Deadline Deal

The trade deadline has come and gone, and, as I anticipated, the thin talent pool that we're experiencing during this expansion season has resulted in very limited player movement. Just about every team went out and kicked some tires, but there just weren't a lot of great options out there. I always try to be objective and make the best-possible decision for every team, so if a transaction doesn't benefit both clubs, I won't make it. 

As it turned out, just one deal went down. The Bulldogs flipped winger Scotty Davidson to the Bearcats for fellow forward Jack Ruttan. This deal made sense for a lot of reasons. First, the Bulldogs currently sit in third place, just a point behind our co-leaders, the Comets and the Victorias. The Dogs are just about a lock to make the playoffs, but Davidson's frequent penalties (he's second in the league in PIM) are costing his team points in the standings. It's been so bad lately that I've had to bench Davidson in the third period in close games to avoid meltdowns. If the Dogs want to make a deep run in the playoffs, they can't give offensively-oriented teams like the Comets and Vics even more power-play chances. Davidson is just too much of a risk for them. His production is way down this year, as well (12 games, 3 G, 2 A, -6). Coming back to the Dogs is Ruttan, who has played in only six games but still has nearly the same production (2 G, 1 A, -1); moreover, in terms of Strat-O-Matic game stats, Ruttan is in the lowest penalty bracket, whereas Davidson is in the bracket is most likely to trigger a penalty. Why would the Bearcats want Davidson? Well, in this situation they have the opportunity to buy low on a solid player who is vastly superior to internal options like Fred Scanlan and Rusty Crawford. Davidson is an elite skater, and the Cats are the slowest team in the league by far. He also brings a great deal of offensive upside, so a bit of positive regression will provide some dividends for his new team. He'll take more than his share of boneheaded penalties, but the Cats need talent and they're not in contention for a playoff spot this year. Davidson gives them a useful everyday player for next year, or someone they can trade back to an offense-starved contender if need be.