Speltz would make a deal

Chiefs general manager Tim Speltz hates this time of year: trade rumors, questions about trade speculation, and trying to find the right-fit deal.

The Western Hockey League’s trading deadline is Tuesday, and newspapers in nearly every WHL city are reporting that top players from lower-division teams are available – at the right price, of course.

Speltz and his counterparts have spent the past week burning up the phone lines, but a mutually beneficial deal is often hard to finalize.

“It should be interesting, in part because our division is so close,” said Speltz. “There are a lot of phone calls being made, but at the same time whether you can get it done at the end of the day remains to be seen.”

That being said, Speltz is listening.

“We’d like to improve our team and move forward,” he said. “You’d like to think every trade is a ‘now’ trade and this trade is going to improve you, but it’s difficult to make them happen.”

The Chiefs’ busy weekend schedule would make the logistics of shipping a player hard, so any deal might come down to the wire early next week.

Some of the WHL’s biggest names have made their way onto sports pages in Canada as being on the market.

Speltz said he’s fielded calls about some of the Chiefs’ top veteran players, but there have been no firm offers.

Speltz’s policy is not to comment on the availability of specific players, but he denied reports out of Vancouver, British Columbia, this week that 20-year-old veteran Chad Klassen was trade bait.

Busto Kootenay’s hero again

Mike Busto is really starting to give the Chiefs a headache.

For the second time in a week, Busto scored with less than a minute remaining in overtime to send Kootenay to a 5-4 overtime win over visiting Spokane.

On Dec. 30, Busto scored with 10 seconds left in overtime to give the Ice a win. Friday, Busto scored with 31.6 left to give Kootenay the two points.

Ryan Russell, who finished with two goals, and Ben Maxwell, who finished with a goal and an assist, scored 17 seconds apart in the first period as Kootenay led 3-1 after one period.

Klassen, despite the trade rumors, put on a show, assisting on three of Spokane’s goals. Jared Spurgeon also added a pair of assists for the Chiefs.

The Chiefs’ first goal was scored by Brad Erickson, playing in his first game as a Chief after being acquired from Prince Albert Thursday.

Chris Langkow, a 16-year-old rookie playing in his second game with Spokane, got his first WHL point, getting the primary assist on Erickson’s goal. Adam Hobson, who scored Spokane’s third goal, got his fourth score in his last three games.

The Chiefs open a three-game homestand tonight.

Ice 5, Chiefs 4 (OT)

First Period—1, Spokane, Erickson (Langkow, Blackwater), 11:10. 2, Kootenay, Russell (Busto, Maxwell), 16:01 (pp). 3, Kootenay, Maxwell (Cracknell), 16:18. 4, Kootenay, Lee (Cracknell), 18:51 (pp). Second Period—5, Spokane, Ryan (Klassen, Bowman), 2:30. 6, Spokane, Hobson (Klassen, Spurgeon), 7:09. 7, Spokane, Logan (Spurgeon, Klassen), 12:46 (pp). 8, Kootenay, Russell (Mahovsky), 13:50. Third Period—None. Overtime—9, Kootenay, Busto (Greenan, Mahovsky), 4:28.

Saves—Spokane, Watt 9-3-x-x—12, Stehr 0-3-6-3—12. Kootenay, Dakers 7-2-x-x—9, Lazaruk x-7-8-3—18. Power-play opportunities—Spokane 1 of 4; Kootenay 2 of 4. A—3,224.