Before you panic, the Dallas Stars have not traded Jack Campbell. Instead, Campbell was the main piece of a very significant trade this afternoon as the Windsor Spitfires acquired two forwards and six draft picks in exchange for Campbell, who was traded to the Soo Greyhounds, playing out of Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario. From the press release:
“We compete in a division of very tough opponents. Our goal here is to accomplish sustained success, year in and year out. With that said we feel adding a player of Jack’s calibre to our lineup shows our players and our fans that we will do everything we can to reach the level we all feel our franchise is capable of reaching.”
In exchange, Windsor receives players Mackenzie Braid and Patrick Sieloff along with six draft choices: Kingston’s 3rd in 2012, Windsor’s 2nd in 2013, Erie’s 3rd in 2013, Owen Sound’s 2nd in 2014, Saginaw’s 2nd in 2014, Sault Ste. Marie’s 2nd in 2015 and Sault Ste. Marie’s 15th in 2016 (conditional).
The Spitfires have been struggling signficantly the past few weeks, going 0-5-1 in their past six games after starting the season on a 8-3-0 tear. Campbell had been miraculous at times over the first month of the season but was unable to carry the team though poor defense and even worse goal scoring. The Spitfires were 7th (out of ten) in goal scoring the OHL’s Western Conference.
The Greyhounds are off to a bit of a better start than the Spitfires and desperately need goaltending to help shore up what should be a solid team moving forward. Hopefully this trade also helps Campbell develop a bit better behind a more solid defense while playing for — overall — a better team. With the Spitfires struggling and facing a grim future next season, this trade made sense as the team attempts to rebuild a bit through the draft.
The fact that Campbell was worth so much in return speaks to just how much the Greyhounds value the goaltender, as they are expected to make a possible run at the Memorial Cup this season.