On one of the slowest SJHL trade deadline days in recent memory, the Estevan Bruins made one of the biggest moves, and it did not come in the form of a trade.
What's old is new again, as the team agreed to bring back last year's leading scorer Dylan Smith.
The Bruins were looking to add a top-end scorer, and Smith certainly fits the bill, being a proven sniper in the SJHL.
According to Keith Cassidy, his all-around game has improved as well, which is great news for the Black and Gold.
On top of the offence Smith will provide, his return will help energize long-time linemate Cole Olson as well.
Olson has been without both of his usual wingers all season, Smith and Calder Neufeld, and his sublime playmaking ability should result in more goals now that Smith is back.
With the departure of Nick Weiss and the ongoing injury situation with Neufeld and Wyatt Garagan, the Bruins only have 12 healthy forwards, although they may be able to add another one with the open card they still have left.
Weiss was among the Bruins' top scorers this season, but he and the coaching staff never saw eye-to-eye and the team was irritated by the way he left, choosing to go home instead of accepting a trade to one of the several teams who wanted him.
Meanwhile, with the Bruins getting better, the teams directly in front of and behind them got worse on paper.
The fourth-place Kindersley Klippers dealt left winger Brett Printz to Grande Prairie for futures. Printz had 12 points in 17 games since joining the Klippers.
Weyburn, meanwhile, traded 20-year-old defenceman Jens Johnson to the Notre Dame Hounds for 18-year-old rearguard Colton Laroque.
Everyone was wondering whether Weyburn would sell for the future or try to bolster the roster. They made a good deal for the future here, but otherwise kept their core intact.
Elsewhere in the league, the biggest splash by far belonged to the Humboldt Broncos, who are once again looking like a team that could go to the RBC Cup.
(It can't be overstated what a fantastic job Dean Brockman has done with that club. Host the RBC, then come back with a first-place team the next year? Virtually unheard of.)
The Broncos had to be thanking their lucky stars after disgruntled Prince George Cougars forward Alex Forsberg was not traded by the WHL deadline on Thursday.
Forsberg, 17, asked for a trade from the Cougars last month, just like his brother Jesse did last summer.
Despite Forsberg being a former first overall bantam pick with declining trade value, the Cougars never did pull the trigger Thursday, even though the Regina Pats submitted "a real aggressive offer," according to Pats GM Chad Lang, and other teams surely made offers as well.
Now he will play out the year with Humboldt, who had his Junior A rights on their protected list, and who knows what the Cougars will be able to get for him in the off-season.
His stay will be short, but the SJHL hasn't had a player of that pedigree in a while (although a 16-year-old Jaden Schwartz might count in that category), and it should be fun to watch when the Broncos visit Spectra Place on Feb. 15.
Forsberg was once considered a consensus first or second round NHL draft pick. It's anyone's guess how far this incident will drop his stock or whether he'll be drafted at all.
If he is, yes, it will say "Humboldt (SJHL)" next to his name, but it won't be the same as a true SJHL product being drafted, no matter how big a deal the league makes out of it.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at sports@estevanmercury.ca, on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at estevanmercury.ca/bruinsbanter. Yeah, Alex Smith doesn't really have anything to say after that performance by Colin Kaepernick on Saturday.
