The Tips solved their overager situation Wednesday morning by dealing winger Zane Jones to Lethbridge in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft.
Everett had four overagers for three roster spots: Jones, forwards Kohl Bamul and Brayden Low, and defenseman Ben Betker. Betker has just been reassigned to Everett by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, meaning the Tips had to make a decision. They wasted no time making that decision.
Jones, a big forward with a powerful shot, ended up playing very few games for the Tips. He was acquired at last season’s trade deadline in exchange for defenseman Micheal Zipp as Everett looked to add a big body who could score goals. However, he appeared in just 11 games because of injuries, tallying two goals and two assists. He then came back this season slimmed down and in great shape. He played in Everett’s season-opening 1-0 victory at Seattle without scoring.
One has to think this was nearly an identical situation to last year. Last season Everett also had four overagers for three roster spots, with the choice basically coming down to Manraj Hayer or Reid Petryk for the last spot. Both are quality players, but Petryk was the one traded because he’s the one the Tips could get more for in a trade.
This year the decision appeared to come down between Jones and Low, who again appeared to be similar in what they could provide to the team. Reading between the lines in the press release, it seems part of the reason general manager Garry Davidson decided to deal Jones is because he got the Tips more in return.
The deal thus sets Everett’s three overagers as Betker, Bauml and Low.
More to follow …
—- UPDATE, 3:45 p.m.
I’ve talked to Everett general manager Garry Davidson about the Jones trade. The most interesting thing to me is he said trade value, while talked about, was not really a factor in the decision to trade Jones. Instead, the team decided the other three overagers were the best choice for the team.
The Tips wasted no time making the deal. Betker was returned to Everett on Tuesday afternoon. Davidson put Jones’ name on the trade wire after that and received quite a bit of interest, and the deal was done by Wednesday morning.
Davidson also implied that the Tips are done dealing for now. He said he’d sit back and evaluate the team over the next 10 games, then see where things are at and decide whether more tinkering in necessary.
One other thing that needs to be mentioned is that goaltender Austin Lotz has also been returned to the Tips. Lotz was attending training camp with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks on a tryout. That means Everett will have everyone available for this weekend’s games at Portland except recent trade acquisition Nikita Scherbak, who remains at camp with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens.
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