Massive trade in the WHL sets Leafs top prospect up for a legitimate shot at a Championship
Late last evening, while the Leafs were busy dispatching of the Philadelphia Flyers, one of their best prospects playing in the WHL was gifted a ton of help in his pursuit of a Championship when the Kamloops Blazers pulled off a monumental trade with the Everett Silvertips, bringing in back-to-back WJC gold medalist Olen Zellweger and forward Ryan Hofer. Now, the Leafs' 2nd rounder (38th overall pick) in 2022, Fraser Minten is positioned well to compete for a Championship.
While the trade itself was a major one for the Blazers and Silvertips, it's not Zellweger that has been the main focus - it was the astronomical price that the Blazers paid to bring him in. What was the return for Zellweger and Hofer? If you can believe it, the return was four players and TEN draft picks, including FOUR 1st rounders. Here's how the full trade breaks down:
For Minten, who really impressed the Leafs' coaching staff during training camp this past fall, he was sent back to his WHL team with specific goals in mind from the organization. One of those goals was to use what he had learned during his time with the Leafs to try to help the Blazers win a WHL Championship and perhaps a Memorial Cup Championship. Now, with the addition of Zellweger to a core that already consists of Minten (TOR), Logan Stankoven (DAL), Kyle Masters (MIN), Caedan Bankier (MIN) and Daylan Kuefler (NYI), the Blazers are positioned well to be able to do just that.
This is absolutely the definition of "going all-in".
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 9 | 164 ANSWERS Massive trade in the WHL sets Leafs top prospect up for a legitimate shot at a Championship Did the Blazers give up too much for Zellweger? | ||
| Yes | 126 | 76.8 % |
| No, it's the price you pay to try to win | 38 | 23.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
