2006/2007 Hockey Season Thread

[SeanDMan]

I'll go ahead right now and proclaim myself the myself the board's resident Canucks expert and break down the team's offseason.

VANCOUVER

RFAs

Tyler Bouck - Dissapointment. Will get a qualifying deal, probably take it, probably play another year in the minors.

Lukas Krajicek - Is not bad as a depth blueliner. Needs to workout in the offseason and add some meanness to his game. His puck rushing is already great, if he could get more takeaways he could even be a second pairing guy.

Jesse Schultz - Way overhyped, was supposed to come out of training camp and play with the Sedins. He'll probably get another good look at in camp again.

UFAs

Jan Bulis - How much time do I have? Oh yeah, it's the internet. Okay, well, early in the season Jan Bulis was playing like the absolute drizzling shits. There were times that I, and most of the people I talked hockey with, agreed it might just be best to waive him and cut bait, try and recoup his salary by making some kind of deal. But he started to pick up his game and was really playing well... and a story broke that he wanted to be traded. Despite everything, though, Nonis stuck with Bulis and man did it pa off. He became by the end of the season the Canucks best penalty killing forward bar none, making some rediculous defensive plays for a lazy euro. He became a real worthwhile part of the team. I'm hoping, perhaps against hope, that he hasn't soured on the team, because he's a great piece to what the Canucks were able to do in the playoffs and the end of the season, and he deserves a contract offer. Ideally, I'd like him to accept and come back next year... unforunately, though, it seems unlikely.

Jeff Cowan - Cheap enough to keep around, fan favourite. Can't really see him leaving, but it could happen.

Rory Fitzpatrick - Sign Rory!

Wade Flaherty - Probably going to move on. Would like NHL time, probably won't get it. On the downward slope of the green pasture of his career.

Josh Green - Brittle, but a decent penalty killer with some moderate speed. If he's cheap, I'd like to see him stay.

Lee Goren - A less talented Jeff Cowan. Probably leaves a UFA.

Trevor Linden - Had somewhat of a resurgence last year. If he can still go, he should do it as a Canuck.

Brad Moran - MORON.

Taylor Pyatt - Already resigned. A decent deal, the Canucks are banking on his potential to improve and continue to line with the Sedins.

Sami Salo - Somebody isn't doing their homework, since he resigned during the playoffs.

Tommi Santala - Back to Europe with you.

Bryan Smolinski - I don't know what Desiredtoe was smoking. Smolinski showed no chemistry with Naslund whatsoever and was a huge production dissapointment. I really can't picture him coming back next year. I think he's a UFA.

Brent Sopel - Probably takes a paycut to stay here.

Yannick Tremblay - Has potential. I'd like to see the Canucks keep him around as D 7/8.

Brandon Reid (VI) - Has just about run out of chances.

Dany Sabourin (VI) - Hell, for the four games he'll play next season... he'll only go if the Canucks want to take a run at Bubbles, and only if he's cheap. Otherwise, Sabu is probably back in net.

Now, assuming TheFourthPeriod numbers are accurate, the Canucks will have about 2.5-3 to work with under the current cap, though the cap will probably make a small jump. If it goes to, say, 48 million, that would give the Canucks a bit more leeway in what they can do to get another scorer, but not much. If the Canucks believe in Ryan Kesler, I'd try and see if there's any interest in Brendan Morrison... maybe from Philadelphia, who wanted Kesler... and then try and take his salary off the books. They could then run with Sedin Sedin Pyatt, Naslund and Kesler, and then have an open spot at the second line right wing and about 4 or 5 million to plug it with. That's assuming a lot from Ryan Kesler, but f that line can click, they might be able to give the Canucks some scoring depth, which I think is the only real thing holding them back.

As far as the Leafs go, I think they should keep Yannick Perrault around. If the Leafs are serious about rebuilding, Perrault would be great as a player/coach, helping younger centers with faceoff technique and the like. He might not be a 3 million dollar man whos' putting in 60 points, but he is of value.

As for Brad Stuart, I wouldn't be suprised to see him stick around in Calgary, since San Jose and Anaheim don't have room for him and I highly doubt anyone can like California enough to want to join next year's Kings.

[Toe]

I'll go ahead right now and proclaim myself the myself the board's resident Canucks expert and break down the team's offseason.

VANCOUVER

RFAs

Tyler Bouck - Dissapointment. Will get a qualifying deal, probably take it, probably play another year in the minors.

Lukas Krajicek - Is not bad as a depth blueliner. Needs to workout in the offseason and add some meanness to his game. His puck rushing is already great, if he could get more takeaways he could even be a second pairing guy.

Jesse Schultz - Way overhyped, was supposed to come out of training camp and play with the Sedins. He'll probably get another good look at in camp again.

UFAs

Jan Bulis - How much time do I have? Oh yeah, it's the internet. Okay, well, early in the season Jan Bulis was playing like the absolute drizzling shits. There were times that I, and most of the people I talked hockey with, agreed it might just be best to waive him and cut bait, try and recoup his salary by making some kind of deal. But he started to pick up his game and was really playing well... and a story broke that he wanted to be traded. Despite everything, though, Nonis stuck with Bulis and man did it pa off. He became by the end of the season the Canucks best penalty killing forward bar none, making some rediculous defensive plays for a lazy euro. He became a real worthwhile part of the team. I'm hoping, perhaps against hope, that he hasn't soured on the team, because he's a great piece to what the Canucks were able to do in the playoffs and the end of the season, and he deserves a contract offer. Ideally, I'd like him to accept and come back next year... unforunately, though, it seems unlikely.

Jeff Cowan - Cheap enough to keep around, fan favourite. Can't really see him leaving, but it could happen.

Rory Fitzpatrick - Sign Rory!

Wade Flaherty - Probably going to move on. Would like NHL time, probably won't get it. On the downward slope of the green pasture of his career.

Josh Green - Brittle, but a decent penalty killer with some moderate speed. If he's cheap, I'd like to see him stay.

Lee Goren - A less talented Jeff Cowan. Probably leaves a UFA.

Trevor Linden - Had somewhat of a resurgence last year. If he can still go, he should do it as a Canuck.

Brad Moran - MORON.

Taylor Pyatt - Already resigned. A decent deal, the Canucks are banking on his potential to improve and continue to line with the Sedins.

Sami Salo - Somebody isn't doing their homework, since he resigned during the playoffs.

Tommi Santala - Back to Europe with you.

Bryan Smolinski - I don't know what Desiredtoe was smoking. Smolinski showed no chemistry with Naslund whatsoever and was a huge production dissapointment. I really can't picture him coming back next year. I think he's a UFA.

Brent Sopel - Probably takes a paycut to stay here.

Yannick Tremblay - Has potential. I'd like to see the Canucks keep him around as D 7/8.

Brandon Reid (VI) - Has just about run out of chances.

Dany Sabourin (VI) - Hell, for the four games he'll play next season... he'll only go if the Canucks want to take a run at Bubbles, and only if he's cheap. Otherwise, Sabu is probably back in net.

Now, assuming TheFourthPeriod numbers are accurate, the Canucks will have about 2.5-3 to work with under the current cap, though the cap will probably make a small jump. If it goes to, say, 48 million, that would give the Canucks a bit more leeway in what they can do to get another scorer, but not much. If the Canucks believe in Ryan Kesler, I'd try and see if there's any interest in Brendan Morrison... maybe from Philadelphia, who wanted Kesler... and then try and take his salary off the books. They could then run with Sedin Sedin Pyatt, Naslund and Kesler, and then have an open spot at the second line right wing and about 4 or 5 million to plug it with. That's assuming a lot from Ryan Kesler, but f that line can click, they might be able to give the Canucks some scoring depth, which I think is the only real thing holding them back.

As far as the Leafs go, I think they should keep Yannick Perrault around. If the Leafs are serious about rebuilding, Perrault would be great as a player/coach, helping younger centers with faceoff technique and the like. He might not be a 3 million dollar man whos' putting in 60 points, but he is of value.

As for Brad Stuart, I wouldn't be suprised to see him stick around in Calgary, since San Jose and Anaheim don't have room for him and I highly doubt anyone can like California enough to want to join next year's Kings.

[SeanDMan]

He was an all-star with Phoenix. That's like saying having Roman Cechmanek go and play for the St. Micheals Majors and look like a legend. He was a men among boys. When he played with men, he wasn't superman anymore.

[gunnar hendershow]

From what I heard, Smyth's family isn't happy in New York and want to move to a nicer town. They were happy in Edmonton having grown up there and whatnot so it's entirely possible he'll go back.

Logically, one would think that after how he was let go he wouldn't want to go back, but family comes first. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if Smyth comes to the Oilers wanting more then he was asking before and the Oilers simply balk. If it wasn't clear how important Ryan Smyth was to that team then their record following his trade should clarify a few things.

Like I said, I think without Yashin the Islanders are going to put together a serious offer for Smyth. They gave up enough to get him so it only makes sense they try and resign him.

I don't know if Smyth is really that bent out of shape over how he left Edmonton. They tried to resign him, he wanted more money, that's business and most players put that behind them. He and his family love the city of Edmonton, I don't see why he wouldn't go back.

Drury is staying in Buffalo, it depends how much he wants whether Briere stays too. And good decision on their part, Briere is a great player, but Drury is an essential player.

I read a few months back that Forsberg had a deal with Philadelphia almost in place when he was traded, I don't know legitimate this is, but I could see him going back there.

Finally, I think Gomez will get a huge contract and it won't be in New Jersey.

[Toe]

Toronto should put an offer sheet out for Lundqvist.

Oh, and on TSN.ca, Darren Dreger says that if the Islanders cant keep Blake and/or Smyth, Toronto should try and convince the Islanders and Bryan McCabe into making a deal, with McCabe going to the Islanders mostly to free space for Toronto to make a big splash in free agency.

Edited June 11, 2007 by desiredtoe

[SeanDMan]

If you're wondering how the Ryan Smyth trade came about;

Ryan Smyth's agent is in a meeting with Kevin Lowe. They sit down, and hammer out a deal, worth around 5 million a season for four years (probably three and an option, this is what I heard). The deal goes well for both sides and his agent leaves to tell Smyth. Kevin Lowe meanwhile talks to his owners and they come to the conclusion that they can't afford the deal. Lowe, realizing if he backs out now, Smyth tells him to GFH and leaves as a UFA, decides he needs some kind of compensation. He goes back to a couple of weeks back and returns some phone calls, and without a lot of time left, doesn't have time to shop around.

Smyth, supposedly from Mike Brophy's lips to gods ears, is not happy. I would be somewhat surprised, if the above is close to the truth, if Smyth ever comes back to Edmonton.

That was posted around the time of the trade. I mean, Ryan Smyth wasn't in tears at the airport because he was overjoyed to be leaving Edmonton. Sure, he never wanted to leave in the first place, but the damage has been done. Will he want to go back after how things played out? It's possible, but I wouldn't really be surprised if he didn't all the same.

Forsberg and Philly were close on money but far away in terms of "Holy fuck, you guys suck, talk to me again when your team isn't atrociously bad". He might go back if they have a good offseason, I still think he's playing gin the SEL next year.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Talk out of the dirty French mouthes of Montreal and a lot of articles in the paper, is that based on Price's performance at the WJ's and the Calder Cup where he helped the team get the upset on Hershey along with getting the Playoff MVP award, depending on Training Camp, if Price puts in a very good performance, there's going to be a for sale tag on Huet. The general agreement amongst many right now is that this is Price's job to lose. Bob's also said that if he plays in Montreal, it's not on the bench.

On the one hand, he's a very gifted goaltender who if he continues to develop like he has, will be an all-star for some team some day. But at what? 19 - 20 years old, to be the starting goalie in Montreal is a little much. I think a lot of this has to come from the fact that he's taken the exact same route to Montreal as Patrick Roy did...

in 1984 Montreal traded away some players to Hartford for their #1 pick hoping to be able to land the player perceived to be the #1 player in the draft class, Mario Lemieux. Hartford's pick only gets Montreal as high as #5 on draft day and Pittsburgh Penguins are lucky enough to draft Mario. Montreal drafts goalie Partick Roy who had less than stellar stats with his terrible junior team. Lemieux goes on to be one of the finest players of the 80's and 90's, Roy goes on to become the winningest goalie of all time along with 4 cups, many awards etc etc. You could argue that either one of these players is the best from that draft year. If you measure it in cups, Roy had 2 in Montreal and 2 in Colorado and Lemieux had 2 in Pittsburgh.

Skip ahead 21 years to the 05 draft. In the Lottery, Montreal lucks out and gets the #5 pick. Pittsburgh gets #1(I'm convinced it was rigged, Boo Pittsburgh, Yay Chicago). Pittsburgh takes who is thought to be the best player in the draft class in Sydney "Bitchtits" Crosby, Montreal picks Carey Price who had less than stellar stats with his terrible junior team.

Now here is where a lot of people are creaming themselves... especially the french. Roy was signed by the Habs at the end of the 84-85 season Roy is signed and sent to the Sherbrooke Canadiens(which would later become the Hamilton Bulldogs). He leads the Baby Habs to an improbably Calder Cup win. Sure enough Carey Price does the same thing in the 07 season.

So, if you're an idiot, this clearly means that in the 09 season Montreal has to win the cup because Deja Vu said so.

[Toe]

Would that also mean the Leafs get to make a run to the Cup, only to have a Gretzky-like player ruin it all in the Conference finals?

[Clawson]

Nah we were shit in 86.

[Hajjhowe]

I wouldn't start Price. He's far too young, and playing him this early in his career could ruin him in the long run. Than again I am not an NHL head coach so maybe he's ready. I doubt it though.

[The Sultan of Swank]

Agreed. Look at Pittsburgh's goalie(who's name escapes me at 12:10 am), he was brought up way too young and has taken a few years to develop.

[Gabriel]

Agreed. Look at Pittsburgh's goalie(who's name escapes me at 12:10 am), he was brought up way too young and has taken a few years to develop.

[Plubby]

Would the M-AF scenario also apply to Rick DiPietro?

Edited June 12, 2007 by Plubby

[Toe]

Turgeon set to retire

Pierre Turgeon is about to call it quits. He is 27th all time in scoring and has 515 goals in his long career.

[Toe]

Sundin signs new one-year deal!

Well, the Sportsnet guys were off by a little bit. TSN is reporting that Sundin has signed a one year deal worth $5.5 million. Great news for me, as Sundin is my favourite hockey player.

[grind your soul]

Here's something I posted in a Leafs community:

Leafs potential line-up for next season:

[all figures are CAP NUMBERS, not actual 07/08 salaries]

Poni [$2.105] ..... - Sundin [$5.5] ...... - Antropov [$2.2]

Tucker [$3.0] ..... - Wellwood [$875k] ... - _____

Steen [$901k] ..... - Stajan [$875k] ..... - Williams [RFA]

Kilger [$900k] .... - Devereaux [$575k] .. - Pohl [$463k]

Belak [$625k] ..... - Newbury [~$500k*] .. - Ondrus [$475k*]

UFAs: O'Neill, Peca, Battaglia, Perreault, Green

More: Erik Westrum was given permission by the team to play in Switzerland next year.

Kaberle [$4.25] ... - Kubina [$5.0]

McCabe [$5.75] .... - Colaiacovo [RFA]

Gill [$2.075] ..... - White [$850k]

Wozniewski [$500k*] - Kronwall [$475k]

Harrison [RFA]

Raycroft [$2.0] ... - _____

Racine [RFA] ...... - Pogge [$683k*]

UFA: Aubin

[* = two-way contract]

Total cap space taken for next season:

$18.019m for 10 forwards

$18.900m for six defencemen

$02.000m for one goalie

$38.919m for seventeen players

I didn't include Newbury, Ondrus, or Pogge in the cap totals because they will most likely be in the AHL unless an injury occurs. I also can't include Williams or Colaiacovo, since they hasn't re-signed yet.

If the cap goes up as it's supposed to, perhaps to $48.5 million [though some rumours are circulating that it will be nearer to $52 million], the Leafs have between $10 and $14 million to spend on at least one forward, re-signing Colaiacovo, and finding a back-up for Raycroft [...or perhaps a cheap starter].

From far away, is this the nucleus for a play-off team? Probably not, unless they can find two pieces of the puzzle that will really add to the team's over-all game - whether it be locker room presence, chemistry on the ice, or just all-around skill - rather than just sticking any warm bodies they can find into those spots.

The team needs a top offensive winger.

Does he need to play with Sundin? That would be almost a necessity. However, I also see a top winger who can play with Wellwood/Tucker on the second line as a great asset. My personal choice for this role would be to throw the green at Jason Blake. He's small, but he's speedy, he's got a great shot, he can be feisty, and he's young enough that a three- or four-year deal wouldn't be absolutely ludicrous. I believe that he could play well with Sundin, but that he might have even more chemistry with Wellwood and Tucker. He showed this year that he could score, no matter who his linemates are, and that he's compatible with any type of player. He played spells with Alexei Yashin, Miroslav Satan, Ryan Smyth, Trent Hunter, and even lesser talents such as Arron Asham, and looked good in all of those situations. He's a character player as well as a top offensive talent, and I think he would fit nicely in the blue and white. Should the team fail to lure a big name scorer to the club, there are cheaper options out there who bring potential 60 point seasons to the table: Mike Comrie, Todd White, Eric Belanger, or Bryan Smolinski fit the bill.

A player such as Gary Roberts, Scott Walker, Ian Laperriere or Scott Hartnell is another thought. The first three bring grit, toughness, good physical play and a lot of locker room presence and leadership to the club, while the first two have adept offensive games that add to the rest of it. Hartnell brings the toughness, physicality, grit and offensive skill that Roberts and Walker have, but also is much younger. Chances are that none of these four will be available to the Leafs, though. Roberts and Walker will likely be demanding too much money [Walker has already turned down $2 million from Carolina], Laperriere is probably going to stay in Colorado, and doesn't have the offensive upside as the other three, and Hartnell is likely sticking with Nashville. In my eyes, the big coup of these four would be Hartnell. He is still young enough that he can get better, and he's already forming Darcy Tucker-like tendencies, but in a much bigger body. And without the cheapshots.

A back-up goalie is obviously another priority for the team. It was obvious this year that Raycroft was out of his league playing as many games as he did, often looking worn out and ready to take a break - ESPECIALLY towards the end of the year, when the Leafs really needed him to be clutch. But it was also apparent that Raycroft was getting such a heavy workload because the club had absolutely no faith in J-S Aubin to win them any games.

If the Leafs procure a back-up along the likes of, say, Kevin Weekes - a local boy and someone who loves playing in Toronto - they might find themselves a bit less reliant on Raycroft every night, and a bit more willing to give Weekes a shot. The problem with that is that Weekes likely has a hefty price tag and will be looking for a starting job. This is a problem that the Leafs will have to contend with with most any UFA goalie, though: Most of the "good" back-up goalies will be looking to find a starting job somewhere, and the ones who aren't looking for a starting job are probably not very good to begin with. There are options such as Sean Burke, who brings leadership to the table but little else in the way of over-all skill, Mathieu Garon, Brian Boucher, Jamie McLennan, Jussi Markkanen, Mike Dunham, Curtis Sanford, and Robert Esche who are available and who may potentially take on the role of a back-up. Other guys, like Ed Belfour, Jocelyn Thibault, and Curtis Joseph will likely be either out of the Leafs price range, or want starting positions guaranteed to them.

Another thing the Leafs may look for is a third or fourth line forward who can kill penalties. While the club has Sundin, Ponikarovsky, Antropov, Steen, Stajan, and Kilger to do penalty killing now, they're one of the lowest ranked PKs in the league. The Peca experiment failed, yes, but perhaps a cheaper option is something the squad can look towards. This isn't a necessity, however, but just something that's being thrown out there. Potential candidates include Kyle Calder, who could likely be picked up at a reduced rate after a horrible year in Philly, Wes Walz, and ex-Leaf Mike Johnson - who had a good year in Montreal. This is more of an unnecessary addition, however, since indications are that rookie Jeremy Williams has a full-time NHL spot to lose this coming season.

All in all, it should be an interesting off-season for the Leafs - but one that, ultimately, will be beaten to death, analyzed into the ground, and likely result in people being disappointed and whining about the future of the club for the next six months.

I'm really looking forward to it!

Edited June 12, 2007 by grind your soul

[Plubby]

FUCKING HANDS OFF OUR LAPPY :@

[SeanDMan]

From what I heard on talk radio today;

Patrick Kane will absolutely go to Chicago. It's a good idea, but I don't think Chicago is anywhere near ready to end rebuilding. Tanking next year and getting a blue chip defender or goalie in the draft would be a good idea.

Ryan Smyth is going to sign in Calgary. I cried a lot when I heard that.

The Vancouver Canucks like Oscar Moeller. He's ranked at 20, and the Canucks pick at 25. Hmmmm.

All of St. Louis's deadline cast offs want to come back to St. Louis. What kind of cults are there in St. Louis anyway?

Carey Price starting? What the hell have you spent the last four years developing PLAY HET for then? And what can you really get for Huet? Why is anyone going to give market value for a Frenchmen when they can sign Garon as a UFA? Huet starts in Montreal unless they're completely retarded. If he loses the job then fine, you have a glutton of backups.

[Toe]

If the Wild are willing to loosen their hold on him, Manny Fernandez should be of great interest for the Leafs as a potential upgrade on Andrew Raycroft if they are uneasy entering next season with Raycroft in goal as the starter.

[The Sultan of Swank]

I think that either Toronto needs better defense(I didn't think they were that terrible, just very slow), or a #1 that can handle making the big saves.

Yeah, I know, 37 wins 37 wins!!! He played 72 games because there is no back up in toronto, IIRC you traded that opportunity away in Rask. But he essentially went 37-34 (37-25-9), which as a #1 really isn't #1 numbers in my opinion. While things in Montreal wern't much better, Raycroft also had a 2.99 GAA which compared to the other goalies who played 70+ games puts him way at the back of that pack with the closest being Mikka at 2.46. While only a half goal per game, over 70 games, that starts to add up in close games. A .894 save percentage isn't that spectacular either. Again out of the goalies that played 70+ games he's at the back of the pack as the only one under .900. But then again those goalies were Mikka, Miller, Luongo, Brodeur and Lundqvist. And I don't think that Raycroft is really at that level to be competing with them. If you compare him to the league, at 2.99 GAA that's 32nd out of 44 goalies who played at least 25 games. For a team who leans on their goalie for 72 games, there's going to be high expectations, and numbers like that don't cut it. His Save %age would put him 37/44. So statistically he's a very meh goalie.

Then again, he also had to play 72 games and he wasn't able to do so. I think toronto either needs a solid #1 or another good goalie who can split the load with Raycroft so he's only playing 40 games or so.