Coming off an NHFL season which saw a record number of transactions made among the 10 teams, it started to get me thinking about the Art of a Deal and the evolution of trades in the NHFL.

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There are many different factors that come into play when making a deal with another GM versus adding a player from the waiver wire.  Some GMs weave in and out of trades like it's second nature, where others struggle to complete a deal, and almost seem content to draft their team and run it like a box pool.  There isn't a right or wrong way to complete a trade...just different.

 

Take it from me the Dick Cheese, if you haven't already noticed, I love to trade.  Whether it's to acquire a player I've sought after, or trade one that's been under-performing, the whole process from start to finish I find exciting.  Usually it starts with a text, "you interested in (blank)?"  Well I wasn't before, but now I am!  From that point, the back and forth negotiations over players and picks is what I find to be the fun part.  I've taken shit from other GMs over the fact that I've said I prefer to trade over winning.  Well, that must be true because other than the Jocko, I haven't won shit.  Hell, with roughly 40 trades this year, I couldn't even win most trades in a season.  Winning is the peak for all of us and we all take different paths to get there…my is just a long and winding road.

 

When it comes to making a trade though, what do you really want out of it?  We can all say our goal is to make a trade fair for both sides, but deep down, we all want to win the trade.  Knowing that the player you acquired out-performs the one you traded away is such a satisfying feeling.  For a trade to be done, both sides must be happy you would think, otherwise the trade wouldn't go through.  So who really wins? 

 

Speaking with an anonymous NHFL GM, he explained to me that his goal is to "rape and pillage" every trade he completes.  "Why would I want to see any satisfaction in my trade partner after it's all said and done?"   Harsh, but a valid point.  We can negotiate back and forth with another GM, but in the end, you're trying to acquire the most/best players and picks for the least or worst players/picks on your roster.  We've seen many trades that we all thought was a landslide for one side end up not playing out at all.  There have been some doozies over the years, trades that had GMs up in arms, panties in a bunch and even as much as to force rule changes. 

 

There's your everyday "routine" trades that you seen in the past, but over the past 5 years the trades and tactics have increased substantially.  The evolution of our trading has become something that other fantasy leagues can't even compete with.  For example, it started from a trade using a player for player model.  Marleau for Thornton.  One GM wanted assists and the other needed goals.  Then we saw the addition of draft picks.  Marleau / 7th for Thornton / 5th.  Marleau is having a better year so the GM receives a lower pick but the better player and so on.  Trades like this went on for years, slowly changing teams, nothing major happening just improving one side a bit.  Then we started to see the shift of 1st round picks switching hands.  1st round for a 16th and a keeper spot.  For the longest time 1st rounders were what you wanted for the upcoming year, but GMs started to see the value of acquiring the extra keeper spots to hang on to a player who wouldn't be available at the 7th or 8th overall pick in the following years' draft.  Then as our farm spots started to become more valuable we would use those almost as keeper spots and they became just as important as keeper spots. 

 

I do believe however that the 2017-2018 season was the where we all took the trading to another level.  In a good way?  Probably not, but we all started to think outside the box a little bit more.  Draft weekend bean with the traditional trades;

 

To Mr. Trade:

Kuznetzov and Draisaitl

To Dick Cheese:

2x1sts, 10th, Carter, Neal

 

Then we started to evolve a bit seeing trades for future considerations including 1st rounders;

 

To State College:

2018 1st and 2nd Round

To White Stache:

Kadri

 

There was also some alcohol influenced trades that at the time may have been thought to be lopsided for one side or another;

 

To Fisher Kings:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson (drafted in the 2nd)

To White Stache:

Jussi Saros (drafted in the 7th)

 

Then we watched Mr. Trade implode his team (which after the draft was completed and the result he had, most of us would have done as well) and acquire almost every 1st round pick for the 2018-2019 draft.  We also started to see late round picks switch hands as guys needed add/drops for the week on a Sunday and were trying to take categories from their opponent at the last possible second.  Despite all of this, there was one trade that set the bar for the season and after much deliberation, the executive committee and commissioner let pass;

 

To GOAT:

2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 2x15th, 16th 

To Cerberus HC:

2 x Keeper Spots, 1 Farm Spot

 

With this trade, Evan was able to secure himself enough pieces throughout the year to lead his team to his 3rd Fifty Mission Cup.  The NHFL is not limited to the rules that Yahoo sets in place for us when it comes to trading equal picks/players etc.  We're the NHFL, and we do what we want!

 

                With 10 years behind us, we set forth in a new chapter for the NHFL with our 2 team expansion for the 2018-2019 season.  Sorting ground rules and defining what would be the process to expansion saw the existing 10 GMs discuss, argue, kick and punch until we could decide how it would happen.  And of course, the trading that would accompany the expansion process.  Both new GMs, the Wilsonvillians and Johnny Beamsville have the opportunity to trade with 5 current GMs to acquire a player from their protected lists which may or may not be available with their 11th and 12th overall picks.  What strategy do the new GMs have going in?  With the opportunity to immediately make your team competitive as the Vegas Golden Knights did, why wouldn’t you take that chance to make a deal with a GM?  No current GM wants to see a player go for nothing, and if they can acquire a late draft pick or future considerations to help out in the upcoming draft, it’s a no-brainer.  Only time will tell who ends up making deals and who doesn’t, but the expansion draft is only weeks away and there are already rumblings of deals in the works. 

               

                The dictionary defines trading as an act or instance of trading or an exchange of property.  The NHFL has decided to take it upon ourselves to almost perfect this.  Where can our trading go from here?  Not too sure, but as our GMs continue to become more savvy at the art of trading, I’m sure we’ll come up with more creative ways to see assets switch hands as the evolution of trading in the NHFL continues.