LA has made a couple of moves that has brought a identity to this once run down franchise in the first move it had GM Rumpel and K.Shuck hook up in a suprising deal.
Atl: LA first in 09 M.Schnieder and a conditional 3rd round pick is LA picks higher than 8.
LA: B.Seabrooke and 500K
Insider Thoughts:
GM Shuck really pushed for the TB first and Rumpel kept counter offering the LA first thinking Shuck would leave him alone but after 15 minutes of what GM Rumpel thought was a waste of time Kirk suprised him and through Schnieder into the offer and the idea of the conditional pick. This caught Rumpel off guard and as he took a look at what was being offered it was a no brainer to him. They haggled for a couple minutes over how high the conditional pick would be and Rumpel got 500 K added for good measure :).
GM Rumpel's Rational:
The LA first is really the only thing we lose of value here as Schnieder is a UFA and wasn't in the teams long term plans. Seabrooke is a player LA has always coveted and thinks is a solid young established NHLer which is exactly what we are trying to build here in LA right now. We are confident we can play good enough down the stretch to keep that pick in the 8 - 10 and make sure Atl doesn't get to good of a pick in the 5 - 6 range.
In another suprising deal LA shipped out some good young talent for quality young talent with Ana later that night in a deal that breaks down as follows:
Ana: A.Sekera M.Carle S.Matthias and J.Abdelkader
LA: K.Ballard M. Backlund L.Kasper and Sj 7th in 09
Insider thoughts:
Rob approached LA with a list of guys he liked and although both teams are in full rebuild mode they some how worked out a deal fairly fast. LA sent a list back and names started getting tossed around.
GM Rumpels Rational:
We were really content on getting Backlund and thinks he is a future NHL star and Ballard is in the same mold as Seabrooke a proven young quality NHL player that not only helps us now but in the future. Kasper and the pick were just added for depth purposes and although the franchise doesn't have huge hopes stock piling young talent can never hurt.
Giving up Sekera Carle Matthias and Abdelkader was tough as they are all 4 good young NHL players or prospects and even though we don't really have the depth to be making this type of move getting quality young NHL talent back made it do able. In the end this deal came down to the philosophy of if your getting the best player you win the deal and we felt we were getting the best player.
It'll take years to find out who won this deal.
So with Seabrooke and Ballard added to LA's d core GM Rumpel is very pleased with how the re-build has gone so far. I'm sure I made a couple head scratcher moves this year but overall I think I've done a helluva job re-building this franchise. We now have a great young core and only plan on building that over the next couple years.
