“The expansion draft for Houston is this summer. Each team can protect up to nine players and they have to include anyone with no-movement clauses in their contracts. For some unknown reason, Baz doesn’t have that in his.”
“Why do you know all this?” Penny asked.
“Ben has been talking about it at home. The Strikers could lose a great player to Houston and he’s nervous,” Amanda said.
“Max hasn’t talked about it that much, but I know he’s thinking about it. He loves playing for the Strikers, and he bought that house last year, so I know he wants to stay,” Ava said.
Could he really end up traded? After so many years with his team?
Gabi knew the answer was yes. Even without an extensive hockey knowledge, she knew that players were traded all the time. She couldn’t imagine how frustrating it was to play for one team for so long and potentially end up on another team.
“They’ll protect him. He’s their top defenseman, and with his offensive play on top of that, they would be idiots to give that up,” Penny said. “He had twenty-seven goals last season; that’s more than any other defenseman last year. And he’s already up to twenty-four this season. Add in his plus-minus rating, his total points each year, and he’ll be on the roster for sure next season.”
“Wow,” Ava said.
Gabi blinked at the woman.
Amanda laughed. “Penny likes stats.”
Riley giggled. “I work for the team and don’t have any player stats memorized. Not even Desmond’s.”
Penny shrugged. “What? Stats are fun. Numbers are awesome. And there’s nothing wrong with keeping up to date on my fiancé’s team.”
They continued to tease her, but Gabi kept thinking about what would happen if Max was traded. Would Ava move with him or go back to Chicago? And how long would Ava stay out here if he stayed? She had to go back home at some point, right?
And then what would happen to her? And Max?