CBS - PHX

[Parker]

COLUMBUS RECEIVES

R/L David Elsner (79)
R/C Mike Forney (74)
D Denis Vanin (83)
2013 PHX 1st round pick

PHOENIX RECEIVES

D Erik Gudbranson (76)

Only 20, Gudbranson already earns consideration as one of the top defensive blueliners in the league. As such, he's a tremendous asset, evidenced by his 5th overall selection in the once-in-a-lifetime 2012 EHEC Entry Draft and by his inclusion as the centerpiece to Columbus's return for superstar Rick Nash. The value of a player of Erik's calibre is hard to gauge until the pieces start falling into place, and while there's little doubt he's the best player in this trade, the cost to acquire him certainly gave me pause. Elsner was long-coveted by this organization and is a very valuable player due to his versatility, Mike Forney is a poor man's Andrew Ladd, and Denis Vanin is the second coming of Zbynek Michalek. Trading a 1st round pick goes against every fibre of my hockey-managing being, but those same fibres were screaming for me to do whatever it takes to make Gudbranson a Coyote, so this was not an easy decision.

In the end though, these negotiations were a lot of fun. Adam, I hope I never have to buy a car from you.

Phoenix approves this trade.

[Virtual Jarmo]

Aye. I accept.

Parker and I spent about six days on these negotations, talking about player after player and possible swaps outside of the Gudbranson package, and we eventually landed on this. Elsner gives me a nice two-way forward with a good shot that is similar to Donskoi, but more responsible defensively, so I can play him with some of my more one-dimensional forwards. His positioning attribute is a big asset for me, because I only have one forward (Danault) with a PO attribute above 76. My team is struggling on the road and I think it's because my weaker defensive lines are getting exposed. Elsner will help with that.

Forney is a wild card here, as a big hitter and a guy with a scoring touch. Finding ice time will be the tough part for him, but he's a rare asset in the file. I have a ton of depth, four good lines, and nearly all of them will have some kind of scoring touch on them. I'm hoping a collective effort will be the difference and help me stabilize my team and possibly pull a first round upset.

Vanin isn't that much of a wild card, very likely to boost over the next couple of rollovers and be a solid, reasonably priced option on defense once guys like Gonchar, Kaberle, and Ohlund are coming off the books. The first round pick will probably be in the 26-30 range, but I'm confident that I can get a good player with that pick, or, if necessary, fill a hole before my playoff run.

With Murphy and Krejci in the pipeline, Saveliev as a bruising 7th defenseman who can be a guy I can count on, getting Vanin and having Pouliot and a couple of first round picks, I'm not worried about my defensive depth. It's hard to give up a defensive monster like Gudbranson, but I had some needs I think I needed to address and Gudbranson was the best asset I had.

I think this deal sets me up extremely well for the future, which should ease some of your concerns on the future of EHEC. Most of the trades I've made have been future-oriented, which means I want to see this thing through.

Pleasure dealing with you, Parker.

[Commish Bub(NYR)]

I think this deal sets me up extremely well for the future, which should ease some of your concerns on the future of EHEC.

That cheering you hear is coming from my 173 prospects.

[GoJetsGo]

To the dismay of every active EHEC GM this deal is approved. Elsner is a solid two-way forward, Forney provides valuable skills in both hitting and shooting. Add a first and a potential booster in Vanin... Good.

MUST TRADE DOAN!!!!!! Or no deal.

[Parker]

To the dismay of every active EHEC GM this deal is approved. Elsner is a solid two-way forward, Forney provides valuable skills in both hitting and shooting. Add a first and a potential booster in Vanin... Good.

MUST TRADE DOAN!!!!!! Or no deal.

Fine, twist my arm. Doan for Pietrangelo+Couturier+Huberdeau. I'll even throw in Kurt Sauer.

[Virtual Jarmo]

To the dismay of every active EHEC GM this deal is approved. Elsner is a solid two-way forward, Forney provides valuable skills in both hitting and shooting. Add a first and a potential booster in Vanin... Good.

MUST TRADE DOAN!!!!!! Or no deal.

I was sitting next to Tommy at the bar while he sloppily, slowly wrote out this post. Probably took him an hour to manage this.

[Parker]

I was sitting next to Tommy at the bar while he sloppily, slowly wrote out this post. Probably took him an hour to manage this.

Get him to agree to my trade proposal and you can have Kartayev.

[Virtual Jarmo]

Entered.