Putting Together the VAS/RIG Trade Puzzle

[Victor 10,942]

After buying an extra 590 for the first and turn out only time in the Player Store, I pondered when would be a good time to unleash it on the VHL, having done 590s very rarely since joining the mag. As the trade deadline has passed now seems a good time.

What did the multiple parts of the Vasteras/Riga trades come down to?

To Vasteras:

S42 RIG 1st

Tyrone Williams

S41 RIG 4th

To Riga:

Niklas Lindberg

Ville Sixten

MF Percy Miller

Fair? Probably yeah. Williams, ignoring the superb rookie season alongside Lindberg, is not what a GM would look for in a first round pick but what some first round picks turn out to be. So 1.5 first round picks? It's not something you can quantify but these two teams somehow have. Lindberg on his own is probably just worth less than a first, Sixten on his own is worth less too. Add in Miller and it all adds up. Genius.

It's a better deal than the ones Riga made last season to get Kjellberg and Valiq. To their credit, that pick they got back with Kjellberg (they gave up their S41 first) did land them Jarkko Olsen. But without a doubt, best bit of buying Riga's done since trading for Jehovah.

In fact, I think Riga is the best team in the VHL right now. There are two teams who can win the cup unless both Quebec and Helsinki somehow upset them. The power of Moher and Bagelface could help but it's not like New York and Riga have slouches in goal. Apart from a small, tiny margin in net in fact (Wahl over Szatkowski Jr.), Riga is better than New York in every position. Where the Americans have Keller, Denis, and Boomgaarden who all are not at 300 TPE, the only weak link for the Reign is Percy Miller. That's a considerable advantage and most importantly, Riga has TPE stacked in offence. If they play it right, there is no reason why Riga don't win the cup this season.

Plus, it goes well with some historical context. Below are a few randomly selected sets of Continental Cup champions:

S13: Davos

S14: New York

S15: Helsinki

S16: Riga

S31: Davos

S32: New York

S33: Riga

S34: Helsinki

S38: Davos

S39: New York

[boubabi 4,725]

don't forget the part 4 of 5

[Fire Tortorella 2,653]

So you're saying Helsinki is going to win it all this year?