The Hockey Thread

[Reddaye]

He can only sign for one year (it's a CBA thing) because of his age and rookie status. I don't remember all the details...but that's basically the reason. We weren't allowed to sign him for longer, or for more money (excluding bonuses).

[Toe]

That makes sense. Sign for one year at the rookie maximum, then sign a new contract for more the next year. Leafs probably wanted to be careful after getting in trouble signing Frogren.

[Gabriel]

Joe Sakic is expected to announce his retirement on Thursday.

The Avalanche must have known in advance, hence the rebuild that they seem to be going through. That does free up cap space though, and Alex Tanguay and Saku Koivu are both still on the market.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

Ahahahaha Koivu to the Nordiques would be awesome.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Kabby will not go anywhere. No matter how many times people say he is leaving, he always ends up staying. Before you know it, deadline day will come around. A deal for a hot, young, top line sniper will fall through. And we'll do it all over until the contract expires and Tomas will end up somewhere in the South East.

But it's ok, I hope Kaberle stays. Beauchemin would be perfect for Luke to play with and learn from, but I think Frankie could be the best thing to happen to Tomas since pre-lockout Bryan McCabe. Similar type of player, but better defensively, better shot, and can land checks that aren't all can openers. I'm pretty sure he isn't hard of sight either.

Or Beauchemin could end up this year's free agent goat, who knows!?!

Edited July 8, 2009 by Enter Blue Guy

[Gabriel]

Kris Versteeg avoids Unrestricted Free Agency by signing a deal with the Hawks worth just over $3 million a season. This must put them over the cap, or dangerously close to. Look for Campbell to be moved.

Jiri Hudler has signed to play next season in the Kontinental Hockey League.

and Saku Koivu has signed a one year, $3.25 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks, which pairs him with countryman Teemu Selanne for a whole season. A season that will also likely see them play together at the Olympics as well.

[Clawson]

If you shoot from outside the blueline that will probably happen. If you try to cross it I hope you have a good sweeper service at GM Place to remove the rotting carcases that will befall you.

We get it.. really, we do. Come Oct you'll either be singing the same tune, when they destory everybody, or you'll be MIA, when they crush nobody.

Right, because over the last 4 years I have been completely absent from the hockey thread because the Leafs have sucked. Oh wait...nevermind. Bug off.

And we have too many defensemen once again but I could see Ian White playing forward to start the year once again.

[Gabriel]

Senators made room for Brian Elliot as the backup to Pascal Leclaire by trading Alex Auld to the Dallas Stars for a sixth round pick.

Honestly, I would have packaged Auld with Heatley. To help off-set the signing bonus that Guy le Douche got on July 1st.

EDIT: but upon quick reflection, they pretty much did that anyways. Got Auld's contract off the books, and acquired a pick. So I guess... not bad.

Edited July 8, 2009 by Gabriel

[caucasianheat]

And we have too many defensemen once again but I could see Ian White playing forward to start the year once again.

What a waste. White made huge improvements last year, showed an offensive touch when called for and finished as the only Leaf defenseman (IIRC) with a +/- actually in the positives. Dude deserves to be a top six d-man.

The acquisition of Exelby says to me that Frogren is potentially out since they play a similar role and two of that type would be redundant. I like Frogren and I'd want to see him stay, but the writing is seemingly on the wall. I don't get bringing in a player so much like one you already have, especially when the Kubina deal struck me as primarily a salary dump with some bonus players thrown in.

Van Ryn could feasibly move as well if teams aren't spooked by his injuries. Finger is chained down by an overblown contract, so I'd be shocked to see him move. Schenn, Beauchemin, and Komisarek obviously aren't going anywhere.

Kaberle is anybody's guess and it depends what day it is and which paper you're reading, I suppose.

[Enter Blue Guy]

I'd much rather have Finger on the squad than Exelby. I think it's a must. His salary should at least warrant him a full-time job at the start of season. He isn't as tough as Exelby, but the only thing that Finger lacks in comparison is about 10 pounds. Finger wins on every other category besides girth and nastiness. It's not like Finger is a small dude who can't throw the body and he was one of a few who would back up his teammates when it needed to be done last season. Last year our defense was made almost entirely of balsa wood, so having two competent reserves in Frogren and Exelby could be useful, if they can manage it.

Finger should not and most likely won't be an odd man out.

I feel bad for Van Ryn. Out of the back end players in limbo, I can see him being the most likely to see the door. Shame. Every time he was in the lineup last year he was exceeding expectations, especially on the powerplay. Maybe he wasn't a top four d-man anywhere else, but he was doing the job better than anybody could have hoped. Then Milan Lucic happened a few times. Hey, at least if he manages to find his way back this year, Komi can hold him down while Van Ryn punches him in the stomach.

Edited July 9, 2009 by Enter Blue Guy

[Toe]

I think Finger is our seventh defenceman if Kaberle stays, although a pairing of Finger and Komisarek as a shut down pair sounds appealing.

[Pizza]

I just saw on TheScore ticker that Jeremy Williams and Kris Newbury have signed with the Red Wings. This bothers me, as I don't understand why the Leafs let them go. They make solid third/fourth liners and Williams in particular I feel has a lot of potential and never got a real opportunity with Toronto. And the best run organization in the NHL apparently agrees with me. The Leafs have a history of letting solid players go for nothing, and I fear letting Williams go could end up looking like another awful Leafs decision comparable to letting Steve Sullivan go for nothing, or trading Brad Boyes for Owen Nolan. I don't think Williams will end up as good as those two, but I see him being a solid contributor to the Wings, and was looking forward to seeing him develop as a Leaf before I heard this news.

In better news, I am very happy Saku Koivu is no longer a Hab. I'm a Leafs fan, but I've always had tremendous respect for Koivu, and he's one of my favourite players. Now that he's gone, I can hate Montreal completely like a good Leafs fan.

[SeanDMan]

Williams has a huge upside, but he's not a Brian Burke kind of player, so I'm not really surprised to see him move on.

[Gabriel]

Ales Kotalik, who potted 20 goals last season, has signed a three year deal with the New York Rangers worth... $1 million per season.

Surely, this can't be right?

Hats off to Glen Sather though... what a fucking steal. If a $1 million man gets you 20 goals, then holy shit. What a precedent this sets. Kotalik, who makes 1/7th of what Scott Gomez was making, produces almost as much.

[Clawson]

It's 3 million PER year.

[Gabriel]

It's 3 million PER year.

That makes so much more sense.

The original story said "three year deal for $3 million" ... and that was all... and I just stared at it wondering if that could possibly be right.

[TGWL]

This tells me that Zherdev will not be back.

In all fairness to Gomez, they werent expecting him to score 30 something goals, but they were expecting him to set up a lot of plays and create scoring chances for other players. He didnt have much to work with.

And Gabriel, you got my hopes up.. When I saw 1mil per season...I almost started to dance.

Edited July 9, 2009 by thisgamewelose

[Plubby]

Thank you, Joe.

Edited July 10, 2009 by Plubby

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

*salutes*

A great player, a future Hall of Famer, and a class act.

[Clawson]

Luke Schenn>Joe Sakic