WHEAT KINGS GET NASTY
After being indisposed for a week, GM Tyler Young returned to find that his club had fallen from fourth to eleventh in the West.
"Needless to say, it was something of a shock - worse yet, I was able to watch it happen, I just couldn't do anything about it," Mr. Young commented.
When asked why he was indisposed Mr. Young shrugged and told reporters, "No comment," leading the intrepid investigators to assume a variety of possibilities: abduction? work for a secret government agency? trip to the Caribbean? or perhabs some sort of therapy?
Upon his return, with trading deadline impending, the GM wasted no time in finding a deal to shake-up his team.
"The team certainly has not been playing well since we dealt Mark Stuart for Chuck Kobasew, despite the fact that Chuckie has probably been our best player during that time. Sure we've had a horrible streak of injuries, and yes the loss of Stuart did take something from the defence, but I think more than that, we just stopped playing like we were - I guess we started thinking we were a finesse team or something, but more than that, a lot of guys just stopped playing period."
Enter Trader-Ty and Dealmeister Rob: the Kings dispatched long-time Wheatie Byron Bitz and their two high 3rd rounders in the upcoming draft to the Misconducts in return for Boris Valabik and Ryan Whitney.
"We needed to get much bigger on D, and we needed to get a lot meaner," Coach-GM Young stated, "these guys do that in spades. Byron was a good prospect and we hope he does well, but we'd given him nearly three years to develop into a pro player and it had become evident that he wasn't going to do it with us."
"In the end we dealt Stuey for the top 6 forward we've needed for years and had always hoped Bitz would turn into, and then dealt Bitz for a couple of Stuey like d-men. This should work out some day to our benefit, but right now, after this last catastrophic collapse, we face a tough battle to get back into the playoffs."
PLAYERS AVAILABLE: After the acquisition of Whitney and Valabik, the Wheat Kings put Mike Rathje and Sandis Ozolinsh on waivers - available to any willing taker looking for a defensive addition going into the playoffs.
Player PO HD IT SP ST EN DU DI SK PA PC DF SC EX LD OV Ag Salary Y
Sandis Ozolinsh D L 64 72 79 79 99 70 77 77 73 50 59 87 91 75 36 4,000,000 1
Mike Rathje D L 69 63 93 73 59 69 60 61 58 73 60 68 71 74 34 3,100,000 2
Friday, June 15, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
PR - Hurricanes
THE LONE TFHL12 CHAMPION FOR THE CALGARY HURRICANES IS NOW THE VETERAN
The Calgary Hurricanes are continue to keep pace for a playoff spot and
let by one of the former 3 wisemen. Shawn Bates, the star centre of the
Hurricanes has emerged from the shadow of Markus Naslund and taken the
city of Calgary by storm. He is only 3 points back for most points for
centremen and he has the best +/- in the league with a +39. That is 10
points higher than fellow team mate Ryan Getzlaf who trails with +29.
"I don't know if you can say I came out of the shadow. When Nazzy was
traded it was obvious we needed to pick it up to replace his scoring.
We have a lot of young guys pulling this team now and I am being counted
on to do that being one of those veterans. Kind of weird being a
veteran I guess." said Shawn Bates. Bates is the only player on the
current editiion of the Hurricanes who was with the team in TFHL12 when
the Calgary Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks in 7 games. "It
certainly is a bit odd. When Markus got traded that was it. I mean we
still got our coach who won the Cup with us, and this whole team picked
up a lot of experience last season going to Game 7 against the Wheat
Kings in the finals." said Bates.
At 33 years of age, Bates continues to lead the Hurricanes and with this
being the last of his contract year..... "Not playing for a contract,
just having fun. I will retire as a Hurricane one day." Fans are
excited to hear those words.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The TFHL12 Championship Hurricanes
Alexei Zhamnov (Retired)
Janne Niinimaa (A) (Blackhawks)
Andy Delmore (Flames)
Joey Tetarenko (Retired)
Shawn Bates (Hurricanes)
Michael Nylander (Retired)
Chris Pronger (C) (Pain)
Pavel Kubina (Owls)
Dan Boyle (Raiders)
Richard Matvichuk (Misconduct)
Bates Battaglia (Ignite Farm)
Tony Amonte (Retired)
Robert Lang (Retired)
Sean Burke (Retired - Jersey #1 Retired)
Bill Guerin (A) (Retired)
Steve Passmore (Retired)
Toby Petersen (Hurricanes Farm)
Frederic Cassivi (Pain Farm)
Markus Naslund (A) (Marauders)
Marc Crawford (Coach) (Hurricanes)
Mike York (Sioux)
Martin Lapointe (Free Agent)
Ivan Ciernik (Free Agent)
Calgary Sun 2007
The Calgary Hurricanes are continue to keep pace for a playoff spot and
let by one of the former 3 wisemen. Shawn Bates, the star centre of the
Hurricanes has emerged from the shadow of Markus Naslund and taken the
city of Calgary by storm. He is only 3 points back for most points for
centremen and he has the best +/- in the league with a +39. That is 10
points higher than fellow team mate Ryan Getzlaf who trails with +29.
"I don't know if you can say I came out of the shadow. When Nazzy was
traded it was obvious we needed to pick it up to replace his scoring.
We have a lot of young guys pulling this team now and I am being counted
on to do that being one of those veterans. Kind of weird being a
veteran I guess." said Shawn Bates. Bates is the only player on the
current editiion of the Hurricanes who was with the team in TFHL12 when
the Calgary Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks in 7 games. "It
certainly is a bit odd. When Markus got traded that was it. I mean we
still got our coach who won the Cup with us, and this whole team picked
up a lot of experience last season going to Game 7 against the Wheat
Kings in the finals." said Bates.
At 33 years of age, Bates continues to lead the Hurricanes and with this
being the last of his contract year..... "Not playing for a contract,
just having fun. I will retire as a Hurricane one day." Fans are
excited to hear those words.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
The TFHL12 Championship Hurricanes
Alexei Zhamnov (Retired)
Janne Niinimaa (A) (Blackhawks)
Andy Delmore (Flames)
Joey Tetarenko (Retired)
Shawn Bates (Hurricanes)
Michael Nylander (Retired)
Chris Pronger (C) (Pain)
Pavel Kubina (Owls)
Dan Boyle (Raiders)
Richard Matvichuk (Misconduct)
Bates Battaglia (Ignite Farm)
Tony Amonte (Retired)
Robert Lang (Retired)
Sean Burke (Retired - Jersey #1 Retired)
Bill Guerin (A) (Retired)
Steve Passmore (Retired)
Toby Petersen (Hurricanes Farm)
Frederic Cassivi (Pain Farm)
Markus Naslund (A) (Marauders)
Marc Crawford (Coach) (Hurricanes)
Mike York (Sioux)
Martin Lapointe (Free Agent)
Ivan Ciernik (Free Agent)
Calgary Sun 2007
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
PR - Hurricanes
NO CHRIS PRONGER? No Problem. NO MARKUS NASLUND? No Problem.
The Calgary Hurricanes have found a way to transform aging players into
youthful surprises. Over the past several seasons the Hurricanes have
traded away players
such as Bill Guerin, Chris Pronger, and Markus Naslund. All players who
have been all-stars and leaders within their statistical categories.
"I think its just a matter of knowing when its time to move on. We
would have loved to keep all of these guys but when they start earning 8
million dollars plus, its time to move on. Chris signed for around $9
million dollars when we did the sign and trade deal. Markus is no
different, we moved him because he ended up with a deal that paid 9.6
million dollars. I have a hard time paying anyone 25% of my salary
cap." said GM Derek Major.
When Chris Pronger was traded the Hurricanes brought back guys like Wade
Redden and Maxim Afinogenov. That edition of the Hurricanes minus Chris
Pronger came within a win of the franchises second TFHL Championship.
"Wade is a cornerstone on defense with Bryan Mccabe, and Maxim has fit
in real well with Shawn Bates. Last season Maxim played great with
Shawn and Martin Cibak, this season he is excelling with Ryan Getzlaf."
Speaking of Getzlaf. This past off-season the Hurricanes moved their
sniper Markus Naslund and Matthew Lombardi for Ryan Getzlaf and Ilya
Bryzgalov. Getzlaf is having a career year and Bryzgalov has one of the
best Goals Against averages in the TFHL. Getzlaf is 22 and Bryzgalov is
in his prime at 28. Lombardi is leading the Saints in scoring with 72
points, even when he was considered the toss in with Naslund. Some get
away and some don't.
"We keep adding more depth and keep improving our team. The trick to
building a team is to fill your holes, we've managed to do a lot of that
over the last few seasons to keep up with retirement and free agency."
said GM Derek Major.
Calgary Sun
The Calgary Hurricanes have found a way to transform aging players into
youthful surprises. Over the past several seasons the Hurricanes have
traded away players
such as Bill Guerin, Chris Pronger, and Markus Naslund. All players who
have been all-stars and leaders within their statistical categories.
"I think its just a matter of knowing when its time to move on. We
would have loved to keep all of these guys but when they start earning 8
million dollars plus, its time to move on. Chris signed for around $9
million dollars when we did the sign and trade deal. Markus is no
different, we moved him because he ended up with a deal that paid 9.6
million dollars. I have a hard time paying anyone 25% of my salary
cap." said GM Derek Major.
When Chris Pronger was traded the Hurricanes brought back guys like Wade
Redden and Maxim Afinogenov. That edition of the Hurricanes minus Chris
Pronger came within a win of the franchises second TFHL Championship.
"Wade is a cornerstone on defense with Bryan Mccabe, and Maxim has fit
in real well with Shawn Bates. Last season Maxim played great with
Shawn and Martin Cibak, this season he is excelling with Ryan Getzlaf."
Speaking of Getzlaf. This past off-season the Hurricanes moved their
sniper Markus Naslund and Matthew Lombardi for Ryan Getzlaf and Ilya
Bryzgalov. Getzlaf is having a career year and Bryzgalov has one of the
best Goals Against averages in the TFHL. Getzlaf is 22 and Bryzgalov is
in his prime at 28. Lombardi is leading the Saints in scoring with 72
points, even when he was considered the toss in with Naslund. Some get
away and some don't.
"We keep adding more depth and keep improving our team. The trick to
building a team is to fill your holes, we've managed to do a lot of that
over the last few seasons to keep up with retirement and free agency."
said GM Derek Major.
Calgary Sun
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