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Fictional Saskatoon GM Ardal Ekrub faces a problem of an embarrassment of riches in the 1995 offseason. Having an NHL lineup already full of quality players, he has many more young prospects coming up as well. His plan had always been to draft well, and trade veteran players for draft picks when they began their decline, when they still had value but were just beginning to lose it, and when they began to cost more on a per-unit-of-production basis.
So Ekrub does what he has to do, even knowing it would be unpopular with fans: he trades Doug Gilmour, the last remaining member of the team that transferred from St. Louis in 1983. Along with Robert Reichel and Doug Bodger, Gilmour goes to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for their first and third round picks in the 1995 Entry Draft, and their second round pick in the 1996 draft. All of these players showed signs of decline from their peak performance (although Reichel is still young, Ekrub can't know what we do now, that he would rebound significantly), and this trade clears the decks for some prospects, and clears some salary off the books as well. It also gives the Westerns the 15th pick in the draft, something which they are not used to given their string of finishes at or near the top of the league.
Joe Nieuwendyk, at this point the face of the franchise, becomes captain to replace Gilmour, while Mark Recchi becomes alternate in Nieuwendyk's place.
Top 30 Players Available at 1995 Entry Draft
Rank Player Pos League PGVT+ Drafted
1 Biron, Martin G QMJHL 11.7 16
2 Sykora, Petr F IHL 11.3 18
3 Redden, Wade D WHL 11.0 2
4 Berard, Bryan D OHL 9.8 1
5 Savard, Marc F OHL 9.6 91
6 Dvorak, Radek F Cze 9.1 10
7 Giguere, Jean-Sebastien G QMJHL 8.2 13
8 Berg, Aki D Fin 8.2 3
9 Langkow, Daymond F WHL 8.0 5
10 Hecht, Jochen F Ger 7.8 49
11 Iginla, Jarome F WHL 7.5 11
12 Nabokov, Dmitri F Rus 7.4 19
13 McLaren, Kyle D WHL 6.5 9
14 MacDonald, Aaron G WHL 6.5 36
15 Ryan, Terry F WHL 6.4 8
16 Doan, Shane F WHL 6.2 7
17 Dube, Christian F QMJHL 6.2 39
18 Morozov, Alexei F Rus 5.7 24
19 Doig, Jason D QMJHL 5.6 34
20 Boucher, Brian G WHL 5.6 22
21 Kallio, Tomi F Fin 5.6 81
22 Bednar, Jaroslav F Cze 5.5 -
23 Guren, Miroslav D Cze 5.5 60
24 Zib, Lukas D Cze 5.3 57
25 Musial, David D Ger 5.3 -
26 Kilger, Chad F OHL 5.1 4
27 Soderberg, Anders F Swe 5.1 -
28 Hlavac, Jan F Cze 5.1 28
29 Henry, Frederic G QMJHL 5.0 200
30 Kurtz, Justin D WHL 4.9 84
This pick is used to select another Quebecois goaltender, Martin Biron, who Ekrub's Project-a-Tron system rates not only as the best netminder available in the draft, but the best player overall. This is the second consecutive season in which Ekrub has been able to draft the best available goaltender, after selecting Jose Theodore with the 26th pick in the 1994 Entry Draft. The Westerns select four defensemen in 1995, an unusually high number for them. The other teams aren't quite as on-the-ball grabbing the best blueliners as they usually are.
Saskatoon Westerns 1995 Entry Draft Picks
Pick Player Pos League PGVT+
15 Biron, Martin G QMJHL 11.7
27 Savard, Marc C OHL 9.6
52 Guren, Miroslav D Cze 5.5
56 Musial, David D Ger 5.3
72 Kallio, Tomi LW Fin 5.6
80 Bednar, Jaroslav RW Cze 5.5
108 Zidlicky, Marek D Cze 4.7
135 Soderberg, Anders LW Swe 5.1
162 Henry, Frederic G QMJHL 5.0
189 Vasiljevs, Herbert RW Ger 4.8
216 Boyle, Dan D CCHA 3.8
243 Delisle, Xavier C QMJHL 4.2
In addition to the big trade with Toronto, Ekrub deals Michael Nylander to Calgary for their third round pick (72nd overall) in the draft. The Lebeau brothers, Stephan and Patrick, make their way to Europe. Ekrub doesn't sign 1994 pick Ken Carroll, and because of the roster purge completed in the previous offseason and the trades already made, he does not need to make his usual series of cuts.
Saskatoon Westerns 1995-96 Reserve List
Pos Name Age Acquired
G Biron, Martin 18 Draft, 1995 (15)
G Fiset, Stephane (k) 25 Draft, 1988 (24)
G Henry, Frederic 18 Draft, 1995 (162)
G Potvin, Felix (k) 24 Draft, 1989 (61)
G Sharples, Scott (k) 27 Trade, 1992
G Theodore, Jose (k) 19 Draft, 1994 (26)
G Wilkinson, Derek (k) 21 Draft, 1992 (119)
D Boyle, Dan 19 Draft, 1995 (216)
D Brown, Jeff (k) 29 Draft, 1984 (30)
D Dahl, Kevin (k) 26 Trade, 1991
D Guren, Miroslav 18 Draft, 1995 (52)
D Johansson, Daniel 21 Draft, 1993 (259)
D Julien, Stephane (k) 21 Draft, 1992 (239)
D Kaberle, Frantisek (k) 21 Draft, 1992 (191)
D Keller, Aaron (k) 20 Draft, 1993 (155)
D Mironov, Boris (k) 23 Draft, 1991 (197)
D Musial, David 19 Draft, 1995 (56)
D Numminen, Teppo (k) 27 Draft, 1986 (15)
D Salo, Sami 21 Draft, 1993 (51)
D Smith, Ryan (k) 21 Draft, 1992 (143)
D Snell, Chris (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (249)
D Van Impe, Darren (k) 22 Draft, 1991 (104)
D Yushkevich, Dmitri (k) 23 Draft, 1990 (45)
D Zhitnik, Alexei (k) 22 Draft, 1991 (65)
D Zidlicky, Marek 18 Draft, 1995 (108)
D Zubov, Sergei (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (81)
C Bowler, Bill (k) 20 Draft, 1993 (285)
C Brylin, Sergei (k) 21 Draft, 1992 (30)
C Delisle, Xavier 18 Draft, 1995 (243)
C Ducharme, Dom (k) 22 Draft, 1992 (263)
C Firth, Jason (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (186)
C Lapointe, Claude (k) 26 Draft, 1988 (229)
C Larouche, Steve (k) 24 Draft, 1989 (40)
C Manning, Blair 20 Draft, 1994 (156)
C Marchant, Todd (k) 22 Draft, 1992 (215)
C Miller, Colin (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (228)
C Nieuwendyk, Joe (k) 29 Draft, 1985 (9)
C Norris, Warren 20 Draft, 1994 (104)
C Perreault, Yanic (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (102)
C Perrin, Eric 20 Draft, 1994 (78)
C Savard, Marc 18 Draft, 1995 (27)
C Straka, Martin (k) 23 Draft, 1991 (219)
C Zhamnov, Alexei (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (60)
LW Andersson, Niklas (k) 24 Draft, 1989 (43)
LW Demitra, Pavol (k) 21 Draft, 1993 (77)
LW Horak, Roman (k) 25 Draft, 1988 (19)
LW Kallio, Tommi 18 Draft, 1995 (72)
LW Kozlov, Vyacheslav (k) 23 Draft, 1990 (18)
LW Miettinen, Tommi 19 Draft, 1994 (182)
LW Recchi, Mark (k) 27 Draft, 1987 (142)
LW Shalamai, Sergei 19 Draft, 1994 (130)
LW Soderberg, Anders 19 Draft, 1995 (135)
LW Whitney, Ray (k) 23 Draft, 1991 (21)
RW Audette, Donald (k) 25 Draft, 1988 (250)
RW Bednar, Jaroslav 18 Draft, 1995 (80)
RW Blazek, Tomas 20 Draft, 1993 (129)
RW Brousseau, Paul (k) 22 Draft, 1992 (23)
RW Caloun, Jan (k) 22 Draft, 1991 (87)
RW Cherbaev, Alexander 22 Draft, 1991 (109)
RW Dackell, Andreas 22 Draft, 1992 (167)
RW Drulia, Stan (k) 27 Draft, 1986 (162)
RW Fleury, Theoren (k) 27 Draft, 1986 (204)
RW Gendron, Martin (k) 21 Draft, 1992 (71)
RW Hassinen, Jani 20 Draft, 1994 (234)
RW Kapanen, Sami (k) 22 Draft, 1992 (46)
RW Lefebvre, Patrice (k) 27 Draft, 1987 (184)
RW Lehtinen, Jere (k) 22 Draft, 1991 (131)
RW Petrov, Oleg (k) 24 Draft, 1990 (57)
RW Prochazka, Martin 23 Draft, 1990 (144)
RW St. Louis, Martin 20 Draft, 1994 (52)
RW Tuomainen, Marko 23 Draft, 1991 (175)
RW Varvio, Jarkko (k) 23 Draft, 1991 (153)
RW Vasiljevs, Herbert 19 Draft, 1995 (189)
RW Vujtek, Vladimir 23 Draft, 1990 (207)
RW Vyborny, David 20 Draft, 1993 (25)
RW Westlund, Tommy 20 Draft, 1994 (208)
Players on Reserve List (Maximum 80): 76
Players Under Contract (Maximum 50): 47
The Westerns fall back to earth a bit in the 1995-96 season. While they finish a very respectable fourth overall with 103 points, they're nowhere near the class of the league, or even their division, as Detroit racks up 131 points to pace the circuit handily. While Saskatoon's defensive results (only 250 goals allowed) may seem impressive compared to their past seasons, this is really a product of the changing NHL rather than the team; they finish only in the middle of the pack defensively.
Perhaps if they could get some defense from their defensemen they might still challenge the Red Wings for league supremacy. Felix Potvin continues to do his job between the pipes, and several forwards do good work without the puck, including Theo Fleury, Slava Kozlov, Mark Recchi, and Todd Marchant. But among the blueliners, aging Jeff Brown leads with a 4.0 defensive GVT, which can't even beat Fleury and Kozlov. Captain Joe Nieuwendyk also turns in a sub-par effort, barely clearing replacement level. Ekrub can only hope these are temporary dips and not long-term trends.
Saskatoon Westerns 1995-96 NHL Season Results
GP W L T GF GA Pts Finish
82 47 26 9 315 250 103 2nd place, Central; 4th overall
Player Num Age Pos GP OGVT DGVT GVT
Potvin, Felix 31 24 G 67 0.0 24.6 24.6
Fleury, Theoren 14 27 RW 80 15.6 6.2 21.8
Kozlov, Vyacheslav 16 23 LW 82 12.8 4.6 17.4
Zubov, Sergei 46 24 D 64 12.8 2.2 15.0
Recchi, Mark (A) 8 27 RW 82 11.0 3.5 14.5
Brown, Jeff (A) 28 29 D 76 8.0 4.0 12.0
Numminen, Teppo 27 27 D 74 9.4 2.0 11.4
Zhamnov, Alexei 23 24 C 58 7.2 0.4 7.6
Perreault, Yanic 49 24 C 78 6.9 0.3 7.2
Marchant, Todd 39 22 LW 81 3.5 3.2 6.7
Mironov, Boris 4 23 D 78 4.0 1.2 5.2
Demitra, Pavol 38 21 LW 55 4.1 0.8 4.9
Whitney, Ray 13 23 LW 60 4.4 0.1 4.5
Audette, Donald 18 25 RW 23 4.0 -0.1 3.9
Lehtinen, Jere 20 22 RW 58 1.5 2.4 3.9
Caloun, Jan 11 22 RW 11 2.9 0.6 3.5
Van Impe, Darren 48 22 D 30 0.8 1.7 2.5
Fiset, Stephane 35 25 G 15 0.0 2.2 2.2
Straka, Martin 56 23 C 70 0.8 1.4 2.2
Larouche, Steve 22 24 RW 30 1.5 0.3 1.8
Lapointe, Claude 17 26 LW 47 0.0 1.7 1.7
Nieuwendyk, Joe (C) 25 29 C 52 1.5 0.2 1.7
Snell, Chris 6 24 D 18 1.1 0.4 1.5
Andersson, Niklas 32 24 LW 12 0.8 0.4 1.2
Yushkevich, Dmitri 2 23 D 69 -1.1 2.2 1.1
Zhitnik, Alexei 44 22 D 80 1.6 -0.5 1.1
Kapanen, Sami 42 22 RW 26 0.2 0.4 0.6
Bowler, Bill 9 20 C 10 0.4 0.1 0.5
Kaberle, Frantisek 7 21 D 3 0.0 0.1 0.1
Ducharme, Dom 10 22 C 3 0.0 -0.1 -0.1
Brylin, Sergei 47 21 LW 30 -1.1 1.0 -0.1
Petrov, Oleg 3 24 RW 36 -0.2 -0.1 -0.3
Total 82 115.4 67.5 182.9
Playoffs, First Round
An old foe faces the Westerns in the first round of the playoffs. The Calgary Flames aren't what they used to be, however, and while they put up a game effort, they fall to Saskatoon in six games (3-2, 5-3, 6-2, 2-5, 4-5, 4-2).
Playoffs, Second Round
The Colorado Avalanche, a product of a franchise shift just as the Westerns were themselves a dozen years ago, are the team that puts an end to Saskatoon's streak of winning Stanley Cups in even-numbered years. After Cup titles in 1990, 1992, and 1994, the Westerns are snowed under in six games by Colorado (2-1, 1-0, 5-7, 0-4, 3-6, 1-2), despite winning the first two games of the series. Felix Potvin was simply not his usual self in the series, allowing 19 goals in the final four games, all losses.
Saskatoon Westerns Season Results Through 1995-96
Season GP W L T GF GA Pts Pct
1983-84 80 32 39 9 314 324 73 .456
1984-85 80 34 36 10 311 313 78 .488
1985-86 80 40 32 8 321 309 88 .550
1986-87 80 40 32 8 328 297 88 .550
1987-88 80 41 31 8 345 307 90 .563
1988-89 80 45 26 9 365 297 99 .619
1989-90 80 45 27 8 344 277 98 .613
1990-91 80 47 23 10 341 257 104 .650
1991-92 80 45 25 10 339 269 100 .625
1992-93 84 53 23 8 382 268 115 .685
1993-94 84 53 21 10 360 253 116 .690
1994-95 48 34 9 5 185 124 71 .740
1995-96 82 47 26 9 315 250 103 .628
Total 1018 556 350 112 4250 3255 1223 .601
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Pucks From The Past (12/02)
4 comments have been left for this article. 
Iain, are there a few examples of NHL teams that did a great job moving veterans at peak value/cost in exchange for draft picks and young talent?
There are certainly many bad examples (trading too late, or getting too little), which would you say are the best historical examples of Ekrub-like General Management?
I think it's fair to say that Ekrub is selling low to ensure that he can get rid of who he wants to be rid of. Also, it shows faith in his system. Maybe the Westerns are skimping on the pro scouting side of things, which would explain their almost complete lack of player for player trades.
Absolutely, Ryan. It also reflects the fact that this is a post hoc exercise, and if Ekrub get to good a return on his trades it might cast too much suspicion on the validity of the results.
Very interesting question, Rob. I haven't investigated this at all, but it seems I certainly should. That would make an excellent companion piece to this series.