Trade Talk (Oct. 31st)

[Eparker24 16]

Trade Talk (Oct. 31^st)

            Happy Halloween! This article will review and discuss the recent trades that have taken place in the VHLM and the effects that they have on players, teams, and the league overall. I will begin with the most recent of trades and work backwards. I will be excluding trades that do not involve any players since the true weight of those trades won’t be known until seasons later.

 

Oct 30^th, 2018- Las Vegas Aces and Saskatoon Wild:

 

            This trade is a goalie switch with Las Vegas receiving Kevin Weekes and S64 Saskatoon 2^nd round pick and Saskatoon receiving Brick Wahl. After 18 games Wahl has a record of 7-9-2, with a .893 save percentage, and 3.13 goals averaged against. After 18 games Weekes has a record of 10-8-0, a save percentage of .896, and 2.21 goals averaged against. On paper alone this looks like a steal for the Las Vegas Aces. Both goaltenders have basically the same stats with Weekes edging out Wahl in all the categories, but the key is the growth of Wahl. He is averaging the most growth out of any goaltender in the VHLM right now and will more than likely be a top pick in the VHL draft. The possibility of what Wahl can become for the Wild makes this a trade that needs to be revisited later in the season to see who the real winner of this trade is. Until Wahl blossoms into a star this trade seems like an immediate win for Las Vegas.

 

Oct 29^th, 2018- Halifax 21^st and Las Vegas Aces:

 

            This trade, that focused on defensemen, has Halifax acquiring Evgeni Komarov and S64 Las Vegas 7^th round pick, and Las Vegas acquiring Juri Rykonen, S64 Halifax 4^th round pick, and S65 Halifax 2^nd round pick. In 18 games Komarov had 1 goal and 9 assists for 10 points, a plus/minus of +10, and 53 hits. In 18 games Rykonen has 1 goal and 8 assists for 9 points, a plus/minus of +3, and 54 hits. Similar to the first trade discussed this trade also looks lopsided from the stats perspective. It seems that Las Vegas has again robbed a team of picks for basically the same players. Also, similar to the first play the key is in Komarov’s growth. While not as great as Brick Wahl’s growth Komarov’s is still noticeable. If he continues on this path he is a great shut down defensemen to be on the top pair for a team. This is reflected in his +10 stat showing that he is defensively minded and responsible while he is on the ice. Las Vegas seems to be giving away players with lots of potential to grab draft picks for the coming years. Unlike the first trade though, Las Vegas has the depth on defense for this trade. They still have a great top pair in Kachur and Parker while adding Rykonen to their second pair. In order to decide a clear winner this will take more time because we will have to see which players these picks become. If I had to pick a winner now I would chose Las Vegas because they were able to off-load extra depth in exchange for good draft picks.

 

Oct. 28^th, 2018- Halifax 21^st and Oslo Storm:

 

            This trade and the next trade that will be talked about point to one thing, Oslo is going for the tank this year. In this trade Halifax acquires Jesse Wilson and Oslo acquires S64 Halifax 1^st round pick. In 17 games Wilson has 5 goals and 20 assists for 25 points, a plus/minus of -3, and 47 hits. He leaves a struggling Oslo team and joins the most promising team in the VHLM. He was Oslo’s highest point scorer and is now Halifax’s third highest. There isn’t too much to say about this trade. Halifax was able to gain a top forward in the push for the playoffs and Oslo is able to gain another pick to aid them in their rebuild next draft. I think this is a win for both teams with an edge going to Halifax because I believe that Wilson was worth more than just a first round pick.

 

Oct. 24^th, 2018- Oslo Storm and Saskatoon Wild:

 

            As I mentioned with the previous trade this is again an indication that Oslo is embracing the tank. Oslo acquires S64 Saskatoon 1^st round pick, S64 Halifax 2^nd round pick, and S64 Saskatoon 3^rd round pick and Saskatoon acquires Anthony Dabarno and S64 Oslo 6^th round pick.  

In 17 games Dabarno has 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 points, a plus/minus of +11, only 8 penalty minutes, and 25 hits. Dabarno is a decent scorer but really shines in the discipline he shows on the ice. With a plus/minus of +11 and only 8 penalty minutes he is the type of player you want on the ice during crucial moments. The Wild gave up a haul for this forward, but with the Wild needing a push to get them into the upper echelon of the VHLM Dabarno could be exactly the player they are looking for. Similar to the previous trade we will need to see the results of this season’s play and also what these picks become in order to fully grade this trade. On the surface, it seems both teams got things that they need, but in my personal opinion if the Wild fall short of the cup Oslo takes this trade.

 

Oct. 23^rd, 2018- Yukon Rush and Las Vegas Aces:

 

            The last of the trades involving players is the smallest trade. Yukon acquire Jack Lockwood and Las Vegas acquires S65 Yukon 5^th round pick. This trade on the surface seems like a great move by Las Vegas. In 19 games Lockwood has 0 points, a plus/minus of -3, 8 penalty minutes, and 3 hits. Unless Lockwood starts producing anything this will be a lopsided trade because as long as Las Vegas selects a player with that pick that positively contributes to the team they will be better than Lockwood. There may be more to this trade that I do not see but from my limited perspective it leaves me scratching my head at Yukon.

 

1038

[diamond_ace 3,112]

I agree with your assessment on a lot of these, but I definitely think Halifax won the Komarov deal. Honestly though, it's a bit weird to see this many trades this early

[Peace 1,518]

Both Wild trades are accurate.

Paying a higher price for potential isn't uncommon, however; there are more to trades than stats alone, such as the potential of the players coming back and what position picks will be on the draft board. Almost everything is considered when you're negotiating with another GM, and as I've recently been promoted to the Wild Assistant General Manager, I can confirm that both Wild trades on this list are leaning heavily towards the potential of these players during the playoffs. 

Dabarno was acquired to give the Wild a top line center beyond Baier and Gary, who - while developing - weren't in the position to keep the Wild a healthy playoff contender at the start of the season. Before Dabarno the Wild went 1-4-0, after Dabarno we've gone 9-4-0. Adding Dabarno allows the Wild to compete for a seed now while Baier and Gary develop further. Hopefully, by the time the playoffs arrive, both Baier and Gary will realistically be above 100 TPA even on Welfare, Practice and Press Conference alone. That gives the Wild immense depth down the middle. 

The addition of Wahl gives the Wild a goaltender reaching the TPE cap every week, so Wahl outperforming Weekes is a question of when rather than if. Weekes may or may not return to activity, and although I'm confident he'll start claiming TPE again, his stats will look weaker on the Ace's roster than Wahl's on the Wilds' roster. 

If everything goes according to plan, the Wild will have four more 100 TPA players (Edvin, Gary, Biaer and Blake) on top of the six they currently have (Peace, Dabarno, Trepanier, Fitzgerald, Jerwa and Wahl)!

Good write up, @Eparker24 

Edited November 1, 2018 by Peace

[Gooningitup 1,290]

9 hours ago, diamond_ace said:

I agree with your assessment on a lot of these, but I definitely think Halifax won the Komarov deal. Honestly though, it's a bit weird to see this many trades this early

 

I was shocked too given we are what not even a 1/4 done the season. Everyone made their moves super early. Last year we started dealing what like 40 games in. This year like 15

[Eparker24 16]

Week 2 TPE

[Eparker24 16]

1 minute ago, Eparker24 said:

Week 2 TPE

 

1 minute ago, Eparker24 said:

Week 2 TPE

 

1 minute ago, Eparker24 said:

Week 2 TPE

 

1 minute ago, Eparker24 said:

Week 2 TPE