Edmonton, Halifax, London, Louisville, Regina, and Toronto all showed interest in the #1 pick. Edmonton’s interest in the pick was relatively short-lived as Calgary was worried the Rangers may be looking at a different player (the player they liked), as well as the team being their main rival. The remaining teams remained in talks, however, London would eventually pull out, as GM Joseph Johnson did not feel it was worth the price to move one spot when they were guaranteed to get at least one of the QBs.
The Steelheads appeared to be the next to fall out of the conversation as they ended up making a smaller deal with the Predators. They would pick up the 55th overall selection from Calgary in exchange for former 42nd overall pick, OL Phil Gross.
However, everyone’s attention flipped back to Toronto again when they made a second move, trading in the 55th pick they got from Calgary along with DL Chauncy Overstreet (with $4,500 in retained salary) for the 42nd overall pick from Buffalo. Buffalo was willing to move back in order to pick up some cheap depth in the form of Overstreet.
Attention on the #1 pick would soon be snatched away by the Halifax Mariners. Several rumours swirled about the team shopping around former #1 overall pick, DL Wayne Baxton. Baxton was in the final year of his contract and was less likely to re-sign in Halifax if they continued on their rebuilding route following this season. In actuality, GM Anthony Vigneault had been shopping Baxton for a couple of weeks at this point and the conversations were just heating up. Of course, the negotiations were always tough for Halifax as Baxton, with his No-Trade Clause, would have to agree to the team he is being sent to. Boston, Louisville, and Minnesota were the teams that got closest to a deal as all 3 were tempting places for Baxton to agree to go to. Baxton’s interest in all three teams worked to GM Vigneault’s advantage, as he could squeeze more value out of a final trade. As the process went on Baxton did start to settle on a spot, but that information was kept from the teams by Vigneault which led to him getting the best deal. In the end, Baxton desired to return home to Boston, so Vigneault would turn his attention to Boston and they would get a deal done. Boston would acquire DL Wayne Baxton (with $7,000 in retained salary), DB Janek Rodoslav, and DL Lukka Kudro in exchange for Boston’s 1st Round Pick in both 1971 (9th overall) and 1972, DL Adam Thweatt, LB Nick Proehl, and Boston’s 3rd Round Pick in 1971 (45th Overall), and Boston’s 4th Round Pick in 1973.
Boston’s time is running low with QB Nathaniel Braddock, and the addition of Baxton should be a massive boost on the front 7. Baxton is an 8-time All-Star and will be a consistent problem for QBs when playing Boston. The depth additions of Rodoslav and Kudro should also keep Boston’s depth in order if injuries occur. Rodoslav especially, who will be the DB3 option behind DB Mordecai King and DB Tim McGovern. On the other side, the Mariners now have 4 1st round picks in the next 2 seasons, along with a couple more late-round options. They also get a still-growing DL Adam Thweatt, who can step in day 1 on the D-line, and LB Nick Proehl, a former U of Nova Scotia player that the Mariners liked out of college.
The massive deal would completely shake up the conversation around the 1st overall selection. Toronto was the most aggressive early in the process with the two moves they had made to get more draft capital, which made them the front-runner as the draft neared. However, with the Baxton trade, Halifax would leapfrog the rest of the field and be in a prime position to make the trade. The Mariners would get a deal done with Calgary, acquiring the 1st overall pick in exchange for picks 4 and 9 in the first round, as well as pick 40 in the 3rd round and a 5th Round Pick in 1973's draft.
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