The Quebec major Junior Hockey League’s summer treading period comes to a close this morning at 11:00 am Atlantic time. With the exception of overage players, no player can be moved after 11:00 am today until the holiday trading period opens.In the past week the Saint Sea John Sea Dogs have made two trades, acquiring defenseman Spencer MacDonald and goaltender Frederic Piche in separate deals that saw draft picks go the other way.
One issue that has been on the minds of everyone who follows the team this summer has yet to have been solved (or at least announced publicly)– goaltending.
With the acquisition of of Piche on Saturday, Saint John currently has eight net minders on their roster that appears on the QMJHL website. Only Piche and backup Karel St. Laurent have previous experience in the Quebec circuit.
In an ideal world, Saint John could trade one of the net minders for a young – but still experienced goaltender who could carry the team through to the expected 2012 Memorial Cup run.
In Halifax, there are two top end goaltenders in 18-year old Mathieu Corbeil and 20-year old Peter Delmas.
“(Halifax) Management hasn’t made a public statement on which goaltender they’d prefer to move, but Delmas might be the safest bet -- and he can be moved at any time because different rules apply to 20-year-old over-age players,” writes Matthew Wuest of Metro Halifax.
Both goalies are solid – but their age difference makes each of their value much different. With Halifax also planning on a 2012 cup run, a deal could be difficult to work out for the NHL drafted Corbeil.
The addition of Piche Saturday certainly added some intrigue to the goalie issue. Does Saint John make a deal for a number one? Do they go with a young affiliate player as backup? Or do they run with the goaltenders they have?
Those answers will, hopefully, be answered this morning.
“(Halifax) Management hasn’t made a public statement on which goaltender they’d prefer to move, but Delmas might be the safest bet -- and he can be moved at any time because different rules apply to 20-year-old over-age players,” writes Matthew Wuest of Metro Halifax.
Both goalies are solid – but their age difference makes each of their value much different. With Halifax also planning on a 2012 cup run, a deal could be difficult to work out for the NHL drafted Corbeil.
The addition of Piche Saturday certainly added some intrigue to the goalie issue. Does Saint John make a deal for a number one? Do they go with a young affiliate player as backup? Or do they run with the goaltenders they have?
Those answers will, hopefully, be answered this morning.
We NEED a #1 plain and simple!!!
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