SEATTLE RIOT MANHATTAN RAGE FREE AGENCY


Kian Hamilton (formerly Vuro Vlaters) takes his draft picture after being selected 25th Overall in the S22 Draft

Late-night deal lands Riot Hamilton

SEATTLE, WA - The lights were on in GM Vsevolod Nikitin's office Wednesday night, which isn't unusual on most days. Seva's been feeling pressure from the league as a whole for more than questionable moves recently, so the only solution is to research and talk with the league to improve more after a bad season. Some of that was alleviated with a great draft, picking up some pieces that will be instrumental in what is being dubbed the "contendabuild" process, but there was more to be done.

That's where the Manhattan Rage trade block came into play. Word on the street was that Kian Hamilton, star forward, was asking out, and Seva saw the chance. While other teams could ask to bring in Hamilton, Nikitin called asking to speak to Vlaters. "Sorry, who's that?" "Just hand the phone to 'Kian'." The two exchanged pleasantries over days of old, with the Seattle Riot teams of a decade ago and obviously the eventual fire that was the Karlenssons and Nikitin departures. "Hey, look, we want you here, would you be ok with coming back home?" Seva inquired, half-knowing the inevitable yes was coming.

Within an hour, the trade was established, signed, and completed. Vuro comes back home to Seattle for two inactives and a low pick a few drafts from now, with some help paying for the contract Hamilton got. "This made all the sense in the world," Seva said to the only reporter up at 2:30 AM PST. "The trade had to be made late to adjust for Vlaters, who's on Latvia time preparing for the IIHF tournament currently ongoing, but that's ok with me. So long as we nab him, we're solid."

The thought in Seattle is that this move, along with others made this offseason, will put the Riot in a solid position headed into S36, and with 2 more pieces, the Riot would be complete and ready for action. Look out for more activity from the Pacific Northwest (something must be in the water making folks from Seattle to Portland ready to trade) in this offseason.