John Epping's rink brings in new members for next curling season

John Epping's Toronto-based curling rink is "parting ways" at the end of the current season, according to a statement posted on the team's Facebook page.

Epping, third Mat Camm, second Patrick Janssen and lead Tim March have competed together for four years and recently finished third at the 2018 Brier after falling to Alberta's Brendan Bottcher in the semifinal.

"We want to thank all our fans who have cheered for us and sent us words of support and encouragement," the statement read. "We've built long lasting friendships and we wish each other the best of luck in the future."

The team later announced that Brent Laing will take over as second for next season, with Craig Savill joining as lead. Epping and Camm will remain as skip and third, respectively.

Laing was a member of Canada's Olympic curling team that finished fourth at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and was teammates with Savill when the two won the 2007 and 2012 world championships as part of Glenn Howard's rink.

"We talked about staying together and we looked at different options and it became pretty clear that just for whatever reason — circumstance, choices, what everybody was looking for — it's just the three of us weren't going to end up together," Laing told The Canadian Press on Monday.

The announcements come after Mike McEwen said last week that his rink will disband after 11 years together at the end of this season. McEwen defeated Brad Gushue in the final of the Grand Slam of Curling's Elite 10 match play competition in Winnipeg on Sunday.

​Movement between curling teams is particularly frenetic after a Winter Olympics as teams re-form with a view to qualifying for the next games.

Braeden Moskowy is leaving Reid Carruthers' Winnipeg team after four years playing vice. Moskowy said on Twitter that he curled on a broken ankle this season.

Kevin Koe's team from Calgary — that finished fourth at the Olympic Games — is looking for a replacement at third as Marc Kennedy is taking a hiatus from competitive curling.