Toronto, ON). Toronto is trying to salvage their season and is making some noise with several trades. Today Toronto acquired premier center iceman Nicklas Backstrom and a 4th round pick from the Saskatoon Bears for checking center Brandon Sutter, QUE 2012 #1 pick, and prospect Jared Spurgeon. The price was steep but Backstrom is a top 10 scorer in the league when healthy.
It is reported the deal was a difficult one with both sides hashing over details. In the end it appears both sides are happy with the outcome. GM thom Welch said," we are very happy to acquire Nic he will fit in nicely with our team. Unfortunately we have lacked creativity from our forward lines. We feel this will help fix that. Coach Pedersen will move Chris Kelly into Sutter's checking role."
In another move Toronto sent scoring center Daniel Briere to the Detroit Mustangs for a second round pick in 2013. This move appears to make room for Nicklas Backstrom on the top 6 forward lines. Briere was in the final year of his deal.
Toronto also sent checker Frans Nielsen and another first round pick to the Winnepeg Bison for future star James Van Riemsdyk and a 2nd round pick. GM Welch said, " JVR was coveted for some time, we love his scoring upside. Frans never fit in for us. We also feel the upcoming HB entry draft is weak and we still have our own first round pick to use."
Many moves by Toronto, we shall see if these moves can change the teams fortunes going forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment