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CrazyMojito · 07-15-2022, 08:00 AM

To say that the Edmonton Blizzard’s roster went through some changes leading up to and during this most recent draft would be a pretty massive understatement. Of the 17 players that suited up for the Blizzard’s last game of Season 65, only three are returning. That means that 14 players left via trade, free agency, or retirement. So where did these players who once donned the powdered blue go and what impact does this have on Edmonton’s future and how has it shaped their roster moving forward?

Seven players found new homes through six different trades to five different teams. Starting with Edmonton’s best player in Season 65, Markus “The Tater” Jager finds himself in New England. In exchange the Blizzard received Winnipeg’s S66 1st round pick and two second round picks in S67. Long time first line centre Kaapo Kampainen didn’t have near as far to travel, being sent to Winnipeg for a 1st and 2nd round pick in the S69 draft with Edmonton retaining 50% of his salary through the next 3 seasons. The Blizzard also received a forward who is no longer apart of their system either. The Manhattan Rage made themselves much better after acquiring Sven Svechnikov and Lev Lebedev but paid a steep price giving up three straight 1st round picks from S68 to S70 and a 2nd in S69 as well. In a trade that I don’t think the value coming back is enough for the user heading the other way but SFP landed Leon Athanasios for a 3rd pick in the next reddit draft. Last of the trades sending players out we have two separate trades sending Pasta the Turtle and Stephan Gill to the Chicago Syndicate. Chicago and Pasta should be a good pairing, the solid blue liner probably needed a change of scenery and somewhere that offers a bit more warmth for a turtle. The cost of these two players was a S66 1st, a season 68 2nd, and LAP’s 2nd round pick in S69 with a slight condition.

That’s six first round picks, six second, and one third round pick, quite a haul for completely gutting the team. However, you can’t dress draft picks and the sooner those picks become players the better so Edmonton’s GM wasn’t done yet and continued working the phones. He sent Chicagos 1st round pick (17OA) in the S66 draft along with a S67 2nd from NEW in a trade to Philadelphia in exchange for the 10th OA pick in the S66 draft. That pick was again flipped to Manhattan with a couple 2nd round picks to move up 5 spots and select future star Emil Egli. With the Winnipeg 1st (15OA), Edmonton drafted another strong prospect in Julian Eaglesong. The last piece used in the draft from all these trades was on Bavel Pure, with Manhattens 2nd rounder. The last bit of movement with assets coming back to Edmonton is bringing in Sopath who is expected to take management role with the organization which cost a pick acquired from SFP previously and Montreal’s S67 2nd acquired from the Jager trade with NEW.

Patrik Money is the only player who found a new home via free agency signing with NEW. The other 6 players including long time Blizzard legend Karlstrasse Scholz all recognized that it was time to hang the skates up and retire.

Heading into S66 the Blizzard will look nothing like they have in the past, and for the first time in nearly 20 seasons can reasonably be expected to miss the playoffs. This is to be expected though in a full rebuild and only time well tell if HFFO’s moves will pay off. The Blizzard did select three players in the 1st round in this past draft and have 8 more 1st round picks over the next 4 seasons along with 7 2nds. That’s a lot of draft capital that can be used as trade bait to speed up the process or they can stay the course and rebuild through the draft. Whichever route they go I wish them the best.

*CptSquall* · 07-15-2022, 05:25 PM

Approved, +5 TPE to @CrazyMojito

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