Trade Deadline Recap: I Guess Q WAS Really Pissed

Predictably, The Hawks were sellers at this season's Trade Deadline and made one move that, while not entirely surprising, is still pretty dramatic.

OUT

Ryan Hartman and a 2018 5th Round Pick to NSH

IN: Victor Ejdsell, 2018 1st Round Pick and 2018 4th Round Pick

Well, ol' Harts finally wore out his welcome, and just in the nick of time, too.  Nashville paid a ridiculously high price for this soon-to-be RFA that Coach Q never really knew what to do with.  That's not entirely on Q, mind you; players create and destroy their own opportunities to a large extent and Hartman often made it easy for Q to bench him or have him banished to the press box.  The implication is that Hartman is perhaps difficult to coach and has not demonstrated that he's learned from past transgressions.  It could merely be a personality conflict between he and Q but, given their relative status & responsibilities, that's something that Hartman had to work around, not Q.  The trust was lost and, as we all know, when you lose Q's trust, you're Done, Son.

The Draft Picks are generous and the warm body we've received is of great interest, as Ejdsell is a big center (6'5" and 214 lbs) who was a Swedish Div II MVP last season and is currently the goals leader on his HV71 club.  If this lad can skate at all I'll gladly learn how to pronounce his name.

OUT

Tommy Wingels to BOS

IN: 2018 5th Round Pick (upgraded to 4th Round if BOS make it to round two of the playoffs OR if they re-sign Wingels)

Useful if a bit frustrating, Wingels was slotted up and down the lineup all year.  Smart, defensively responsible and somewhat versatile, yet possessing virtually no hand skills.  As Guys go, he's a very good Guy but had been ridiculously miscast as a first line component.

All that aside, I half expect Wingels to be back with The Hawks for next season.

ALSO OUT

Lost in shuffle, here, but I'll mention it now, was the dispatching of Michal Kempny and Ville Pokka.  Kemps is another player who Q did not seem to like, which mystified me.  Kempny plays a pretty straightforward game and does it reasonably well, but is somewhat mistake-prone.  That said, I'd rather go to war with Kemps than with Oesterle or Gustafsson.  We'll probably never find out but Kempny may well have requested a trade OR indicated that he would not return next year to be a healthy scratch half the time.

With Pokka's departure we say so long to a guy that The Hawks waited on through the duration of two contracts.  Even though he had been called up from Rockford a couple of times during his tenure in The Hawks' organization we only ever saw him play in pre-season games.  He struck me as competent but not really excellent at any one aspect of the game. The Hawks' current devotion to Gustafsson and Dahlstrom, as well as Forsling waiting in the wings, clearly made Pokka an expendable asset.

AND

Lance Bouma, waived and successfully demoted to Rockford, making space for Matthew Highmore.  I cannot say much about Highmore except the dry facts: he's a 22-year-old small forward, undrafted, and leads The IceHogs in goals and points.  Maybe he's A Thing or maybe he's just the first of a series of late season auditions that we'll be treated to in the coming weeks.