Claimed:Stars On The Move [Final 6/6]

[Ninetyfourgoalie 168]

Stars On The Move

 

Season 41 came to an exciting finish less than two days ago with the New York Americans pulling off their second Continental Cup in three seasons with their game seven victory over Riga.  Already, we've seen two up-and-coming teams make moves to better their position as they already gear up for Season 42.  With two trades already completed and the Super Cup being held within the next week, the VHL, without a doubt, has an exciting off-season in store.  In order to start the off-season right, we will take a look at the two trades to occur since the end of the playoffs.

 

Cologne Express Trades a Season 43 First and Second Round Pick to the Calgary Wranglers for goaltender Martin Brookside

 

Martin Brookside, after five seasons with Clagary, is headed back to his native Europe.

 

When Calgary made a move to get rid of just about their entire core at the trade deadline, everyone left them for dead.  Many believed it to be a foregone conclusion that the Legion would overtake them to snag the third playoff spot in the conference.  But everyone forgot about the brick wall named Martin Brookside.  His play after the deadline was quite easily the most impressive of any goaltender in the VHL and he not only kept Calgary afloat but enabled them to remain fairly competitive with some of the league's best teams.  While his play was not enough to bring any playoff success to his team, the rest of the league noticed his extraordinary play despite having a very weak team playing in front of him.

 

While Cologne already has Blaine Olynick, who is a solid goalie in his own right, Brookside is a huge upgrade and instantly makes the Express the early favorites out of the European Conference.  Not only does this trade give Cologne one of the best players at a very thin position throughout the league but it essentially provides them with trade fodder in the form of Olynick.  While he certainly is far from an elite player, a number of teams lack a strong netminder and Olynick could represent a significant upgrade and easily could net the Express with a solid depth player to continue to strengthen their roster.  On the other hand, this trade gives the Wranglers more pieces for a rebuild although one has to wonder if another team would have shelled out more for such a talented goalie.

 

Toronto Legion Trades forward Steve Tremblay and a Season 44 First Round Pick to the Riga Reign for defenseman Slaeter Fjorsstrom

 

Season 41 likely represented the end of Riga's Continental Cup window and with this trade so shortly after the conclusion of their finals loss, they clearly are not waiting to expedite the rebuilding process after five straight playoff appearances.  Fjorsstrom was a major part of the team's success after being drafted first overall in the Season 37 VHL Entry Draft and immediately entering the VHL, being named an All-Star as a rookie.  While he has begun to show signs of age, it appears the Reign are looking to lessen the pain of a full rebuild and instead enter a transition season although that wholly depends on what happens as the off-season progresses.

 

The Legion will turn to Slaeter Fjorsstrom to solidify their defense.

 

For Toronto, this move is an instant upgrade that should help them to end the longest active playoff drought in the league.  Already possessing one of the league's most talented young core group of players, Fjorsstrom adds some veteran presence on the blue line and should help to alleviate some of the concerns regarding the fact that goaltender Fedir Okranitz is still very much developing and likely will experience some growing pains this season.  Slaeter Fjorsstrom also adds a strong offensive presence and should help to take some weight off the shoulders of top forwards Sachimo Zoidberg, Tyler Cote, and Devin Sundberg.

 

Overall, these two moves represent the changing environment of the VHL.  It is clear that the balance of power is shifting and new teams are poised to take over the top of the league's standings.  These moves, without a doubt, are even more important than they may seem on the surface - with a talented free agent pool, players will take notice of teams' efforts to improve and trading for stars shows that general managers are willing to take action to improve their team's situation.  The rest of the league should take note after such a strong start to the off-season.

[Merica 69]

Legion bring up quite the nostalgia.

[Mike 708]

Article title is misleading there are no stars here.

[diamond_ace 3,112]

Article title is misleading there are no stars here.

Denying the quality of Steve Tremblay is a dangerous move...

[DollarAndADream 3,356]

Content: 3/3 - Everything is solid on the content front. Over 700 words, so that's more than enough.

Grammar: 2/2 - Everything looks good here. Nothing really to report.

Appearance: 1/1 - Good placement of pictures and headlines. Spacing is ideal.

Overall: 6/6

[CoachReilly 688]

Claimed