MINERS TRADE PALAT FOR PROSPECT OETTINGER AND PICKHeads to Fort Erie

Heads to Fort Erie

CANADIAN PRESS (Sudbury, ON):

The Sudbury Miners and Fort Erie Falcons made a move early Friday morning, which ends weeks of hard discussions between the two organizations.
TSN insider Bob McKenzie first broke the trade early Friday morning, which wasn’t able to made official until the trade call was completed.  The trade, which is now official, breaks down as follows:
Sudbury sends LW Ondrej Palat, along with its 2018 5th round and 11th round picks in exchange for LW Lauri Korpikoski, prospect Mathieu Joseph, top goalie prospect Jake Oettinger and Fort Erie’s first-round pick in 2019.  Korpikoski is scheduled to be a UFA at the end of the 2017-18 season.

Fort Erie will take on Palat’s $4 million cap hit, which expires after the 2018-19 season.  Sudbury had to get Palat to waive his no-trade clause to make this deal happen; the veteran had five teams on a no-trade list.

"No one ever expects to be traded.  Moving for the second time in a year will definitely be a different experience," Palat said on a conference call. "But given the direction of the Miners franchise, it’s something I knew would eventually come. For me right now, I’m definitely excited to be a Fort Erie Falcon.  I hear they used to have something like four strip bars at one time…….is that still the case??"

Palat has had a decent start to the year in Sudbury, considering the Miners are in a rebuild mode and are one of the league’s youngest and weakest teams.  He is expected to slot into a top-6 role for the Falcons and will be expected to contribute immediately as they fight Calgary for the Corfield Conference crown.

From the Miners perspective, the move frees up cap space for them.  They will have some big-money signings coming up in the next year or two, as their prospects continue to develop within the organization.  This move stays in line with the franchise’s philosophy to build through the draft and promote from within.

“It’s never easy to part with a player of Palat’s talent and character.  He was an excellent player for us and he deserves a chance to win.  At the end of the day, to acquire two high-end prospects (in Joseph and Oettinger) and also secure a 1st rounder in 2019, it was a deal that we had to make” stated General Manager Terry James.

 “Trades like these continue to build depth at all positions for is, which is good.  Our fans know there will be a pain.  We have never hidden that.  But, we believe that we are on the right path to be a consistent contender for years to come.  Our fans’ loyalty will be rewarded.”

The 1st round pick in 2019 now gives the Miners five (5) 1st round picks in both the 2018 and 2019 drafts. According to scouts, both drafts will have some top-end talent and are projected to be much deeper than the 2017 class.