East Prevails in Second Round of Interdivision Play

The SHL Eastern Division made its case as the superior division over the last couple of weeks. The season’s second and final round of interdivision play concluded on Tuesday, and the East once again prevailed, going 29-24-3 against the West in their home arenas after going 28-23-5 against them at home in the first half of the season.

“For years now, we have said that the West is no longer the best,” said coach Martin Delorme, whose Quebec Tigres went 5-2-1 in this round. “Now we have the numbers to back it up with evidence.”

For the season, the East finished 57-47-8 in interdivision games, winning approximately 55% of the games. It’s a nice payback for the East after the West won both rounds of interdivision contests last season, in addition to winning the SHL Finals.

Somewhat surprisingly, the results of this round affected the Western Division race more than the East. The Tigres’ 5-2-1 mark allowed them to hold onto first place and the league’s best overall record, but they were barely better than their closest pursuers, the Boston Badgers and Hershey Bliss, each of whom went 5-3-0.

“We’re still within striking distance,” said Badgers coach Kyle Barrow. “We’ve got a dozen games left, and we’ll settle this thing head-to-head on the ice, which is the way it should be. Would we have liked to win one or two more here? Sure. But bottom line, we won more than we lost, and we’ll take that.”

Further down the Eastern standings, the Rhode Island Seekers (4-3-1) held onto the final playoff spot, but finished just slightly better than the Washington Galaxy and Hamilton Pistols (both 4-4-0). The only Eastern team to lose meaningful ground was the last-place Baltimore Longshoremen, who went 2-6-0 in this round and 5-11-0 overall, the only team in the division with a losing record against the West.

Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Growlers finished with the best overall record in this round, going 6-2-0 to surge into first in the Western race. Milwaukee got a significant boost after the Michigan Gray Wolves (3-4-1) and Anchorage Igloos (2-6-0) both stumbled, and the Portland Bleubacks (4-3-1) lost ground as well.

“We’ve taken the lead out of the clubhouse turn!” exalted Growlers coach Rodney Reagle. “We’re coming down the stretch, and we’re riding the prettiest horse in the race. I don’t know a lot about horse racing, but I assume that there’s a beauty contest that’s part of it.”

If the Igloos wind up falling short in their quest to win the West this season, they will likely have their interdivision record to blame. They went 6-10-0 against the East this season, the only one of the four top Western contenders with a losing interdivision record. The Igloos have given up 9 points to Milwaukee, 8 to Portland, and 5 to Michigan in interdivision contests.

“Not the result we wanted by any stretch, but we’ve got to put that behind us and move on,” said Igloos coach Sam Castor. “The good news is, the first two rounds of the playoffs are against the West, and we’ve done great against those guys this year, so I like our chances.”

One bright spot for the West: the last-place Saskatchewan Shockers went 3-4-1 this round, suggesting that they have broken free of their dismal midseason skid. “It’s a small step forward, but any steps forward are good for us,” said Shockers coach Jeffrey Marsh. “We found the rope, and we’re pulling ourselves out of the quicksand.”

Does the East’s superiority in interdivision play presage a potential Finals win, the division’s first since 2020? Delorme, whose Tigres have lost the last two Finals, certainly hopes so.

“I am not opening any champagne based on this,” said the Quebec coach. “But perhaps I will put a bottle in the refrigerator, in case we need it later on.”

Interview of the Week: Marcel Laclaire

This week’s interview is with Hamilton Pistols GM Marcel Laclaire.

SHL Digest: This week, we’re speaking to one of the SHL’s original GMs, who sat out this year’s deadline after a season that hasn’t gone according to expectations, to say the least. Marcel, thank you for joining us.

Marcel Laclaire: It is my pleasure.

SHLD: Let’s jump right in. The Pistols, a team that made it to the division finals last year and won back-to-back Vandys just four years ago, find themselves tied for last place this season. How does it feel to see the team struggling in such a manner?

ML: It is unquestionably disappointing, there is no denying this. We had high hopes coming into this season, especially after our success last year. But hockey can be a cruel game, and sometimes things just do not break your way. It has been a tough time for us, but we’re not giving up hope just yet.

SHLD: What do you attribute the team’s struggles to this year?

ML: It has been a combination of factors, really. We’ve had our fair share of bad luck and bad bounces, which can really deflate a team’s confidence, even an experienced and capable team such as ours.

SHLD: Critics of the Pistols have said that the team is just too top-heavy, with too much money invested in stars and not enough in the supporting cast. AS the general manager who assembled this roster, how would you respond to those critics?

ML: Certainly, to the degree that our struggles are based around our roster, I must take the responsibility for that. It would indeed be foolish to claim that I have done a perfect job; only God does a perfect job. I am human, and surely I have made mistakes. But I also believe sincerely that we have the talent and the skill to compete at a high level. Sometimes, it is just a matter of getting back to basics and trusting in our abilities.

SHLD: At the trade deadline, the Pistols chose not to sell off any assets. Can you explain the reasoning behind that decision? Are you expecting a miracle turnaround down the stretch?

ML: It would be foolish to expect such things. At the end of the day, my job as GM is to make decisions that I believe will make the team better in the short term and the long term. While we had discussions with other teams leading up to the deadline, some very intense, we could not find a deal that we felt improved our roster.

SHLD: Can we dig into that a bit? With few sellers and a lot of eager buyers out there, you couldn’t find even one deal that made sense?

ML: As difficult as it may be for you to believe, it is true. I am not one to make a trade just for the sake of making a trade. We’re committed to building a team that can compete for championships, and if that means standing pat at the deadline rather than breaking up the team, then so be it.

SHLD: Fair enough. On a different note, it looks like your protege, Taylor Teichman, may be headed back to the playoffs as the GM of the Portland Bluebacks. How does it feel to see him succeed again?

ML: I could not be happier for Taylor if he were my own son. He’s always been a bright and capable young man, and I always knew he had what it takes to succeed in this league. It’s a testament to his hard work and dedication, and I have no doubt that he’ll continue to do great things with the Bluebacks.

SHLD: During last offseason, after the Bluebacks had been through three straight losing seasons, there was discussion of firing him. Would you say that their success this year validates the decision to keep him?

ML: Absolutely. Credit to their organization for sticking with him through the rough patches. It’s a reminder that success doesn’t happen overnight, but with perseverance and determination, anything is possible. And also, credit to Taylor for making an excellent coaching hire [Nick Foster]. As we have seen here with Keith Shields, if you have the right coach for your organization, it multiplies the success of your organization.

SHLD: Thank you for your time, Marcel, and for an honest interview. Best of luck to the Hamilton Pistols for the rest of the season.

ML: Again, my pleasure. Thank you for having me. I hope when we speak next, we will be on top again.

2024 SHL Week 11 Transactions

• On Wednesday, the Baltimore Longshoremen activated LW Vaughn Asperlin from the injured list. Asperlin missed the last 10 games while recovering from an injury; he also missed the All-Star Game, to which he had been chosen due to Danny Cardwell his breakout sophomore season. To make room for Asperlin to return, the Longshoremen sent LW Cameron Leintz down to their affiliate in Fargo. Leintz appeared in 30 games with Baltimore, recording 2 goals, 2 assists, and 22 blocks.
• Also on Wednesday, the Michigan Gray Wolves placed C Konstantin Sokolov on the injured list. Sokolov suffered a lower-body injury while blocking a shot during Tuesday’s game against Kansas City, and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. To fill Sokolov’s absence, the Wolves called up C Wilson Grace from their CHL affiliate in Cincinnati.
• In another Wednesday move, the Portland Bluebacks placed C Norris Fletcher on the injured list. Fletcher, who has been Portland’s top-line center this season, suffered an upper-body injury on Tuesday against Utah, and is expected to miss two to three weeks. To take Fletcher’s roster spot, the Bluebacks called up C Danny Cardwell from their farm team in Spokane. The 23-year-old Cardwell is one of Portland’s top prospects.
• In one more Wednesday move, the Oshawa Drive – affiliate of the Hamilton Pistols – activated RW Ziggy Wilkerson from the injured list. The Drive already had an open roster spot, so they did not need to make a compensating move.
• On Friday, the Milwaukee Growlers activated LW “Jumbo Joe” Freelander from the injured list. Freelander missed the last 10 games while recuperating from a lower-body injury. The Growlers had an open sport on the roster, and did not need to make a compensating move.

Might Disappointing Pistols Be Deadline Sellers?

This season has been a profound disappointment for the Hamilton Pistols. Fresh off a trip to the Eastern Division finals last season and with the core still intact from the team that won back-to-back Vandys and made three straight SHL Finals appearances from 2019 to 2021, the Pistols expected to be one of the East’s top contenders in 2024. But instead, this year has been a string of slumps, punctuated by brief spurts of false hope.

Hamilton lost the first five games of the season, then won three in a row and appeared headed in the right direction. After that, though, the Pistols hit another skid, going 2-6-1 to fall back into the division cellar. Then came a heartening 6-2-0 run through interdivisional play, allowing the Pistols to briefly climb into fourth place. Since then, though, they’ve gone 2-10-2 to tumble back downward into sixth. Even a callout by captain Steven Alexander had no apparent effect; Hamilton has remained offensively listless and defensively disorganized.

With the trade deadline looming just four days away, the Pistols are 11 points out of a playoff spot and just two points out of the cellar. Realistically, they’d have to win nearly 20 of their last 25 games to have a shot at the postseason. Which leads to a question that few imagined we’d be asking: Might the Pistols actually be sellers at the deadline, rather than buyers?

GM Marcel LaClaire shot down speculation about a selloff earlier in the week, saying, “Our focus is on the playoffs, as it has been always. We know that we have the talent here to win, that we know for certain.” But though their roster contains several talented players, it’s top-heavy; Hamilton’s top seven players take up more than two-thirds of their cap space. As a result, much of the rest of the roster consists of journeyman, uneven youngsters, and spare parts. Even in their heyday, the Pistols leaned more heavily than most teams on their stars; previously, though, they had the cap room to add experienced secondary players who could provide depth. That’s no longer the case, and down seasons by a couple of their stars have been enough to sink the Pistols’ hopes.

Of course, if the Pistols do decide to pivot to selling, then they face another thorny question: Who might they sell? It seems unconceivable that they’d part with core players like Alexander, C Calvin Frye, Ds Hercules Mulligan and Clayton “Crusher” Risch, or G Lasse Koskinen. One or more of those players might be moved in the offseason if the team decides to go for a serious rebuild, but a deadline deal for any of them seems far-fetched.

RW Claude Lafayette has never quite been the same since the 2021 auto accident that nearly ended his career, but he still has enough in the tank to benefit a contender. However, he is extremely close to Alexander, and it seems unlikely that the team would risk angering their captain by trading away his childhood friend. LW Magnus Gunnarson would be a hot commodity if placed on the market, but his $3.5 million salary and mediocre 2024 numbers (7 goals, 8 assists) might make it hard to find a trade fit. Other forwards like C Dale Wilcox, RW James Clay, or LW/RW Rory Socarra aren’t producing enough to be interesting trade targets.

Among Hamilton’s blueliners, the members of their middle pairing – Elvis Bodett and Dominic Sanchez – could well be available. Both players have put up quality numbers and are on reasonable contracts. The 34-year-old Sanchez would make a fine rental, while the 26-year-old Bodett – signed through 2026 – is a longer-term play. Both are more offensive-minded defensemen, however, limiting their appeal to many teams.

Backup goalie Riley Lattimore has been one of the league’s premier second-stringers for several seasons, and a team in need of veteran stability between the pipes (the Rhode Island Seekers come to mind here) might be inclined to take a flier on him. But Lattimore’s own numbers (4-6-1, 3.16 GAA, .890 save percentage) have been underwhelming, raising the possibility that he might finally have reached the end of the line at age 38.

The dilemma facing Hamilton at the deadline is a familiar one for aging ex-contenders: if the most logical trade chips were producing enough to make them enticing targets, the Pistols would probably be in a playoff spot. But LaClaire faces some difficult questions in the coming week.

The GM faces another set of tough questions in the offseason, as he decides who to protect in the expansion draft and contemplates moving one or more core players to open up the cap space to build a more balanced roster. Of course, that assumes LaClaire will be the one making those calls, which is not a certainty. Owner Cory Blackwood, Jr. is notoriously impatient and might be looking for a new GM if the team continues on its current troubled trajectory.

The existential questions about the Pistols’ future can wait until the offseason. For now, they face the tough choice of waving the white flag at the deadline – or keeping it together and trying for an unlikely comeback down the stretch.