It’s only the first day of the offseason and already the new and small fan base of the New England Loons are demanding answers. “I would be too if I were them” commented gm Czepiel from his early morning conference call.
Last night the Calgary Chinook completed their season-long dominance of the CCHL with a 7-3 win in game 5 thus closing out the series and securing their first Kehler Cup banner. Just minutes after the final horn, a flurry of trades was announced by the Loons. Already Twitter has been filled with many new Loons fans asking if they can cancel their season ticket orders. GM Czepiel in a matter of days traded the former Barracudas captain and fan favorite Zdeno Chara. At 40 years old and carrying a pricey contract, it makes sense after the initial shock. However, what is drawing the majority of the ire from fans is the trading of both Connor Hellebuyck and Nick Schmaltz. Both players are young and in the midst of break-out seasons.
During the brief conference call with reporters, Czepiel briefly discussed the reasoning for the moves. “The Barracudas finished just outside the playoffs. It leaves us outside the lottery and also without playoff revenue. That is a perfect storm for mediocrity. It should be no surprise to anyone that drastic changes needed to be made. Our prospect cupboard was bare and our payroll was filled with bad contracts. At best we are on a 3-5 year timeline to relevance. You have to give up talent to get talent and we are very pleased with our returns. Jean Luc is someone we identified early as the player we wanted to build around and he fits our timeline. Also, the additions of Brunnstrom, Crouse, Senyshyn, Howden and Jarry restock our farm system and give us a lot of optimism for the future.”
One has to wonder how the Loons will make it if there are no fans in the seats during Czepiel’s 5 year timeline. I guess we will find out if Czepiel’s baseball methods will work in the CCHL.
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