Confirmed...

I just got some comments from General Manager Russ Farwell about the events of the day.

Farwell confirmed that Seattle has traded for Swede Oscar Moller.

About Moller, Farwell stated:

"We took a gamble and traded for Oscar Moller’s rights from Chilliwack on the off chance he might still be returned to junior this season. If so it would be home run and a great addition to our team and if not it was at a price we felt we could afford. It is just a hunch but looked better than a minor upgrade which most other deals represented."

You would have to agree with that statement. If Moller indeed returns to Seattle this winds up being a huge deal for the Tbirds and if not... so be it. Seattle did have to give up Ondrej Palat and a 4th round pick to get him listed. If Moller actually comes to Seattle the pick is upgraded to a 2nd round pick.

Moller of course is currently out of action with a broken clavicle that he suffered at the WJC tournament and actually played the final two games of the tournament with that injury. I would think that Farwell thinks there is at least a chance that Moller will be sent back to Seattle or otherwise he wouldn't have made the move.

Farwell went on to comment about the rest of the events from the deadline:

"We did not make a trade today that will immediately add to or take away from our team as it stands. We simply have too many home games left to justify taking away from our present team and prices were simply too high to justify trading a big piece of our future to add one player. It is the quietest deadline I can remember for a long time due to the prices and so many teams in the hunt. This means more buyers than sellers and everyone has to have enough to finish the season. With the early deadline (January 10) and so many home games every team has an obligation to their home town supporters."

While I still stand by my statement from earlier this week that I think Seattle should have been a seller here at the deadline, I certainly understand why they made the decision they did and quite honestly it does not surprise me that Farwell decided against making a big splash one way or the other. We certainly would not have wanted them to empty their future if the asking prices were that high.