It's hot stove season for my historical hockey league, and a humdinger of a trade just went down. The increasingly desperate Victorias -- who have a league-best five Creighton Cups but haven't won one since Season 9 -- are continuing the rebuild they started midway through last season. They've shipped off reliable left winger Marty Walsh and right-wing prospect Babe Dye to the Millionaires in exchange for young left wing George Hay and veteran forward Frank Rankin (who will be undertaking his second tour of duty with the Vics). Hay is the young, speedy, left-shooting, two-way winger the Vics have long coveted, and Rankin gives them added depth and positional versatility. What's in it for the Millionaires? After coming up short in the Season 13 finals against the Bearcats, the Millies were looking to add a couple of shooters. Walsh gives them a sniper to play on a line with two-time scoring titlist Mickey MacKay and his slick-skating sidekick, Frank Foyston. The real prize, though, is Dye; he has the offensive instincts and scoring potential of a Newsy Lalonde or a Joe Malone, but his abysmal puck-possession stats made him a poor fit for the Vics, a team that strongly values players who don't turn the puck over. In the end, this trade really comes down to Hay and Dye; the Vics are betting on Hay's high floor, while the Millies are betting on Dye's high ceiling. It may well be a couple of seasons before we can determine who really won this trade!
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