Vipers and Vikings swing late night blockbuster

Vipers and Vikings swing late night blockbuster

June 7th, 2011

Take a bow, Victoria Vipers’ GM Chris Hartley and Twin City Vikings’ GM Phil Svoboda. The two GMs pulled off a doozy late Monday night with the biggest trade so far this offseason.

Twin City shipped off star forward Nicklas Backstrom, along with star goaltender Carey Price to the Vipers in exchange for forwards Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Brett Connolly, defensemen Brandon Gormley, Cam Fowler, and goaltender Semyon Varlamov. The teams also exchanged draft picks. Twin City received a 7th overall first round draft pick along and swapped a total of six second round draft picks.

After talking with GMs all around the AFHL, Vikings GM Phil Svoboda finally dealt Backstrom to Victoria.

It doesn’t take much to figure out what was happening here. New GM Phil Svoboda recently took over a roster that was dreadful in terms organization, one of the worst teams in the league at this stage of their development. To add four former first round draft picks with first line potential was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Svoboda filled an immediate and dire need for depth and youth on offense, and the defensemen are just beginning to scratch the surface of their potentials. If the players reach their potential then this deal will be paying dividends for Twin City for years to come.

Backstrom will help the Vipers on the power play because of his playmaking skills. He has elite talent and will fit in nicely with players such as Eric Staal and Patrick Kane. Carey Price is a franchise goalie and everyone in the AFHL knows how valuable those are.

“We are excited to be adding some top young forwards in this league, players who will have an impact on our offense for several years to come,” Twin City GM Phil Svoboda said in a statement. “In addition, defensemen Brandon Gormley, Cam Fowler, and goaltender Semyon Varlamov will complement our young hockey club. They will have some important roles going forward.”

“We’re very excited to acquire a young emerging superstar forward in Nicklas Backstrom and a top young goalie in Carey Price,” Vipers GM Chris Hartley said in his statement. “These are two solid young players who will help us now as we continue to grow and improve our team. I would like to thank Gormley, Fowler, Connolly, Paarjvi, and Varlamov for their service to the Victoria Vipers and wish them nothing but the best of luck.”

This sort of transaction – of quality players, most just coming into their primes – takes nerves of steel because, depending upon development, it is the sort of trade that could look horribly one-sided down the road. In the AFHL when the trading game so often begins and ends with the present and future, this is positively unique. The fact that Hartley and Svoboda were willing to roll the dice tells you something about their courage as managers – and the fact they can identify a need and seek out a solution.