Quote:Originally posted by Keenan@Sep 19 2013, 02:16 AM
Great responses, thank you. I thought of two more questions, so if I may:

Hamilton has a great mix of veteran talent and high end youngsters. If come the trade deadline a piece that would greatly benefit your team in the short term (I know you guys are a very deep team, but let's say for some reason you need more scoring and the piece is a top scoring top 6 forward) became availible would you move some young talent for a better shot at the cup now, or would you prefer sticking with what you have for the future?

A recent list named you as the 42nd best player currently in the SHL. Do you agree with this assessment or do you feel you should be higher/lower?

Thanks for the questions.

When Joe and I started talking about entering this rebuild and started planning it out, we knew we didn't want to just flip young talent away for short term gains. Obviously we've had a very aggressive rebuild and it's gotten us to perhaps a better position than anyone thought possible. But even at last season's trade deadline our moves we're measured and calculated. We were willing to bring in immediate help but not willing to mortgage the entire future of the squad for a single chance. Hamilton has a lot of chances in the future and we're not going to give that up. However, as any General Manager will tell you, nobody is untradable things do change and sometimes the risk is worth it.

We'll be guarded and we'll continue to do what's best for Hamilton in the long term not just the short. We have to be a top team every year not just once. We've got a lot of those years ahead of us.
Edit: To clarify this though, I think the Hall trade was a prime example of what I was talking about. Obviously we gave up a lot of young talent in the trade including Haan who we really didn't want to part wirh, but it made sense from a long term stand point because it wasn't a one shot rental but rather a move for a top tier player who could be the face of Hamilton for several seasons to come.


Honestly I don't consider myself a top 100 player in this League so it was very flattering to see the list. I'm honored to be thought of in that light and the fact that most people kept their pitchforks and torches at home, meant a lot too. Clearly most agreed with the list which was validating. I think perhaps what surprised me more than my own ranking was seeing Lebacon lower on the list than Ekblad. I felt that while obviously Ekblad is a stellar Defenseman, Lebacon has by far better numbers and more important role on the team. But it was a hell of a list which clearly took an extrordinary effort to compile, and a tremendous accomplishment just to be considered in the top 100 let alone the top 50. I can't wait to see the next installment.