Scout
01-02-2008, 09:40 AM
Courtesy Alan Caldwell:
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Countdown to deadline
The first shot of the trade wars has been fired, by the Regina Pats as they have acquired overage forward J.D. Watt and 19 year old forward Scott Doucet from Red Deer. It comes at a high price though as the Pats had to give up 16 year old forward Brett Miller - their 2006 1st round bantam choice - plus 18 year old forward Cody Gross and a 2009 3rd round pick. They also get a 2009 4th round pick back from the Rebels in the deal.
Miller did not make the Pats roster this year and he is one of only a couple of the 2006 first rounders not in the league this year - although his failure to make the team was probably due to a bout of mono in the offseason which prevented him from being in top shape at training camp. Only time will tell but this seems like a very stiff price for the Pats to pay for Watt and Doucet. If this is any indication of the prices being asked by this year's sellers, then some of the buyers are going to have to think long and hard about what they need to upgrade.
Who are this year's sellers? Well, looking at the standings, you'd have to think it is going to be very difficult for Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Red Deer, Prince George, and Portland to make the playoffs this year. They are all at least 12 points out of a playoff spot right now with the season more than half over. So, I would think all of them are probably (or should be!) willing to deal veterans for younger players or draft picks. If you aren't going to make the playoffs anyway, what is the point in keeping players who won't be on your team next year if somebody else is willing to give you something for them?
Edmonton: should be some interest in veteran defencemen like Bretton Stamler, Matt Swaby, and Cameron Cepek as well as import forward Robin Figren - who's one of the leading scorers at the World Juniors right now. None of those three will be back next year anyway.
Portland: biggest question is who Portland is willing to deal since they don't have a lot of players who won't be back next year. Import forward Viktor Sjodin is an obvious one but I don't imagine there's a big market for him either. Overage forwards Dietrich, Undershute, and Voytechek and backup goalie Jordan White are about the only other players on this team who are not likely to return next year.
Prince Albert: overage defencemen Jeff May and Ryan White might attract some interest from teams looking to shore up or add depth to their bluelines. Biggest attraction in P.A. though is the collection of good 19 year old forwards: Bernhardt, Robertson, DePape, LeBlanc, and McDonald. They can't keep all these guys as overagers next year even though they're all likely to be back. Might as well trade one or two of them now if they can get a good price.
Prince George: '88 d-man Ty Wishart is the big fish here. Might someone also be interested in another 19 year old d-man, Jesse Dudas? Good player when healthy but he never is healthy. Overage forward/captain Greg Gardner might get some interest too?
Red Deer: probably already made their biggest move, unless they are willing to think about dealing Brandon Sutter. Doubtful they'd do that though unless they were pretty sure he's going to stick in the NHL next year at 19. I still think 19 year old goalie James Reimer is on the block or else why have they acquired David Aime and Darcy Kuemper in the last few weeks?
Saskatoon: biggest fish is probably forward Ondrej Fiala, except that his two-spot status as an overage import makes him a little harder to move and thus a little less return due to fewer suitors for him out there. Interestingly though, one big potential suitor (Calgary) has both an import and an overage spot open. And like the Rebels with Sutter, the Blades will also have to think about whether Colton Gillies has a good chance to stick in the NHL as a 19 year old next year.....his NHL team (Minnesota) has a history of keeping teenagers.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Countdown to deadline
The first shot of the trade wars has been fired, by the Regina Pats as they have acquired overage forward J.D. Watt and 19 year old forward Scott Doucet from Red Deer. It comes at a high price though as the Pats had to give up 16 year old forward Brett Miller - their 2006 1st round bantam choice - plus 18 year old forward Cody Gross and a 2009 3rd round pick. They also get a 2009 4th round pick back from the Rebels in the deal.
Miller did not make the Pats roster this year and he is one of only a couple of the 2006 first rounders not in the league this year - although his failure to make the team was probably due to a bout of mono in the offseason which prevented him from being in top shape at training camp. Only time will tell but this seems like a very stiff price for the Pats to pay for Watt and Doucet. If this is any indication of the prices being asked by this year's sellers, then some of the buyers are going to have to think long and hard about what they need to upgrade.
Who are this year's sellers? Well, looking at the standings, you'd have to think it is going to be very difficult for Prince Albert, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Red Deer, Prince George, and Portland to make the playoffs this year. They are all at least 12 points out of a playoff spot right now with the season more than half over. So, I would think all of them are probably (or should be!) willing to deal veterans for younger players or draft picks. If you aren't going to make the playoffs anyway, what is the point in keeping players who won't be on your team next year if somebody else is willing to give you something for them?
Edmonton: should be some interest in veteran defencemen like Bretton Stamler, Matt Swaby, and Cameron Cepek as well as import forward Robin Figren - who's one of the leading scorers at the World Juniors right now. None of those three will be back next year anyway.
Portland: biggest question is who Portland is willing to deal since they don't have a lot of players who won't be back next year. Import forward Viktor Sjodin is an obvious one but I don't imagine there's a big market for him either. Overage forwards Dietrich, Undershute, and Voytechek and backup goalie Jordan White are about the only other players on this team who are not likely to return next year.
Prince Albert: overage defencemen Jeff May and Ryan White might attract some interest from teams looking to shore up or add depth to their bluelines. Biggest attraction in P.A. though is the collection of good 19 year old forwards: Bernhardt, Robertson, DePape, LeBlanc, and McDonald. They can't keep all these guys as overagers next year even though they're all likely to be back. Might as well trade one or two of them now if they can get a good price.
Prince George: '88 d-man Ty Wishart is the big fish here. Might someone also be interested in another 19 year old d-man, Jesse Dudas? Good player when healthy but he never is healthy. Overage forward/captain Greg Gardner might get some interest too?
Red Deer: probably already made their biggest move, unless they are willing to think about dealing Brandon Sutter. Doubtful they'd do that though unless they were pretty sure he's going to stick in the NHL next year at 19. I still think 19 year old goalie James Reimer is on the block or else why have they acquired David Aime and Darcy Kuemper in the last few weeks?
Saskatoon: biggest fish is probably forward Ondrej Fiala, except that his two-spot status as an overage import makes him a little harder to move and thus a little less return due to fewer suitors for him out there. Interestingly though, one big potential suitor (Calgary) has both an import and an overage spot open. And like the Rebels with Sutter, the Blades will also have to think about whether Colton Gillies has a good chance to stick in the NHL as a 19 year old next year.....his NHL team (Minnesota) has a history of keeping teenagers.