The call up of young goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, only 21, came much sooner than anticipated for the Nordiques. Deemed the goalie of the future, UPL saw his first NHL action on April 8th where he bested the Flyers with a 32 save performace 6-4. Since then, he has started 13 games, posting a 9-2-1 record to go along with a save percentage of 910 and a GAA of 2.68. As he continues to work hard on cutting down his goals against, the Nordiques organization also know they need to work on clearing the traffic in front of the net for him.The plan had been for him to play 20 NHL games this season to get in some work and experience before being sent back down to help the Citadelles in their hopes for another deep playoff run, but the stellar play of another young goalie made the decision to send him down that much harder. Olle Erkisson Ek, soon to be 21, has shown he has the capabitiles to lead the CCAHL after going 14-3-1 with a save percentage of 914 and a GAA of 2.34. At one point he posted 8 straight wins with 2 shutouts in that span, allowing only 14 goals.
Once it became apperant that Luukkonen was here to stay, the Nordique management had a tough decision to make. Jake Allen, who lead the team to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, had become somewhat of a trading assest for them. Once they made him available for trade they had many teams reach out to inquire about his services. They had early hopes of adding a top line forward to play alongside Arvidsson and Patrick, but other acqusations throughout the process made them change focus and go after another piece they have been missing for quite some time: a top 2 d-man to play with Hamilton or Rielly. It took some time but they were finally able to strike a deal with Dallas that saw them ship out Allen, Tierney, Clague, Prospect Ty Smith, a 2nd and $4M in cash to aquire Klingberg, Greiss, Stalberg and Poganski. The Nordiques organisation would like to thank Allen and Tierney for all they have done within the organization and the community and wish them nothing but success in their future careers.
Other moves made so far this season:
OUT: Greenway(NAS), Zacha(NAS), Bear(VAN), Norris(VAN), Dillon(WPG), Reway(NJD)
IN: Debrusk, Duclair, Beaulieu, Beauvillier, Willcox.
The team currently sits 2nd the Atlantic Divsion, 3rd in the East and 7th overall in the CCHL. They feel confident going forward that this young group has what it takes to make another deep cup run and can only continue to grow from here.