Only a few days after his introduction as the new general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, Alex Hurst has made his first move. The Detroit Red Wings have traded Cory Sarich and a 2008 7th Round Draft Choice to the Calgary Flames. In return, Detroit received prospect Rhett Rakhshani, a 2008 2nd Round Draft Choice and defenseman Mike Rathje.
During a press conference that took place today, Alex Hurst had this to say: “We could not be happier with the trade that took place today. We took a big step forward in our rebuilding process in more ways than one. We were able to land a great prospect in Rakhshani, another good draft pick (our 5th second rounder) and an overpaid defenseman. Right now you’re probably thinking that, “he must be an idiot for taking on a defenseman like that with a contract like that!” But don’t be so quick to judge, Rathje’s horrible contract gives us some flexibility with our salary cap status and moves us higher above the league minimum and gives us the ability to deal some more of our assets for draft picks and prospects. It definitely hurt to loose a defenseman like Sarich, but I felt I had to do what was best for our team and that is exactly what I did.”
When he was asked his opinion on Rakhshani, the new general manager said: “Our scouts had been watching Rakhshani for a while and they have only had great things to say. I personally watched Rakhshani play for team USA at the world junior championships and was extremely pleased; he had 2 goals and 2 assists for a total of 4 points in 6 games and was a +1 during that time. We also went to see him play at the University of Denver where he has put up 21 points in 24 games as a freshman. Rakhshani will finish his season at the University of Denver and he is likely to stay there for at least one more season”