Condors coach Marty Raymond, who said on Monday that all-star forward Todd Griffith would be traded, pulled the strings on a deal Tuesday which sent the second-year player to South Carolina for a pair of defenseman.
Also parting ways with the Condors is forward Evan Kotsopoulos, dealt to Utah for another defensemen. And the Condors picked up a forward who had been with Idaho but was reassigned to the Condors by the Dallas Stars.
Griffith, a very talented player, has frustrated the coaching staff throughout the season with his inability to adhere to systematic hockey and it’s actually a surprise it took Raymond this long to sever the relationship.
The final straw was apparently an off-ice incident in Idaho last weekend which Raymond sad was “detrimental” to the team.
There are sure to be two vocal camps with the move — the pro Griffith crowd who thought he was the cat’s meow; and the anti-Griffith crowd who thought he was a selfish player who did little to help the team.
The is no doubt that Griffith, for what ever reason, was not playing to his potential.
It appears that Raymond, while trying to shore up the defense which needs some help, is also doing a bit of late-season housecleaning.
At 17-31-9, one can hardly blame him.