The VHL's Quiet Trade Deadline

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The VHL trade deadline came and passed with a whisper this week, with the entire deadline week only yielding two minor trades. Contenders looking to find an upgrade were left pretty much out of luck especially with a competitive North American Conference featuring six teams above 70 points. As a result, there were a relatively limited number of sellers at the trade deadline and most would-be sellers had already taken care of their business long in advance, mostly in the off-season leading up to S97. So, come the trade deadline, we saw just a couple of minor deals.

 

In the first one, the DC Dragons shipped defenseman Joe Block to the New York Americans in exchange for 2nd and 3rd round picks in the S98 draft. Block is more or less a depth defenseman for a VHL contender. In his final season in the league, Block was picked up by DC in Free Agency and compiled 23 points in 43 games prior to being dealt. With the Dragons taking a slight step forward but still clearly not ready to contend, he found himself on the move again. The Americans are a little better positioned than DC to make a run, with a 37-18-3 record good for 77 points and third in the NA at time of writing. The addition of Block gives them four VHL-calibre defenders, which may help solidify their spot as four teams seem to be in a battle for the last three NA playoff berths.

 

In the second deal, the HC Davos Dynamo acquired forward UghSike from the Helsinki Titans in exchange for an S98 3rd round pick. The Dynamo already had six forwards on their roster, so a move to add another one wasn't necessarily expected. However, UghSike was once a very highly-touted prospect, drafted 5th overall in S93. His development has completely stagnated as of late, and Davos will be his sixth VHL team in four seasons in the league. He did have 44 points in 52 games with Helsinki prior to the trade, but has been held off the scoresheet in 6 games with Davos since.

 

For Davos, the acquisition cost is nearly inconsequential - the S98 draft may not even have three full rounds of players selected - and there may still be a belief that they can draw out a little bit more of the potential UghSike once showed. He actually fits in quite well with the general age group of the Davos core and could be a cap-friendly depth forward option in the future. The Titans, sitting at 13-44-1, had no real reason not to liquidate their roster further, however.

 

There has been some discussion about how quiet the VHL trade deadlines have been recently, with this most recent one being the most notable example, and how to fix that. But I don't think it's a problem worth solving (or a problem at all, really). At the end of the day, even though trades can inject some interest into the league, it's hard to envision a scenario where it makes much sense for teams not to take care of their business without waiting for almost four-fifths of the season to pass to do so - and from a player's point of view, when a player finds themselves in a position they don't want to be in, that's typically an off-season thing that is quickly resolved. Trade activity organically occurs at the time that makes the most sense for team and player. Get used to quiet trade deadlines, but it's not a bad thing.