Mitch Calvert
The Fort Frances Jr. Sabres still are working the phone lines in hopes of acquiring local product Tyler Miller from the Port Hope Predators, but the asking price is said to be too high right now.
A source familiar with the trade talks, which have been ongoing for two weeks, said the demands were in the neighbourhood of $25,000 and five or six players (some for this season and next).
Port Hope general manager Tim Clayden said he wants to pull the trigger on a deal that still will benefit his team for this season.
“Wayne and I are working our tails off to be honest, but it’s a really difficult deal to put together because of the time and money we’ve invested in Tyler,” Clayden stressed.
“Wayne is bringing Tyler in to take his team over the top, so for the players we want in return it kind of defeats the purpose,” he explained. “If it depletes his lineup, then there isn’t much use to acquiring a 20-year-old to his club.”
The deal has been delayed further by offers from other teams—and a little hometown interference on this end, too.
“I spent the first week putting out fires because his aunt was promoting him to the Thunder Bay Bearcats,” Clayden noted.
“He’d like to move on and our hockey club would, too, and it’s starting to get difficult on everyone,” he added. “And in fairness to the Bearcats, they’ve made a pretty considerable offer that warrants some consideration.”
Miller, in his final year of junior eligibility, basically would be a rental for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
He’d give the Sabres a shot in the arm, no question, but at what cost?
“We like Tyler, but at the end of the day I have to walk into that dressing room and explain to the 19 other guys what we are doing,” Clayden said. “I have an obligation to the 19 other hockey players who I have recruited or signed.
“Everybody has got to be patient,” he stressed. “We’d like to move this along and I’ve spent a lot of time on one hockey player and Wayne has spent a lot of time on finding us players around the country.
“But what has made this thing difficult is Wayne has been working against the forces of someone close to Tyler Miller promoting him to the Thunder Bay Bearcats,” Clayden remarked.
The SIJHL trade deadline is this Monday (Dec. 1).
