patsdude114
01-09-2011, 05:02 PM
*from the Pats website/Leaderpost*
REGINA — The clock is ticking towards Monday's WHL trade deadline and Regina Pats general manager Chad Lang is ready to get in the game.
Unfortunately, the ball isn't in his court.
Lang, like many fellow GMs, is to some extent forced to play a waiting game while teams like the Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos ponder what to do with their elite players — world junior MVP Brayden Schenn and fellow Team Canada star Cody Eakin, in particular. The Kootenay Ice and Saskatoon Blades are among the suitors, with both clubs making it clear they want to make a splash at the deadline.
Meanwhile, the popular theory suggests that once the first blockbuster trade is completed, the rest of the dominoes will begin to fall.
"There's a number of players that those (contending) teams are trying to acquire," Lang said Friday. "There's the obvious name with Schenn that people are waiting to see where he goes. I talked with (Wheat Kings GM) Kelly (McCrimmon) this morning about their situation. There seems to be a perception that once Kelly goes that everything kind of trickles from there. We joked, 'It's not like an import draft where you have a draft order; it's not like everybody has to wait for him.' "
Yet, it seems they are.
Complicating matters is the fact that there isn't a single WHL team out of the playoff hunt, thus making those clubs more reluctant to part with their top veteran players. The Pats fall in that category, especially after winning their first three games following the Christmas break.
"It has made it a little more difficult and that's a good thing," Lang said. "Our room right now is really strong. We feel we have good leadership. We feel as a group they're gelling really well, which has shown in the last three outings. I've said from Day 1 even though you want to maybe look at going in a different direction and bring some younger guys in, in order to have success at this level you need good older players. The players we have, those veteran guys, are contributing for us on the ice and they're tremendous in our locker room. If we're going to continue to make a push and battle for a playoff spot I think you need to have those guys. It's a real juggling act. From a development standpoint, there's no question if we were able to get into a playoff spot that would be tremendously beneficial for our entire organization but more importantly for those guys moving forward next year."
But here's the dilemma: Regina's playoff chances hinge largely on the same players who are attractive to contending teams, including No. 1 defenceman Brandon Davidson and captain Garrett Mitchell.
Lang has made it clear that none of his veterans will come cheap — if they're available at all. The Pats have already received legitimate offers for star centre Jordan Weal, but he's believed to be strictly off limits, unless of course a team literally offers the sun and the moon.
"(Once the deadline passes) we might have done nothing and I'm comfortable with that too," noted Lang. "We made two pretty substantial deals leading into the (Christmas) break with (Carter) Ashton and (Thomas) Frazee. With the deals we did make, getting the younger players and the picks, we've put ourselves in a pretty good position. I'm not going to make a deal just for the sake of thinking we have to make a deal at the deadline."
That said, Lang is also prepared to pull the trigger if the right one comes along.
"We're being pretty proactive," he added. "A lot of my discussion now has been listening to offers. We have a few assets teams would like to acquire. On the opposite end of that I've inquired on some pieces that I think can contribute to us now but maybe more importantly down the road. I still wouldn't mind getting even a bit younger and building around that core group that we've started to build around. In our situation, if I'm able to get something to work that's a good fit for us both this year and next year, I think we would seriously look at it."
REGINA — The clock is ticking towards Monday's WHL trade deadline and Regina Pats general manager Chad Lang is ready to get in the game.
Unfortunately, the ball isn't in his court.
Lang, like many fellow GMs, is to some extent forced to play a waiting game while teams like the Brandon Wheat Kings and Swift Current Broncos ponder what to do with their elite players — world junior MVP Brayden Schenn and fellow Team Canada star Cody Eakin, in particular. The Kootenay Ice and Saskatoon Blades are among the suitors, with both clubs making it clear they want to make a splash at the deadline.
Meanwhile, the popular theory suggests that once the first blockbuster trade is completed, the rest of the dominoes will begin to fall.
"There's a number of players that those (contending) teams are trying to acquire," Lang said Friday. "There's the obvious name with Schenn that people are waiting to see where he goes. I talked with (Wheat Kings GM) Kelly (McCrimmon) this morning about their situation. There seems to be a perception that once Kelly goes that everything kind of trickles from there. We joked, 'It's not like an import draft where you have a draft order; it's not like everybody has to wait for him.' "
Yet, it seems they are.
Complicating matters is the fact that there isn't a single WHL team out of the playoff hunt, thus making those clubs more reluctant to part with their top veteran players. The Pats fall in that category, especially after winning their first three games following the Christmas break.
"It has made it a little more difficult and that's a good thing," Lang said. "Our room right now is really strong. We feel we have good leadership. We feel as a group they're gelling really well, which has shown in the last three outings. I've said from Day 1 even though you want to maybe look at going in a different direction and bring some younger guys in, in order to have success at this level you need good older players. The players we have, those veteran guys, are contributing for us on the ice and they're tremendous in our locker room. If we're going to continue to make a push and battle for a playoff spot I think you need to have those guys. It's a real juggling act. From a development standpoint, there's no question if we were able to get into a playoff spot that would be tremendously beneficial for our entire organization but more importantly for those guys moving forward next year."
But here's the dilemma: Regina's playoff chances hinge largely on the same players who are attractive to contending teams, including No. 1 defenceman Brandon Davidson and captain Garrett Mitchell.
Lang has made it clear that none of his veterans will come cheap — if they're available at all. The Pats have already received legitimate offers for star centre Jordan Weal, but he's believed to be strictly off limits, unless of course a team literally offers the sun and the moon.
"(Once the deadline passes) we might have done nothing and I'm comfortable with that too," noted Lang. "We made two pretty substantial deals leading into the (Christmas) break with (Carter) Ashton and (Thomas) Frazee. With the deals we did make, getting the younger players and the picks, we've put ourselves in a pretty good position. I'm not going to make a deal just for the sake of thinking we have to make a deal at the deadline."
That said, Lang is also prepared to pull the trigger if the right one comes along.
"We're being pretty proactive," he added. "A lot of my discussion now has been listening to offers. We have a few assets teams would like to acquire. On the opposite end of that I've inquired on some pieces that I think can contribute to us now but maybe more importantly down the road. I still wouldn't mind getting even a bit younger and building around that core group that we've started to build around. In our situation, if I'm able to get something to work that's a good fit for us both this year and next year, I think we would seriously look at it."