"You have to give something in return"

Randy Murphy pulled the trigger on a deal to sure up his team's situation between the pipes, sending Mitch Stephens to Laredo in exchange for rookie goaltender Ryan Gibb. As Murphy noted, it's hard to let a guy like Stephens go, especially with how steady the Stephens/Macdonald/Leonard line has been all season. But with the Bucks in need of offense, and the Scorpions starved for consistency in goal, it's a win/win deal for both sides.

Stephens will undoubtedly provide Terry Ruskowski will some additional firepower, especially with the supporting cast he'll have in Laredo. My only question is whether Stephens will fit into an aggressive, hard-hitting system like Ruskowski's. I'd been rather impressed by his willingness to take the body in the past few games, but he's going to need to up the intensity if he wants regular minutes with the Bucks -- anyone who reads Joy Lindsay's blog knows that Ruskowski does not suffer mediocrity gladly.

Also, reader and Scorpions fan mi3ke is working on a survey of the 10 most memorable moments in Scorpions history. I will post a link below, as well as permalink on the blog itself. Your voting is much-appreciated!

VOTE HERE

An equally interesting development in all of this is Andrew Martin being waived. Clearly Randy Murphy saw something either in practice or in the scouting report for Kyle McNulty that spurred him to keep the recently-signed netminder over the former all-star Martin. Now, it doesn't take an expert eye to recognize that Martin has not been the same as he was last season. His time in camp with the San Antonio Rampage brought him into the season with a ton of confidence, but the shoddy defense he had in front of him all but ruined that confidence early on, and Martin simply hasn't recovered. This will be a great opportunity for Gibb and McNulty, both de facto backups, to prove their worth as starters.