more trades review [Nov 26 - Dec 12]. including a cancelled one!

[hedgehog337 3,483]

First off, the pre-trade deadline madness from Vancouver!

 

Now that the theme week stuff is over I can come back to stat pad word out by doing trade reviews. Works everytime for me. And luckily I have more than one trade to look at. Big thanks to Frank for trying to change things for his Vancouver. And in fairness, this was not really surprising at all. The conference semis loss last season was a sad moment, but with Nico Pearce and other bigger players still being intact; you would think there would be a progress in performance this season. However, it looks like the loss of Miklavz did hamper their offensive potential. They were rather solid, but never really spectacular and their results showed the same story. Fighting for the wildcard spot was not the scenario Frank wanted to witness so here comes the trifecta of trades. Let's check these out and see if anything has changed since these deals.

 

 

To

 

LW - Donny Carter

S88 RIG 3rd

 

To

 

C - William Futch

D - Wattson Power

 

The first part of Frank's trade madness and this already has some spice in it.

 

For Vancouver:  it was apparent that 5 points in 22 games wouldn't do wonders for a team that aims for the grandest prize of them all. It was also apparent that Futch had no chance of doing better since he was a rookie in a stacked team. The trade market was rather dry at that point and Carter was definitely one of the best choices there. His heavy pass first build was a concern, but even with that he seemed a definite upgrade over a rookie. They also got a possibly early third (likely for Futch) so that's cool. They had to part ways with Power, but with the upcoming cap crunch and the pending UFA status for is making this less problematic.

 

For Malmo:  This trade was a sign of defeat from Malmo management. Kaleeb saw there is nothing much happening and other 5 EU contender teams are having way better performance. Hence the white towel thrown. In return they got a potentially decent depth piece and a good defenceman for couple of seasons....if they can convince Power to stay. They gave up a third in the process, but I'd say it's nothing major for them.

 

In overall, I would say no one lost in this trade. Is there a winner though? Depends on Vancouver's performance from now on and if Malmo can keep Power. By the way, let's see how things went for players involved in this.

 

34 games after:

 

LW - Donny Carter: 4G/17A, 21P, 70 HITS, -4

 

Well, better than Futch. I wouldn't say he brought a hell of a boost into their offensive performance. And his -4 is a bit unfortunate. But at least this was an upgrade. Vancouver only can hope he can show up in the playoffs and remember his first two runs with Riga.

 

C - William Futch: 4G/4A, 8P, -12

D - Wattson Power: 6G/24A, 30P, 68 SB, +0

 

This trade didn't change a thing for William. In theory Malmo has less stacked forward lineup so there's more chance to put up numbers. But like in Vancouver he is getting outshined by more seasoned players. At this point all he can do is grind develop some patience. At some point he could become a decent second line option, but for now it's a waiting period.

As for Power, he went from jumping between 2D/3D in the Wolves den to being a definite 2D in Malmo. I'd say things didn't change a lot for a Canadian either. In any case he had a defenseman or two ahead of him in terms of skills and performance. Whether it was Biggie Cheese or Max Torq. The most interesting part is his pending UFA status. He still has like 3 weeks or so to decide whether he believes in Kaleeb's vision or he will search for another contender.

 

 

Alright, I think this is already over 500 words so I could finish things here. But wait, there is more!

 

 

To

 

C - Sergey Preobrazhensky

 

To

 

C/LW - Nico Pearce

 

Straight up a players swap. But a pretty big one. I already can say there is losers or winners in this one. Just trying to change things with this one.

 

For Vancouver: There were so many expectations from Pearce for this season. And I believe lots of members were putting him as a winner of multiple awards in their predictions which was anything but surprising. He had a down season from S84, but 99 point season was enough to still consider him as a major threat. However, with the glue man Miklavz being gone the chemistry between him and other Vancouver players went almost non existent. 32 in 32 was never horrible, but not up to the expectations Spartan or Frank have set before this season. Things had to be changed and here is the result. The pending UFA for Preo does bring some concern for the Wolves side, but I expect an extension sooner than later.

 

For Moscow:  Same story. The Russian was set to be the franchise center once all the bigger ones were gone. And like Pearce he was doing fine...which was not good enough for the 5 time finalist Spartan. Moscow's offense wasn't anything crazy and you guessed it right, the chemistry between Preo and other Moscow forwards wasn't major. For Moscow, this trade is a bit easier as Nico is Spartan's player so he can do with his own player whatever he wants.

 

24 games after:

 

C - Sergey Preobrazhensky: 15G/15A, 30P, 179 SH, 59.95% FO, +4

 

I'd say both teams got a bit better with this trade. The stat Sergey did improve the most following this trade was the face offs. From 54 percent to almost 60 in Vancouver. And in overall it looks like he has a slightly better chemistry with Leduc and other characters than Nico had.

 

C/LW - Nico Pearce: 14G/16A, 30P, 141SH, 56.11% FO, +13

 

You guessed it right, the same story. As Preo, the Greek's face offs improved after this trade. From not even being able to win the half of the battles on the dot to almost 56 percent. His defence also proved to be a better asset: from just +2 to +13 in Spart's own team. Also 61 hits is a notable stat, but I think this is not really relevant for the team that mostly wants to see more exciting offense.

 

 

Alright, to the last one!

 

 

To

 

D - Obe Adesanya

 

To

 

S88 RIG 3rd

 

Yay I got my own third back that I spent on Noodles Marconi. Also, Vancouver brought a 4th defenseman they needed after parting ways with Power.

 

For Vancouver:  I just said wassup in my last sentence. Adesanya actually wasn't the first choice for Frank due to his low speed stat, but apparently nothing better was available. So here it is.

 

For Riga:  I got my own third back. Enough said.

 

22 games after:

 

D - Obe Adesanya: 1G/2A, 3P, 30 SB, +9

 

I guess his +9 shows that he is not a liability at defence. So we'll leave it at that.

 

 

 

TRADE DEADLINE EDITION!

 

Just like most of the trade deadlines as of past lots of seasons. This one was not having much in it. What a shame. Off season hype! Anyways, I'm out there covering every trade so the next one will get the same treatment.

 

 

To

 

G Sam Tombstone

 

Tp

 

S88 CHI 4th

 

For Davos:  Sam did get his 8 games, but apparently there was a need for more starts. Davos was searching for a suitable buyer for a day or two. Luckily, there was a team who didn't have any backup starts as of now yet...at least I think they wouldn't screw Cole Pearce like that. So here it is, Sam will get 16 starts this season. Not bad for a 360 something TPE goalie. Also I need to point it out Alex took S88 pick instead of the S87 one. Looks like GM's already have no faith in the depth of this draft so they are moving one already.

 

For Chicago:  I guess they will hope Sam is better than a bot. The 4th round pick is obviously not a loss at all for a contender.

 

 

 

EDIT 9:59 PM EET. Looks like I was too quick at bashing this trade deadline.....

 

 

To

 

S87 CHI 1st

S88 CHI 3rd

 

To

 

D - Wattson Power

C - William Futch

 

In the span of 2 weeks the ex Vancouver players became the ex Malmo as well. Matter of fact, they are back in NA! They are now going to play directly against Vancouver and perhaps they may even face each other in the playoffs. Ain't that some shit.

 

For Malmo:  The theme continues here. Malmo has nothing to play for so getting picks is the best bet for their future. There was no guarantee Power would sign an extension with the middling squad. And perhaps Futch wasn't exactly the guy of the tomorrow for Kaleeb and co. I think getting a first here is huge, even if it ends up late. And getting a S88 pick is even better. Now just hoping that draft will be more deep than the upcoming one.

 

For Chicago:  Jeff was searching for the players to round up the roster for a good chunk of time. And the idea was right: the 5/3 roster looks weird when you do have some cap left. The thing is, this team did manage to somehow be a powerhouse with the limited roster. It's one thing to win the cup with 6/3 setup, but having one of the best records in the league with one forward short as well? That's something more impressive. Being a brick at defence with only one high TPE defenceman? In short, that performance was kind of unusual. But looks like the Phoenix GM was never feeling that this would take them to the promised land and decided to make an insurance move.

Now the question is: will it work? Honestly, Futch as of now stands as ''better than a bot'' player and more eyes are on Wattson Power here now. He is about to slotted as the definite 2D, just like in Malmo. He is in general having a decent showing no matter in which team he plays and I expect no different in this case.

 

So what the fuss is about? Well, you all know everything about STHS...right? Like for sure you should know.....??? Yes exactly, nobody know a damn thing about this simulator engine and how it is operating! You never know what is thing about to do next. One day you're in the top of the world and then it hands you a L15 streak. Even in this trade there might be concern or two. The main of them is about their chemsitry and roster balance. Futch is a bit better than a bot, Power...is a lot better than a thing with 40 stats everywhere. Seattle already shown that going overboard with defence may end up in a disappointment. Now, Chicago only has two higher TPE defs so chances in going downhill are pretty miserable to me. Still, there are some questions lingering on my mind.

 

It would be really cruel if the right idea would be undone by shenanigans from STHS. So for the sake of justice, let's hope they will actually become stronger following this trade.

 

 

Oh, here's a bonus trade hehe.

 

 

 

TRADE DEADLINE EDITION 2 : ELECTRIC BOOGALOO [a.k.a. what could've been if the cap space didn't exist]!

 

 

To

 

G - Oskar Lindbergh

 

To

 

Wumbo

S87 LDN 2nd

 

For Toronto:  straight forward. Getting a pick for a goalie who was not planning to extend. And a second rounder as well, which is even better because I'm sure by the offseason his value would've been devalued even further. On top of that a decent goalie who probably had some value too. In overall, Toronto surely was being fine with this result.

 

For Warsaw:  honestly, I wasn't sure if this is exactly what they needed. Wumbo has been rock solid for the most of times and never showed signs of slowing down. Yes, there is a TPE difference between Lindbergh and Wumbo, but I don't think performance wise the latter was the worse option. Also, with the potential extension the cap crunch would've been too real and that would result in a loss of a big TPE player or two. Long story short, I think Warsaw dodged a slap in the wrist here.

 

But for me, the biggest loser in this trade being veto'ed was Lindbergh himself. The potential FA market was not telling a positive story for the seasoned vet. And with David Davis also potentially leaving London to create a space for Teno...this was a definitely blow for Doom's chances to find a good team even before the off season. Now he is likely hoping for someone like Calgary or Warsaw again to try replace the lower and inactive S82 goalies. If they would have a cap space in the first place.

 

 

Alright, thanks every GM who helped me to get his over 2000 words. See ya in the offseason.

 

That's it and I'm out.

[dlamb 1,328]

Agreed pretty much 100% on the Warsaw trade, goalies are voodoo and TPA doesn't matter.

[hedgehog337 3,483]

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