SMJHL Trade Deadline Review (2x)
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[Double Media Week - Holidays Edition]
In the spirit of the holidays, (and double media week) this article will take a look at the most recent trade deadline deals in the SMJHL. Which teams decided to be bold and acquire some extra firepower heading into the playoffs and which teams felt that selling their players was the best option going forward. Let's try to make sense of it all. Trade 1 ![]() Liam Slate ![]() ![]() ![]() Jonas Caspari QCC decided to bring in Liam Slate from Newfoundland in an effort to strengthen their wingers. A clear rental as a member of the S55 class, Slate will be undoubtedly called up to the SHL next season to play for Toronto. From Quebec City's perspective, it makes a lot of sense to be buyers this deadline as the top team in the league so far with a nice cushion of 8 points on the second place team. Slate gives QCC their 7th 425 TPE capped forward consisting of a group with already 30 more goals than anyone else. On paper, it would have made sense that QCC adds a defender since their offense was already so proficient and their team defense is middle of the pack. Perhaps the hope is to simply further overwhelm the opposition's defense rather than keeping the puck out of their own net. Either way, this clearly makes their team better and sets them up for a deep run. Newfoundland enjoyed success the past couple of seasons but this year was a different story. Selling at the deadline is understandable after losing so many players to the SHL, it seems their window has closed. Acquiring a S58 2nd and 4th rounder along with Jonas Caspa tri confirms their pessimistic view on the outcome of this season. A lower TPE player for their class, Caspari is a good pickup for NL since they're active and still earning TPE and at 327 TPE provides good replacement value. The picks are fairly standard for a deal of this type so nothing too much to analyze there. Overall, this seems to be a fair deal for both parties. I'd slightly favor Newfoundland getting better value since the picks are for the upcoming draft and only downgrade one 425 player to 327 and active. I also am concerned if QCC does not win this season they will have wished to trade picks more in the future. With 3 S55 members and 11 S56 members, they'll lose a lot of players the next couple of years and have to wait longer to replace them. Trade 2 ![]() CAR S58 2nd ![]() Niccolo Livius Anaheim is the next buyer of the deadline, acquiring Niccolo Livius from Newfoundland. In the last year of eligibility, Livius is another pure rental that will now play on the wings for Anaheim. Looking at the standings, Anaheim sits 4th in the West so a little further down than would be expected for a buyer. Livius makes the 8th 425 TPE capped forward so a clear add to bolster the wings. Scoring 114 goals this season, ranking 4th, this should give them a boost to move up this ranking. This appears to be a similar approach to QCC to win games 6-5 rather than 2-1. If that's the goal, this acquisition will surely help. Another selling trade for Newfoundland, acquiring Carolina's S58 2nd rounder from Anaheim. This is simply a continuation of Newfoundland's selling position which has already been covered. An interesting point to this trade is it does involve another S58 draft pick, showing Newfoundland has not elected to spread their acquisition of picks over multiple seasons. Value wise, this trade is another even trade. However, I am conflicted about Anaheim's motives. On one hand, Anaheim will lose a lot of players with 9 S55 players or older, a lot of them key players, so it makes sense for one last push. On the other, this may just be a pick lost to struggle in the playoffs to better teams. Ultimately, Anaheim leadership determined this was a worthwhile risk to take and thinks this is the season to push harder for it all. Trade 3 ![]() S58 ![]() S58 ![]() ![]() Dee Centerman IV Anchorage brings in Dee Centerman IV from Vancouver. An excellent forward addition to the top defensive team in the league this season. This strengthens the offensive depth to 7 forwards at the 425 TPE cap. Despite being second in the league, this move has great potential to push the Armada over the top to compete with Quebec City and has them poised for a deep playoff run. Vancouver acquires a S58 3rd and 4th round picks in this trade. The defending champions were hit very hard with call-ups after their successful season and they find themselves at the bottom of the West. Similar to Newfoundland, they elected to sell another call-up for picks. A logical decision given their performance this season. Relative to previous rental trades, this one heavily favors the buying team as the player only cost 2 later picks. Perhaps this was a last minute deal where this happened to be the best offer for Vancouver, otherwise I believe they should have at least gotten a 2nd round pick. Vancouver just loaded up to go on a championship run so maybe they valued quantity of picks over quality which is not unreasonable. Winners and Losers After looking at the raw trades, let's see which teams positioned themselves better either for this season or in the future. Newfoundland Berserkers It might not feel like a winning season but Newfoundland maximized the value of their expiring assets on what they deemed a lost season. Their acquisitions should set them up for success in the near future. Verdict: Winner Rented out players Anyone who went from a pretender to a contender should be excited for a chance to win the four star cup. This is an easy decision. Verdict: Winner Nevada Battleborn They hype for the Battleborn was real at the start of the season, especially after the acquisition of Rock Strongo. On paper, they have a very strong team yet they lag behind. Despite the lack of regular season success, anything can happen in the playoffs so I was disappointed to see NBB not make a move to try and recoup this season because I believe they could do it. Maybe it's just an asset management decision when still missing a first round pick for the upcoming draft. Verdict: Loser Anchorage Armada Adding this quality of player for two later picks is a great price to pay and with already the strongest defense, now the offense should be feared as well. If this acquisition does not upset the success already obtained then it could become the best trade of the deadline. Verdict: Winner Anyone expecting more than 3 trades Well, this did not happen so if you fall in this category I'm sure you were disappointed. Verdict: Loser We will see what the playoffs hold for each team and whether or not these moves will make or break their season.
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