Why fans love blockbuster trades

Local Content - Sports Blogs

Written by production

Thursday, 11 February 2010 16:30

This week four NHL trades, involving 19 players kept fans glued to the TV, internet and radio so as not to miss one iota of expert analysis.  After two games, some “experts” have announced the Calgary Flames were the great winners in their two trades.   Toronto Maple Leaf fans have two new heroes in town, after their team won the first game after two big trades.  (Don’t remind Leafs fans that the Dion Phaneuff and JS Gigeurre were often booed by their previous fans because of inconsistent performances.) Fans of any sport love the block buster deals for three reasons. 1.  Big trades show the direction a team has decided to take. In the next week the Edmonton Oilers will trade many of their veteran players at inflated prices because the last place Oilers officially know they are about to begin a rebuilding program.  Three years ago LA Kings GM Dean Lombardi realized the veteran core the team had was not going to make them a playoff contender.  The Kings unloaded the overpaid veteran talent and began stock piling young prospects through the draft and trades.  Today the Kings are fourth in the Western Conference, led by their young stars with a few veterans sprinkled in.  The team has as many good prospects in the minors as they do on the team.  If the Oilers clean house and rebuild through the draft fans will be patient, as long as they can see that there is a plan in place. The two trades made by the Calgary Flames send a different message.  The Flames traded an all star 24 year old defensemen.  As  rule teams don’t trade young upcoming talent.  However, even though the Flames have own more regular season games than any NHL team since the lockout, they have not won a playoff series in four seasons.  The recent eight game losing streak made it clear that a shake up was needed.  On paper the Flames should have been one of the best teams in the NHL, not a team battling for a playoff spot.  The Flames block buster deals reshuffled the deck.  With six new players on the team, the long time veterans know that the organization wants to win now. 2. Speculation runs rampant before and after block buster trades.  It was no secret that the Atlanta Thrashers wanted to trade sniper Ilya Kovachuk if he would not sign a contract extension.  Rather than lose their best player on July 1 as a free agent the Thrashers traded Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils for four young players.  The pre-trade speculation had Kovalchuk going to about six different NHL teams.  Arm Chair General Managers were trying to figure out if rumors had their team paying too high a price for a rental player. Once the trade has been made, fans get their calculators out and try to determine who got the best deal.  The Devils gave up the young prospects because they want to win the Stanley Cup this season.  Anything less than that and the Devils will have lost the trade.  Calgary must win at least two playoff rounds to satisfy their fans who are still hungering for another 2004 type playoff run. 3. Block buster trades send veteran fans down memory lane. The Flames trade of 2010 is similar to the trade the team made in 1988.  The Flames had a very good rookie named Brett Hull.  Again the team broke all the rules and traded a young up and coming player for two veterans, goalie Rick Wamsley and defenseman Rob Ramage.  Who won that trade?  Brett Hull went on to score 80 goals one year with St. Louis.  However, the Flames won one more Stanley Cup than the Blues did. Long time fans can remember when the Chicago Black Hawks traded center Phil Esposito and two others to Boston for Phil Esposito and two others.  On paper the trade looked about even at the time.  However, Phil Esposito (with the help of Bobby Orr) became the dominant scoring center for the next decade.  As one sided as that trade seems, it is important to note that once Esposito wasn’t playing with Orr, he went from a superstar to a great player. Last month former Toronto Blue Jays star Roberto Alomar was selected to the baseball Hall of Fame.  The Blue Jays of the late 1980’s were a great team that couldn’t get over the top.  The Jays management made a shake up by trading slugger Fred McGriff and short stop Tony Fernandez for Alomar and outfielder Joe Cater.  The Jays gave up two great players to get two great players.  In the case of the Blue Jays the trade was one piece of the puzzle that helped the team win the World Series in 1992 and 1993. If your team is winning, fans are speculating about what the playoff run will look like.  If the team is losing, fans spend their time going down memory lane because their only hope lies reliving the past…and hoping some day down the road their team will win again.