Trade center 2016
James Duthie here on trade center 2016, on what should be an exciting day. Joined here in studio by all your favorite TSN personnel. We reach the deadline point every year with a few contenders who all have a shot. This year that's not the case. The Winnipeg Jets are dominating the league and have caught everyone by surprise. Bob what can we expect to see from them and other teams today.
Bob: James, the Winnipeg Jets have overacheived and exceeded all expectations, they have the league 2 leading scorers at the moment in Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler has 30 goals. All 3 along with Mark Scheiffle are enjoying career years, and Brett Connolly has been as well. Goaltending has been solid and Tyler Myers has been exactly what the doctor has ordered. The Jets have been clicking and have been near unstoppable posting a 47-10-6 record. They boast 3 lines that can hurt you and 4th line that isn't dead weight, their backend isn't amazing but it isn't shallow either. I'm told the Jets could add or stand pat, they will not move Andrew Ladd who is having a career year and could fetch a great return. The Jets would prefer to keep him around and try to re-sign him. Andrew Ladd has 84 points already, that's 13 more than Crosby, he will never match this total and will be a stretch for 60 next year, his value is as good as it gets. However Winnipeg is a young team that wants to win a few rounds.
Darren: That's right Bob, there's a market for Gionta, Stuart, Pavelec and Ladd, however I doubt the Jets will be sellers, they have a good prospect pool and will take their chances given that everything is rolling. I'm told that they would consider making a play for a big name like Jakub Voracek who is on the market, however they won't give up Garland, Ehjlers or Lowry to get a deal done. They may want a goaltending upgrade however Eric Comrie is ripping up the AHL and could be ready as of next year. Patience may be the best move for the Jets, however I see them looking to add a top 4 defenceman and maybe a top 9 forward. I would not be surprised if they were quiet today.
James: Now teams like Montreal, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Chicago and the New York Rangers will be looking to add today, can these teams compete with the Jets ?
Bob: No doubt, each has a franchise player or elite talent that the Jets are lacking, these teams will be busy. I don't believe that Jets management believes their team is ready to win.
James: Who are the big names out there ?
Darren: Jakub Voracek is the biggest, followed by Dan Hamhuis and other names include the likes of Shane Doan, Simon Gagne, Francois Beauchemin, Anders Lindback, Marty Havlat, Tuomo Ruttuu and Chris Neil will attract interest.
Bob: I think Hamhuis could be moved and I would not be surprised if the Jets went after him as rental. He would add to their blueline. I think the Jets are looking for a pure rental due to their young players that are in the system however if the price is right Ward will pull the trigger on a trade.
James: Thanks Bob, we'll be back in a moment.
James: We're back and Bob and Darren have big news for us.
Darren: Vancouver is having a fire sale.
Bob: Sedin's are availbale.
Darren: Jets have interest in Kevin Bieksa.
Bob: Remember that Jets have a ton of cap space.
Gord: We have our first trade, Tampa sends Yannick Weber to St.Louis for Chandler Yakimowizcz and Dimitri Sergeev.
Darren: Jets have acquired Kevin Bieksa.
Gord: Alex Burrows has been traded.
Bob: Jets have had a busy day.
Gord: Winnipeg sends Ivan Nikolishin to Vancouver for Burrows and a 5th.
Pierre: Jets wanted more girt and size on the 3rd line, also felt they could use they added depth. Great move here.
Gord: Winnipeg has traded Brian Gionta to Detroit for Zach Natasiuk, and 2016 4th and 5th round picks.
Bob: Good move for the Wings, Jets don't have any room left for Gionta with the Burrows trade and they lose a bad contract.
Pierre: Jets want to restock a cupboard that they feel has been depleted since the summer.
Gord: 2 more Jets trades to announce, Mark Stuart to Anaheim for Matt Mistele and Kevin Bieksa is coming over in exchange for Artem Artemov and Anttii Kapaljainen.
Pierre: Love this move for Winnipeg, Bieksa has a great shot, he's a rugged top 4 defenceman with a wealth of experience and he should make the Jets very tough to play against.
Gord: Not many notable trades today, Oilers went out and got backup goalie Reto Berra, Lightning add Ference.
James: With their trades today are the Jets now the team to beat in the West ?
Bob: Yes, they showed that they are to be taken seriously, Winnipeg will not be an easy matchup for anyone.
James: That's all for today. Join us at the draft where the action will be a plenty ! For TSN I'm James Duthie.
those are my 3 most common teams I use. Given the news about the rebuild, it'd be cool to do Toronto, and say you MUST deal Kessel and Phaneuf before the 1st trade deadline. It'd also mean each team is fairly unique. I'm not a fan of injuries because it's a pain to have to repeatedly edit lines, but I could live with it. Also, I'd say no editing players no matter what, because it puts those of us not playing on last gen at a disadvantage
on the 360:
