Page 73 of Replay

Now, maybe, that no-trade clause would be nice, if I’d been twenty-seven and old enough to get one. Except management could usually make things uncomfortable enough to make a player willing to move. If some other team was offering a lot for me, draft picks to help the Blaze in future, if they didn’t think the team could win now…

“They want to trade me?”

“No, they want this team to turn around and play up to their potential. But if that doesn’t happen soon, someone’s moving.”

“And it’s me?”

“I don’t have anything definite yet. Just someone dropping hints, so I’m looking out for my clients. They don’t want to lose you, Josh, definitely not. You’re one of the few guys doing well this season.”

That was good to hear, or was it?

“They can’t move Cooper. He’s the face of the franchise, with a big contract, and if he left, the city would riot. They wouldn’t get much for Petrov—he’s at the end of his career. Still playing well, but he’s up there for a goalie. Even though he isn’t a big cap hit, I don’t think they’re ready to give his backup the starting role yet.”

Losing De Vries last season after the trade deadline had been a shock. Mitchell had done pretty well until that overtime goal in the playoffs, but that was a big one.

“You’re young and playing well, so you’re one of the players they could get a lot of return for. I could see offers for Johnson and Crash but they won’t get as much for them as they will for you.”

That lead feeling was getting heavier. “So if they decide to break up the team, it’s probably me.”

“Depending on what they’re offered, and if they want to rebuild or tweak for next year. That’s out of our hands. You think about where you’d like to go, and I’ll put out some feelers, see if I can find out what might go down.”

I swallowed. “Thanks, Allen.”

Sometimes players found out they’d been traded on TSN or ESPN. Allen was a well-connected agent, and he usually got a heads-up, even when things moved fast. I knew he was looking out for me.

“Don’t say anything to anyone. This is mostly speculation, but I need to know what you want in advance so that we come out ahead of this.”

I liked Toronto and I liked this team, but getting traded was a fact of life for athletes. And if things were different, I’d be excited about another opportunity to be on a competitive team. I wanted to hoist the Cup at least once. That had been my dream for most of my life.

But things were different now. Katie and I were friends and I hoped things were progressing to more, but there was nothing concrete yet. Nothing that would stand up to my being traded to another city.

She’d said, that first night when I went home with her roommate, that back in high school, when we’d been together almost two years, she might have broken up with me depending on where she’d been offered a scholarship and where I’d been drafted. She wasn’t going to give up her master’s program or transfer to where I might be. Not for a friend.

She’d also said we could have tried long-distance, but that was then. Would she be willing to do that now? I was trying to earn her trust again. If I had to leave Toronto, I was pretty sure that was the end of me and Katie.

I promised Allen I’d think it over and give him some options, but when I got back to my room I searched for the best math programs in the US and Canada, not the best teams.

Even if she decided tomorrow that she’d be with me, there was no time to make the relationship strong enough to handle a major separation. It was tough, when one partner was away so much. I’d had teammates go through breakups with girlfriends and wives. If I was traded and I wanted any chance with her, my best play was to ask her to give long-distance a chance for the rest of this season, and then hope there was a math program good enough wherever I went to tempt her to join me. I didn’t have a lot of confidence in that.

Fuck. I needed the team to start clicking. If we didn’t get it together—I could up my game, but if we all didn’t gel—it would just make a better case for the team to trade me. Should I try to mess up instead? I shuddered. Not sure I could do that. Even if I could—it might make the team trade me anyway.

I wanted to win. I’d wanted that from the first shift I played in a hockey game, but it had always been something I left on the ice. Now, my off-ice life depended on how we did as a team on the ice. I needed to find a way to get this fixed, ASAP.

I went back to the coffee shop to get caffeine. I wasn’t going to solve the team’s problem without waking up my brain.

Katie

I got a message from Callie, asking if I’d like to do brunch with her and Jayna. I’d met up with Jess a couple of times since the escape room, when the team was out of town, but I’d only talked to Callie once or twice. Still, I needed to clear my head. I’d spent more than enough time reviewing my project proposal and grading papers and dealing with my own assignments. I wanted some non-math time. Callie never talked much about her job, and Jayna was a former hockey player who now did PR work so it would be a nice break.

Winter was definitely on its way. I’d put on my puffy jacket with a hat and scarf since I’d decided to walk. This far into November, even if we didn’t have snow yet, it was cold, the air crisp. Storefronts were decorated for Christmas and the streets were full of people. The city felt alive. Like I’d been missing out, absorbed in my own little academic world.

I was smiling when I pushed open the door to the diner, glad I hadn’t turned Callie down. It took me a minute to find her and Jayna. They’d grabbed a table in a corner, and I wove my way over to them through the chatter of voices filling the room. The place was packed, the smell of decadent food promising a good meal.

“Hey, Jayna and Callie. Thanks for inviting me. I needed this.” I pulled out a chair and sat, unwinding my scarf and opening up my jacket.

“Thanks for coming to the inaugural meeting of the anti-WAG club.” Jayna announced.

Callie shook her head. “That name needs work.”

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