Monday notes

The WHL's active leader in almost every accumulative goaltending statistical category was traded yesterday, and he did not go gently.

The Winterhawks traded overager Kurtis Mucha to the Kamloops Blazers for a 2010 4th round bantam pick, and Mucha was not able to hide his unhappiness at the way Portland treated him: "It’s tough. I put in my time and waited for the good times, and when the good times came they sent me out of here. It definitely leaves a little bit of bad taste in your mouth, no question about that."

Mucha is a nearly 4-year starter who leads all WHL goalies in every statistical category except wins (where Calgary's Martin Jones is the active leader) but his lack of wins is more because of the quality of teams he played on rather than his own abilities. So it's hard not to feel sorry for the guy; during those three long losing years, Mucha was often the only bright spot on the team, and now that Portland is in a position where they may be able to make a playoff run this year, his reward is a trade to another non-contender whose 09-10 postseason ambitions rely on them making the postseason first.

Sentimentality aside though, it's a business and with three goalies on the roster, the Hawks had to make the move that made sense for them both this year and in the future. I'm guessing they were not comfortable with the thought of Mac Carruth (and his one career WHL game) being their starter in 2010-11, which is what would have been on track to happen if they had kept Mucha and moved Ian Curtis instead. And a 4th round pick is a fair price for a midseason move of a one-year player at a position where there's usually not a lot of openings around the league.

And who knows, perhaps Mucha's stay in Kamloops will be a short one; with the WHL trade deadline coming up in just over six weeks, the possibility exists that Kamloops could flip him to a contender if the fortunes of the Blazers' season don't improve by Christmas.

One other trade in the WHL from the weekend that is worth mentioning as well, as the Rebels and Giants swapped 17 year old forwards. Gone to Red Deer is Lane Scheidl, and going to Vancouver is Connor Redmond. Trading Redmond represents the Rebels giving up on what appears to be a first round bantam bust (Redmond was #11 overall in 2007) although perhaps a change of scenery closer to home (he's from Maple Ridge) will help Redmond re-start his stalled career.

Interestingly, Redmond is the 2nd former Rebels first round bantam pick acquired by Vancouver this year - they picked up 2005 first rounder Cass Mappin earlier this season.