All quiet on trade deadline day

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/10/2023 (769 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Do you remember the time the Winnipeg Blue Bombers traded for QB Zach Collaros just as the CFL trade deadline was set to expire?

The move drastically altered the future of the Bombers franchise, with Collaros leading the Blue and Gold to the last three Grey Cup games, winning twice and snapping a 28-year championship drought. Few, if any, could have predicted the kind of success that would follow Collaros from Toronto, even if there were some who felt he had the intangibles to pull off such a quick turnaround.

“It’s worked out exactly as it should have, put it that way,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said earlier this week. “I’ve said this 100 times: Zach was the one guy out there that could pull this off, that could walk in and fit seamlessly, make us better and lead us like that, in such a short time.”

I bring this up not to provide a history lesson but to acknowledge the trade made exactly four years ago was an anomaly and far from the norm. Unlike that year, Wednesday’s CFL trade deadline came and went with barely a whimper.

Indeed, not a single trade was made for a third straight year. Whereas in the NHL, trade deadline day turns into a media frenzy, the coverage for the CFL’s final day to make a deal is pretty much non-existent and has been that way seemingly forever.

In fact, there wasn’t a single mention of the trade deadline on the CFL’s website — no lead-up stories of any kind. That’s not a criticism as much as it’s a clear acknowledgment that not even the league is expecting anything, let alone big things, to happen.

I’m not sure if that’s a missed opportunity or just the way it goes for a nine-team league. After all, there are three teams with a record of 4-11, all at the bottom of the standings, that haven’t been officially ruled out of a playoff spot. So, maybe there’s just not enough of an incentive to unload.

Whatever it is, not even what happened with Collaros four years ago has been enough to entice teams to get creative at this time of year. God knows there are plenty of teams, especially this season, that could benefit from some creativity.

With that, let’s dig into the top stories from Week 17 in the latest edition of CFL Rundown.

1) My condolences go out the family, friends and fans of legendary Saskatchewan Roughrider George Reed following his death on Sunday. Reed, who died a day short of his 84th birthday, is among the CFL’s greatest running backs ever to play the three-down game. He spent 13 years with the Riders, ending his career as the CFL leader in all-time rushing yards (16,116) and rushing TDs (134), the latter record being one he still holds today.

2) Montreal and Hamilton clinched playoff spots with victories, leaving just the sixth and final spot to be decided between Saskatchewan, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. The Riders, who are 6-9 while the rest are 4-11, are the only club controlling its destiny, needing two wins in their remaining four games.

3) Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially for a Saskatchewan club that seems to crumble once the leaves start to fall. The Riders have lost their last four games, ensuring a record no better than .500. What’s more, head coach Craig Dickenson is sounding like a dead man walking in his post-game interviews, shouldering all the blame and claiming he needs to do a better job of getting his guys motivated. That’s not what you want to hear with four games left.

4) If the Riders can find a way to get a win at home against the Ticats on Saturday, the Elks and Redblacks will be officially eliminated from the post-season.

5) QB Bo Levi Mitchell is back practising with the Ticats after missing weeks with a fractured leg he suffered in late July. He’s been splitting reps with the first-team offence with Matthew Shiltz, leaving Taylor Powell the odd man out. I don’t love the decision by Hamilton to turn its back on Powell, who was sprung into duty the last two months and as a rookie helped the Ticats secure a playoff spot. That’s life and Powell looked awful against Calgary last week before Shiltz came in and saved the day.

6) Staying on the topic, does Hamilton really think it’s got a shot with Mitchell behind centre? Mitchell wasn’t even good when he was healthy, with a 1-2 record and throwing three TDs compared to nine interceptions. That said, it’s not like Mitchell shouldn’t be motivated; after all, he’s playing for a job next season, even with two years left on his current deal.

7) Continuing my quest to figure out the Alouettes, perhaps Saturday’s win over the Redblacks was the blueprint to their success. In other words, if Montreal is going to push Toronto to come out of the East Division, it’s going to take another stellar effort by the defence, as well as a mistake-free performance by QB Cody Fajardo. Those two things just haven’t happened enough this season.

8) Speaking of the Alouettes, did you see the play that RB Jeshrun Antwi made on second-and-18? Antwi caught a pass near the right sideline and behind the line of scrimmage and then, with no Redblacks defenders in sight, used his foot to kick the ball over the line of scrimmage and then retrieved his own “onside” kick. The genius play resulted in a new set of downs for Montreal and will now have special teams co-ordinators salivating at its potential.

9) It was lame that the Argos decided to rest several key players against the Bombers, in what was being dubbed as the game of the year. While Toronto earned the right to do whatever it pleases after clinching the East a week earlier, they also managed to give Winnipeg a run for its money, keeping the game close until the Bombers pulled away late in the fourth quarter. We were supposed to find out who was the best team in the CFL. While the Argos lost, they did enough to prove that they’re the clear favourites heading into the playoffs.

10) What a game it will be Friday when the Bombers visit the Lions for what should decide first place in the West Division. The season series is tied at one game apiece and both clubs are sitting at 11-4. The game could also very well determine the West candidate for the league’s most outstanding player, with Collaros and fellow QB Vernon Adams Jr. in the midst of stellar seasons.

11) As good as Collaros and Adams have been this season, let’s not ignore what Brady Oliveira has been doing in 2023. The Bombers RB had a career-high 169 rushing yards against the Argos, bringing his league lead to 1,359 yards, and scored his 10th TD. He deserves some MOP chatter, too.

12) Andrew Harris got a deserving ovation from Winnipeg fans during Friday’s game and it made me wonder whether or not the CFL’s all-time rushing leader among Canadian tailbacks will one day retire as a Bomber? He did start his career in B.C., playing years there and winning a Grey Cup, and he appears to have made quite the impression in Toronto, where he’s also won a championship and is being used a promotional tool in the Argos 150th anniversary celebrations. It was a messy breakup in Winnipeg, while Harris has noted it’s now water under the bridge, I wonder if it’s enough to honour the hometown kid one final time.

13) For all the times the CFL has tripped over itself, it deserves credit for nailing this year’s Grey Cup halftime show. If you haven’t heard, it will be long time punk rock band Green Day. From what I’ve seen online and talking with fans, they don’t totally hate it, which counts as a massive win.

Jeff.Hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.