So, as you likely know, I log on a couple of times a week to do my PT's and catch up on Rinky's performance.  Yesterday I checked the new content and found that I had been traded from the Great Falls Grizzlies to the Colorado Raptors.  There was an effort made to ping me, but, for some binary reason, I didn't get the message.  So what went down >  How did I become a Grizzly in the first place ?  (not that I mind in any way).  I was a Raptor before, and now the Raps have given up substantial assets to return Rinky to Colorado.  The best I can surmise is that the Grizzlies selected Rinky in some kind of expansion draft and the Raptors felt that Rinky was an important enough cog in their machine to get him back to the Mountains.  If someone could shed a little light on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated.

From Rinky's point of view, it was more than a little unnerving.  He woke up one fine morning to discover that he was going to have to make his way to Great Falls.  OK, so no biggie.  Trades and drafts are all part of the business.  It's all about a team trying to find that elusive winning combination.  It has nothing to do with the player personally....unless you are Sean Avery.  Rinky hadn't even the time to pack his toothbrush when he found that he didn't have to go anywhere because he had been traded back to the Raptors.  He immediately contacted his GM to thank him for the huge vote of confidence.  He also mentioned that he hoped that he would be able to make the trade worthwhile.  After all, the Raptors did give up a player, Fedor Sotakov  and 5 draft picks to reacquire Rinky and the Grizzlies' S61 Fourth Round pick.

Subsequent to all of the foregoing, when asked, Rinky said that he felt that he would have a larger role on the Raptors in future seasons with them, more time on ice and more production.  His off-season have seen a boost in his attributes by 76 TPE.  The combination of these two things should result in an increase in overall production and, hopefully, greater team success.  Rinky also said that he doesn't know what the future hold for him beyond the current season, but whatever that future is, he hopes to be a contributor.