RIG/VAN Trade Review [1/2]

[McWolf 3,114]

 receives Rauno Palo
receives Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Vancouver's S69 1st-round pick

 

Introduction
At first look, this trade looks wildly unfair. Riga receives a 900 TPA player in his penultimate season, while giving up a 3rd season player with more TPA, giving Vancouver their own 1st rounder acquired in a previous trade back. Why would Hedgehog pay to downgrade for a player who's set to retire at the end of S69, when they had a young man who, on paper, looks like he should be a VHL star already and has 5 more seasons ahead of him to prove it?

 

Discussion
The trade actually makes sense for both teams, though I agree we need to dig a bit to understand it from the perspective of the Latvian franchise. Hedgehog traded HHH, Beaviss' own player, to the Vancouver Wolves, Beaviss' own team. The centerman was set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and there is no way to know where Beaviss would have sent him had he finished the season with Riga and reached that status. Beaviss was probably -- I only barely understand GM rules, so correct me if I'm wrong -- not allowed to sign HHH as a free agent because of the fact he's his player, so this trade brings his rights his way, with the possibility of keeping him for another 5 seasons and build a dynasty on his back. Hedgehog would very probably have lost him anyway in a couple of weeks anyway. He had to pay a 1st rounder on top of it to bring in Palo, but if that's the price to pay to switch a pending UFA for a star signed through next season, then so be it. In that sense, this trade can actually make sense for Riga.

Now, forget for a second we live in a reality where players can be evaluated by the amount of fictional tasks they achieved and the amount of virtual skill points they added to their attributes. How would you compare players if not for that? Stats, of course. HHH may be a 930 TPA player with at least one more year to build on it, but if we are completely honest, he hasn't played like it at all. He has an acute case of bad STHS luck or maybe the engine simply hates wrestling. He might be able to change the direction he's going and start producing more at some point in his career, that's in Beaviss' hands. On the other side, Rauno Palo is a veteran with less TPE, sure, but he's also the reigning MVP who's making a case for himself to repeat.

 

Conclusion
If we forget about TPE for a bit, this trade is a classic trade where a competitive team trades for a star veteran to help in what they hope will be a deep playoff push. They ship off a disgruntled prospect that probably wouldn't resign, and whose actual potential is a mystery at the moment and a pick for him. The TPE makes it seem lopsided, but this trade has the potential to be a win-win if Palo helps Riga win it all, and if Beaviss can fix HHH.

 

People mentionned: @Beaviss, @hedgehog337, @jRuutu.

Edited October 10, 2019 by McWolf

[hedgehog337 3,480]

I'm really missing something. cause once again, it's me who got a pick, not Vancouver.

[McWolf 3,114]

3 minutes ago, hedgehog337 said:

I'm really missing something. cause once again, it's me who got a pick, not Vancouver

you missed the fact i'm dumb af

I'll edit it at some point, I guess. Main point is mostly Palo v HHH anyway

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

STHS hates HHH

[McWolf 3,114]

6 hours ago, hedgehog337 said:

I'm really missing something. cause once again, it's me who got a pick, not Vancouver.

still, if i think the trade was worth it with the 1st going their way, imagine my opinion now.

[Renomitsu 934]

Review

The Palo/Pick/HHH trade is certainly a hot-button topic worth discussing. Obviously Vancouver gets a talented young player (and Beaviss gets his second player), but a player with Palo's accolades and the future pick give Riga some certainty for the future that they simply didn't have as long as the threat of HHH coming to Vancouver existed. Aside from a couple of factual errors (e.g. Riga getting the pick, not Vancouver), I felt as though this was a worthwhile read/review of the trade.