NHL - Kris Versteeg to be traded?
A nightmare that Chicago Blackhawk fans were hoping would never turn into reality, just might have. Rumours were surfacing every day that Kris Versteeg was to be traded off soon, but we all hoped that it would not happen.
Brent Sopel, Cam Barker and Patrick Sharp who were on top of the rumour charts have descended as Kris Versteeg is on top of the most wanted Blackhawk’s list now. A sad reality came true as Kris Versteeg, a right winger who took Chicago Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup, was traded this Wednesday for a five-player trade-off. After having a small salary cap this year General Manager Stan Bowman had to make a tough decision. Versteeg along with left winger Bill Sweatt were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Philippe Paradish, Chris DiDomenico and Victor Stalberg.
General Manager Bowman also executed another deal by selling of their defenseman Brent Sopel and forwards such as Ben Eager, Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta Thrashers and Collin Fraser to Edmonton Oilers.
Although letting Versteeg go, was a serious too-up, Stan Bowman said he wanted to add some fresh talent to the roster. He gave a special shout-out to Victor Stalberg, saying he was NHL-ready and was definitely going to be the next star. Bowman later stated that for him as a coach it is quite tough to let go off such nice skaters, dismantling a team and rebuilding is quite hard-hitting for him but what had to be done was done. Especially letting go of players like Versteeg does not ease the pain. Bowmen stated:
"Obviously, like I said earlier this year, we're not looking to trade anybody but that's the game we're in today, You look at the trades that are made, most of them are related around the salary cap, but that's just a reality everybody is facing,"
While on the other hand Toronto Maple Leafs gave Philippe Paradish, Victor Stalberg and Chris DiDomenico and also acquired Bill Sweatt who is only 21-years old.
Bill Sweatt is a native from Lethbridge has only one year as a pro but has performed well in junior years, playing for the Colorado College. He managed to score 20 goals and 14 assists totalling to a score of 44 points in a regular season for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Big Buff’s block buster trade to the Atlanta Thrashers was quite shocking after his stellar performance postseason, but due to him covering a large portion of Hawks salary cap he had to be traded, he will certainly be missed by the team but it was quite certain he would be going after the free agency began. Dustin Byfuglien remarks on the trade were:
"It is what it is; it’s part of the job. You're not going to stick in one spot the whole time so I've got to go."
Stan Bowman said in one of his conferences a few hours before the commencement of NHL’s free agency began; He stated that he had no idea whatsoever how the Toronto Maple leafs plan on using Kris in their team. Kris is definitely a talented versatile player who will bring joy to any team he joins and his capability to perform on court, in numerous ways is his strength.
The thriving 24 year old made 20 goals and 24 assists last season and additional to his previous goals he made 6 more and 8 more assists in the playoffs, extending his deal to another three years for over $9M.
Toronto Maple Leafs are overwhelmed by the young player and believe he will make them experience that they have yet to - the Stanley Cup. Maples have banked upon three other players recently who have felt the Stanley experience, their defenseman Francois Beauchemin and the superb goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
However, a question that still remains is Chicago Blackhawks move to fill up their rooster with young inexperienced players a smart move?
For now it could be the smartest move for the team as they were in dire need of some fresh players, because the Blackhawks and the critics had the same opinion about last year’s playoffs, which was that they themselves did not know how they came to win last year’s Stanley Cup.
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