Manhattan-Toronto trade

Manhattan fans shocked, peeved at blockbuster trade with Toronto

December 13th, 2011

Tuesday’s surprise trade of Bobby Ryan and Jonathan Bernier by the Manhattan Supermen was met with shock and anger as the team’s rabid fan base lamented the loss of two elite young talents Tuesday.

Supermen fans lit the Internet ablaze with infuriated rants as news spread quickly throughout the city that the Supermen had traded two star players who were expected to be franchise cornerstones for many years to come.

In the deal, the Supermen shipped Ryan and Bernier to the Toronto Red Devils for Loui Eriksson and two 1st round draft picks in 2012 (Comox Valley’s and Manhattan’s).

A local newspaper in Mnahttan interviewed about 10 locals and not one supported the deal.

“Incredible,” one fan replied upon hearing the news. “Bobby’s a three time 30-goal scorer, it’s incomprehensible. I’ll be interested to see what they got in return.”

The incendiary reaction even extended to the New York State Senate in Albany, where two Liberal MPs weighed in on the deal through their Twitter pages.

“WHAT!?!? Ryan and Bernier for Eriksson and a bag of magic beans,” one MP wrote.

The deal elicited a partial obscenity from Dennis Stone, who added on his own Twitter page: “Nice way to thank Bobby who got us into the playoffs for the first two years. Pathetic.”

Positive reviews were in the minority as most were dumbfounded over the turn of events, even though it had been expected that one of the team’s five young goalies would be dealt.

“No! No! No! You’re joking? No way,” another distraught fan told Newsday, unable to believe the news. “Why? I’m shocked, not saddened. How could they do that?”

Manhattan GM Tony Furino defended the unpopular decision on Tuesday, one which made him a lightning rod for criticism from fans.

Furino told a conference call that the Supermen were thinking long-term and made the decision that Cory Schneider was their man, with Cedrick Desjardins, Al Montoya, and Mark Dekanich as fill-ins.

“When we discuss players, we discuss what they’re going to do in the future,” Furino said. “We believe Ryan should have cracked 100 points by now and to be quite frank, we got tired of waiting. In regards to letting Bernier go, we’re very comfortable with Cory, Al, Cedrick, and Mark in the crease and believe Eriksson plus the two first round picks will pay off ten fold on offense.”

Many fans weren’t convinced.

“We’re never going to get anything as good as a combination of Schneider and Bernier. We would have won the Cup with Schneider and Bernier,” said one fan milling in Manhattan.

On the web, commentary was fast and furious as “Bernier”, “Bobby Ryan”, and “Furino” quickly became trending topics on Twitter. Some applauded the move as gutsy; many others weren’t quite as generous.

“Ryan and Bernier for Eriksson and a couple of picks? I hope you know what you’re doing, Tony Furino, because this looks like it sucks,” a fan wrote on Twitter.

The intense goaltender debate had long divided Supermen fans. The trade of Bernier on Tuesday finally settled the long-simmering goalie debate as to who will be the #1 guy in Manhattan… Schneider or Bernier?

“I didn’t think there was even a chance Bernier would be dealt, I thought he got signed for $40 million last month,” said a fan in Manhattan. “Very sad.”