On the surface, it looked like there was a clear winner and loser of Seattle and Boston's trade that swapped Jessie Eldridge for Theresa Schafzahl. Just under the surface however, it was a trade that gave both teams exactly what they needed.
For years, fans of women's hockey leaned heavily on name recognition tied to national team participation. In the PWHL era however, the components of a winning roster are more than the names on the roster, it's what each player brings to the ice during games, practices, and what they bring to a team culture off the ice as well.
Often, it means that some of the previously lesser known players in the women's hockey world are some of the more valuable players in the PWHL.
In the most recent PWHL trade which sent Jessie Eldridge from Seattle to Boston in exchange for Theresa Schafzahl, many questioned the exchange, but for the teams involved, it was a good deal for both, with value that transcends point totals and name recognition.
On the surface, Seattle gave up a player with 51 career points in exhange for a player with 17 career points.
But when you peel back the surface, it's a completely different story.
The trade is also for a player who has played on a winning team with a winning culture with a career 41-31 record, for a player who has only been on teams with a losing culture and a carer 27-46 record.
It's also a trade for a player who has competed in a Walter Cup final, for a player who has yet to appear in the Walter Cup playoffs.
Those facts go in favor of Theresa Schafzahl, not Jessie Eldridge. Neither is a slight to Eldridge, rather both are assets Schafzahl brings to a Seattle Torrent team that is desperately in need of less players who think they are stars, and more players who want to be part of a winning team.
In Eldridge, Boston also gets exactly what they need. Boston has already lost right shot forwards Sophie Shirley, Olivia Mobley, and now Jill Saulnier. They gain Eldridge who plays the right wing. They also gain a forward who is a power play specialist. Boston has struggled with the player advantage this season, with the worst power play of any playoff team functioning at only 16.4%.
On the other side of the coin, Seattle also gets exactly what they need - shot in the arm and a clear message that the status quo is not acceptable.
As well, when you look beyond goals and assists, Seattle is also getting a player who has outperformed Eldridge in just about every meaningful statistic.
In a per 60 minutes comparison, Schafzahl impacts the game in more ways than one. To start, she draws penalties averaging 1.29 penalties drawn per 60 to Eldridge's 0.36. This stat is often a sign of a player willing to battle for pucks, who plays with speed, who goes to dirty areas, and who keeps their feet moving. Schafzahl blocks 1.95 shots per game to Eldridge's 1.8.
Looking at net xG (expected goals), a mark that takes a player's xG while they're on the ice, and minuses their opponent's xG, Eldridge sits at a -2.10 while Schafzahl sits at a positive 1.78. Comparing possession metrics like Corsi and Fenwick, Schafzahl's metrics are 55% for on both, while Eldridge's numbers are 49% and 51%. Schafzahl also averages significantly more controlled entries per 60 minutes at 6.9 compared to Eldridge's 4.7.
Schafzahl is also a player with significant international experience as a leader for Team Austria, carrying her nation as a top line player there, and like Eldridge, a former captain in the NCAA, Eldridge with Colgate, and Schafzahl with Vermont.
In other words, while Eldridge might be exactly what Boston needs on an offensively starved team surrounded by work horses, Schafzahl is exactly what Seattle needs. She'll join an offensively gifted team that scores, but doesn't win. And she'll join with vigour, bringing the winning habits Kris Sparre has instilled in Boston's lineup this season.
While Boston is getting the bigger name with more star power, who might lift the Fleet over the top toward a Walter Cup, Seattle made no mistake with the trade. General manager Meghan Turner spent two seasons watching Schafzahl play for the Fleet, and she knows exactly what she's getting.
In the end, both teams shifted pending unrestricted free agents, players neither team would protect in expansion even if they wanted to. Boston gets the offensive influx they need to add a third shot beyond Alina Muller and Susanna Tapani up front. Seattle gets a breath of fresh air in a player who knows winning, who knows work ethic, and who has been part of a system where the whole is greater than the parts, rather than Seattle's current schema where the parts continue to pull in opposite directions while the whole sputters.
When the season is done, Jessie Eldridge will have more points than Theresa Schafzahl, and barring catastrophe the Boston Fleet will be in the Walter Cup playoffs while the Seattle Torrent will be watching the playoffs on television. For the Torrent, it's about moving in the right direction. Theresa Schafzahl will not magically make them a playoff team, but she brings a sprinkle of what the Torrent require, and if they can convince her to stay, it's a step in the right direction for the franchise.