The Vancouver Canucks sped up their rebuild – is it still a rebuild if you make the playoffs, by the way? – on Monday, taking the bet that somebody can resurrect the Winterhawks' wizard that Sven Baertschi was only three years ago.
Baertschi, teamed with scorer Ty Rattie, tore up the WHL during the 2011/12 WHL season, putting up 94 points in just 47 games with Portland. (Highlights from that season are in the video below. Forgive me for my voiceover, if it bothers you.)
He has struggled to crack and stay with the Calgary Flames' roster, instead rotating between the NHL team and its affiliate clubs in Abbotsford and Adirondack since the 2012-13 lockout.
But despite his stutter, Baertschi has some believers – including Canucks general manager Jim Benning, who traded away a second-round pick for the 22-year-old Swiss star on Monday.
"I'm just really excited right now," Baertschi told TSN 1040 radio hosts Matt Sekeres and Blake Price on Monday, after the trade was announced. "It's a great opportunity for me. Waking up today, trade deadline day is always a special day. You never know what can happen... it's pretty exciting."
Speaking with reporters today, Benning said Baertschi is excited to get to Vancouver and to join a team where he can apply the up-tempo, playmaking style that made him the 13th overall pick in 2011. (Benning also said he thought Baertschi was the most dominant junior player in Canada, during his time with Portland.)
But as well, Baertschi might be just as excited to get out from under whatever thumb was keeping him down in Calgary – even if that thumb was his.
"For me, it's kind of been always up-and-down," Baertschi said, still on 1040. "It was a grind. What I wanted, for me personally, I wanted to stick with an NHL team. I wanted to be up there. I feel like I can be an NHL player, so we made sure that both parties, the Flames as much as me, we both believed in that.
"I'm still trying to find a lot of confidence, trying to find my game and everything... Confidence is a big part of my game. I feel like I'm a different player if I don't have the confidence of making the plays that I'm supposed to make.
Baertschi didn't admit that he had asked for a trade out of Calgary, when asked by Sekeres whether or not he had, but said he had discussions with Flames management – "trying to find the right solution" – and added, "It wasn't perfect there. It wasn't working for me in certain areas."