“That Little Gnat” (to quote Nick Nickson) attempts comeback (I’m perversely interested…) – via TSN/Dreger
Sources tell TSN Theoren Fleury is attempting a comeback and wants to play in the NHL again.After playing senior hockey last season, Fleury decided in February he was fit enough to give the NHL another try, so he hired a personal trainer and has been working diligently since.Those close to him say he didnt leave the National Hockey League the way he wanted, which is fueling his desire to return.The 41-year-old has been sober for almost four years and has been skating daily in Calgary in the hope that an NHL team is willing to invite him to training camp.Interest in the former Stanley Cup champion wont be enough to clear the way for Fleurys return. He remains under indefinite suspension and would first have to be approved by the NHL and the NHLPAs Substance Abuse programs doctors before reinstatement would be considered.Sources say Fleury recently sent NHL commissioner Gary Bettman a letter acknowledging his comeback bid and has also discussed the possibility with the leagues doctors.At 5 6, Fleury was one of the smallest players in hockey. Intense and fearless, Fleury made a name for himself for more than his stature. He could score, play defensively and lead teams to championships in junior hockey, in the NHL and on the international stage.
From The Globe and Mail: a little Lombardi quote that means nothing in the scheme of things
“The thing is too, clearly left wing was our biggest hole. We still have holes in the middle, but we just could not – Hexy and I, as much as you’re tempted and you’re frustrated and you get hammered in blogs for not doing anything – we said, ‘nope, we’re sticking with our convictions.’ Fortunately, Ryan came around. The cap hit is high, but the cash made sense for us.
via Kings making their move – The Globe and Mail.
Frankly, I’m surprised they pay any attention at all. And, come to think of it, who is doing this hammering? I don’t see it on Inside the Kings, and that’s the big fish. Are they reading LGK and Frozen Royalty? I don’t know enough about them to know if they regularly slam Lombardi. Usually, you have to drill down into the comments to get to the Lombardi-bashing.
From Working the Corners (it’s a Sharks blog): it turns out Kings fans aren’t the only ones who do this??!!
I’m not going to get all hot and bothered because the Sharks haven’t altered the core group by July 9. Last year people were spitting blood in here because Doug Wilson did nothing on July 1. Seventy-two hours later, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake were on the roster.
NHL Teams Hunt for Talent in a Frenzied Bazaar – WSJ.com
Since most traditional hockey stats focus solely on offensive production, a better way to measure all-around talent is to pinpoint the players who are most important to their teams. To do this, we can rank every skater by who played the most in “clutch” situations—the last two minutes of tied or one-goal games. Those playing in these scenarios are, by and large, the most talented players in the league—NHL coaches know who needs to be on the ice when the game’s on the line, regardless of egos or contracts.
So which team has grabbed the most talent by this measure? Los Angeles has been the biggest gainer thus far, signing two of the top-five clutch-time players who were available, notably Ryan Smyth, who played in more than half of Colorado’s crucial minutes last season.
Montreal has been the busiest, replacing almost 50% of its clutch minutes with five players who played at least 32% of their old team’s key ice time. The Rangers also cut ties with some big names, but picked up Marian Gaborik, who topped our list of clutch players. The biggest loser figures to be Florida, which lost its top two defensemen. Anaheim and Pittsburgh also took a big hit, losing multiple top-four defensemen each.
via NHL Teams Hunt for Talent in a Frenzied Bazaar – WSJ.com.
Breaking Down the Marian Hossa Signing – Second City Hockey
The Bad:
Well – the cap situation is even more of a mess. That shit ain’t good. I thought they’d only be offering a one-year deal to anyone since next year is going to be Salary Cap Doomsday with Toews, Kane and Keith all due hefty raises. With 5.2 due to Hossa now it’s going to make it a lot trickier to get all three of them signed. Sure it’s possible but all that money can’t go to just 6 players, they can’t play the whole game. Though Kane-Toews-Hossa with Campbell-Keith and Huet ain’t too bad if they could play 60 minutes.
There’s also the situation with Havlat. Like the Savard situation, it probably could have been handled better, though it’s also half Havlat’s fault for getting on twitter with his agent to confess his undying love for Chicago and the fans. It puts Tallon in a position of either signing a player he doesn’t want or letting a player walk and making him the bad guy in the eyes of the fans. Maybe all contracts should include a no-twitter clause from now on?
via Breaking Down the Marian Hossa Signing – Second City Hockey.
Bitter split? Havlat leaves Chicago for Wild, promises ‘real story’ – Puck … – NHL – Yahoo! Sports
Martin Havlat(notes) has agreed to be the historically fragile offensive talent to replace another historically fragile offensive talent for the Minnesota Wild, signing a six-year, $30 million contract this evening according to the Star Tribune.
Havlat leaves the Chicago Blackhawks after three seasons, his best (and healthiest) coming in 2008-09 with 77 points in 81 games to help lead the Hawks to the Western Conference finals. He had 15 points in 16 playoff games as well.
Sniff, sniff … anyone else smell smoke? That’s the bridge to Chicago that Havlat might be igniting soon, according to his official Twitter feed. The following appeared after the Wild signing:
“Excited to be in Minny where I was welcomed and appreciated by management. The real story about what happened in Chicago to come out.”
And later:
“There’s something to be said for loyalty and honor.”
Well, that didn’t come off too bitter. The Blackhawk’s long-term commitment to Marian Hossa(notes) likely spelled the end for Havlat in the Windy City. And at 6-foot-1, he obviously was over the height requirement to be signed by the Montreal Canadiens.
As for Minnesota, they’re getting a quality two-way player coming off a massively successful contract year. He led the Blackhawks with 2.89 points per 60 minutes in 81 games — that’s killer. Hard to imagine how he’ll hit those numbers again in Minnesota, but 60-65 points and the ability to make his linemates better makes this a good hockey move.
Financially … well, the cap hit’s about right considering how Marian Gaborik(notes) reset the market earlier in the day after leaving the Wild for the New York Rangers. It’s actually a lower hit than he had on his last deal with Chicago ($6 million). But for all the puckheads screaming about how five years for Gaborik is too long for someone that F-R-A-G-I-L-E … how’s six years for Marty Havlat treatin’ you?
via Bitter split? Havlat leaves Chicago for Wild, promises ‘real story’ – Puck … – NHL – Yahoo! Sports.
HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – KINGS FANS NEED TO CALM THE HELL DOWN
Several teams have left themselves ripe for raiding: How does Chicago pay for Kane and Towes and Keith who are RFA’s next year, not to mention Versteeg and Seabrook? Who does Calgary dump? 40 million for just 8 players? The Rangers have 40 million committed to just 15 players, I’m still trying to figure out how Boston pays for Phil Kessel and can someone tell me how the Flyers can add Pronger, Lappy and Boucher without begging a team like the Kings to take salary off their hands?
Lombardi is playing poker and he’s not showing his hand, while others are throwing unnecessary dollars into an ever growing pot. Offer sheets could certainly be put on the table, but that doesn’t seem to be Lombardi’s style… but ask yourself, what WOULD Chicago do if Lombardi offered Kane or Toews multi million/multi-year offer sheets next season when the cap is expected to be lower?
Allow me to answer the rhetorical question: nothing. Because they can’t match if it puts them more than 10% over the cap. So. They’re. Screwed. Watch the frenzy to dump Brian Campbell’s ridiculous contract play out in slow motion for the next several months. I’m sure there’s someone stupid enough to bite, but who has the cap space?
What also has Lombardi sitting in the cat bird seat is most of the big names have headed East. Calgary will be hard pressed to replace 35 goals. Minnesota’s golden boy is a Ranger, Pronger is a Flyer, San Jose was inactive, Columbus and St Louis did little. Vancouver shot their wad with the twins, Dallas and Nashville and Phoenix and St Louis did nothing and Edmonton is about to add a locker room cancer. How are the Kings weaker?
So for those Kings fans that are whipped into a frenzy, the Kings are in great shape. They could still easily trade for Marco Sturm. They could still easily sign “filler” players for one or two years, and if Ilya Kovalchuk or Rick Nash decide to test the free agent waters next season, guess who will be one of a handful of teams who will be able to AFFORD one of these silly 12 year deals.
via HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – KINGS FANS NEED TO CALM THE HELL DOWN.
In light of today’s events, I looked up my old post: Can you afford to sign Hossa?
[NOTE: some of the musings are out of date; I am not updating anything other than to throw some highlighting on the Chicago stuff and I am adding one editorial comment in a big blue font; you have been warned]
Let’s organize this by “contenders, “Stocks rising,” “Stocks falling” and “rebuilders.”
Contenders:
Detroit — in this thought experiment, they have signed Franzen and let Hossa go. [UPDATE: Detroit has signed Franzen, so we're half way there]
San Jose — $10MM in cap space with 11 players to sign, including Clowe, Goc and Moen. Also, they have Marleau to think about, who is a free agent in 2010. Verdict: they can’t do it.
Boston — $10MM in cap space with 10 players to sign, including Kessel and Krejci. Verdict: can’t.
Washington — $11MM in cap space with 10 players to sign. Verdict: can’t.
New Jersey — $16MM in cap space with 11 players to sign. Hmm. Lots of space, relative to the others. They’ve got Gionta, Madden, Holik, Rupp, Shannahan, Oduya, Havelid, Zajac and one of Weekes or Clemmenson to sign. Let’s say they commit $8MM to Hossa. Now they’ve got $8MM left to sign 10 players. So, I’m going to say it’s just barely doable, but they would be replacing all the aforementioned vets with prospects or like-priced players. It would therefore be a totally different team. Verdict: can’t.
Chicago — $20MM in cap space with 13 players to sign. They’ve got six or seven RFAs this summer and Toews and Kane RFA in 2010, so they can’t do anything to their cap that would push those salaries through the roof. If they don’t re-sign Havlat or Khabibulin, they could conceivably sign Hossa, and Hossa might actually like playing in Chicago with Kane and Toews. However, it would be dangerous, since Kane and Toews will get big money in’10 and there simply wouldn’t be room for all those contracts. Is Chicago willing to part with Havlat, Bulin wall this year, and make themselves vulnerable to an offer sheet for Kane or Toews which they would be hard-pressed to match? I doubt it, but crazier things have happened. Let’s say they sign Hossa to $8MM this year and then next summer they sign Kane and Toews to contracts at…(okay, I have no idea, but I’m going to conservatively say) $11MM/year total for the two of them put together. [UPDATE: after the playoffs these two have had, their prices are going up.] For the 2010 season, they would then have $10MM in cap space with a likelihood that it will be less than that because the cap will probably come down, and they will have 15 players to sign. So in that light, signing Hossa would be a horrible idea that would only look horrible after the 2009 season. Verdict: shouldn’t (one step down from can’t). Doesn’t mean they won’t. But I think they won’t. Because I think they’re not stupid.
[UPDATE: THEY ARE THAT STUPID.]
Calgary — $11MM in cap space with 10 players to sign. They can’t afford Cammy, but they’re going to sign Hossa? Verdict: can’t.
(bonus category!) Second Tier Contenders:
Philly — $4MM in cap space, five players to sign. Verdict: can’t.
Carolina — $14MM cap space, 9 players to sign. It’s almost kinda sorta possible for them, if they let Cole walk as a UFA. Say they sign Hossa, then they’ll have $6MM left to sign 8 players. If they let Ruutu walk as well, they could just about do it. And it might sort of be worth it, but there would be some retooling needed the next year with a big crop of UFAs coming ripe, many of whom would have to go. Verdict: possible (which is like shouldn’t but with slightly more upside).
Vancouver — a whopping $25MM in cap space, but with 13 players to sign. Of their nine biggest forward contracts, only three are signed for next year (Demitra, Kessler and Johnson). That’s one top-six player. They’ve got eight UFAs who could end up anywhere. It’s anybody’s guess what’s going to happen to the Sedins and Sundin. Vancouver certainly could make room for Hossa, sort of plug him into the Sundin expensive UFA slot. But if I’m Hossa, I don’t think I’m willing to sign a long-term contract with a team that has so many question marks that won’t be answered until the end of the summer, if then. Verdict: won’t work.
Pittsburgh — $10MM cap space, 10 players to sign. Can’t.
Montreal — $34MM in cap space, 13 players to sign. Their biggest forwards under contract are two Kostitsyns and Georges Laraque. Everyone else is UFA or RFA. If I’m Hossa, I have no idea what this team is going to look like in the fall. Verdict: won’t work.
Rangers — $15MM in cap space, 14 players to sign. Can’t.
Stocks Rising:
Columbus — $17MM in cap space, 6 players to sign. Hmm. Team is up and coming, good coach, that’s all good if you’re Hossa. They might even be able to keep some space for re-signing Nash the following summer, which is their biggest upcoming cap issue. Verdict: possible.
Nashville — $24MM cap space, 11 players to sign. I’m just going to say that’s doable. I’m not sure what would make Hossa pick Nashville over Columbus or Los Angeles, but the numbers themselves could work.
St Louis — $13MM cap space, 6 players to sign. They’ve got an Erik Johnson and goalie issue the following summer, but they could conceivably sign Hossa at $8MM and five more players with the remaining $5MM. They would be cutting Tkachuk loose, but that’s okay. Add them to the list of teams that could swing it, but again, why Hossa would pick St. Louis over anybody else in this category is beyond me.
Los Angeles — $14MM cap space, 4 players to sign. Two of those — Purcell and Boyle — will be cheap-ish. The third, Johnson, will be medium expensive. Plenty of room to sign Hossa. The pitch is, come skate with Kopitar and Frolov. The team is built so that they don’t have to break up the core because of any one contract, even Hossa’s. Also, the team doesn’t have to cut anyone loose to make it work (c.f. Carolina, Chicago, Minnesota). Verdict: doable.
Stocks falling:
Minnesota — oh, I don’t know. Maybe their stock really isn’t falling. They could afford him by not re-signing Gaborik, but what’s the point of that? I get it from the team’s point of view, but not from Hossa’s. Who’s he going to skate with?
Edmonton — $10MM in cap space, 6 players to sign. Can’t.
Buffalo — $10MM in cap space, 9 players to sign. Can’t.
Anaheim — they’re dumping assets. Once they decide what’s happening with Niedermayer, they’ll have a better idea how much cap space they have left. And they can hardly put themselves in a cap position where next summer (’10) they can’t afford to pay Bobby Ryan. Anyway, so many reasons Hossa won’t end up in Orange County. [UPDATE: the Ducks redeemed themselves quite a bit since I originally wrote this, but I'm going to stick with the assessment that they are on a downward trajectory and in any case have too many cap issues to work out. And I really don't think Hossa wants to go to the hated Ducks. Projection on my part? Maybe.]
Dallas — They could let Lehtinen and Morrison walk, sign Zubov and pay Hossa his $8MM. They’d then have three or four million to sign five players, which could happen. But Dallas can hardly pitch themselves as a team of the future, cap space or not.
Ottawa — no cap space, too many big contracts already.
Rebuilding:
Toronto, Phoenix, Atlanta, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Islanders — he’s not going to a team that’s virtually guaranteed to miss the playoffs.
So, to sum up: Chicago, Carolina, Nashville, St. Louis and Los Angeles (and you may as well throw Minnesota into the mix), all could do it. One is a contender. One is sort of almost one. The rest are not. If I’m Hossa, and those are my choices, I would try for either Chicago or LA. If the Chicago numbers are what I think they are (i.e. season after next the whole house of cards falls apart if they sign Hossa), that really leaves LA looking pretty good.
Not to say Hossa will therefore sign with the Kings. My point is merely that a lot of Hossa’s first choice destinations become far less likely once you look at the numbers. And that calculus always leaves the Kings looking better by comparison.
Free Agent Day: The Foreplay – Second City Hockey
10:38: It’s official, The Children of The Corn are staying at GM Place, and we can look forward to another playoff disappearance from them for years to come.
via Free Agent Day: The Foreplay – Second City Hockey.
I love that. Children of the Corn. I knew there was something familiar about them.
New Post, in which, instead of earning money, I decide to crunch cap figures related to the preposterous Sedin twins to L.A. UFA rumor
Here’s why I don’t think the swedish twins in socal rumor makes any sense, especially not Deano sense.
Math.
The twins want $12MM/year. The Kings, after re-signing Johnson and Purcell, then adding $12MM for the Sedins, would be at at least $58MM. $59MM if Hickey makes the team. So we have to dump one big salary. There are exactly three candidates for dumping: Stoll, Frolov and Johnson. (Handzus has a NTC but maybe he could be shipped to a contender and he would be happy.) I would get rid of Stoll, because if you don’t, there is no place for Schenn to play EVER, since both [whichever Sedin is a center] and Kopitar would be your 1 and 2 centers for the next decade. So let’s say we dump Stoll for picks. Now we’re under the cap. And this is your Los Angeles Kings for 2009-2010:
Twin1/Twin2/Moller
Frolov/Kopitar/Williams
Purcell/Lewis/Brown
Cliche/Handzus/Simmonds
Johnson/Doughty
Quincey/Greene
Hickey/SOD
Drewiske
Quick
Ersberg
Not a bad line-up. However:
Now it’s next summer, June 30, 2010. The cap IS coming down. To around $50MM, maybe lower. The Kings are at $50MM now, but they have to re-sign Frolov, Cliche, Lewis, Quincey and Quick. Conservatively, that’s 5, 1, 1.5, 3 and 3MM. $13.5MM. Add that to $50MM, you’ve got $63.5MM. You’re $13.5MM over the cap.
Oops.
Now, Lombardi will have seen this coming a mile away. And he will conclude, in order not to be completely f***ed in 2010-2011, he’s going to have to have shed a bunch of salary during 2009-2010. Three players with decent salaries. Frolov is obvious, Johnson also…and…I don’t know…who’s left? We already dealt Stoll in the summer of ’09, and Williams and Handzus are ear-marked for jettisoning the following season (see The Doughty/Moller/Simmonds Nightmare of 2011, below). So I guess you dump Greene and hope that Teubert is ready to take his place.
Now you’re back under the cap, and your 2010-2011 Los Angeles Kings look like this:
Twin 1/Twin 2/Moller
Purcell/Kopitar/Williams
Clifford/Schenn/Brown
Lewis/Handzus/Simmonds
Drewiske/Doughty
Quincey/Voynov
Hickey/Teubert
Quick
Bernier
Also not bad. However:
Now it’s summer of 2011, two years from now. Moller, Simmonds and Doughty are RFA. That’s another $9-10MM in cap space you need to create, at least. And if the twins don’t stink, Moller may be a thirty (or, worse, forty) goal scorer by then. But let’s be conservative. Call it $10MM of space we need to clear. 75% of that we clear by because Handzus and Williams are off the books as UFAs (probably traded for picks at the previous deadline, unless of course we’re on a cup run). So figure you lose those guys and re-sign the three kids and your cap goes up another three million.
And someone has to go. Who? Do you let one of Moller or Simmonds walk? I would cry. Purcell is affordable, since he will still be playing on the contract he gets this summer (unless he only signs for two years, in which case, he’ll be a UFA I think). Maybe you don’t re-sign Purcell (or trade, whatever) and trade another defenseman. Who’s expendable? Who knows. Say it’s Drewiske.
So, here’s your 2011-2012 Los Angeles Kings:
Twin 1/Twin 2/Moller
Wudrick/Kopitar/Loktionov
Clifford/Schenn/Brown
someone cheap/Lewis/Simmonds
Quincey/Doughty
Hickey/Teubert
Voynov/someone cheap
Quick
Bernier
Could be a great team. And all you have to do is:
Deal Stoll now. Deal Frolov, Johnson and Greene before next season’s trade deadline. Deal Handzus, Williams, Purcell and Drewiske before the deadline of 2010-11. Or else just let them all walk (well, not Drewiske, who will probably still be under contract).
Oh, and all these trades will be for picks and prospects, because we won’t be able to take any salary back. So it will literally be trade after trade after trade of “why did we just give up [core player x] for a measly 2nd round pick?”
Answer: because we’ll be over a barrel.
[Hilarious bonus irony: it used to be that teams in playoff contention picked up a few pieces to gear up for the playoffs, and teams that were out of contention dumped salary; NOW, we'll be dumping some of our best players exactly at the time we're gearing up for the playoffs. We'll be fighting for home ice advantage in the post-season, and we'll be SELLERS? How much fun will that be?]
And when Schenn, Loktionov, Voynov, Hickey and Teubert come up for contracts, and the Sedins are literally unmovable because of their huge contracts with 7 years left on them, you have absolutely no choice but to deal…
…Kopitar and Brown.
This is why I think it’s a bad idea.
2009 NHL Free Agency: What The Toronto Maple Leafs Might Do – Pension Plan Puppets
Mike Cammalleri turns his back on the Flames for the last time. Will he walk all of the way to Toronto?
via 2009 NHL Free Agency: What The Toronto Maple Leafs Might Do – Pension Plan Puppets.
TOLD. YOU. SO.
From Tom Benjamin’s NHL Blog: Still Pretending
I don’t know why hockey fans still get sucked in by all the trade talk in the period that leads up to the draft. I don’t know how hockey reporters can keep buying any of the trade whispers they hear. The fact is there are very few trades in this league. That should quash virtually all rumours as very unlikely, however logical they sound. Every year we hear about the big names who are about to move and every year nothing happens.Furthermore, the trades that are made usually turn out to be inexplicable. I haven’t heard a good explanation for either of the two trades made last weekend. Here’s Eric on Pronger:As GM after GM will tell you, the only real reason to make deals at the draft is if you’re after draft picks in return. The Anaheim Ducks received the equivalent of three first-round choices for defenceman Chris Pronger Friday night.I can understand why the Flyers would like to have Chris Pronger and I can understand why the Ducks wanted to deal him. But why did he cost so much? It seems a crazy price to pay for one year of Chris Pronger. On the other hand, the fact that Pronger is on an expiring contract could enhance his value.If that one seemed weird to me, the other “big” deal seems to be a waste of time. I don’t understand why Calgary bothered to send Florida a draft pick for Jay Bouwmeester a few days before Bouwmeester becomes a UFA, particularly since his agent made it clear he is going to test the free agent market.
Via Tom Benjamin’s NHL Blog [just noticed the link is broken; sorry]
From HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry: Enough Draft Talk – It’s FREE AGENT Time!!!
With my unsolicited comments:
I still say Travis Moen is a King July 1st -
That would complete the Handzus/Simmonds line. Okay, that would be interesting.
I also think Samuelsson comes over to play with Simmonds and Handzus – -
Oh, wait. So, Moen would be … LW on the Stoll/Brown line? I think it would have to be one of those guys or the other. But what do I know?
– that is unless Dertoit DOESN’T sign Hossa or Cammalleri and DOES re-sign all of the players that actually GOT them to the finals.
Cammalleri wants Hossa-esque money, though, right? So that’s not going to work out. I still have my money on Hossa going elsewhere. Previously, I thought he might go for the $1MM Kariya contract, but now it sounds like, no, he wants more than 4 or 5. Therefore, I think Detroit keeps Hudler and Samuelsson and lets Hossa walk. And locks Cammy out.
The Kings will try and move Brad Richardson, who failed to make an impression and whom assistant GM Ron Hextall said “didn’t fit in”.
I missed that. But it’s not surprising.
They also have to try and find a sucker…er… taker for Manchester bound Tom Preissing who was impressive in Ottawa, but miserable in L.A. and surpassed by guys like Peter Harrold and Davis Drewiskie. Good luck getting rid of THAT contract.
Buy out? Or he just spends the year in the AHL…
The Kings need a veteran presence (other than Sean O’D) in the back, so look for a 2 year “bridge” player with some grit – I think Ohlund will be asking for too many years and the way Komisarek acted in the playoffs I’m sure turned off Lombardi for good.
Johnson-Doughty
Quincey-Greene
(Hickey or Voynov)-SOD
Drewiske
I don’t think there’s room for another defenseman, unless they think neither Hickey nor Voynov are ready. Which would make me sad. Of course, if one of these Johnson rumors turns out to be true, there will be a top-four hole that needs to be filled.
They also need scoring, but Lombardi has already stated “it has to be the right fit” – Could Lehtonen be the answer as a “filler”? Not for 4 million, but maybe if he wants 2 years at 6. It’s not Fedotenko. Trust me on that one.
That’s a lot of money for a back-up-plan UFA.
via HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – Enough Draft Talk – It’s FREE AGENT Time!!!.
From (the great) Matthew Barry: I Loved All The Things That DIDN’T Happen!
1) Tavares – So Dreger and the Union Leader and almost everyone else on XM204 was saying Duchene was going first – THAT didn’t happen and it didn’t seem like there was ever any doubt it was Tavares.
Dreger – so plugged in, and yet…
2) Brian Burke’s failure to move up – yes, he good a great draft pick and that was a CLASSIC sound byte of him telling Bryan Murray “we’re taking your guy” – but what I loved even more was the look on his face when the Kings took Schenn.
What’s extra funny was that it was obvious even before I heard about the sound byte that this is exactly what he was doing. You don’t usually get a quote — much less an exact quote — and MUCH MUCH less a sound byte of an exact quote — of what would normally be a “photoshop a caption” moment. Also, I agree completely, the shot of Burke after Schenn was selected was like a Saturday Night Live parody.
3) As Ek mentioned, JayBo didn’t move – Vinny didn’t move – Jack Johnson and Alex Frolov are still Kings. Every time Bettman said “we have a trade” it was for draft picks. THAT’S HOW IT SHOULD BE – It was about the DRAFT and not trading players.
4) Flyers fans weren’t given a box of chocolates after being used, abused, and pounded like a slab of veal. FOUR first round picks???? FOUR for Pronger???? That’s just NUTS!!!!! The price just went UP, UP, UP on Heater and every other talented player. If you’re going to pay 4 1st rounders for a guy with 1 year left on his contract and will be on the other side of 35, what’s Heater and Gaborik and Hossa and all of the others worth?
I don’t think it’s going to inflate anything, for the simple reason that, in Heatley’s case, Murray is over a barrel, and the UFAs have to find someone with cap room, which is a rare commodity and getting rarer all the time. Also, to state the obvious, Philly is (probably) out of the UFA market.
Okay, okay, take it easy, I know Lupul was a complete salary dump and I’ll be so happy not to see Prongers stupid grin in the West anymore, but still, Sbisa and 2 first rounders is still a serious price to pay – Now, tell me, now that you ADDED a million dollars to payroll, who gets dumped next?
At least six million worth of somebody.
via HockeyBuzz.com – Matthew Barry – I Loved All The Things That DIDN’T Happen! .
From Working the Corners: Agent on trade rumors: ‘I think Doug tried to see the value for Ryane Clowe’
Just talked with Ryane Clowe’s Quebec-based agent, Paul Corbeil.
He, too, had seen the TSN.ca reports from the NHL draft site saying Clowe was the subject of trade talks that Sharks GM Doug Wilson was having in Montreal with several teams, Toronto and Philadelphia among them.
Corbeil, of course, knows that Clowe’s current contract expires July 1, when he becomes a restricted free agent. Any team to which Clowe is traded would retain his rights for another year, when Clowe turns 27, but after July 1 his new team could have to deal with offers from other franchises that might be interested in luring him away.
Conceivably, that could limit what Clowe brings in return.
“You never know, Ryane could be traded,” Corbeil said. “But I think Doug tried to see the value for Ryane Clowe.”
Wilson did return my call early this evening, but he wouldn’t confirm or deny the reports on TSN.ca, saying only that negotiations with Clowe were ongoing. If one way for Wilson to strengthen his position is to see his value on the market, the GM wasn’t saying.
Corbeil backed up everything Clowe talked to me about yesterday. How Clowe wants to stay in San Jose and isn’t eager to test the RFA market, how he and Clowe both understand the salary cap restrictions that the Sharks are facing.
Corbeil wouldn’t provide details of his contract counter-proposal, but described the current one as “a real fair offer in the market right now. We don’t ask for the sky.”
The agent said he understood that Wilson needed to check out all his possibilities when it comes to Clowe’s future, and said it was the natural that rumors would be circulating just before the NHL draft.
“All the GMs are here right now and all the agents. All the journalists,” Corbeil said. “It’s the time for the rumors.”
Like Corbeil, I wouldn’t rule out anything. Both Wilson and Coach Todd McLellan were disappointed in the performance of the Sharks’ second line in the playoffs and Clowe is on that line. But I also wouldn’t automatically jump to the conclusion that he’s played his last game in teal.
via Agent on trade rumors: ‘I think Doug tried to see the value for Ryane Clowe’ | Working the Corners.
From Sportsnet.ca: Cammalleri runs screaming from new coach’s defensive system (according to me, not Sportsnet; they just say he’s bolting from Calgary, but I think my headline is more accurate)
Barring a sudden development, it appears Calgary Flames forward Mike Cammalleri will not sign a new contract with the club and will put his services on the open market when the free agent signing period begins July 1.
Cammalleri’s agent, Ian Pulver told Sportsnet Thursday, talks between Calgary and his client have grinded to a halt leading into the NHL draft this weekend in Montreal.
“There doesn’t seem to be a strong indication there’s a deal to be made prior to July 1,” said Pulver. “Mike’s prepared to start a new chapter in his career.”
Okay, so for everyone who thought it was a mistake to trade Cammalleri and somehow blamed the Kings for not being good enough for “Cammy” to want to stay, whereas in Calgary he would be playing for a winner and blah blah blah… Cammalleri didn’t re-sign with Calgary for the same reason he wouldn’t have re-signed with the Kings. He’s all about the money. If he weren’t, he would stay in Calgary, which arguably has as good a chance at the Cup as the rest of the top third of the league.
There is virtually no doubt in my mind that he will end up at a worse team than the Flames. The only question is, will he get anything approaching the $6.5MM he wanted from DL two years ago in arbitration. He might. But I wouldn’t be sad if he shot himself in the foot.
Russo’s Rants: Trade chatter
As of now, Chuck Fletcher is still trying to make a trade, with the emphasis on the trying. As proof by the crickets throughout the NHL, it’s not easy making a trade right now, not when as a colleague said to me today, there’s about 150 players on the block, of which 100 nobody wants. The problem I am sensing from the numerous execs I’ve talked to is sort of what I alluded either in an article or the blog or the Twitter — I don’t know, it all sort of runs together.
There are lots of teams looking to get rid of really good players, but good players with really big contracts. So those teams automatically want picks and prospects back, which as you know if you’ve been reading the Strib, the Wild isn’t exactly filled to the brim with. So, hence Fletcher’s problem. And hence, the league’s problem. You can’t just acquire a $4 million player in today’s game without giving up some dough.
He’s inquired about nearly 40 players, including Phil Kessel and Dany Heatley. But there are many others that I either don’t know about or don’t want to write because it’s just rumor, so who knows what Fletcher gets done — or quite frankly, if Fletcher gets something done.
I’ve been told Ottawa’s cut its targeted teams down to seven. I’ve been told the Wild is one of them. But I’ve also been told L.A.’s hot after him and would consider giving up winger Alex Frolov, a quality defenseman and the fifth pick, which let’s be honest, the Wild can’t contend with.
And, five minutes later, I still think it’s insane. Check out Hextall’s comments on the Kings website re Heatley. If anything, the red-flag comments seem more damning when you see them in context. Is the entire Kings brain-trust just blowing smoke up our a***s every time they talk about a potential trade? Are we supposed to take every interview or fan-chat as coded messages or shots across the bow of opposing GMs?
I still think it makes no sense to trade one LW for another. Yes, it’s an upgrade, in theory. But, forgetting the red-flags, like for example that Heatley is having a problem in OTT with their — wait for it — DEFENSIVE SYSTEM and doesn’t like — WAIT FOR IT — BEING BUMPED FROM THE FIRST POWER PLAY UNIT, how the hell is that supposed to work with Terry Murray, who bumps people from the first power play unit all the way down to the fourth line as punishment for a bad pass.
I just have to believe DL will not pull the trigger on a Heatley deal. Dealing Johnson I would be okay with. Not Frolov. And not the 5th.
If DL makes that trade, the only way he will be able to make it up to me is by signing Hossa next week.
From Tom Benjamin’s NHL Blog: Signing the Sedins
I don’t see what the statistical data has to do with anything. The Sedins are about to become free agents – after July 1st, they are worth whatever an NHL team is prepared to pay them. Emphasis on the word them. The ballpark here is not between $5 MM and $7 MM. It is between $10 MM and $14 MM. Gillis thinks – and I agree with him – that the pair should come a lot cheaper than individual players of similar quality. The Canucks are being asked to commit $126 MM and I think that’s way too much.
I don’t like these long term deals to lessen the cap hit and I’m happy Gillis doesn’t like them either. I expect that the next few years will be difficult ones for the league and the teams that maintain flexibility are the ones that will do best in that environment.
Gaborik as (part of) the replacement is fine by me.
via Tom Benjamin’s NHL Blog » Blog Archive » Signing the Sedins.
Via Calgary Sun: Calgary will play defense-first and I wonder who that might rub the wrong way
While Brent may have just two years experience as an NHL coach, he’s already established why he had previously been one of the most sought-after coaching prospects.
More than anything else, he brings accountability and a defence-first approach to a team so skilled it got by without either most of last season.
Michael Cammalleri. Defense first? I would be surprised if he doesn’t end up in Toronto, or back with Marc Crawford.
via Hell Brent on success | Eric Francis | Columnists | Sports | Calgary Sun.
I think Hossa will want to sign a dirt-cheap contract with the Wings
…but will it be cheap enough to allow the Wings to hold onto Samuelsson, Hudler, Stuart and/or Kronwall? I used the cap generator to see. If Hossa signs for $2MM (extremely unlikely, but possible), if they cut Hudler loose, and trade Stuart, they can squeeze under the cap. Unless the cap goes down. Which it might. In which case, they would have to deal someone else. Holmstrom, I’m thinking (it has to be someone with a significant salary, otherwise it doesn’t help). In any case, the Hossa question is about to come to a head. Maybe he’ll sign for $1MM. Previously, Holland said he wants Hossa back but might not be able to afford it. I wonder what his magic number is, where it’s worth it to Holland to sign him. I wonder if Hossa’s performance in the playoffs has changed the calculus.
OK, so now it seems likely Hossa will be headed to LA after all…
…but only because that’s where the good shrinks are, and he’ll be needing years of therapy to recover from Cup-induced PTSD. I actually expect the Wings to sign him now, because for him to leave Detroit after one year, in search of a Cup on yet another team, would be just lame. I was wondering, during the Chicago series, if Chicago were to win that series, would he then go sign with Chicago, setting up the sort of delightful pattern where he always has to sign with whoever beats him, like a demented version of Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe he’ll do a Kariya deal with the Wings for $1MM or something.
Blueshirt Banter — Scouting the Free Agents: Marian Gaborik
In the second edition of “Scouting the Free Agents” we are going to look at one of the biggest question marks of the off-season: Marian Gaborik. The 27 year old Minnesota Wild right winger is going to draw a lot of attention, mainly because of his scoring prowess. A lot of teams can use his skill, but is he worth the risk?
Let’s start with the positives. Gaborik, when healthy, is certainty one of the best scorers in the league. He has scored 30 or more goals 5 times in his 8 year NHL tenure; he has notched 40 once. Probably the most impressive stat is how quickly he scored his goals. In 2006-2007 he scored 30 goals and 27 assists for 57 points in 48 games. Last year, although he only played in 17 games, he scored 13 goals and added 10 assists. The man is quite obviously a point machine. If you need more evidence of his goal scoring ability: you all may remember his little five goal outburst against the Rangers two years ago. He is a playoff performer as well. In 29 playoff games he has 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points. In 2003 he has 9 goals and 8 assists in 18 playoff games, so he doesn’t disappear when it counts.
Now onto the negatives. Gaborik is probably the definition of injury prone. Since the lockout he has played in 207 of a possible 328 games. This past regular season he only dressed for 17 games. Let me share with you a few of the big injuries on TSN.CA’s injury list for Gaborik.
March 09: Missed 38 games (hip surgery)
December 08: Groin injury sidelined indefinitely
December 08: Missed 27 games (back injury)
January 07: Missed 34 games (Groin Strain)
October 06: Groin injury sidelined indefinitely
Okay so here is where you get to play GM. Do you take the risk on a guy who will probably command upwards of 6 million a year (I’m low balling because he was injured all of his contract year) but has a definite scoring touch? Or do you let him walk to another team even though you need all the power play help you can get? I think that because of his injury’s he might sign for about 6 million a year. Can the Rangers afford to let a 40 goal scorer who is only signing a 6 million dollar contract walk?
via Scouting the Free Agents: Marian Gaborik – Blueshirt Banter.
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