The Hockey Thread

[Gabriel]

The NHLPA has called Dany Heatley a "victim" in that whole mess. What in the fuck?

I don't know how they came to that conclusion.

The guy handcuffs his team by publicly announcing he wants to be traded... and then when they get a deal in place (regardless of which team it is with) he says no.

As far as I'm concerned, your no-trade clause is good until you waive it... at which point, if done correctly, the player gets to provide a list of teams he'd like to play for.

Of course, announcing that you want out is not the correct way of handling the situation... and therefore, he must have violated his contract somewhere, and as far as I'm concerned, his no-trade clause should be voided at that point.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Ha! Chicago's new toy broke before they could even take it out of the box.

[Toe]

BURKE: KABERLE WILL LIKELY REMAIN WITH MAPLE LEAFS

In his quest to find a deal for defenceman Tomas Kaberle, Brian Burke has found a kindred spirit in another Toronto general manager.

"Right now we are not talking to anyone about Tomas Kaberle," the Maple Leafs GM stated. "It's interesting, I watched JP's (Blue Jays GM Ricciardi) comments about Doc Halladay and I feel the same way. We're going to talk about this every day until the ‘no-trade' goes away. It's the nature of the business I guess."

Burke's busy summer may well be winding down as it appears that the Maple Leafs Czech-born blueliner will remain in Toronto for the time being.

"If I had to handicap this I'd be shocked if he's not a Leaf on opening night," said Burke.

After bringing in Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby this off-season, it appeared as though the 31-year old Kaberle would be the odd-man out as Burke attempted to remodel the Maple Leafs defence corps after the one that helped bring him a Stanley Cup in Anaheim. Burke believes that the additional toughness could greatly benefit a player who can move the puck the way the four-time All-Star game participant can.

"I look forth to seeing what Tomas can do with a little more size and toughness around him when he's not picking his teeth out of the glass all night," said Burke. "I think bravery and fear are both infectious. I think we have a bigger, rougher group and I think that it will benefit all of our players, not just the ones that play like that."

It appeared as though Kaberle's days in Toronto were numbered in late June as the Leafs and Boston Bruins nearly consummated a trade that would have sent Kaberle to Beantown with Phil Kessel coming the other way. Reportedly a miscommunication on a draft pick to be included with Kaberle scuttled the draft day deal.

While Kaberle does have a no-trade clause, his contract allows him to be dealt during a small window in the off-season that opened on July 26th. While several teams were reportedly interested at one point, it now appears that Kaberle will open his 11th NHL season with the Maple Leafs on October 1st against the Montreal Canadiens.

Burke also believes that he is through dealing for the summer but has not ruled out another move, however he would like to keep at least a spot open at training camp for competition purposes.

"We're looking at a couple of things, but I think that if you don't go to camp with at least a forward job open then we're not giving a guy like Jiri Tlusty a chance," said Burke. "We're not giving a Tyler Bozek or a Chris Hanson a chance. I'd like to keep a spot open for that."

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=285532

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

DE-FENCE

DE-FENCE

[Clawson]

The trade Brian Burke made today makes me want to go punchy on something.

[SeanDMan]

WAY too early to give up on Stralman.

[Gabriel]

WAY too early to give up on Stralman.

Primeau played well for the Flames while he was there, but his best years are behind him. This trade surprises me, when Todd Bertuzzi is still a free agent and asking for probably about the same as Primeau makes.

That said, Welcome to Western Canada, Anton Stralman. You'll probably play most of the year with Abbotsford, but we'll see you in Calgary for at least five games, maybe more if you pick up your development. Playfair is coaching the Heat, so our young defensemen should develop well down in the AHL. I like the move.

[SeanDMan]

That move is like straight up Oz style prison rape, with Calgary playing the part of backwoods racist Vern Schillinger and Toronto playing the role of retarded redheaded stepchild Cyril O'Reily.

[Gabriel]

That move is like straight up Oz style prison rape, with Calgary playing the part of backwoods racist Vern Schillinger and Toronto playing the role of retarded redheaded stepchild Cyril O'Reily.

To be fair though, Stralman is slow in his development. He's got the potential to be a very good puck moving defenseman, but hasn't done a lot since being drafted.

He's not a Burke guy either, and the Leafs DID get a second round pick in return. We see this all the time with new GMs coming in to a team and moving out young guys who are behind schedule, and filling the cupboards with their own prospects. I don't see it as a bad move, but it could be one of those trades we look back on in five years and laugh hysterically about, when the Leafs draft pick fails to play an NHL game, and Stralman is potting 40 points a season.

[SeanDMan]

Let's do the math:

After four years in Sweden, Stralman played 50 games in the NHL (plus his AHL games, which we shall discount for the purpose of statistical analysis).

His stat line:

50 Games, 9 Points, Or 0.18 Points Per Game.

Jay Bouwmeester, considered to be a top pairing offensive defensemen and one of your top defensemen now, played four years in Junior and then 82 games in the NHL. His stat line.

82 games, 16 points, Or 0.19 Points Per Game.

How about Cam Barker? He was projected to be a superstud offensive defensemen. He's a guy who just got a fat raise in Chicago. How did he do after four years of junior? Well... he played another year in junior. After five full years in the WHL he graduated to the NHL, where he played 35 games his rookie year. His stat line.

35 Games, 8 points, Or 0.22 Points Per Game.

Dion Phaneuf is a special case, but let's look at him too. Dion Phaneuf spent 4 years in Junior pretty much only because of the lockout. When he made the NHL, he played a full season. Let's look at his statline.

82 games, 49 Points, Or 0.59 Points Per Game.

So, when compared to several of the top young defensemen in the NHL, it's clear that Anton Stralman is not Dion Phaneuf. But then, who is Dion Phaneuf besides the man himself? His totals are comperable to Jay Bouwmeesters and given the adjustement for the extra year of junior, probably slightly better than Cam Barker. But he's considered to be developing slowly? At his pace of development he is currently equal to or better guys who have, or will in the short future, establish themselves as bonafide elite defensemen. And they traded him for WAYNE FUCKING PRIMEAU?

Terrible, terrible deal.

Edit: The stat totals for year six, which is what Cam Barkers stat line was from, is 0.38 for Stralman, so he is better than Barker at that stage in his career. For analysis, Jay Bouwmeester is also lower than Stralman in year six, with an averaged PPG of 0.32 over 61 NHL games. So, statistically, the guy is better than both Cam Barker and Jay Bouwmeester. For the sake of absurdity, Wayne Primeau, last year, had a PPG ratio of 0.16. So, yeah, absolutely atrocious deal.

Edited July 28, 2009 by SeanDMan

[Gabriel]

I didn't say it was to do with his point production... just, they never felt like they could bring him up and keep him up in Toronto for whatever reason.

Besides, you can't think about it like Stralman for Primeau. It's Stralman for a 2nd Round Pick, and everything else is just in there to satisfy the teams.

[SeanDMan]

Okay, to be fair, I misread the deal. It's basically

Primeau - Stuart

2nd Rounder - Stralman

And a 7th round pick because Burke felt like being generous.

Which isn't as bad at all. I originally didn't see the 2nd at all and figured the 7th was going the other way, which makes the deal absolute assrape.

But yeah, I mean, in terms of development, how do you measure an offensive defensmen's development? Stralman is a big guy, but he's probably not ever going to play Dion in terms of the physicality and such. But in terms of a JayBo/Barker style of guy who is more of a pure puck mover rather than a banger and mash style guy? Stralman is on a good pace.

[Clawson]

Yeah, I didn't see the picks at first which caused my head to explode.

[Enter Blue Guy]

Let's do the math:

After four years in Sweden, Stralman played 50 games in the NHL (plus his AHL games, which we shall discount for the purpose of statistical analysis).

His stat line:

50 Games, 9 Points, Or 0.18 Points Per Game.

He's actually improved on that. Last year was his second year on the team and got 13 points in 36 games. 22 pts in 88 games.

It would've been cool if they could have kept Stralman around longer, but the guy needs playing time and he ain't finding it here. He would've been the Kaberle of the Marlies or a healthy scratch. He could have been a worthy project to continue to work on and possibly help to replace Tomas as a solid puck mover. I mean if the Leafs didn't already have 60 guys playing defense of course.

I think he was bound to go some time in the Brian Burke era anyways. This is Schenn Country now and it'll be hard enough to utilize the multifaceted skill set of the lovely and talented Mr. Ian White.

Mayers, Primeau, Orr? Are you kidding me? The hijinx from the coming season alone will be worth hearing about all the Jesus levels of talented we wasted if Stralman becomes the next Brad Boyes. I hope the Habs' training staff has a full stock of Depends on hand for those Toronto games. The thought of being stuck on the ice with our forth line and a defensive pairing of Schenn and Beauchemin/Komisarek/Exelby/anything on skates is causing a massive blue, red, and white shit stain all across Montreal. WE WANT THE BELT! WE WANT THE BELT!

Edited July 29, 2009 by Enter Blue Guy

[Toe]

I don't mind losing Stralman since we needed to move someone on the blueline. He had potential, but watching him was very frustrating at times.

[TGWL]

Tampa bought out Prospal

[NobBe Nobbs]

Strange choice. Carolina buying out Frantisek Kaberle, on the other hand, makes more sense.

[Clawson]

Watching old school Leaf games on LeafsTV, the cheers when Keon scores compare to Wendel Clark type cheers. Remember when he came back that one time 2 years ago and he got that big ass ovation. He should really care back so we can honour his jersey.

[Enter Blue Guy]

So Zherdev was in Toronto for his arbitration hearing which automatically means the Leafs will sign him if possible.

[Toe]

So Zherdev was in Toronto for his arbitration hearing which automatically means the Leafs will sign him if possible.

I am expecting the Rangers to give Zherdev what arbitration says he deserves, then deal him somewhere.