June 2nd, 2011
Call it whatever you want. A housecleaning. A makeover. A revamping. No matter how you slice it, the new GMs are usually the most active in making trades during the offseason so it should be interesting to see which of the four new GMs will be most trigger-happy in this offseason.
“Not sure of the exact number of trades I made, but I think it was close to 15, maybe even 20 trades shortly after I was hired last summer,” said Warriors GM Mike Brunetta who’s going into his second season as an AFHL GM. “The new GMs better be ready to receive a ton of offers during these next few months. My suggestion is to just talk to as many GMs as possible.”
Most GMs must be drooling over the thought of making a trade with one of the new GMs for a star player such as a Jarome Iginla, Nicklas Backstrom, Martin Broduer or even a Ryan Getzlaf. Some of them have already begun fielding offers for their top players.
“Since I arrived, I’ve had three calls,” said Thunderwolves new GM Jason Briggs. “It doesn’t take very long for people to recognize that you’re going to do some house cleaning.”
The talk is that GM Briggs could be the most active of the new GMs, only five days after being hired he’s already offered up several players that include Milan Hejduk, Ryan Malone, and Sergei Bobrovsky in trade chatter.
“I wouldn’t put anything past any of these guys,” said Montreal GM Keith Cancilla. “They’re capable of anything.”
The fact that the total number of players traded at the 2010 trade deadline dropped off at the 2011 trade deadline could change the thinking of GMs as they pursue players in this offseason.
“Every team has their own philosophy,” Red Devils GM Jordan Carbone said. “Everybody has got their eye on the new GMs’ rosters. I think you just saw what happened at last year’s trade deadline where there wasn’t a lot of trades. I think part of that reason was because of the unknown of new GMs in this offseason. You’d think that would impact the trade market also.”
Rumors surrounding the new GMs making trades have been light this week, but expect them to pick up after the trade freeze is lifted on Friday.
