First of all, congrats to Nokians for a great final... In the end, goaltending was the difference.
This was a successful season for the Storm. In the offseason, the Storm made some savvy moves for the future by locking up stay at home dman Ladislav Smid and star goalie of the future Cory Schnedier at very affordable contracts. The Storm also picked up promising young dman Christopher Tanev in the unassigned draft via draft. As trade deadline approached, the Storm and Bombers worked out a blockbuster trade. The Storm acquired leadership and grittyness in Mike Richard. However, the price was steep as Jonathan Bernier (potential star goalie), Nicklas Jensen (budding power fower), Brad Boyes and a 2nd round pick went the other way. This move was instrumental in the Storm advancing to the finals of the BFHL 2011-2012 season as Richards gave the Storm as strong supporting second line.
This should be pivotal offseason for a franchise that has made the finals in 2 of the 3 BFHL seasons, including winning it all once. As we enter this offseason there are rumblings that the changes are coming for the Storm. On defense, will Mike Green and Tobias Enstrom be resigned? What will happen to Alexander Elder? Is he on the block? Up front, will Corry Perry, Dustin Brown or Alex Steen be moved? What will the Storm do with pending RFAs Logan Couture, John Carlson and Erik Karlson? It should be interesting.