Spring 2019 Season

Draft Trades

January 3rd: Trade
A pre-draft deal sees Sabr and Haya exchange multiple picks, Haya picking up some more early picks and taking back a few later ones while Sabr loads up in the middle rounds of the draft.  An interesting move by both teams, assuming they draft well Haya has the chance to really build a strong core but will have more inexperienced players as support while Sabr goes for a balanced approach where each line they throw out has skill.

The specifics of the trade shake out as follows:
Haya will get from Sabr their 1st, 2nd, 7th, 11th and 12th round picks
Sabr will get from Haya their  3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th round picks

Post draft we can add names to those picks and while the respective GM teams may have chosen differently here are the players that ended up being moved in the deal:
Sabr gets Adeel Awan, Sadat Malik, Vasim Kagzi, Yusuf Kapoor and Fahad Panchbhaya
Haya gets Arssal Shahabuddin, Farrukh Khan, Zuhair Fancy, Khizer Lakhanpal and Wasel Kabir.

Both did well but Sabr achieved their desire for greater balance and depth while Haya has risked quite a bit to go top heavy.


January 5th: Trade
Another pre-draft trade with Shukr making this move to shift up in the draft to make sure they get their targeted player.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Shukr will get from Emaan their 1st, 3rd and 13th round picks
Emaan will get from Shukr their 1st, 2nd and 13th round picks

Post draft we can add names to those picks and while the respective GM teams may have chosen differently here are the players that ended up being moved in the deal:
Shukr gets Rizwan Kalair, Sufyan Shaikh and Abu Jubair Alam
Emaan gets Arif Bijabhai, Farooq Sani and Umer Buksh

A win for both teams here, Shukr was eager to draft Kalair and they managed that while Emaan picks up a pair of strong forwards in Bijabhai and Sani.


January 27th: Trade
An early season trade with Sabr looking to upgrade their defence core while Ridha adds another offensive player to their arsenal.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Sabr gets Abdur-Rahman Buttar
Ridha gets Fahad Panchbhaya

Analysis:
An unexpected deal here, Ridha needed help on the backline but gave away one of their better defensemen for a scoring forward when their team is already offensively stacked.  Panchbhaya is good friends with the GM core here and has Malton in his blood which played a major factor into this decision one would think.
Sabr picks up a defensemen when they have a pair of defensemen playing forward because they have too many rearguards.  One would assume that Sabr may be making more trades in the future, if there is one thing that their GM core has shown is that they are not afraid to make a move when things aren't working.


February 5th: Trade
Both Sabr and Emaan are winless after four games so a trade was inevitable as they try to shake things up before the season slips away.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Sabr gets Idrees Deen
Emaan gets Adeel Awan

Analysis:
Sabr has been struggling to generate offence apart from their top line so Deen gives them a great spring winger to help put up some goals.  The loss of Awan is huge as his leadership and versatility will be missed as he is able to score as a forward as well as play D and help start up offensive rushes from the backline.  Emaan has the lowest scoring offence so far and Deen wasn't clicking with his line mates so acquiring Awan gives them a more physical forward or they can line him up on the back and push up one of their other scoring D into a forward position.


February 6th: Trade
Emaan making a quick move to flip an asset a day after they acquired it to give the team a veteran presence.  Ihsan getting a versatile player to help cover forward and defence.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Emaan gets Arif Khan
Ihsan gets Adeel Awan

Analysis:
A surprise here as Emaan seemed to have settled on Awan as the answer to their problems only to flip him within 24 hours.  In acquiring Khan, Emaan does get a two-way forward who can finish and will be counted on to provide a positive boost to the locker room.  Ihsan gets a player in Awan who can play both forward and on the backline which helps them as having a short bench has forced players into new roles with mixed results.


February 26th: Trade
Shukr making a the move that many have been waiting for since the draft completed bringing over one of their regular core players.  Ikhlas upgrades with a pair of useful players in the highly competitive Mecca Division where depth is critical.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Shukr gets Arslan Mian and Firasath Ali
Ihsan gets Zaid Toorawa and Sufyaan Shaikh

Analysis:
No surprise here, Shukr has been watching Mian perform well this season with longing looks of what might have been.  Seems as though with the trade deadline approaching they could no longer wait and see if Ikhlas would lower the asking price and had to make a move.  They sacrifice two strong offensive players in Toorawa and Shaikh which hurts so the pressure is on Mian to continue his strong season; picking up Ali gives Shukr a physical stay-at-home defensemen which is an under-the-radar pick-up as it gives them some depth on the blue line.  Ikhlas does well here as they get two offensive forwards to replace their leading scorer in Mian.


February 26th: Injury Replacement
Azhar Kalair has been forced to drop out due to injury, Yaqeen nominated Mohammad Patel as his replacement.  Patel was claimed by Emaan and as compensation Yaqeen took Hammad Khan from Emaan's roster.


March 3rd: Injury Replacement
Yousuf Sowdagar has been forced to drop out due to injury, Sabr nominated Adil Chohan as his replacement who passed through the waiver system and will join Sabr for their Week Eight game.


March 4th: Injury Replacement
Hammad Khan has been forced to drop out due to injury, Yaqeen nominated Yusuf Memon as his replacement.  Memon was claimed by Emaan and as compensation Yaqeen took Mohammad Patel from Emaan's roster.


March  5th: Trade
Emaan making a move to shake things up with their back against the wall, moving a sniper to obtain a winger with more speed.  Ihsan is loaded with speed so getting a winger with a shot helps their overall offence in this move.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Emaan gets Zahid Panchbhaya and Omar Din
Ihsan gets Arif Bijabhai and Umer Buksh

Analysis:
Bijabhai is a scoring winger but never found chemistry on Emaan so Ihsan hopes he can find his scoring tough or this deal burns them.  Emaan is hoping that the speed and grit of Panchbhaya will give their offence an element that has been missing this season.  Buksh has served the Emaan GMs loyally over the years so them dealing him is a surprise but they needed the versatility that Din provides them so he was scarified to make the deal work.


March 5th: Injury Replacement
Salman Syed has been forced to drop out due to injury, Shukr nominated Tayyab Kalair as his replacement who passed through the waiver system and will join Shukr for their Week Eight game.


March  6th: Trade
Sabr is always looking to make moves and Emaan was a willing partner here as the teams moved some big names hoping to make a change that will get their teams in the playoffs as currently both are in 4th place in their respective divisions.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Emaan gets Taha Azhar, Mehmed Rizvanovic and Abdur Rahman Buttar
Sabr gets Farooq Sani, Arif Khan and Aazar Zafar

Analysis:
Sabr has made a big gamble here as Sani is reportedly missing Week Eight and Khan is away until the final game of the season.  Zafar also is prone to miss games due to the great work he does in the community.  All of that said Sabr has acquired talent that when in the line-up will boost their offence but they have sacrificed two defensemen for a backline that is already thin as it is.
Emaan does well here, arguably they have given up more talent but they need to win their last three games and talented players who aren't available doesn't help them.  Rizvanovic gives them a strong two-way centre and Azhar and Buttar boost the defence.


March  6th: Trade
Emaan did not wait for too long before flipping a player they had acquired earlier in the night to send him to Shukr.

The specifics of the trade are as follows:
Emaan gets Firasath Ali
Shukr gets Abdur Rahman Buttar

Analysis:
This is a switch with the teams moving defensemen around, Emaan gets Ali who gives them a physical defensive presence while Shukr seems to have obtained their only family member not on the team.  Buttar has missed much of the season due to ride issues which presumably are now resolved with the youngster counting on his uncle to chauffeur him to the arena.