S94 VHL Trade Deadline Primer

[Frank 5,259]

Former executive David Knight @Knight sits far left on the panel as he discusses why no one is worthy of winning his award. 

 

It's almost a week away from trade frenzy season in the VHL with the trade deadline looming large and many teams with big decisions. Some teams in clear rebuilds will have to decide on the fate of their older players and teams looking to compete but who have underwhelmed will look to add to their mix. We'll examine the top sellers and buyers as well as the top trade chips on the board and three potential deals we could see play out.  

 

 

Top 5 Sellers:

1. Calgary Wranglers

@leandrofg's Calgary Wranglers have been the surprise of the VHL this season after a few seasons of Simon utterly screwing them over, they we're probably due for some sim luck despite entering either a retool or rebuild depending on how you want to look at it. Calgary still boasts some strong players in their prime and have a ton of prospects and draft capital. They're number one as a seller on our list because despite David Slezak's @ShawnGlade amazing season so far we're not sure it holds up over the long haul unless their earning significantly increases which it hasn't even after the hot start. Wranglers traded away Merone Dilson @MexicanCow123 who is putting up impressive numbers in London this season, the only replacement in the system is Slezak who doesn't seem like a long term solution if history is any indicator.  The Season 95 draft has two top goalie prospects in Roger Eagles @Greg_Di and Spider Panda @Ricer13 both can easily be considered franchise goalies but are likely seasons away from making an impact. This is the main reason we have Calgary as the number one seller on our board, they have a ton of assets and likely a bright future but they're exceeding expectations and some times it's best to sell an asset at it's highest point and Calgary has a few that would garner a ton of interest. 

2. Helsinki Titans 

@samx went full scorched earth last season selling off some of their top players to Seattle at the deadline and that continued into the off-season. Safe to say Helsinki is in a full rebuild but does still have some trade chips they could sell off if they so choose and a lot of them are quite attractive to contending teams. What appetite does Helsinki have to continue trading players remains to be seen. But we know they've been a player in the past at the deadline so they'll be a team to keep an eye on. 

3. D.C. Dragons 

@FrostBeard's Dragons are much like Helsinki entering a full rebuild this past off-season and likely looking to recoup more assets for retiring players. Who will be available at the deadline remains a mystery but D.C. seems primed to sell off a few players and continue building up their prospects pool after many seasons of contending. 

4. HC Davos Dynamo 

@Alex tried to load up this off-season but without a true number one goalie pivoted back into another transition season for their rebuild, with likely another top 4 pick in the upcoming draft. They have some depth players they could sell and Alex has always been extremely active on the trade market. The recent re-signing of Grimgor Ironhide tells us that Davos is looking to compete sooner rather than later, but I think the trade deadline will be more about building up assets. The real leg work will come in the off-season where Davos will likely have the same game plan as last off-season but hopefully with a few more moves reaching the finish line. 

5. New York Americans 

@STZ's Americans have gone through a bit of a rough patch here and that's pretty much the only reason they're on this list. On paper they have one of the strongest rosters and they're certainly a mix  of young and old so they're not screaming for a rebuild or re-tool. I have them as dark horse seller since I feel like they won't want to miss the playoffs and sit on their hands. They have a few older players who might fetch a nice return at the deadline. But I believe in the end they'll be buyers as the time to win is now and in the next few seasons. 

 

Top 5 Buyers: 

1. New York Americans 

What a nice transition from number five on our sellers list to number one on our buyers list. As I stated above, the time to win is now. New York is currently running a roster with five forwards and are projected to have 4 million in deadline cap space. That's more than enough to add a significant piece. Will that be the only move they make? 

2. Riga Reign 

@Lemorse7 has been aggressive early in his GM tenure, he made it clear this off-season and with his early season acquisition of The Frenchman @OrbitingDeath  that the time to win is now. We also don't have much of a track record to go off of so It'll be interesting how much more buying he'll be comfortable with. Riga has an astounding 9.3 million in deadline cap space. That's enough to do a lot of damage. But the question will be if there is enough sellers and are they selling what Riga wants to buy?

3. Vancouver Wolves 

A team trying desperately to win now and not sacrifice the future completely. Vancouver made an early season deal with Riga to improve the future of their center position with Pierre Marc Bouchard @Gaikoku-hito and picking up Martin Kemp @leafsman who has fit like a glove among the forwards. The Wolves much like the Americans are in need of a forward currently running with only five. The issue is assets. Vancouver doesn't have much draft capital after an off-season spending spree. They also only have top prospects in Trueno @Thunder who will be the future of the Wolves blueline alongside Galvirovs @Girts. As well as the newly acquired Bouchard, neither prospect will be traded. The only question mark is in goal as Vancouver will have a decision to make and Soju could shake lose if the right offer is made. In the end the likely outcome is a depth forward at minimal cost to Vancouver or standing pat. 

4. London United 

@jacobcarson877's United are primed for another run to the finals, hopefully with a better outcome this time around. A team who should probably be higher on this list just based off aspirations alone as well as their need for a blue liner and projected 8 million in deadline cap space. Combine all those things and London could make a huge splash at the deadline. The only issue is an aging roster and not a lot of assets aside from their 1st round pick in Season 96 as well as some lesser picks in both 95 and 96. While a trade of London 1st for one or two elite players would make for a great headline it's the less likely scenario for the United. We expect London will take the measured approach and use one of their later picks to pick up a 4th defensemen and call it a day by not sacrificing their future and lessening the length of the inevitable rebuild. 

5.  Calgary Wranglers 

Much like New York was a dark horse seller. Calgary will be a dark horse buyer. With a ton of draft capital and no expectations, Calgary could easily improve their roster and see how far Simon is willing to take them. 

 

 

 

VHL Top 15 Trade Chips Board: 

The trade board is determined by likely hood of the player being moved combine with the talent level of the player. A player could be less likely to be traded but is considered to be of a higher talent than the rest so that places them higher or the board and vice versa. 

1. S96 London 1st

2. Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler

3. Adi Dassler @BOOM

4. Lucas Grey @emidas

5. Jens Lekman @Bobcat

6. Keita Kourou @woog

7. Jarkko Laakkonen @Xdjk93

8. S95 Mal 1st (Owned by Riga)

9. Moritz Stauffer @GoodLeftUndone

10. Yaroslav Trunov @qripll

11. Soju @Frank

12. S95 New York 1st

13. S95 Chicago 1st

14. Ellis Woolfenden @D3X 

15. Keon Jeannot @Lucas anton

 

 

 

Four Potential Deadline Deals:

If these happen I get full credit. 

 

 

To Riga :

C - Raimo Tuominen @SlapshotWrangler 

D - Jens Lekman @Bobcat

 

To Calgary :

S96 LA 1st

S95 Mal 1st

S95 Cgy 2nd

 

Why does either team do this? Calgary decides to sell high and accumulate as much draft capital as possible, they'll be absolutely stacked in the future. Riga continues their aggressive pursuit of glory and trades not one but two 1st round picks for their coveted franchise center signed long term. Riga fans rejoice over the though of Tuominen and Frenchman down the middle headed into the playoffs. On top of that they also add some high end defensive depth with their insane amount of cap space. 

 

 

 

To London:

D - Eurydyka Sklodowska @diamond_ace 

 

To D.C. :

S96 PRG 3rd

 

Why does either team do this? London fills their need on defense, while they would likely want to aim higher it's the best they could do without giving up that coveted 1st. D.C. sees potential in a Prague 3rd being closer to a late 2nd and feel there is enough value to move on from Sklodowska. The two teams also have a recent history of trading so likely an easy line of communication. 

 

 

To Chicago :

LW - Adi Dassler @BOOM

 

To Helsinki :

LW - UghSike @UghSike

S96 Chi 2nd*

*Becomes S95 Chi 1st if Dassler signs an extension with Chicago. 

 

Why does either team do this? For Helsinki it's simple they continue to grow their asset pool and build for the future. For Chicago they're definitely buyers but need pieces that can make an impact now. Chicago was able to acquire quite a few higher profile players at a lesser cost this off-season so the price paid here might be more palatable and gives the team a real win now mentality instead of a wait and see with some of their prospects. 

 

 

To New York :

RW - Catia Goncalves 

 

To Calgary :

S95 NY 1st

S95 NY 2nd

S96 NY 2nd

 

Why does either team do this? Both teams reluctantly accept after fierce negotiations. New York who has been a more conservative buyers bites the bullet and gets a forward who fits in seamlessly cap wise and is young enough to justify the high cost. Calgary makes this deal after finding the market for both Tuominen and Goncalves are too strong to pass up. Also @leandrofg decides Calgary's future is worth the risk of sleeping on the couch. 

 

 

 

If you got this far thank you for reading this trade deadline primer, please direct your nasty comments to @Lemorse7 the mastermind of this article. 

 

1823 words

[Frank 5,259]

Claiming week ending 06/16 (1/3)

[Lemorse7 1,021]

Wait what 

[BOOM 8,817]

Shit, how good was this? Reminds me of what articles used to be like, before everyone (including me) started to claim affiliates 

 

Great read. 

[OrbitingDeath 3,229]

11 hours ago, Lemorse7 said:

Wait what 

He said you bought me or something

[Frank 5,259]

Claiming week ending 06/30 (2/3)

[CaptainSB 117]

Media Review:

 

These are some fascinating trade deadline scenarios for sure. I am really interested in Helsinki and DC's rebuild plans and if they will purge and stock up on future prospects while maximizing their trade chips. Of the buyers I really think Riga Reign will be the most active with these two teams and look to lure in some interesting players for future picks. I'm excited to see how this all unfolds as I am sure it will impact this and next draft pick for the respective teams.

[Frank 5,259]

Claiming Week Ending 07/07 (3/3)