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majesiu · 10-19-2020, 08:07 AM

(Double trade deadline media - 1688 words)

Just as I prefaced the second most traded S41 Player article another article was brewing in the back with different than me main actor, this time we will be talking about legendary 12th OA selection of S41 draft - Xavier Paquette. If you read my S41 Redraft then you know he had quite a journeyman career that ended in S52, but before that ending, he was able to play for 7 unique franchises and was traded even more - how many exactly? This is the article where we will find out since I'm eager to learn about his as to earn this sweet double media bonus.
The processed signings search returns astonishing 15 results, we'll go through them all, but among them:
- 3 Signings (draftee and free agent ones)
- 3 Extensions
- 3 Appearances on the Free Agent tracker
- 6 times being traded

So let's go through this chronologically, starting with when he was drafted way back when in S41 in the Draft, I was part as well, with the 12th OA pick, by the Edmonton Blizzard and signed following rookie deal:
S41: 3M
S42: 3M
S43: 3M
All 3 of those years were spent playing in the minors league - SMJHL with some team.
After S43 there was a huge wave of EDM extensions, to such stars as Teodors Cukurs, Michael McFadden, Cory Knouse, Brady McIntyre (all single-year extensions), Brock Becker (two-year extension, soon traded as Part of Czerkawski/Fletcher from NEW deal) & finally our article hero & main focus received following deal:
S44: $3,000,000
S45: $3,000,000
While the team was looking for his SHL debut in S44, due to problem most teams would love to have (e.g. too much depth & talent) he was shipped around the trade deadline to Minnesota Chiefs for Halfdan Thorstein (with 1.5M of his contract retained by the Chiefs).
So let's put back aside Paq for a second and see what EDM got for their former S41 1st rounder. Thorstein went on to play with them just for the remainder of S44 and was shipped to the Toronto North Stars for 2 draft picks: S46 Stellhawks 4th & S48 Toronto 2nd. With the first one, the Edmonton Blizzard selected James Truong, the latter was used on the Raphael d'Alcott.
James has been productive Right Winger for the Blizzard up to this day, collecting 256 points in the regular season in 400 games played, and almost 2 extra seasons played in the postseason games with 46 points in 90 games played there. Quite a pick for a 4th rounder and an already great return for Paq. Since he is still on Blizzard, this trade branch is closed, and let's see what happened with the Raphael d'Alcott - can't quite find him on the rooster and the career stats skater view box doesn't return anything. Oh, well he retired before ever making SHL. But before that happened, Blizzard GMs, clearly using a crystal ball and predicting his future decision, were able to ship him to the Platoon (back then West Kendall) alongside Dean Colt III for Artemi Berezin & S51 WKP 2nd. Colt was a bigger piece in that deal (I think) and played 5 unspectacular seasons in with Platoon before finishing his career with the Jets in S54.
Berezin meanwhile, the veteran that played in the past for New England Wolfpack, never played in the blue Blizzard uniform, as 3 days later the blockbuster deal was made to bring Terrance Nova to the Blizzard in exchange for Berezin & S50 EDM 2nd. He was one of the big parts that brought yet another Challenge Cup for the EDM in S49 and spend two more years with Blizzard after (119 totals points), before finishing career with 2 seasons in Jets uniform (41 and 26 points in a season respectively) - signed there as FA, so no further returns here for the Blizzard. Somehow S50 EDM 2nd made its way back to Edmonton (via Winnipeg Jets, via Minnesota Chiefs, via Edmonton Blizzard), but I'm not crazy enough to trail this back, so instead just acknowledge that Kevin Robinson was drafted with that back and rewind a bit since we are really straying further and further away from Xavier, just to close this branch let's annotate that the second part of that Berezin deal was S51 WKP 2nd & according to that draft thread it somehow ended up on Buffalo, without ever mentioning EDM being involved with it (Buffalo Stampede (via West Kendall Platoon) - Danilo Zherov).
This was just a single deal and you already can see how deeply rooted Paq might be in the various dealings in the SHL in the past decade, so let's get going and see what happened to him after he got traded to forests of Minnesota, that recently changed their name to the Timber, which is quite a fitting name. Since he was under contract for both S44 & 45 he stayed playing there, having decent S45 with 25 points. After then we had expansion year, and surprise surprise he signed with that new team that nobody minded securing ton of free agents back then, namely New Orleans Specters with the following, quite lucrative at the time, deal:
S46: $6,000,000
S47: $6,000,000 (PO)
He had to like the Big Crescent so much because he decided to opt-out and resign on the team-friendly deal in the following offseason, 32 points (career-high at the time), might had something to deal with it too:
S47 - $3,000,000
S48 - $3,000,000
S49 - $3,000,000
Still, despite decent S47 (30 points) season yet another deal materialized and he was shipped to the Buffalo and to paq his bags for the second time in his career, in the following trade:
Stampede receives:
Paquette
Specters receives:
S52 Stampede 2nd
That's a deal I like, straight player for pick swap since we will be talking what happened with the Xavier later on, let's focus on NOLA return here, which was - insert 10 minutes of searching through processed transactions - used to trade for Sebastian Primeau.
So to summarize so far: Drafted by EDM -> Shipped to MIN -> Expansion Draft & Signed with NOLA -> traded to Buffalo
Still, to live up to his title of most traded player of S41 regression class we need some more, and worry not the most impressive is still coming. He played just a single season with Stampede, good for just 17 points in 12 MPG, before being traded by Stampede to Texas Renegades alongside Pattrick Brumm Jr. for S52 3rd, which seems mostly like a salary cap dump trade. And indeed the salary relief was all they got, as the S52 3rd via Texas (35 OA) figures as a passed pick in that draft.
Now a member of Renegades, which I had a pleasure to represent for a single year as well, spent just 13 games there, before his old team came calling for his services:
Specters Receives:
Xavier Paquette
Renegades Receives:
S51 NOLA 3rd Round Pick
S51 draft wasn't much better than S52 (At least in terms of depth) and 45th OA pick by Texas via New Orleans Specters was a passing pick as well. I wonder if he even started unpacking this time around, even though he got more minutes in games with Specters than Renegades that year, just after 15 games he was traded yet again, 3rd time already during S49:
New Orleans Specters trades:
S50 NOLA 1st
S52 NOLA 1st
Osbert Whacker
Xavier Paquette
Winnipeg Jets trades:
Lil' Manius (signing 3 year extension S50: $5,000,000, S51: $5,000,000, S52: $5,000,000 (PO))
S50 WPG 2nd
That's I deal I don't like in such articles, since they are opposite of straightforward but still nice to see Paq was again in the middle of a blockbuster deal, that brought more Star Power to the New Orleans. The second part of NOLA return was S50 WPG 2nd they used on Zbigniew Pokrywka.
For the Jets Oscar Whacker seems to be a regular, but not the high scoring player. The bigger gain was two 1st rounders, but since the GM was apparently on the trading spree, he used them in further deals, the S50 is strictly connected to Paq as you will see soon, but the S52 somehow ended up being used by Texas, and I admit I failed to search how it happened, drafting Noah Nystrom.
Since Xavier wasn't in long term WPG plans and they had possessed by the need of deals GM after just a couple days yet another deal surfaced with him:
Jets receive:
Goku Muerto
S50 NOLA 2nd
Pride receive:
Xavier Paquette
S50 NOLA 1st
He basically became Star facilitator, being part of yet another almost franchise-altering deal. SFP used the acquired pick to draft Ian Venables.
Muerto became part of Rage after that deal for couple seasons, but returned to the Jets and remained there up to this day in a managerial position. S50 NOLA 2nd was moved even further and eventually Los Angeles Panthers (via West Kendall Platoon, via Winnipeg Jets, via New Orleans Specters) drafted Gylfi Eriksson with it.
So this is when the saga ended with all how these deals, especially the S49 spree when he was traded 4 times in a matter of weeks. Just for sake of completion let's note he was Free Agent after S49 and finally found home for more than 2 years, signing with Toronto North Stars:
S50: $5,000,000
S51: $4,000,000
and his final extension there too:
S52: $3,000,000
The first team that didn't treat him like a trade chip, was also rewarded with his best years on ice - 52 points in S50, 42 in 51 & 43 in 52, making playoffs in 50 & 52. Nice to see him finally finding a home, even if it was the end of this peculiar, journeyman, not exactly by choice, career.

Grapehead · 10-19-2020, 08:46 AM

Everybody wanted a piece of Paqman

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