Vancouver patches some holes and solidifies their future

[VattghernCZ 976]

There's no easy way to say it - with Nico Pearce's retirement set in stone, there was always going to be a huge hole in the Wolves' offense coming into S90. It's hard to replace a first ballot hall-of-famer and the team's top goal scorer. To address the loss, the Vancouver brass acquired signing rights to Girts Galvins, a former teammate of now re-signed Brian Payne, from Warsaw in exchange for an S90 4th round pick that turned into a 2nd-rounder after Galvins has signed with Vancouver. A former Brooks Trophy winner definitely looks like a good bet to replace a goal scorer like Pearce.

 

However, a departure that might end up looking equally as difficult to make up fot is a 360-game Wolves veteran and a superstar winger Henry Eagles , who packed his backs and set off to Malmö in exchange for a hard nosed forward Hockley Mann, a goaltender prospect Clark and sone draft capital including a first round pick in S92. This is a loss that has to be addressed internally. With Wann Kerr finally establishing himself as a legitimate high-end center, Dogwood Maple at his peak, and Oreo McFleury and S.nubbed Analfist due to have coming out parties of their own, they're in a good spot to do so. Might the offense take a slight step back in S90? Sure. Will it stink? No way.

 

An under-the-radar trade with Moscow saw the Wolves adding a sneaky good pickup in Sigma Freud, a two-way defenseman who's set to play his rookie season in S90 after dominating the E with 94 points with Cologne last season.

 

But the trade that might end up being the most impactful long-term was sending depth defenseman Reinhart von Kongming and draft capital including two 1st round picks to Chicago in exchange for a 2nd round pick and Liv Slater, one of the top S88 class players, a speedy puck-moving defenseman who's well on her track to take over the blue line after Pierre Emile Bouchard's career comes to an end.

Edited August 13, 2023 by VattghernCZ