EVERETT — The Everett Silvertips got priced out of the market this year.
The Western Hockey League trade deadline came and went Thursday afternoon with the Tips opting to stand pat, as the premium for players who could improve the team for the stretch run was just too high.
There were questions heading into the deadline of whether Everett, at four games above .500, would be a buyer or a seller. Everett general manager Doug Soetaert wanted to be a buyer, but with a lack of sellers league wide, the prices grew beyond what Soetaert was willing to spend.
“There were a couple of things we were aggressively pursuing,” Soetaert said. “But it got to a point where it was getting crazy. I’m not going to jeopardize our long-term plans for a short-term thing.”
That seems to have been the opinion of many of the league’s general managers as there were calm waters at the trade deadline rather than the usual feeding frenzy. There were just eight deals made Thursday, none of them blockbusters. However, that wasn’t completely unexpected as many of the available impact players, such as forwards Brock Nixon and Justin McCrae and defenseman Ty Wishart, were moved earlier in the week.
Among the Everett coaches and players there was a certain amount of relief that no one was traded away. Especially considering the Tips, who underachieved during the first half of the season, have improved of late, winning five of their past six games.
“I like every guy in that locker room, so from that standpoint I’m happy,” Everett coach John Becanic said of the lack of movement at the trade deadline. “They’re just kids and any time you don’t have to disrupt their lives, it’s a good thing, and I like the chemistry in our locker room. We’ve proven we can play and right now we look good enough to compete with everybody.”
Said Everett center Zack Dailey: “I know some guys were fretting it and kind of scared. But it’s definitely good it’s past and now we can just focus on what we need to do. I think we have a good core group of guys and with the team we have now, I think we have a shot of going really far.”
Not that a little tweaking of the roster wouldn’t have helped. Soetaert said the Tips were one of the teams making a run at Wishart, who Prince George eventually traded to Moose Jaw for a package that included a first-round pick in the bantam draft and a prospect who was a former first-round pick. Soetaert also was in the market for another scoring forward, but was unwilling to meet the asking price.
“The prices were very high,” Soetaert said. “We made a couple substantial offers for players and looking at what people were getting for players, we were right in the ballpark. We tried to add without subtracting and it didn’t work.
“I’m not disappointed,” Soetaert added. “We always felt this was a good hockey team from day one, and we’re starting to see that happen. We’ve shown that when we play as a team, we can compete with anybody in this league.”
Among Thursday’s scattering of trades the one that impacts Everett most directly involved the Spokane Chiefs, who the Tips face six more times this season. Spokane, which already picked up McCrae from Saskatoon as it loads up for a run at the Memorial Cup, acquired 19-year-old defenseman Trevor Glass from Medicine Hat in exchange for a third-round pick in this year’s bantam draft and a second-round pick in 2010.
The other noteworthy deal saw the Swift Current Broncos acquire impact and oft-injured 19-year-old defenseman Jesse Dudas along with 15-year-old right wing Catlin Foley from Prince George in exchange for 17-year-old goaltender Ian Curtis.
One former Silvertip also was on the move as Red Deer shipped 20-year-old winger Brennan Sonne to Edmonton for a seventh-round pick in 2009.
Slap shots: Everett left wing Clayton Bauer has avoided suspension. Bauer received a boarding major penalty and game misconduct in Wednesday’s 3-2 shootout victory over Tri-City, an infraction that usually is accompanied by a suspension. However, the league reviewed the hit and decided it didn’t warrant further punishment. … Everett should be back at full strength tonight as both Dailey (groin) and defenseman Graham Potuer (sternum) have been cleared to return from their injuries. … Everett had four players listed in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s mid-term rankings for this year’s NHL draft. Winger Kyle Beach was ranked fourth among North American skaters, right wing Matt Ius was ranked 131st and left wing Jordan Mistelbacher was ranked 137th. Shayne Barrie was ranked 34th among North American goaltenders.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
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