were traded for Guy Sasakamoose @Cxsquared, Oskar Lagesson @fever95, Ray Sheilds @Zetterberg, and a S78 4th. For Malmo, every single player they got was retired by S77, and none played more than a single season. However the S78 2nd became one of their best players today in Nathaniel Minion @Minion. Riga's much smaller return consisted of Sasakamoose and Lagesson in their last season looking for a playoff run, and Sheilds in their penulimate season. That year in the playoffs, Riga was unfortunately eliminated in the wild card round. Sheilds ended up staying for the rest of their career, and put up a very nice 95 points in 99 games for the Reign. Sasakamoose and Lagesson put up 21 and 28 points respectively in their 26 games, meaning Riga actually got a lot in short term.

 

Trade Grade: B. The more I think about it, Riga offloaded a ton of players who ended not panning out, and got pieces to make a playoff run at the end of the season. The grade isn't better because of the picks they had to give up to make the trade go through.

 

RIGA REVIEW

Overall, Riga could have done worse. This trade was made to shake up draft day and pick up some more high picks. It worked. The trades made after were for boosting Riga teams heading for the playoffs. Unfortunately the playoffs were not kind to the Reign and they were unable to capture the cup.

 

RIGA STATS

Riga trade 9 players and 11 picks to acquire 4 players and 7 picks. Of those acquired, there are no picks or players left on the team, however 3 of the 4 players did retire with the Reign. All of the players combined scored 91 goals and 137 assists (228 points) in 423 games. In the playoffs they played a combined 17 games and had 1 goal and 3 assists (4 points).

 

Part Two Here:

 

Word Count: 1186

For Weeks of: 5/1, 5/8

Edited April 21, 2022 by TheNeonShaman
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[TheNeonShaman 214]

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