Calgary (CP) Pending league approval, the first official blockbuster trade of the 2009 year has people buzzing as franchise player Joe Thornton and longtime teammate Nikolai Khabibulin has been traded to the rival One Eyebrows. GM Khoo stated "This is a day of mixed emotions. Joe was the franchise's first selection in the entry draft and has lead the team in scoring the past 2 seasons. Ultimately though we decided it was best for both parties to take a new direction. He'll be the cornerstone of another franchise with a bright future that needs some stability. Nikolai had a bounce back year after a couple of tough seasons. His stock is higher than its been for a long time so we felt we had to capitalize on this opportunity when it came up. At the end of the day we felt this move was necessary to get us to the next step towards a league championship. "
The personnel coming back is nothing to look down upon either. Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Vokoun immediately fill in the void with some pros and cons in each area.
"Today we got younger without a huge drop off in skill. Pavel, we believe, can come close to what Thornton was able to provide. His multiple Stanley Cups should provide leadership to a team that needs some right now. Vokoun though is the key to this deal. He is capable of playing 70+ games and frankly his value is low right now. We believe he still is a top 10 goalie in the league that can regain his form in the second half of the season. In the past year, Sather's Eyes have gone under a dramatic transformation with a different emphasis. With only 2 years left in the league, some drastic measures had to be taken to be competitive. Let the dice roll."
Fur Engee (CP)
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