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Michiganonymous · 12-19-2022, 06:44 PM

The annual intrigue of the trade deadline comes from seeing which winning teams try to acquire an extra edge for the playoff push, and which cellar-dwellers start planning for their franchise rebuilds. It's a period that always creates plenty of media speculation and a lot of excitement for fanbases, not to mention front offices. This year's edition of the Deadline Day Show was quiet, all things considered, but we still saw two significant moves take place. Let's take a little time to examine these trades, and the possible impact they might have on the rest of this season and beyond.

Trade 1: The Monarchs

send LD Michael Robertson (S61, 393 TPE, IA) to the Inferno Inferno

for RD Thomas Kalnoky (S60, 245 TPE, IA) and Atlanta's S70 2nd-round pick. (Minnesota retains 50% of Robertson's salary.)

Analysis: The players changing uniforms in this deal aren't household names, but don't be fooled: this move could make a huge impact. After winning the Challenge Cup in S66, in S67 the Atlanta Inferno steamrolled through the Atlantic Division with 97 points and were a popular pick to win back-to-back championships. Instead, they became the victims of a historic upset; the Manhattan Rage beat them in 7 games, perhaps the most surprising moment in a Cinderella run for the Rage that lasted all the way to Game 7 of the Challenge Cup Finals.

Half a season later, the Inferno still have to be feeling the sting of dropping that series as heavy favorites, and this trade serves as a statement that they refuse to let it happen again. The Inferno are stacked with veteran talent at every position; the only spot on their roster that might possibly have been considered a weakness was their bottom defensive pairing. Well, not anymore. By bringing in Robertson they notably improve the left side of their third defensive pairing, turning a roster with one tiny hole into a truly airtight squad. Atlanta knows that their Cup window is very much open, but considering the average age of their roster, likely not for much longer. By making this trade to shore up the lone shallow spot on their very deep roster, Atlanta has put the rest of the SHL on notice: Check your smoke detectors, because the Inferno are coming!

Minnesota has quite possibly been the worst franchise in the entire league over the past decade. They made the playoffs in each of the first three years of the 16-team era. In those three playoff series they managed to win a total of one game -- not series, game. They haven't been back to the playoffs since S62, by far the longest drought of any team in the league. Philadelphia and New England are the only other teams without a series win since playoff expansion. The Forge have featured in the playoffs every year since expansion, and their record of 8 consecutive Round 1 playoff series losses seems more like a mystical curse than historic ineptitude. The Wolfpack are the only team that comes close to Minnesota's track record of non-success, and even they made the playoffs just last season. Minnesota's S39 Challenge Cup win, when they were still known as the Chiefs, feels very long ago indeed.

The Monarchs' struggles have been both prolonged and amplified by a series of truly awful drafts; just 3 players drafted between S60 and S65 are still on the team and actively improving. But might a turnaround be on its way? G Enes Gundogan (S64) and LW Dan Baltisberger (S65) have been recent draft successes, and they have several prospects coming up who appear to be special. S67 D Nevek Kove and S68 D Alexander Minaj are the 3rd and 5th-ranked prospects in their respective draft classes and seem set to become a top defensive pairing sooner rather than later, even given that they both prefer the right side. So the benefit to this trade for Minnesota is obvious: it's all about the future and that draft pick. (Kalnoky is surplus to Minnesota's requirements and will most likely be waived after the season.) The Monarchs seem to be betting that Atlanta's S70 pick will be higher than their S69 pick; not a bad bet to make considering the average age of the Inferno roster. The Monarchs' ability to identify draft talent also seems to be improving as of late. Minnesota probably has the most patient fanbase in all of SHL hockey. Will that patience finally be rewarded if they can hold on for just a couple more seasons?

Trade 2: The Barracuda

send C Marco Barengrub (S59, 1895 TPE) to the Patriotes

for RW Taschen Messer (S65, 789 TPE) and Montreal's S69 1st round pick. (Tampa Bay retains 50% of Barengrub's salary for the next two seasons.)

SHL fans hoping to see a blockbuster deadline trade were rewarded when this deal squeaked through just moments before the deadline. The Patriotes were a dangerously underrated team heading into last season's playoffs, which they proved by sweeping Buffalo in Round 1 and beating top-seeded Toronto in 6 games before losing in the Eastern Conference Finals to the surprising Rage. Montreal is a team that believes they are ready to contend right now, and were rumored to be aggressively shopping for a significant piece at the deadline. In Marco Barengrub, they have now added one of the league's very best players at the peak of his career. A center in Tampa Bay, Barengrub will slide over to the right wing in Montreal and play on the second or third line.

The Patriotes have to be thrilled that they could add a player of this caliber for the playoff run. A true 200-foot player, Barengrub excels on both the forecheck and backcheck, and does his best work in the neutral zone disrupting the opposing attack. Montreal can already light the lamps as well as any team in the league, led by their truly terrifying top line of Hundertwasser, Gretzky, and McHits. Their excellent scorers can build leads quickly, and now Barengrub will bring some added steel to help protect those leads. None of this is to suggest that the newest Patriote is an offensive liability either. As a rookie he scored just 3 goals, but still provided 21 assists, and he has posted at least 10 goals and 20 assists in every season since. With 16 goals and 16 assists after 55 games, he could get to 20 and 20 this year.

As the Patriotes made a move for right now, the Barracuda clearly have an eye on the future. Parting with a top player like Barengrub is never easy to do, but Tampa Bay received a very promising initial return on investment. They acquire Montreal's first-round pick in next season's draft, a valuable asset in what is expected to be a deep class. The franchise could use the pick to acquire an additional first-round prospect, or they may see Montreal's pick as a flexible asset that they can use to make additional moves later. While it will take a few seasons to find out if this part of the trade pans out for the Barracuda, they also gained a player who should make an immediate impact in rookie RW Taschen Messer.

Montreal acquired the Swiss winger with their first pick of the S65 draft, 26th overall. Messer spent four years with Great Falls of the SMJHL as one of the higher-rated prospects in the Patriotes farm system. The franchise was known to be excited about the player, but it became clear that the timeline of his professional development was lagging a season or two behind what the Patriotes see as their prime Challenge Cup window. With the least ice time of any player on Montreal's roster this season, Messer's name came up in trade rumors concerning the Patriotes and a Western Conference team, but at the deadline he instead finds himself heading south to sunny Florida.

Taschen Messer is intriguing as a prospect; scouts universally praise his hockey IQ, but note that he needs further physical development. He can Read the play like a league veteran in both the Offensive and Defensive zones, but doesn't always have the Speed or Acceleration needed to be in the right place at the right time. Noted to be both Aggressive and Brave, he has the Strength to deliver crunching Hits, but needs to work on Getting Open and Shooting Accuracy to provide more scoring punch. He plays a very similar 200-foot game to Marco Barengrub; Montreal did not believe they could afford to wait for Messer to develop and instead traded for the finished product. Tampa Bay adds another high-potential piece to a youthful core that they will try to build their franchise around. With another couple seasons of polishing, Taschen Messer and the Barracuda hope to be shining brightly at the top of their division.

This deal stands to make Montreal a better team right now, and considerably brightens Tampa Bay's outlook for the next 5-10 seasons: all in all, a classic deadline trade!