I have to just point this out.

[Warrior Fan]

Johnson gone. Not a good enough player to be a 20 year old on a Sutter team. Rome could be on his way out by the sounds of it. To quote someone " he hasn't quite lived up to his billing" M.Lamoureux not coming. His brother is not convinced that he should have gone either. Until you convince him he should be there you will never see his best. Lilley, well he worked out well.
Moose Jaw has Deitrich, Herman Jones and Zetariuk all going to play important roles with the Warriors this season. Herman has good skill and has beefed up. Same with Deitrich. Very good size and strength. Jones is going to be an unreal player for us this season. He is doing unreal at pro camp. Seems to me that we have done exactly what we needed to and that is build for the future.

[3rebels]

Well, sometimes as is said "A change is as good as a rest". I am sincerely glad that aforementioned players are doing well. I never like to see a player go down hill from a trade. Sutts trades to improve a team, not to harm a player. A few exceptions, if you don't like the type of hockey the Rebs play, for sure, your days are numbered. I would imagine this goes in all the 'Dub teams. TJ for Hansen, ???? We need defense with Neuf gone and Kukka not coming back. And as for Lammie, if you aren't committed to play here, why bother showing up. Let that spot be taken by someone who has a little desire, heart, grit and skill also. We will perservere with what we have, and quite nicely if the pre-season is any indication. And to have extra OA's is a good thing.

[D.A.]

Looking at the moves from a Rebels perspective:

November 2004:
Marjamaki for Johnson

For the time they were both playing, it seems obvious that Marjamaki was the more productive of the two players. However, there are two other things to consider here. Trading Marjamaki allowed the Rebels to bring back Kouba, so it was almost like a 2-for-1 deal there for a bit. Also, Marjamaki is gone now and Johnson has become Hansen for the Rebels. We get an extra year's worth of a solid defenceman out of the deal. In the end, I think most Rebels fans are OK with this one.

November 2004:
Kerr, a 6th rounder and a 7th rounder for Morris, Lilley and a 7th rounder

Does it really matter that Lilley's not here anymore? Drop him out of the equation here and it was still a great trade for Red Deer. No regrets on this one.

July 2004:
Mercer, Gomez, Barkwell and Dietrich for PP Lamoureux, M Lamoureux, Klym and Gillies

Of the four players that Red Deer let go, only Dietrich might have made the team... eventually. Meanwhile, PP Lamoureux is now one of our top defencemen, Gillies looks to be coming into his own this year, and Klym will surely become a fan favourite over the course of the year. Again, I don't think anyone in Red Deer is too upset about this one, either.

January 2005:
Jones and Herman for Rome and Pieper

This one is a little tougher because I still believe that Herman might become a decent player in this league. That's what it really hinges on. Jones has skills, but he was in danger of getting booed out of the building on a nightly basis for his mental mistakes. Meanwhile, assuming Rome isn't traded, the Rebels have two key players in their line-up this year. Still hard to evaluate, but I think this one is pretty even from a Rebels perspetive.

August 2005:
Zetariuk for Klotz
Also too early to say much, though Klotz looks really good here so far. Zetariuk, meanwhile, was another one that drove the locals nuts with his mistakes. I still have hope for him, but again, most Rebels fans are absolutely fine with this trade.

So in the end, I don't think anyone is saying that Sutter has "robbed" the Warriors, but at the same time there's not a single trade in there that most Rebels fans wouldn't make again today.

[Courtney08-]

i totally agree, the players we traded off were okay while with us and because they are not with moose jaw maybe playing better.. because they play better with those players .. and very true jones and zets did get booed a lot because of mistakes.. We are happy with our players we have recieved pieper, lilly(while he was here) Rome, Morris.. etc.... all of them are great players and did and will continue to play big roles with our team!

[Shinyshoes]

As a Rebels Fan, I am getting tired of hearing the same speech over and over again from Moose Jaw Fans.

There are 3 Catagories that EVERY trade made by EVERY team falls into :

1) To Fill a hole in the current roster for the immediate future
2) To obtain some talent for a hole in the future
3) To better the Hockey Experience for a kid

The rebels and warriors have made a number of deals over the last 2 years, and I still believe EVERY Deal we made benifited both teams.

As for the warrior fans who keep bringing this up: Sutter is not out there to "Take" any team in any trade. He obviously wants the most he can get in a trade, but he also has the players lives in mind.

Proof of this is the Butterfield trade. Pokol had already made up his mind that he was quitting hockey, and Butterfield was not going to make the Rebels team because we already had a number of better players fighting for 1 or 2 spots on the team.
Sutter still wanted Butterfield to have a chance at a hockey career with a good organization, and knew he could get it in MJ. Rather than releasing him or trading him to somewhere he would be unhappy, Sutter traded him to MJ for essentially nothing.


Just My Opinion....

[frontrow fan]

I get tired of hearing people "poo-pooing" Sutter just because he is who he is. He's brought this organization a whole lot of success and notoriety, so along with that comes the comments etc., from the people who are bitter and maybe a tad jealous of what we have here in Red Deer. I would never believe that Sutter would trade a player without considering all the concerns on both sides...both teams and the player as well... If you listen to players who have been traded to Red Deer, or have come up through the system, they are always very excited to have the chance to play for Brent Sutter. I'm sure it's not the "easiest" place and system to work in, but it seems to me, they all really want the chance to give it a try.