A Riot in the Offseason

For most players in the SHL the offseason is an incredibly boring time. It is generally filled with listening to another team brag about their challenge cup win and copying someone else’s mock draft. For the GM’s around the league however the offseason is a critical time that truly sets the table for the draft, the next season, and their teams future for many season to come. After squeezing into the last playoff spot in the west, the Seattle Riot shocked the SHL with a first round upset over the Los Angeles Panthers in a seven game series which the visiting team won every single game. They then faced off against the Edmonton Blizzard in another hard fought, seven game series, but were unable to pull off the upset again and were sent packing. The Blizzard of course went on to lose the Challenge Cup finals to the New England Wolfpack. Getting so close to the hardware and coming home empty handed is always tough, but the unexpected performance in the playoffs has shown the league that Seattle is dangerously close to contending again, and with two excellent GM’s in Gifter of Bikes and King this offseason was bound to be an exciting time for The Riot.

The First Move:

The first thing on management's massive plate was a couple pending free agents in need of being locked down. First to come to terms with King was the veteran defenseman, and oddly sticky man, Peter Parker!



This season 16 draftee has been part of the Seattle Riot for a long time, and thankfully wanted to stay even longer. He signed a four year extension through season 27 at $1 million per year thanks to a hometown discount. This two way defender does not have the usual build for a defenseman coming in at 5’10” and 167 lbs, but his exceptional positioning and ability to move the puck will be a welcome sight on the Riot blueline for years to come. With another important free agent for the Riot still to sign, Peter really showed his commitment towards the Riot brand by signing for the hometown discount. His faith in the team and selfless attitude will surely rub off on Seattle’s young guns. When asked about this signing Peter Parker had one thing to say: “With great power comes great responsibility”. I’m not sure exactly how that’s relevant but it sure as hell sounds good!

A Legendary Signing:

The man. The Myth. The German Legend. The one and only, David Winter.



The cheap signing of Peter Parker paid its dividends almost immediately as Seattle’s first line center and season 23 leading scorer needed to be re-signed. After what I’m sure was a gruelling but fun negotiations, god, sorry… gob was able to convince the german workhorse to stay for at least one more season. The SEASON SEVEN draftee signed on for one more season at $3 million, surely substantially lower than what he could have received on the open market. To get Winter at that price we know one of two things for certain: either GoB is a god damn wizard, or he has a plan for the Riot that Winter believed will bring the cup back home to Seattle. Only time, and maybe me a few paragraphs from now, will tell. From a strong role model in the locker room, to a dominant force on the ice, and even as a wise old man at the drafting table, Winters impact is far reaching. This 6’2”, 194 pound beast has little to no weaknesseses, some say he doesn’t even need to drink water. There is little he can’t do, and nothing he won’t do to win another cup before he retires. When asked just how he plans on winning the cup this year, he simply responded with a single word: “Easily”.

The Blockbuster:

I don’t think there was a soul on the planet that could have seen this trade coming. Remember a long time ago when I said GoB is either a man with a plan, or a wizard? Well as it turns out, he is both. Fresh off their Challenge Cup victory it seems the New England Wolfpack have decided they do not want to win another, and have entered rebuild mode. They signed and immediately traded their star player, first line center, and my 1st overall fantasy draft pick, the one and only Carter O’Callahan to the Seattle Riot!



In exchange for this superhuman, New England receives: 1st round pick in the upcoming season 24 draft (they selected goaltender Earnest Ciarelli ), two second round picks in the Season 25 draft (one is Texas’s originally), and another first rounder in season 26 (going to be 12th overall anyways). That is a very substantial package, but O’Callahan’s value goes beyond the ice surface. Immediately he began helping the younger players with their workout regime, modifying them to work more towards their strengths and providing advice on how to become the player they would like to be. He has specific knowledge when it comes to goaltending, which will be exceptionally beneficial to Seattle’s young star Karlenson. I’m not entirely sure how he knows so much about goalies, but when asked CoC said: “I was a Hall of Fame goalie in a past life”.... I guess he believes in reincarnation or something like that. In any case, having him locked up through season 28 at only $3 million per year should be scaring the hell out of every other team in the league. As far as role models and start players go, Seattle has to be in the best position in the league with Winter and O’Callahan at the helm.

The Boring One:

Rehn Miller has not been active for a long time and would surely retire were he to come back at this point. The 5’11”, 195 lb centerman can also play up the left wing, and is a very solid depth player as far as they go. With good skating and puck handling skills as well as the defensive responsibility a center should have. This is a smart inactive depth signing for one more season at $3 million. Who knows, maybe he will out of nowhere become unexpectedly active again... but that never happens...right?

Hogging the Net:

Later that same day, King came to terms with another player, but this one has much more serious implications. With the loss of Dustin Rose, the Riot were left with a gaping hole where their starting goalie used to be. This quickly became a non-issue as everyone's favorite Latvian hedgehog (and there are many), Valdemorts Karlensons agreed to a contract extension.



Signing for five more years through season 29 at $3 million per year, this energetic dynamo will be keeping the Seattle net empty for a long time. Drafted in season 22, Karl is still young and improving at an alarming pace. Faithfully serving as Rose’s backup last season, he learned exactly what it takes to be a successful starting goaltender in the SHL, and he is clearly ready and eager for the task. His 6’1”, 190 pound frame does not leave very many holes open, and those that are he is quick to close. While he may not be the most agile goalie in the league, he more than makes up for it with his elite rebound control. It also helps being big enough to cover the whole net even in the butterfly. With this signing, the Riot core has truly began to take shape. Leonidas, Nikitin, O’Callahan, and now Karlensen are signed through season 28. Include Bursyuk and Koskinen through season 26 and the core is not only in shape, but it is solid. Plenty of incentive for those whose contracts are expiring in the next couple years to stick around and win.

Moving on Up:

The Carter O’Callahan trade certainly changed the landscape of both teams, but it left Seattle with very little in terms of draft picks in the upcoming draft. With such a deep draft class that was very far from ideal. Seattle managed to snag the 21st overall draft pick in exchange for forward Sergei Kozar and a fourth round pick is the season 25 draft form the Toronto North Stars. With the twenty-first overall pick Seattle selected Reginald Howard, a very promising looking prospect who has had success in the league before. While Sergei will surely be missed, Seattle has an abundance of forwards so he will surely see more ice time in Toronto alongside many of his russian teammates.

It Does Happen:

Seattle’s last move prior to the draft was another trade, albeit substantially smaller, with the New England Wolfpack. The trade is simply this: Riot receive the rights to goaltender Cyan Winters, and in exchange New England receives the rights to goaltender Arton Laxk. On the surface this is a simple inactive for inactive trade with minor budget implications. New England gets a better but more expensive backup goalie, and Seattle gets some cap extra cap space to play around with. This is where the story gets interesting however as just hours after the trade was made public Arton Laxk logged back on to find he was traded! Now active, he is eligible for free agency! With is feelings clearly hurt by the Riot he elected to re-sign with New England for 2 season at $2 million. Still more expensive than Winters so not a total loss for Seattle, but him being active likely tips this trade in the Wolfpack direction. Going into the draft look for the Riot to try and pick up a goaltender to offset this loss.

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Kozar's a goalie, but good read!

A nice recap. Maybe we can add some more crazy to the mix soon.

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