RomanesEuntDomus 442 Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 (edited) The Rebuild Has Started – A look at Cologne's Deadline Deals The rebuild has started. The rumor writers about the league have been talking about it for weeks but nobody was sure if the Cologne Express were actually going to sell off their top-players and enter into a rebuild, or maybe even add a few pieces to make another push for the playoffs. Now, in the days leading to the deadline, came the answer. Rebuild it is for this team that many thought might be able to go all the way this season but which ended up playing one of their worst seasons in years despite icing their best roster since the inception of the franchise – on paper. The Express were never able to develop chemistry and get the depth scoring needed to take some weight off the shoulders of franchise players Kameron Taylor and Malcolm Spud. Instead the Vasteras Iron Eagles, belittled by many before the start of the season, had one of the best starts to their season in recent memory, pushed the Express out of a playoff-spot and built up a 16 point lead on Cologne. Cologne's season so far in picture form Frustrated by the lack of effort shown by some of his players, the lack of training hours and a major drop in locker-room activity, GM Joey Kendrick and his Assistant Alex Schneider decided to blow it up and start a full on rebuild. Some star-players are still left in Cologne, like the aforementioned Kameron Taylor and Malcolm Spud as well as goaltender Evgeni Chekhov and Forward David Collier, but they are likely to be dealt in the off-season as well. The rest of the roster, including a bunch of the players that were part of the Express franchise for their whole career up until now, are already gone though. We will break down some of those trades for you now: Gregory Glass to Seattle for Edwin Encarnacion and Seattle’s 2nd round pick in Season 38 One of Colognes oldest players, both in terms of age and time spent as a part of the franchise, was the one who kicked off the rebuild. Defenseman Greg Glass, who had told his team that he would welcome a trade to a team that was able to compete, but that he’d also happily play out his career in Cologne if the Express decided to keep him, was dealt to Seattle for blue liner Edwin Encarnacion and a 2nd rounder. And so far this seems to be a win-win trade, as both parties have received great contributions from the players they traded for. Glass, who had a bad year offensively in Cologne but had already spent 100 minutes in the penalty box, saw his point totals raise to 9 points in 17 games while his PIM dropped to 10. Encarnacion's resurgence was even more impressive, he went from a measly 3 points and no goals in 38 games so far with Seattle to 8 points, 4 of them goals, in his first 17 games with the Express. Cologne also received a 2nd round pick from Seattle, if this player pans out or not will determine which team will be seen as the winner of this deal in the long-run. So far, the answer is both... This is only a preview, if you want to read the full article please consider signing up for a premium membership for as little as $9.99 a month or wait until next week, when the full article will be made available for everyone. Edited February 3, 2014 by RomanesEuntDomus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,529 Posted February 2, 2014 Admin Share Posted February 2, 2014 What a tease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamond_ace 3,106 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 If I were to hypothetically pay you the $9.99, would you actually give me the rest of the article early? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RomanesEuntDomus 442 Posted February 3, 2014 Author Share Posted February 3, 2014 If I were to hypothetically pay you the $9.99, would you actually give me the rest of the article early? I've almost finished writing the second part so I think yeah, that could work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwfulHomesick 148 Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 Content: 3/3 - Looking at the moves Cologne has made and their current standings position, looks like Mr. Kendrick has done some good moves to solidify the last playoff spot. I certainly hope Cologne creates the team they were envisioned to during the offseason. Grammar: 2/2 - All good. rumor writers about the league - rumor writers of the league Appearance: 1/1 - Very nice. Overall: 6/6 Final: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smarch 2,939 Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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