Pay attention to “minor” transactions
12 years ago
Tomorrow morning several thousand of Winnipeggers are going to be calling in sick and nursing a major hangover. For many it will be the start of a 4-day weekend. Most if not all Jets fan will miss the small item on the news that the Winnipeg Jets picked up Brett MacLean today. Sometimes a minor transaction like this truly does mean very little. Other times, these little moves can change the course of a franchise. Look no further than Marty St. Louis or Ray Whitney as both players were picked up on waivers at one point in their career.
Just who is Brett MacLean besides a winger that couldn’t make the Coyotes? Is he the player that posted exactly no points in 4 pre season games this year? Is he the player that was drafted in the second round in 2007 and still hasn’t made his mark on the game? Is he the player who is now 22 and is teetering on the edge of moving from prospect to suspect? Or is he the winger who is not small (6’1” 200 lbs) and has scored at every level he has ever played. Last year in fact he was a point a game player scoring 23 goals and 50 points in 51 games. I’m sure there are a few Moose fans that remember watching this player with San Antonio.
There is one other item to which I would like to draw your attention to. In this year’s edition of the Sports Forecaster (A solid draft and fantasy publication) had pegged Brett MacLean as a “Fantasy Future Impact” player. To quote the profile “It’s been a steady, consistent apprenticeship for MacLean, and he has scored more than his share of goals at other levels. He hasn’t looked out of place during his NHL stints.” I’m not sure if MacLean just had a bad camp or something else happened but no doubt Phoenix tried to slip this player through waivers and back to the minors. Obviously the Jets front office has a very deep book on AHL players and they saw something they liked.
MacLean was someone I was keeping my eye on for my hockey pool this weekend. (It’s a deep pool; I’m not that crazy) I love this pickup and hopefully they put this young man in a position to succeed because that is what good organizations do. Sometimes a little luck never hurts either!
Recent articles from Dean Belanger
