Another Tradeless Day?

[dangle]

Any new rumors .. what is Guy got in the works?

[hockeydog]

im sure he is taking more calls then he is sending out,,,

[topcon81]

with so many minor deals that can be made to set up for a big one , and nothing being done so far , it would make you think that the rocket brass feel good with what they have.
and what i see is a fifth place finish with a round one TKO....and next year will be no better...wake up serge and decide if it will be this year or next

[Score]

dangle said:

Any new rumors .. what is Guy got in the works?

Todays Guardian article was posted in another thread, but ill re-post here too.

Rocket still together
CHARLES REID
The Guardian

It’s Day Two of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s trading period and Brett Morrison and Antoine Lafleur remain members of the P.E.I. Rocket.

The pair are arguably the team’s most marketable players.

Morrison (49 points in 34 games, eighth overall) with his consistent scoring and faceoff prowess should draw out youngsters from interested teams if the Rocket want to rebuild while Lafleur, despite a difficult season so far (6-13, 4.52 GAA), is still a top Q prospect.

Some speculation had Lafleur going to Quebec and Morrison dangled in front of teams looking to make playoff runs and willing to part with young’uns. But said Guy Chouinard, Rocket head coach and director of hockey operations, early talks for either player have been cool on all sides.

“We haven’t called teams and said ‘do you want Morrison?’,” said Chouinard. “We haven’t shown we’re going to be sellers.”

In fact, he said, calls from Victoriaville, Baie-Comeau, Rouyn-Noranda and Halifax have centred on experienced defencemen, of which the Rocket have three: 19-years-olds Pierre-Luc Lessard, Benoit Gervais and Byran Main. The rest are 18 and under.

But Chouinard said there are no serious offers.

P.E.I. (17-16-1 at the break) has needs, however. Although it’s playing better, winning seven of its last 10 games and reaching .500 for the first time since early September, depth is shallow.

A peruse of the team’s scoring list reveals after Summerside native Bradley Gallant’s 11 points, 11 of the next 13 players have nine points or less. That’s over half of the squad, most of which are also 18 and under.

It’s something Chouinard wants to improve, but within reason.

“Adding some depth would probably be good,” he said. “If something could be done to help the hockey team without paying the big price, we’d probably do it.”

The trade period ends Jan. 8.

[mboyan]

topcon81 said:

with so many minor deals that can be made to set up for a big one , and nothing being done so far , it would make you think that the rocket brass feel good with what they have.
and what i see is a fifth place finish with a round one TKO....and next year will be no better...wake up serge and decide if it will be this year or next

Good to see you're putting a positive spin on things.

Patience my friend.....patience!

[countsheep]

mboyan said:

topcon81 said:

with so many minor deals that can be made to set up for a big one , and nothing being done so far , it would make you think that the rocket brass feel good with what they have.
and what i see is a fifth place finish with a round one TKO....and next year will be no better...wake up serge and decide if it will be this year or next

Good to see you're putting a positive spin on things.

Patience my friend.....patience!

Indeed!

Some seem to think that this is like a "Limited time only, get yours now while they last" situation, i.e. you should necessarily trade early, or be left out.

There's a strategy involved here, and no one on this board really knows what it is.

Why do people assume that the deals have to be made early in the trading period?

That doesn't make any sense.

There's timing involved here, I'm sure - let Rocket management do its job, and don't make judgment after two days of trading period!

[rockon]

Not to mention that the "decision makers" are most likely gone home for the Holidays and you probably won't see any action, if any, until after Xmas

[Krang7]

rockon said:

Not to mention that the "decision makers" are most likely gone home for the Holidays and you probably won't see any action, if any, until after Xmas

Cuz their phones don't work at home? There's generally a lull in the trading period between the 24th and the 27th, but I don't think there's any reason to believe they're not going to be working on deals over the next few days. They may not get anything done but that remains to be seen.

[North Shore]

The approaches and styles used in trading, buying and selling are numerous and varied. I would not read anything into the fact that we have not done anything yet.

Going into the trade period Chouinard let it be known that he was not sure if he's buying or selling. I think sending a message that he's prepared to stand pat and not doing anything too quickly will help him with pricing both buying and selling.

If and when the right deal is on the table I'm sure he'll take it. I have no idea what he thinks the right deal is. I'm sure most GMs trying to figure the Rocket out are scratching their heads to figure out which way we're going and how much to offer for who.

[countsheep]

gdc said:

I have no idea what he thinks the right deal is. I'm sure most GMs trying to figure the Rocket out are scratching their heads to figure out which way we're going and how much to offer for who.

Bang on!

The worst thing you can do at trading period is let everyone else know, right from the outset, exactly what you're looking for, or what you're willing to let go.

It's kind of like walking into a car dealership and telling the salesman right away what you want, and how badly you want it.

It's just not how it's done.

[mboyan]

gdc said:

The approaches and styles used in trading, buying and selling are numerous and varied. I would not read anything into the fact that we have not done anything yet.

Going into the trade period Chouinard let it be known that he was not sure if he's buying or selling. I think sending a message that he's prepared to stand pat and not doing anything too quickly will help him with pricing both buying and selling.

If and when the right deal is on the table I'm sure he'll take it. I have no idea what he thinks the right deal is. I'm sure most GMs trying to figure the Rocket out are scratching their heads to figure out which way we're going and how much to offer for who.

As well, most GM's are probably used to dealing with Savard. Now, they have to deal with Chouinard, who, as a GM and a coach, may be better at evaluating talent than Savard is, and knowing what that talent is worth.

Whether he gets full value for that talent is something we'll know in the next couple of weeks.

[countsheep]

mboyan said:

gdc said:

Whether he gets full value for that talent is something we'll know in the next couple of weeks.

Actually, like with most trades, we won't know till next year, quite likely.

[bois]

I think i'm only surprised no minor deals were announced, ie. Cliche or one of our spare dmen going elsewhere for a draft pick.. those deals are the ones that have been worked on well in advance of the trade period

The opening day and the closing day is when the action is.. with a few moves sprinkled in between.. i expect nothing more after this week until into January

I agree tho that if we're selling.. best to wait it out a bit and see where prices fall.. gotta be careful you don't wait too long tho and end up with a car you can't afford to keep because nobody would pay the price you demanded for it

[countsheep]

bois said:

I think i'm only surprised no minor deals were announced, ie. Cliche or one of our spare dmen going elsewhere for a draft pick.. those deals are the ones that have been worked on well in advance of the trade period

The opening day and the closing day is when the action is.. with a few moves sprinkled in between.. i expect nothing more after this week until into January

I agree tho that if we're selling.. best to wait it out a bit and see where prices fall.. gotta be careful you don't wait too long tho and end up with a car you can't afford to keep because nobody would pay the price you demanded for it

Maybe it's supply and demand, in a way.

More teams selling than buying, so maybe it's a buyers' market.

Likely varies a lot by category, though - for prime 19-year-old defencemen, it's probably a sellers' market.

[wingman]

bois said:

I think i'm only surprised no minor deals were announced, ie. Cliche or one of our spare dmen going elsewhere for a draft pick.. those deals are the ones that have been worked on well in advance of the trade period

The opening day and the closing day is when the action is.. with a few moves sprinkled in between.. i expect nothing more after this week until into January

I agree tho that if we're selling.. best to wait it out a bit and see where prices fall.. gotta be careful you don't wait too long tho and end up with a car you can't afford to keep because nobody would pay the price you demanded for it

To add to what you're saying about selling is that if you have an offer on the table which involves a player that you want to acquire and the deal is do-able and affordable but you wait it out a bit to see where prices fall, by the time you make up your mind that player could already be gone. Chances are that if you are interested in a player that you know is available, then the other GM's know it too. I'm not saying jump at every deal that is in front of you, but if you have a chance to make a deal early on that you like and the price is what you had in mind, I wouldn't wait.

Two summers ago when the June trading period came along, Savard went out and made a couple of trades right away and it landed us Pierre-Marc Guilbault and Guillaume Doucet. If he had waited until later on to make those trades, chances are both those players may not have been available. I know they aren't block buster deals, but by acting early on Savard brought in 2 players that really helped this team.

I think that a GM who is selling would want other GM's to know who is available for the reason that he might get more phone calls, if another GM thinks a player isn't available they might not ask about him. It's not uncommon to hear a GM say before a trading period that they are looking to make some moves, it doesn't de-value a potential trade.