Looking back at how junior hockey’s biggest trades have shaped up as playoffs approach.
The window of opportunity that exists to chase a championship is much smaller in junior hockey than it is in the professional ranks.
The line dividing rebuilding and contending teams will always be broad, but the middle-of-the-pack teams that sit on the fence often keep the deadline dealings interesting. One year as a buyer is often followed by a few more as a seller.
With the Canadian Hockey League preparing for the stretch run towards the playoffs and the recent conclusion to the National Hockey League trade deadline on Monday, it presents a unique opportunity to look back at how junior hockey's biggest moves shape up.
Unlike the NHL deadline, junior hockey's d-day came and went with a bang -- as it always does. Perhaps more than in any other sport -- given the short window for success -- junior hockey general managers may want the power of foresight or the luxury of a mulligan more so than managers in any other sport.
As a result, there are three main categories upon which each team with championship aspirations fall between: play it safe, go all-in and wish for a mulligan.
Granted, the "play it safe" group could also fall into the group seeking a mulligan, depending on the success of a team. For the sake of instant analysis with the playoff picture becoming clearer, those three will be divided in this exercise.
The "Play it Safe"
Perhaps no team better fits into this category than the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League. In a time when all of their competitors were making headlines with big-name acquisitions, the Spirit chose a more modest approach. Saginaw added the likes of Brandon Archibald and Dalton Prout to help bolster a defensive core.
The Spirit was one team rumoured to be in contention for the likes of Ryan Ellis and Zack Kassian in a package deal with the back-to-back champion Windsor Spitfires. Instead of paying the price for proven winners, Saginaw went with options that would keep them in the race, but not ahead of the pack.
The Spirit appeared to be the cream of the Western Conference crop at the time of the deadline. Since then, they lost their lead after a stretch which included five consecutive losses and seven losses in eight games. The Spirit appears to be back on track to an extent, but may be a long shot to catch Owen Sound for top spot in conference standings. One can't help but wonder now if they should have gone all-in to acquire Ellis and Kassian.
The "Go All-In"
Two Western Hockey League teams immediately come to mind for this category. The Saskatoon Blades and Kootenay Ice both went for broke with their acquisitions of Brayden Schenn and Cody Eakin, respectively.
Saskatoon dealt two of their top prospects and four draft picks to Brandon in exchange for Schenn and a pick. Kootenay, meanwhile, sent five players and three draft picks to Swift Current for Eakin.
One can hardly argue the impact both players have had with their new teams. In a season where the Portland Winterhawks were everyone's pick to represent the Western Hockey League in Mississauga, Ont. at the MasterCard Memorial Cup, the Blades may now be re-writing the future.
Since Schenn debuted with the Blades, his new team has gone 16-3 with two of those three losses coming to his former team in Brandon. Schenn is averaging more than two points per game with the Blades and nearly a goal per game.
Eakin, meanwhile, helped awaken the Ice's offence since his acquisition. Not only does he create time and space for those when he's on the ice, but it helps the team's secondary scorers receive more favourable defensive assignments.
Both teams paid a price to make a run for the title this season and the effects of these trades will be felt for many years.
The "Wish for a Mulligan"
This is the least favourable group a team could find itself in before the playoffs. In this instance, as in the other two, there is a clear cut winner. The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Gatineau Olympiques broke the bank when they acquired the league's leading scorer, Philip-Michael Devos, from the Victoriaville Tigres.
The overage forward is still leading the league in scoring, but his pace on a stronger team in Gatineau actually dipped than that with a rebuilding team in Victoriaville. Devos averaged 1.78 points per game in the gold and black of the Tigres, nearly half a point more per game than his 1.38 average in Gatineau.
The Olympiques sent a package which included a young player, two first-round picks and a second for Devos and a third. Ultimately, Gatineau failed to make up ground in the Telus West Division and may not finish better than fifth overall.
Although the Olympiques can never be underestimated under head coach Benoit Groulx's guidance, perhaps this was a trade that should have been made by another team.
The tell-tale sign of these deals will come in the following months in the playoffs. But as Kootenay general manager Jeff Chynoweth told sportsnet.ca at the time of Eakin's acquisition, "there's no guarantee we'll get past the first round of the playoffs."
