tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12277829384365621072023-06-21T00:51:20.706-04:00Mojo's Hockey: NHL Trade SpeculationHockey talk, NHL trades, UFA's, potential moves for the Leafs, Canadiens, Canucks, Red Wings, etc. Players on the trading block, predictions on standings, player's point totals, goals, etc. and some rants. Heavy on the LeafsDoc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-40270412077523320162016-01-10T15:45:00.000-05:002016-01-10T15:45:50.701-05:00Are We There Yet? Advanced Stats in Hockey<div>
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Hi, my name is Scott (Henry Street on Twitter) and I'm a former minor hockey coach in Oakville. I love hockey and I really embrace open debates about the game. I have always enjoyed stats but I don't identify myself as a "stats guy" by the modern definition. It's very clear that there is a demand for advanced stats in hockey, as we've seen a large contingent of a new generation of fans over the last two to three years really embrace stats as the gospel for defining how good a player or team is. I really enjoy using stats as a tool to reference and help with evaluating players but the current data is not intricate enough to tell the whole story. As a result we see many fans over simplifying by using unreliable, general stats. Kyle Dubas has made a recent statement reflecting how rudimentary the current state of stats is in the NHL. Don't agree with Kyle? A man who was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs for his innovative use of advanced stats while General Managing an OHL team? Well that's fine, I hope to prove to you the various ways that stats could and probably will be improved in time.</div>
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I'm not going to give a Corsi lesson here, or get into all of that, if you are unfamiliar there are a plethora of blogs and sites who can explain the concepts. In theory they do hold some ground, but the main problem I have with this whole wave of thinking lies in that the root of the advanced stats argument relies so heavily on shots - shots on goal and shots thrown towards the goal, which could be blocked, saved, result in goals or whatever. It favours throwing pucks towards the goal over all else. Even if, the best play may have been to make a pass.</div>
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Continuing on this line of thought, those who base their entire evaluation of a player on stats rely heavily on the use of <b>shooting percentage. </b>This is a very flawed stat, and relates directly to the comments of Mr.Dubas. I'm going to try to keep this as simple as possible and throw out some factors that may or may not have been considered by everyone in the analytic's community, which are not reflected in the shooting percentage stat:</div>
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The basis of my argument can be summed up by this statement:</div>
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<b>NOT ALL SHOTS ARE CREATED EQUAL - Shot Quality is Important</b></div>
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To break down the general Shooting % stat into a more accurate, telling stat, we must consider each shot:</div>
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What was the velocity of the shot?</div>
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Was it a rebound?</div>
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Where was the shot taken from? (Shot charts are great for this but the other factors listed have to be taken into account along with location. Location alone doesn't teach us much.)</div>
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Was the goalie screened? By how much traffic?</div>
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Was the goalie cold coming off the bench?</div>
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Did the shooter have a pass option that could have made the goalie cheat off his post on a short side goal?</div>
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Did the shot hit a stick?</div>
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Did the shooter aim for this particular goalie's weakness? Does this goalie have a weakness? ie. Low blocker.</div>
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Was it a one timer? Did the pass come from behind the net forcing the goalie to move out? Or was it across, forcing him to move laterally? </div>
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Was it on a 2 on 1?</div>
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Was it a breakaway? Was he alone in tight? Was he clear cut from center or was the backchecking dman breathing down his neck?</div>
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etc.</div>
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The more we break down each individual shot and put it into these types of categories, the more we can identify what are high and low percentage shots, which will better define shot quality over a simple location chart. From there we can determine which players are taking high and low percentage shots, and how many of each. We could then identify factors such as which players are prone to waste an offensive zone possession because he fires off too many low percentage shots.</div>
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My suggestion is that the NHL hires a few people to watch each game and track all of the types of factors listed above. If you really want to get advanced with your stats, review tape of all of one individual players' shots and start dividing it up into these sub categories. More data could be accumulated league wide from each individual player and maybe we'll find out interesting facts, like for example that "63% of shots go in on 2 on 1's down low when the shooter goes short side, and that number becomes 58% when he goes back the other way..." The less general and more specific we get, the more reliable our stats become.</div>
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Hopefully I made a compelling enough argument here and if you are reading this you agree. If you think stats are perfect right now, the way they are, and that you are smarter than hockey people like Kyle Dubas, then good luck to you. if you are trying to make an argument in the hockey fan community, and you throw out shooting % as your entire argument, without acknowledging these factors (and more), your argument loses all integrity.<b> If you are basing your entire opinion of a hockey player on the data available to us right now, your opinion is only as valid as the limited data we currently have.</b></div>
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I believe hockey stats will evolve and begin to incorporate these types of factors, and in time we will be able to go to NHL.com or wherever it may be, and use the vast amount of data to form a solid argument, but as of right now it's just not there. I sincerely hope you found this interesting and informative. Criticism is always welcomed. I don't claim to have all the answers, but hey - neither do you!<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
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Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-1421638625346167932014-06-18T20:21:00.001-04:002014-06-18T20:31:26.800-04:00Draft and Offseason Trade GuideRumoured names on the trade market, UFA's by position:<br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>Centres:</b></div>
<div>
<u>Trade:</u></div>
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Eric Staal, Joe Thornton, Jason Spezza, Ryan O'Reilly, Mike Richards, Ryan Kesler, Vincent Lecavalier, Sam Gagner, Nazem Kadri, Patrik Berglund, Stephen Weiss, RJ Umberger</div>
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<u>UFA:</u></div>
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Paul Stastny, Brad Richards (possible buyout), Steve Ott, David Legwand, Olli Jokinen, Dave Bolland, Brian Boyle, Derek Roy, Mikhail Grabovski, Michal Handzus, Marcel Goc, Dominic Moore, Jay McClement, Vernon Fiddler, Manny Malholtra, Saku Koivu, Mike Santorelli, Zenon Konopka, Derek MacKenzie, Cody McCormick</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Wingers:</b></div>
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<u>Trade:</u></div>
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Patrick Marleau, James Neal, Nail Yakupov, Evander Kane, Chris Stewart, Brad Marchand, PA Paranteau, Kris Versteeg</div>
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<u>UFA:</u></div>
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Marion Gaborik, Jarome Iginla, Thomas Vanek, Matt Moulson, Ryan Callahan, Mike Cammalleri, Radim Vrbata, Ales Hemsky, Milan Michalek, Devin Setogucchi, Lee Stempniak, Ray Whitney, Jussi Jokinen, Steve Downie, Nikolai Kulemin, Tod Bertuzzi, Mason Raymond, Brendan Morrow, Dan Cleary, Shawn Thornton, Brian Gionta, P-M Bouchard, Benoit Pouliot, Mike Rupp, David Moss</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Defence</b></div>
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<u>Trade:</u></div>
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Kris Letang, Mike Green, Dustin Byfuglien, Dion Phaneuf, Braydon Coburn, Dennis Wideman, Johnny Boychuk</div>
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<u>UFA:</u></div>
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Matt Niskanen, Dan Boyle, Andrei Markov, Joni Pitkanen, Andrej Meszaros, Anton Stralman, Willie Mitchell, Stephane Robidas, Sami Salo, Brooks Orpik, Derek Morris, Tom Gilbert, Henrik Tallinder, Nick Schultz, Ryan Whitney, Kyle Quincey, Hal Gill, Douglas Murray, Matt Greene</div>
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<b>Goaltending</b></div>
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<u>Trade:</u></div>
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Cam Ward, James Reimer</div>
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<u>UFA:</u></div>
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Ryan Miller, Martin Brodeur, Tim Thomas, Evgeny Nabakov, Jonas Hiller, Ilya Bryzgalov, JS Giguere, Tomas Vokoun, Ray Emery, Devin Dubnyk, Scott Clemensen, Jonas Gustavsson, Tomas Greiss, Al Montoya, Nikolai Khabibulin</div>
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Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-46972103970714211712014-01-16T22:26:00.002-05:002014-01-16T22:26:58.988-05:00Most popular names in the rumour millI'm going to go across the internet and write down names that are frequently mentioned on the various trade rumour websites/pages. Here they are:<br />
<br />
<b><u>Centres:</u></b><br />
Paul Stastny<br />
Sam Gagner<br />
Ryan O'Reilly<br />
Nazem Kadri<br />
Brandon Dubinsky<br />
Daniel Briere<br />
Steve Ott<br />
Matt Stajan<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Wingers:</u></b><br />
Evander Kane<br />
Tomas Vanek<br />
Matt Moulson<br />
Blake Wheeler<br />
Ray Whitney<br />
Ales Hemsky<br />
Tuomo Ruutu<br />
Mike Cammalleri<br />
Martin Erat<br />
Lee Stempniak<br />
<br />
<b><u>D:</u></b><br />
Dustin Byfuglien<br />
Dan Girardi<br />
Alex Edler<br />
Michael Del Zotto<br />
Jake Gardiner<br />
Dmitry Kulikov<br />
Rusty Klesla<br />
Sergei Gonchar<br />
<br />
<b><u>Goalies:</u></b><br />
Ryan Miller<br />
Cam Ward<br />
Jaroslav HalakDoc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-6428817953419970102013-07-05T21:42:00.001-04:002013-07-05T21:42:37.045-04:00Leafs RFA's and what the rest of the summer could holdHere's some rough numbers on our RFA's and what kind of cap space we could have left -<br />
<br />
Nazem Kadri - $2.5 million<br />
Joe Colborne - $0.8 million<br />
Cody Franson - $2.8 million<br />
Carl Gunnarsson - $2.4 million<br />
Mark Fraser - $1.2 million<br />
...........................................<br />
Additional $9.7 million - Let's call it $10 million to be safe.<br />
<br />
This would bring the Leafs to within $1.5-2 million of the salary cap (closer to $2.5 if Holzer is left with the Marlies). Here's the roster -<br />
<br />
James VanRiemsdyk - Tyler Bozak - Phil Kessel<br />
Joffrey Lupul - Nazem Kadri - David Clarkson<br />
Jay McClement - Dave Bolland - Nikolai Kulemin<br />
Fraser McLaren - Joe Colborne - Colton Orr<br />
<br />
Dion Phaneuf - Carl Gunnarsson<br />
Jake Gardiner - Cody Franson<br />
J.M. Liles - Mark Fraser<br />
T.J. Brennan<br />
<br />
Jonathan Bernier<br />
James Reimer<br />
<br />
Not a bad looking team. There's enough cap space to add a veteran defenceman into the mix, and then fill the final roster spot up front out with a cheap Marlie.<br />
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With most teams really tight against the cap, most of the remaining UFA's will not be getting those outrageous UFA contracts. Here are some UFA dmen who I would hope Nonis is kicking tires on, looking for one who could come in on a short term deal in the $1.5-2 million range<br />
<br />
Tom Gilbert<br />
Ron Hainsey<br />
Ryan Whitney<br />
Toni Lydman<br />
Tomas Kaberle<br />
Hal Gill<br />
Marek Zidlicky<br />
<br />
Probably more likely Nonis allows the likes of Blacker, Holzer, Percy, and Rielly to fight for the final spot. But if none of those guys seem ready they could look at some of these veterans. The Leafs could even wait until camp and if none of the kids look ready they could look for that token UFA who is kicking around with no contract and get a vet on a bargain basement deal.<br />
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<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-44143397523315689142013-06-27T03:04:00.002-04:002013-06-29T19:54:41.609-04:00Names to watch out for at the draftBig draft on Sunday, here are some names of players who could be traded, based on all kinds of various reports. I've just kind of compiled it all in one sheet here:<br />
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<u>Centres</u><br />
1. Shawn Horcoff, 34<br />
2. Rich Peverly, 30 (2 years @ $3.25)<br />
3. Stephen Weiss, 30 (rights, UFA)<br />
4.Valterri Fillpula, 29 (rights, UFA)<br />
5. Drew Stafford, 27 (2 years @ $4 mil)<br />
6. Paul Stastny, 27 (esp. watch out if Colorado drafts a C)<br />
7. Dave Bolland, 27 ($3.4 mil, 1 year away from UFA)<br />
8. Sam Gagner, 24 (RFA)<br />
9. Tyler Seguin, 21<br />
10. Sean Couturier, 20<br />
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<u>Wingers</u><br />
1. Dany Heatley, 32 ($7.5 mil, 1 year, can't be bought out due to LTIR status)<br />
2. Mike Cammalleri, 31 (1 year left at $6 mil)<br />
3. Ales Hemsky, 30<br />
4. Tomas Vanek, 29 (1 year from free agency, $7.1 mil)<br />
5. Tomas Fleischmann, 29 (2 years @ $4.5)<br />
6. Scotty Upshall, 29<br />
7. David Booth, 28 (2 years @$4.2)<br />
8. Bobby Ryan, 26<br />
9. David Perron, 25<br />
10. Cal Clutterbuck, 25 (RFA)<br />
<br />
<u>Defence</u><br />
1. Filip Kuba, 36 (1 year @4 mil)<br />
2. Keith Ballard, 30 (2 years @ $4.2 mil)<br />
3. Tom Gilbert, 30 (1 year, $4 mil)<br />
4. Carlo Colaiacovo, 30 (1 year @ $2.5 mil)<br />
5. Brayden Coburn, 28 (3 yrs left at $4.5 mil)<br />
6. Dion Phaneuf, 28 ($6 mil. 1 year)<br />
7. Alex Edler, 27 (6 years, $5 mil per season)<br />
8. Kris Letang, 26 ($3.5 mil, 1 Year away from UFA)<br />
9. Niklas Hjalmersson, 26 (1 year @ $3.5 mil, then UFA)<br />
10. Michael Del Zotto, 23 (1 year @ $2.5 mil, then RFA)<br />
<br />
<u>Goalies</u><br />
1. Tim Thomas, 39 (rights, UFA)<br />
2. Evgeny Nabokov, 37 (rights, UFA)<br />
3.Roberto Luongo, 34<br />
4. Scott Clemenssen, 34<br />
5. Mike Smith, 31 (rights, UFA)<br />
6. Jonas Hiller, 31<br />
7. Ryan Miller, 31 (1 year away from UFA)<br />
8. Marc-Andre Fleury, 28<br />
9. Jaroslav Halak, 28 (1 year @ $3.8)<br />
10. Cory Schneider, 27<br />
<br />
Watch out for Edmonton's pick (7th) and Carolina's (5th) to be in play as well. *Update - now read in a couple places that the Flyers (15th overall) could be in play.Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-14143949621896108702013-06-23T22:13:00.002-04:002013-06-23T22:40:51.969-04:00Leafs situation heading into the Draft and Free AgencyThe Leafs shored up their depth in goal today adding Jonathan Bernier. I like it, although there are still lots of question marks around our two goalies, both guys are young and show a lot of promise.<br />
<br />
Here's how the rest of the team looks -<br />
<br />
<u>Centres</u><br />
1. Mikhail Grabovski - $5.5 million *Buyout candidate<br />
2. Nazem Kadri - RFA<br />
3. Jay McClement - $1.5 million<br />
4. Joe Colborne - RFA<br />
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We need to add another Centre into the mix for sure.<br />
<br />
<u>Wingers</u><br />
1. Phil Kessel - $5.4 million<br />
2. Joffrey Lupul - $5.25 million<br />
3. James VanRiemsdyk - $4.25 million<br />
4. -------------------<br />
5. Nikolai Kulemin - $2.8 million<br />
6. -------------------<br />
7. -------------------<br />
8. Colton Orr - $0.9 million<br />
<br />
We could add 3-4 wingers. One or two the spots could go to a kid at camp, or re-sign Fraser McLaren, but we should see Nonis trade for/sign at least 1 or 2 (if not 3) new wingers.<br />
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*Jay McClement also plays all forward positions so Nonis could add another centre and move Jay over, so there's some flexibility there. Anyway you slice it we're looking at 4-5 forwards who need to come in.<br />
<br />
<u>Defence</u><br />
1. Dion Phaneuf - $6.5 million<br />
2. -----------------<br />
3. Cody Franson - RFA<br />
4. Jake Gardiner - $1.1 million<br />
5. Carl Gunnarsson - RFA<br />
6. John Michael Liles - $3.9 million *Buyout candidate<br />
7. Mark Fraser - RFA<br />
8. -----------------<br />
<br />
We'll need a depth dman, could be O'Byrne re-signed but he'll have to come in cheap ($1.7 million last year). And we need a top 4 as well. If Liles is bought out, we'll need another depth guy, but these depth guys could come from within, where defence is a position of strength in the Leafs organization.<br />
<br />
<u>Goalies</u><br />
1. James Reimer - $1.8 million<br />
2. Jonathan Bernier - RFA<br />
<br />
We have about $39 million and change committed to these players right now. I'm just going to throw some rough numbers out on our RFA's -<br />
<br />
Kadri - $3.5 mil<br />
Colborne - $1 mil<br />
Franson - $4 mil<br />
Gunner - $3 mil<br />
Fraser - $1 mil<br />
Bernier - $2 mil<br />
........................<br />
total = $13.5, let's call it $14 to be safe. We'll be at around $54 million, with roughly $8-9 million to spend on 6 players to fill out the roster. If Liles is bought out, we'll have $13-14 million to spend on 7 players.<br />
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I think we should buy out Liles, not because he's bad but because he's making too much and he hasn't been as impact-full since his concussion. Then if we could replace our two vacancies for depth D from within or with cheap UFA's in the million $ range, and two of our spots up front the same way, we could be looking to land:<br />
<br />
1 impact defenceman<br />
1 impact forward<br />
1 quality role playing forward<br />
<br />
With about $9-10 million of cap space. Seems pretty do-able. We're in an interesting spot.<br />
*Also wanted to mention that I think Liles could have some trade value, if we could move him for a cheap depth dman, then we could save one of our compliance buyouts. The first buyout will obviously be used on Komisarek, this is just for the record, not even worth discussing.<br />
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<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-10758114654899487002013-06-07T02:26:00.004-04:002013-06-07T02:33:53.747-04:00Amnesty BuyoutsThere's a lot of speculation that could be made on lots of team's but I'm going to focus on a few teams who are in real cap trouble. Easier to speculate on the potential buyouts of the teams who will be more desperate to get under the cap -<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Flyers -</u></b><br />
Philly's got 14 forwards, 8 d-men and 2 goalies under contract for 24 players, and they're over the cap by about $2.5 million (give or take). They'll definitely be using a buyout, and probably both of their amnesty buyouts this summer. Here are some candidates:<br />
<br />
Danny Briere, 36 RW/C - $6.5 million, 2 years remaining<br />
Scott Hartnell, 31 LW - $4.75 million, 6 years remaining<br />
Ilya Bryzgalov, 32 G - $5.66 million, 7 years remaining<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Canucks - </u></b><br />
Vancouver has 17 players under contract for next year. Needing to sign 4 forwards and a couple of defencemen, as well as a goalie to trade/buyout. They're a little over the cap as of right now. Candidates:<br />
<br />
David Booth, 28 LW - $4.25 million, 2 years remaining<br />
Keith Ballard, 30 D - $4.2 million, 2 years remaining<br />
Roberto Luongo, 34 G - $5.33 million, 9 years remaining<br />
<br />
<b><u>Blackhawks -</u></b><br />
Just like after they won the Cup in 2010, the Hawks could be poised to have to make some tough cuts after a deep playoff run. They've got 13 forwards, 7 D, and 1 goalie (Crawford) signed through next year. And they're right at the cap. They could use some space to potentially re-sign Bickell and Stalberg, but may have to let them walk. Either way, they'll need a 2nd goalie. Candidates:<br />
<br />
Michael Frolik, 25, RW - $2.33 million, 1 year remaining (probably has trade value)<br />
Johnny Oduya, 31, D - $3.9 million, 2 years remaining<br />
<br />
Tough call with Chicago. I guess they could buy out Oduya or trade both the aforementioned players. Other than that, all the players making any kind of significant money are the core guys - Toews, Kane, Sharp, Hossa, Bolland, Keith, Seabrook, and then to a lesser extent Hjalmersson and Crawford who both have reasonable salaries. I think the Hawks will be more likely to go the trade route to dump a few worth depth players and add some cheap players on entry level deals, like they did in 2010.<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Lightning -</u></b><br />
Tampa Bay only has about a million $ of cap space, and will need to sign 3-4 forwards and 1-2 dmen. They will be needing to shed some legitimate salary. Safe bet that two of these three candidates will become UFA's after a buyout:<br />
<br />
Vincent Lecavalier, 33 C - $7.72 million, 7 years remaining<br />
Ryan Malone, 33 RW - $4.5 million, 2 years remaining<br />
Mattias Ohlund, 36 D - $3.6 million, 3 years remaining<br />
<br />
<b><u>Les habitants - </u></b><br />
Montreal has 10 forwards, 8 D, and 2 goalies under contract. So they'll need to fill in a few spots up front, and have about $2 million to do so.<br />
<br />
Brian Gionta, 34 RW - $5 million, 1 year remaining<br />
Tomas Kaberle, 35 D - $4.25 million, 1 year remaining<br />
Andrei Markov, 34 D - $5.75 million, 1 year remaining<br />
<br />
Markov is coming off a big year, but he finished the year off healthy, and with his injury history he has to be considered a candidate. They can buy him out since he's no longer on IR, and although he played well this past year, they might want to save on the cap space. More likely that the former two players on the list are bought out, or possibly just Kaberle, depending on what kind of offseason plans they habs have in store.<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Wild -</u></b><br />
Minnesota has 12 forwards, 5 D, and 1 Goalie signed, and are about a million under the cap. They'll need some space to sign a forward, 2 or 3 dmen, and a goalie, as well as re-signing RFA Cal Clutterbuck. Here are some buyout candidates:<br />
<br />
Dany Heatley, 32 RW - $7.5 million, 1 year remaining<br />
Tom Gilbert, 30 D - $4 million, 1 year<br />
<br />
Not much else in Minny, in the way of high priced players. Except for the core guys (Koivu, Parise, Pominville, and Suter. Even Setogucchi is reasonably priced.) Good chance they move Heatley, and probably have to let Cullen and Bouchard walk.<br />
<br />
Of course any of these teams could get creative with trades and try to find other teams to take on some salaries. Still these players are some guys to keep an eye on if any of these team's backs are against the cap-wall.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-17495171586285136982013-02-13T01:10:00.001-05:002013-02-13T01:10:54.746-05:00Top available UFA's this summer (2013)Here's a list to look forward to in July, and to keep an eye on for trade deadline playoff rentals, (and the odd contract extension)<br />
<br />
<u><b>30 Centres:</b></u><br />
Saku Koivu, 38<br />
Matt Cullen, 36<br />
Jeff Halpern, 36<br />
Andy MacDonald, 35<br />
Jochen Hecht, 35<br />
<br />
Craig Adams, 35<br />
Michael Handzus, 35<br />
Marty Reasoner, 35<br />
Danius Zubrus, 34<br />
Jarred Smithson, 34<br />
<br />
Mike Ribeiro, 33<br />
Scott Gomez, 33<br />
Adam Hall, 32<br />
Nik Antropov, 32<br />
Manny Malholtra, 32<br />
<br />
Tim Connolly, 31<br />
Matthew Lombardi, 30<br />
Dave Steckel, 30<br />
Stephen Weiss, 29<br />
Derrick Roy, 29<br />
<br />
Kyle Wellwood, 29<br />
Boyd Gordon, 29<br />
Mark Letestu, 28<br />
Nate Thompson, 28<br />
Tim Brent, 28<br />
<br />
Roman Cervenka, 27<br />
Ryan Getzlaf, 27<br />
Maxim Lapierre, 27<br />
Tyler Bozak, 26<br />
Peter Regin, 26<br />
<br />
<u><b>50 Wingers:</b></u><br />
Teemu Selanne, 42<br />
Daniel Alfredsson, 40<br />
Jaromir Jagr, 40<br />
Mike Knuble, 40<br />
Alex Kovalev, 39<br />
<br />
Steve Sullivan, 38<br />
Jamal Mayers, 38<br />
Vinny Prospal, 37<br />
Jamie Langenbrunner, 37<br />
Jody Shelley, 37<br />
<br />
Patrick Elias, 36<br />
Milan Hejduk, 36<br />
Eric Boulton, 36<br />
Jarome Iginla, 35<br />
Dan Cleary, 34<br />
<br />
Brendan Morrow, 34<br />
Matt Cooke, 34<br />
Ruslan Fedotenko, 34<br />
Pascal Dupuis, 33<br />
Simon Gagne, 32<br />
<br />
Alex Ponikarovsky, 32<br />
Anti Miettenen, 32<br />
Darcy Hordichuck, 32<br />
Michael Ryder, 32<br />
Raffi Torres, 31<br />
<br />
Matt Hendricks, 31<br />
Chad Larose, 30<br />
Ryane Clowe, 30<br />
John Scott, 30<br />
Dustin Penner, 30<br />
<br />
Colby Armstrong, 30<br />
Brad Boyes, 30<br />
Colton Orr, 30<br />
Chris Higgins, 29<br />
Eric Nystrom, 29<br />
<br />
David Clarkson, 28<br />
Alex Semin, 28<br />
Valterri Filpulla, 28<br />
Drew Miller, 28<br />
Pierre-Marc Bouchard, 28<br />
<br />
Cory Perry, 27<br />
Nathan Horton, 27<br />
Clarke MacArthur, 27<br />
Mason Raymond, 27<br />
Victor Stalberg, 27<br />
<br />
B.J. Crombeen, 27<br />
Damien Brunner, 26<br />
Blake Comeau, 26<br />
Wojtek Wolski, 26<br />
Giullaume Latendresse, 25<br />
<br />
<u><b>40 Defencemen</b></u><br />
Adrian Aucoin, 39<br />
Sergei Gonchar, 38<br />
Roman Hamrilik, 38<br />
Andy Sutton, 37<br />
Andreas Lilja, 37<br />
<br />
Lubo Visnovsky, 36<br />
Marek Zidlicky, 36<br />
Radek Martinek, 36<br />
Mark Streit, 35<br />
Joe Corvo, 35<br />
<br />
Tom Poti, 35<br />
Toni Lydman, 35<br />
Wade Redden, 35<br />
Mike Mottau, 34<br />
Rob Scuderi, 34<br />
<br />
Michael Roszival, 34<br />
Scott Hannan, 34<br />
Andrew Ferrence, 33<br />
Kent Huskins, 33<br />
John Erskine, 32<br />
<br />
Jordan Leopold, 32<br />
Robyn Regehr, 32<br />
Marc-Andre Bergeron, 32<br />
Douglas Murray, 32<br />
Jim Vandermeer, 32<br />
<br />
Andrew Alberts, 31<br />
Kurtis Foster, 31<br />
Ron Hainsey, 31<br />
Ryan Whitney, 29<br />
Jeff Woywitka, 29<br />
<br />
Steve Eminger, 29<br />
Ian White, 28<br />
Ryan O'Byrne, 28<br />
Adam Pardy, 28<br />
Anton Babchuck, 28<br />
<br />
Matt Gilroy, 28<br />
Ladislav Smid, 27<br />
Mike Kostka, 27<br />
Mark Fistric, 26<br />
Cam Barker, 26<br />
<br />
<b><u>20 Goalies</u></b><br />
Nikolai Khabibulin, 40<br />
Tim Thomas, 38<br />
Evgeny Nabokov, 37<br />
Jose Theodore, 36<br />
Chris Mason, 36<br />
<br />
Brian Boucher, 36<br />
Matthieu Garon, 35<br />
Niklas Backstrom, 35<br />
Jason Labarbera, 33<br />
Joey MacDonald, 33<br />
<br />
Dan Ellis, 32<br />
Michael Leighton, 31<br />
Mike Smith, 30<br />
Ray Emery, 30<br />
Viktor Fasth, 30<br />
<br />
Peter Budaj, 30<br />
Henrik Karlsson, 29<br />
Jimmy Howard, 28<br />
Al Montoya, 28<br />
Tomas Greiss, 27<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-15141168315587865332013-02-06T21:00:00.002-05:002013-02-06T21:00:55.296-05:00Potential Summer BuyoutsSo, under the new CBA the cap is coming down next season to around $64 million from about $71 mil. Which means certain teams will be in serious cap trouble after this season. To give everyone a little breathing room each team was granted 2 amnesty buyouts which do not count towards the salary cap. They can be used 1-time only this summer. Montreal and New York will only have the option to buy out 1 player each since they were granted a chance to buyout Redden and Gomez already.<br />
<br />
So here are some contracts of players who could be buyout candidates. Remember, not every team will necessarily use both, or even one of their buyouts, but here are some of the more likely buyout candidates who could become UFA's this summer:<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Shawn Horcoff</b>, Edmonton - The Oilers have Horcoff under contract for two more years, at a $5.5 million cap hit. That's way too high for a guy who plays 3rd line centre and special teams. He is the Oilers captain, but they have to factor in Hall and Eberle's $6 million contract extensions kicking in next year, plus having to give a raise to Sam Gagner who goes RFA this summer. On the flip side, Whitney is a UFA, and so is Khabibulin so they save cap space there, but will have to replace (or re-sign) both players, and have to pay for that. Then you figure Yakupov and the Nuge will have to get payed in a couple years and it just seems to make sense for the Oilers to buyout their captain.<br />
<br />
<b>Mike Komisarek</b>, Toronto - $4.5 million cap hit for next season, or he could be bought out for a measly $2.3 million and free up the cap space. The only other candidate in Toronto might be 32 year old <b>John-Michael Liles</b> who carries a $3.9 million cap hit for the next 3 seasons.<br />
<br />
<b>Scotty Upshall</b>, Florida - Two years left and $3.5 million per season for a solid 3rd line grinder is way too rich.<br />
<br />
<b>Ilya Bryzgalov</b>, Flyers - What a nightmare it would be to buy him out just two years into his monster 9-year deal. But The Flyers are also a team pushing the salary cap limits and will need to shed. Of course with Timonen's $6.3 million cap hit coming off the books, and Pronger on LTIR not counting against the cap, they might be able to squeak by. Having said that, if the Flyers have an underwhelming season it would be very Ed Snider/Paul Holmgren-esque to do something big like buyout Bryzgalov and then make a splash elsewhere. Buying out Bryz would cost $22 million over 14 years.<br />
<br />
<b>Ville Leino</b>, Buffalo - After playing really well for the Flyers, Leino cashed in on a 6-year, front loaded deal with the Sabres. Things haven't gone well for Leino in Buffalo at all, and he hasn't lived up to that contract. After this season he's owed $15 million over the next 4 years, and carries a cap hit of $4.5 million. Which is money the Sabres could use. Of course it would cost them about $10 million, spread out over the next 8 years to buy him out, but that money would not go against the cap, and Sabres owner Terry Pegula seems like he won't mind spending.<br />
<br />
<b>Mike Cammalleri</b>, Calgary - He has 1 year and $7 million left owed to him. Of course the Flames could get rid of his $6 million cap hit for next year by paying him around $1.2 million in each of the next two years. Might make sense for them, depending on how the season goes and what happens with Iginla (pending UFA).<br />
<br />
The Rangers situation - They don't have any big contracts worth buying out (Nash, Gaborik, Lundqvist, Richards, Callahan), and they won't be interested in buying out one of their high end defence men like Staal, Girardi, or Del Zotto, who are all core pieces. Plus they have to re-sign Ryan McDonaugh who will get a healthy raise from the $1.3 million he's earning now. So how to shed the necessary $6 million it would roughly take to get New York under the cap? Back up goalie <b>Marty Biron</b>'s $1.3 million could be expendable, but even if he's replaced by a backup earning league min, that only shaves off about half a million. Everyone else on the team earns between $1-2 million pretty much, so it will be interesting to see how Sather gets this team under the cap. Your guess is as good as mine here.<br />
<br />
<b>Rostislav Olesz</b>, Chicago - Injured players can't be bought out, but if he's off IR you can bet the Blackhawks will buyout the final year of Olesz's contract. The grinder is owed over $4 million and taking his $3.1 million cap hit off the books will be huge for Chicago to get under the cap with all the high payed stars occupying most of the Hawks' cap space. <b>Johnny Oduya</b> and <b>Steve Montador</b> both carry contracts in around $3 million, each with 2-years remaining, so the Hawks may be in a position where they have to choose to keep one or the other and use both their buyouts to stay under the cap.<br />
<br />
<b>Mike Samuelsson</b>, Detroit - I doubt they buy him out of the 2nd year of his deal. But he's owed $3 million next year and the Red Wings might be in a position where they want the additional cap space. Samuelsson, and <b>Jonathan Ericsson</b> are the two expendable players on the team who make a decent enough amount of money, so if the Wings were so inclined, these players would be the most likely options.<br />
<br />
<b>David Booth</b>, Vancouver - He's a good player when healthy, but he's always hurt and Vancouver needs to clear up some cap room. Aside from moving Luongo, they might consider ditching Booth's $4.2 million cap hit.<br />
<br />
<b>Mike Green</b>, Washington - If they don't feel like they're getting full value from him, the Caps could definitely look at buying out the final two years of Mike Green's contract. His cap hit is $6 million and he's playing like a $3-4 million player at best. It's no slam dunk that he'll be bought out by any means, I actually doubt it, but he's been under performing for a few seasons now, so he could be on a short leash with management.<br />
<br />
Montreal Canadians situation - They are basically a cap team right now, with all of their big money players under contract for next year. For them to get under the cap they may have to bight the bullet and buyout their captain, <b>Brian Gionta</b>, who earns $5 million next season. They'll have to shave some salary somewhere it makes more sense to buyout a 34 year old who hasn't scored a lot of goals in a couple years, over some of the younger players who earn decent coin in Montreal. Veteran blue liners <b>Andrei Markov</b> ($5.75 mil cap hit) and <b>Tomas Kaberle</b> ($4.25 mil cap hit) each have 1 year remaining on their deals, and buying out one of them along with Gionta should be enough to keep the habs cap compliant. Markov seems to be healthy and is playing well so far this year, so it may be Kaberle who is the cap casualty in Montreal.<br />
<br />
<b>Paul Martin</b>, Pittsburgh - 2 years left at $5 million a season is a little steep for the Pens, and they could use the cap breathing room. Another option in Pittsburgh could be to trade Marc-Andre Fleury. A little crazy maybe, but they could free up cap space and grab something useful back. Plus they have Vokoun in net there and he's looking good.<br />
<br />
<b>Rick Dipietro</b>, Islanders - Of course Rick signed that huge 15-year deal and hasn't been healthy for a whole year since he signed. That's the way it goes on the Island, and this could be their chance to get rid of that contract. It would be costly though. After this season he will be 7 years into his contract with 8 years remaining. He'll be owed $24 million if he's bought out ($1.5 million a year for the next 16 years). Pretty steep price to be paying a guy not to play for you. Of course the Islanders are still paying Yashin $2.2 million a year for the next two years, as they have been for the last 3 years to play in Russia, so Wang might pony up for Rick as well.<br />
<br />
<b>Vinny Lecavalier</b>, Lightning - Might seem a bit extreme, and I think he has some trade value but he's an interesting one to look at. Vinny is 33, has 7 years left on his contract and a cap hit of $7.7 million. That cap hit will only look uglier in 3 or 4 years and this is the one opportunity to dump him without cap penalty. Having said that he does offer some value to the team. I doubt he'll be bought out, but its an interesting one to look. It would cost Tampa ownership close to $24 million to buyout Vinny, payed out over the course of the next 14 years. So that would be about a mil and a half a year for the next while. Which might be more palatable than the $10 million in actual dollars he's due to earn in each of the next three seasons of his deal.<br />
<br />
So anyway's here are a handful of guys who could be added to the free agent list this summer. Also, unlike other summers I predict that there will not be as many re-signings prior to July 1st, with the cap coming down and so many teams lacking space. I think the opportunity for weaker teams with cap space to pounce is this summer when the lower cap could force good players to leave good teams such as New York or Vancouver.<br />
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<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-74243416989215324242012-10-13T12:47:00.001-04:002012-10-13T12:47:12.251-04:00Top 10 Goalies of the last 20 years<br />
<u>Top 10 NHL Goalies of the past 20 years (1992-present)</u><br />
<br />
<b>1. Martin Brodeur ('93-present)</b><br />
<br />
- 3 Stanley Cups ('95, '00, '03)<br />
- 2 Olympic Gold Medals ('02, '10)<br />
- 4 Vezina Trophies: '03, '04, '07, '08<br />
- Calder Trophy 93/94<br />
- 5 Jennings Trophies: '97, '98, '03, '04, '10<br />
*Scored a couple of goals, including one in the playoffs vs. Montreal<br />
*Ranks 1st in all-time career Wins and Shutouts<br />
<br />
<i>Marty's march to the Cup final this past season just shows how great this guy is. Still able to rise up and play at an elite level in his 40's. I don't think there is any denying he is the best of the last 20 years, if not all-time.</i><br />
<br />
<b>2. Dominic Hasek ('92-'08)</b><br />
<br />
- 2 Stanley Cups ('02, '08)<br />
- 1 Olympic Gold Medal ('98)<br />
- 2 Hart Trophies ('97, '98) <i>*Six goalies have ever won the Hart, only Hasek has 2</i><br />
- 6 Vezina Trophies ('94, '95, '97, '98, '99, '01)<br />
- 3 Jennings Trophies ('94, '01, '08)<br />
<br />
<i>Six Vezina's in 8 years is outstanding. Between the years 1997-1999 I believe Hasek displayed the best goaltending of all time, capturing back to back Hart's in the process. I can't put him at number one because Brodeur has a bit more long lasting appeal, and Hasek's 2nd Cup was won by Chris Osgood, with Dom on the bench. Still, Hasek in his prime was an unparalleled machine, and if you could take one goalie in his prime for one game, it should be Hasek. The 1998 Olympics, and 1999 run to the Cup (leading to Brett Hull's famous/infamous goal) were absolute works of art on the part of the Dominator.</i><br />
<br />
3. <b>Patrick Roy ('84-'03)</b> <i>*Only counting his achievements from 1992-present</i><br />
<br />
- 3 Stanley Cups<br />
- 1 Vezina Trophy (1992)<br />
- 2 Conn Smythe's ('93, '01)<br />
- 1 Jennings Trophy ('02)<br />
<br />
<i>First of all, I don't like Roy, and I tried to make him lower, but this is where he fits. His 2 Conn Smythe Trophies in the last 20 years can't be denied. He rose up in the playoffs. Now to take a jab at him: I'll never forget the famous "statue of liberty" celebration that cost the Avs game 6 in the 2002 Western conference final, and forced a game 7 against the hated Red Wings. Detroit came out in game 7 firing from everywhere and the great Patrick Roy, looking very old, was lit up for 6 goals by the 5 minute mark of the 2nd period, and Roy did not finish the game and the Avs lost 7-0. Still I guess he's pretty great.</i><br />
<br />
4. <b>Ed Belfour ('89-07)</b> <i>*Again only '92 onward will be looked at</i><br />
<br />
- 1 Stanley Cup (1999)<br />
- 1 Olympic Gold (2002)<br />
- 1 Vezina Trophy (1993)<br />
- 3 Jennings Trophies ('93, '95, '99)<br />
- 1 Roger Crozier Award (2000, for outstanding Save %)<br />
*3rd on NHL's all-time Wins list behind Brodeur and Roy<br />
<br />
<i>Eddie the Eagle was a beast. When he won the Cup in '99 he was unreal, and his save percentage was an outstanding 1.99 that year, following a 1.88 save % from the year before. This was clearly a golden age for goaltending when all 4 of the guys on the list so far were all on top of their games. If Eddie had played in another era and not had to compete with the 3 guys above, he would have even more hardware on his shelf.</i><br />
<br />
5. <b>Chris Osgood ('94-'11)</b><br />
<br />
- 3 Stanley Cups ('97, '98, '08)<br />
- 2 Jennings Trophies ('96, '08)<br />
<br />
<i>Osgood is flat out the most underrated and under appreciated goalie of the last 20 years. Ozzy doesn't always have the sparkling save % and definitely played on some great teams, which is why his critics are quick to dismiss his achievements. But the fact is, he never finished below 5th in his conference in his entire career. Including when he went to the Islanders, where he took a team that hadn't made the playoffs in years and turned them around, winning 32 games. Then on to St.Louis where he won 30+ games again, and finally back to the Red Wings. Osgood on his game could go toe to toe with any other goalie in the NHL, and he had that "it" factor, to rise up and make the big save with the game on the line. That's why he's one of the winningest goalies of all time (10th with 401 career wins). That's why he is a great champion. *Before I digress, I also want to mention that Osgood was getting a lot of Conn Smythe buzz in 2009 as he went back to the Cup finals in back to back years for the 2nd time in his career, but as the Penguins prevailed the award went to Malkin* Okay... I'm ready to move on</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>6. Tim Thomas ('03-present)</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
- 1 Stanley Cup (2011)<br />
- 1 Conn Smythe (2011)<br />
- 2 Vezina Trophies ('09, '11)<br />
- Jennings Trophy (2009)<br />
<br />
<i>If not for mismanagement on the part of the Bruins, Thomas might have won 3 Vezina's in a row. However in 2010 the Bruins put the reigning top goalie on the bench in favour of Rask, and only played him sporadically. But anyway's, Timmy is an unorthodox goalie, to say the least, but when he's on his game, and that's most of the time (career save % of .921) he keeps the puck out as good as anyone on this list. His MVP performance in the 2011 playoffs was really something to behold.</i><br />
<br />
7. <b>Jean-Sebastien Giguere ('97-present)</b><br />
<br />
- 1 Stanley Cup (2007)<br />
- 1 Conn Smythe (2003) <i>*1 of 4 players to ever win the MVP on the losing team</i><br />
<br />
<i>Giguere might not have the pedigree of these other guys, but his display in the 2003 playoffs warrants some serious props. He carried a terrible team really far, and then proved it wasn't a flash in the pan by playing great in the following few seasons and then finally winning his Cup in '07. Giggy on his game was a wall.</i><br />
<br />
8. <b>Miika Kiprusoff ('01-present)</b><br />
<br />
- 1 Vezina (2006)<br />
- 1 Jennings (2006)<br />
<br />
<i>My first non-Stanley Cup winner on the list. Kipper technically did win in 2004 against the Lightning in game 6 (review the tape the puck crossed the line and hit Khabibulin's pad inside the net!) but that's not important right now. Anyone who plays fantasy hockey knows the value of kipper, all this guy does is post outstanding numbers on a mediocre team, year in, year out. Did you know he's the only goalie in the NHL to have at least 35 wins or more in every season since the 2005 lockout? Its true. And his performance in the 2004 playoffs ranks up there as one of the best I've ever seen.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>9. </i><b>Nikolai Khabibulin ('94-present)</b><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>- </i>1 Stanley Cup (2004)<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Number 20 on the NHL's All-Time wins list. The 'Bulin Wall has been one of the best most consistent goalies for the better part of the last two decades. </i><br />
<br />
10. <b>Henrik Lundqvist ('06-present)</b><br />
<br />
-Vezina Trophy (2012)<br />
<br />
<i>So he doesn't have a ton of hardware at this stage, he's definitely been one of the most valuable players in the NHL for the last few seasons and could be on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats.</i><br />
<br />
<b><u>*Honourable Mentions</u></b><br />
<br />
- Olaf Kolzig - I know a lot of you will probably say that he should be there since Kipper is. They have the same hardware (Vezina, trip to the Cup final) and both were great. Kolzig, for the record is my #11 and it was a tough cut.<br />
<br />
- Dwayne Roloson - a few lengthy playoff runs in his career, including trips to the final 4 with Minnesota and Tampa Bay, stepping in in the Conference Finals in game 1, 1999 when Hasek was hurt and getting the win for Buffalo, and of course his run to the Cup final with the Oilers, which he may have won over Carolina if he hadn't gotten hurt in that series. Rolly was often a guy who would step up in the playoffs and take his teams further than expected.<br />
<br />
- Curtis Joseph - How can I leave off the 4th winningest goalie of all time? Well he also happens to have the most all time career losses. Joseph was great, don't get me wrong, and in his prime he was an amazing reactionary goalie, definitely one of the best of his kind. But there are meltdowns in his career as well, including the Olympics in 2002, where he was lit up badly and lost his starting job, and his inability to deliver in an Osgood-esque way in Detroit, where he was expected to win. He just never fully came through, although he was a very good goalie in his day.<br />
<br />
- Marty Turco - Almost had to put him, based solely his performance in the playoff series against Vancouver in 2007. Did you know he had THREE shutouts, a 1.30 GAA, and a .952 Save % and he lost the series!? Easily the best performance in a losing effort. He did everything except score goals.<br />
<br />
- Tom Barrasso, Mike Vernon, and Grant Fuhr - They all played during some of the last 20 years, but were all in the twilight of their careers. Still they all took home Stanley Cups in the last 20 (okay, not quite for Grant Fuhr, he just missed the cut.) But anyway's, if it were the last 25 years, I think I would have to include all three.<br />
<br />
- Jose Theodore - Definitely had an amazing year in '02 when he took home the Vezina and the Hart. But his greatness was too short lived. Outside of that season he has been a very good starting goalie, but not great enough.<br />
<br />
- Roberto Luongo - Olympic Gold is huge, no question, and he deserved it. But he did let in a shaky goal in the final minute to force OT in the gold medal game. He fights the puck a lot, and he's prone to bad goals. This is a hot topic right now because of all the trade rumours surrounding Lu, and I don't want to get into a whole thing, but I'll leave you with this: If you want to argue that his trip to the Cup final warrants any kind of accolades, then I think we should just open the list right up to all the Michael Leighton's of the world. We should also put Anti Niemi on the list because he won a cup. The thing is, Luongo played on a great team, and his trip to the Cup final (which included losing his starting job temporarily in the 1st round against Chicago, giving up bad goals late to force OT/Lose games vs. Nashville in the 2nd round, and being pulled 3 times in a 7 game Cup Final against Boston) does not stack up with Kipper, Kolzig, and Giguere's (2003) underdog teams, who made it against all odds on the strength of strong goaltending.<br />
<br />
Criticism welcomed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-45836627078342581432012-07-06T00:10:00.004-04:002012-07-06T00:10:35.902-04:00Best remaining UFA'sParise, Suter, even Matt Carle signed now... here's the best of the rest:<br />
<br />
<b><u>Centres - </u></b><br />
1. Jason Arnott, 37<br />
2. Dominic Moore, 31<br />
3. Daymond Langkow, 35<br />
4. Jochen Hecht, 35<br />
5. Gilbert Brule, 25<br />
6. Blair Betts, 32<br />
7. Kyle Wellwood, 29<br />
8. Jeff Halpern, 36<br />
9. Brendan Morrison, 36<br />
10. Eric Christiensen, 28<br />
<br />
<b><u>Wingers - </u></b><br />
1. Alex Semin, 28<br />
2. Shane Doan, 35<br />
3. Teemu Selanne, 42<br />
4. Andrei Kostitsyn, 27<br />
5. Jamie Langenbrunner, 36<br />
6. Tomas Holmstrom, 39<br />
7. Peter Sykora, 35<br />
8. Wojtek Wolski, 26<br />
9. Eric Fehr, 26<br />
10. Daniel Winnick, 28<br />
<br />
<b><u>Defence - </u></b><br />
1. Michael Roszival, 33<br />
2. Carlo Colaiacovo, 29<br />
3. Pavol Kubina, 35<br />
4. Colin White, 34<br />
5. Scott Hannan, 33<br />
6. Chris Campoli, 27<br />
7. Matt Gilroy, 27<br />
8. Milan Jurcina, 29<br />
9. Sean O'Donnell, 40<br />
10. Cam Barker, 26<br />
<br />
<b><u>Goalies - </u></b><br />
1. Anterro Niittymaki, 32<br />
2. Dan Ellis, 32<br />
3. Marty Turco, 36<br />
4. Ty Conklin, 36<br />
5. Dominic Hasek, 47 (*reportedly wants to come back. Posted a 23-19-3 record with a 2.48 GAA, and a .915 SV% a year ago in the KHL. Last played in the NHL in 2008 where he posted a 27-10-3 record, 2.14 GAA, and .902 SV%)<br />
<br />
Just threw Dom in there for kicks, beats Alex Auld...<br />
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<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-82272482813198600082012-06-28T17:22:00.000-04:002012-06-28T17:27:08.390-04:00Leafs big 4 prospects on the blue lineAfter the 2012 draft, Burke has really stockpiled the Leafs prospects on D. The Maple Leafs now have 4 of the NHL's top defensive prospects:<br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<b>Morgan Rielly</b>, 18 - 6'1" 190 lbs.<br />
Smoothe skating, offensive defenceman.<br />
<br />
Rielly is an exceptional skater with outstanding vision and great offensive instincts. He's generally praised for his poise with the puck, ability to make great passes, outlet or in the offensive zone, and his big shot. He has all the tools to become a top end offensive defenceman, and a #1 d-man on an NHL team.<br />
<br />
Rielly was selected 5th overall at the 2012 NHL entry draft.<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46XhA_5yY6g<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6YKBZT1IPY<br />
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<b>Jesse Blacker</b>, 21 - 6'1" 195 lbs.<br />
Hard hitting, offensive defenceman.<br />
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Blacker is definitely a guy who likes to fight, and brings strong offensive instincts and a big shot from the point. He plays with a lot of smarts and confidence with the puck. His upside is huge as he has great puck control and the big right handed shot from the point.<br />
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Selected 58th overall at the 2009 NHL entry draft.<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0SwUj4zalA&feature=relmfu<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1MZdHOWbTY<br />
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<b>Stuart Percy</b>, 19 - 6'1" 200 lbs.<br />
Hard hitting, two-way defenceman.<br />
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Considered a great puck mover, Percy was just under a point per game in the OHL last season as an 18 year old. He racks up the pims averaging a 1.25 penalty minutes per game, besides running the St.Mikes's Major's PP, Percy is also a good scrapper. He's the kind of defenceman who can change a game with a big hit, a big goal, or just control the play because of his great hockey smarts, vision, and high end skill. In his one game call up with the Marlies this past season he registered an assist in his American Hockey League debut.<br />
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Selected 25th overall at the 2011 NHL entry draft.<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRHmMhixAZI<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRHmMhixAZI<br />
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<b>Matt Finn</b>, 18 - 6'0" 200 lbs.<br />
Strong positionally, two-way defenceman.<br />
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Matt Finn was expected to be drafted as high as 15-20th overall (Central Scouting had him at 16 among North American skaters), a lot of scouts, GM's and hockey analysts were surprised to see him fall to the Leafs at 35th overall. Finn is a good all around defenceman who registered 48 points in 61 games with the Guelph Storm last season. He's known as a guy who makes a great first pass and has a very high hockey IQ, knowing when to join the rush, the right time to pinch, etc. He's very strong positionally. He also has a great shot from the point.<br />
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Selected 35th overall at the 2012 NHL entry draft.<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q3XlgGXvM8<br />
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A100heG2A0Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-20616286308793034432012-06-25T00:20:00.003-04:002012-06-25T00:20:49.683-04:00Gritty UFA's for July 1st 2012Looking at the Leafs needs, some comments made by Burke, and the fact that Randy Carlyle is now coaching the Bud's, its a safe bet that Burkie will target some gritty, tough veterans on July 1st. Here are some possible forwards the Leafs might target:<br />
<br />
<b>Centers </b><br />
Jason Arnott, 37<br />
Paul Gaustad, 30<br />
Adam Burrish, 29<br />
Ryan Carter, 28<br />
Zenon Konopka, 31<br />
Scott Nichol, 37<br />
John Madden, 39<br />
Darcy Hordichuck, 31<br />
<br />
<b>Wingers</b><br />
Ryan Smyth, 36<br />
Shane Doan, 35<br />
Tomas Holmstrom, 39<br />
Travis Moen, 30<br />
Taylor Pyatt, 30<br />
Mikael Samuelsson, 35<br />
Jordin Tootoo, 29<br />
George Parros, 32<br />
Brandon Prust, 28<br />
Aaron Asham, 34<br />
Steve Bernier, 27<br />
Cam Janssen, 28Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-24303155203531890432012-05-18T01:11:00.000-04:002012-05-18T01:11:04.341-04:00Two outstanding draft classes- Quality vs QuantityAfter a quick back and forth about the 2003 and 2005 drafts with my cousin, and Anze Kopitar enthusiast, I decided to compare the two drafts which are loaded with talent.<br />
<br />
The 2003 draft boasts a ton of talent:<br />
<br />
<b>1st Round:</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>The Stars and high end support players:</u></b><br />
Eric Staal<br />
M-A Fleury<br />
Ryan Suter<br />
Zach Parise<br />
Ryan Getzlaf<br />
Cory Perry<br />
Jeff Carter<br />
Mike Richards<br />
Dustin Brown<br />
Ryan Kesler<br />
Brent Seabrooke<br />
Tomas Vanek<br />
Dion Phaneuf<br />
Nathan Horton<br />
Brent Burns<br />
Brayden Coburn<br />
Milan Michalek<br />
Andrei Kostitsyn<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Role Players</u></b><br />
Steve Bernier<br />
Eric Fehr<br />
Robert Nilsson<br />
Mark Stuart<br />
M-A Pouliot<br />
Anthony Stewart<br />
Brian Boyle<br />
Jeff Tambellini<br />
Patrick Eaves<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>The absolute Busts:</u></b><br />
Shawn Belle, only 20 NHL games to his name.<br />
Hugh Jessiman, only 2 games played in the show.<br />
<br />
*Not listed is Nikolai Zherdev. He was taken in this draft, and I almost wanna list him as a bust, although talent-wise that wouldn't be accurate. He could've been in the Kostitsyn/Michalek range if he didn't go back to Russia. He was a 3 time 20+ goal scorer in 4 NHL seasons.<br />
<br />
Now let's take a look at the first round of the 2005 draft, which is also ridiculous. However, being a couple years younger, you should use discretion with certain players who may be late bloomers.<br />
<br />
<b>1st Round:</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>The Stars and high end support players:</u></b><br />
Sidney Crosby<br />
Anze Kopitar<br />
Bobby Ryan<br />
Jack Johnson<br />
T.J. Oshie<br />
Carey Price<br />
Tuuka Rask<br />
Marc Staal<br />
Devin Setogucchi<br />
Andrew Cogliano<br />
Martin Hanzal<br />
Matt Niskanen<br />
Steve Downie<br />
<br />
<b><u>The Role Players:</u></b><br />
Benoit Pouliot<br />
Gilbert Brule (The Blue Jackets always seem to get it wrong)<br />
Jack Skille (could be a late bloomer, could move into "high end support player" role)<br />
Brian Lee<br />
Ryan Parent<br />
Jakub Kindl<br />
Niclas Bergfors<br />
Matt Lashoff (between bust and role player)<br />
<br />
<b><u>The absolute Busts:</u></b><br />
Marek Zagrapan<br />
Sasha Pokulok<br />
Ryan O'Marra (could become a role player)<br />
Kendal McArdle (ditto)<br />
Alex Bourret<br />
Matt Pelech<br />
Joe Finley<br />
Vladimir Michalek<br />
<br />
Not listed is Luc Bourdon, RIP.<br />
<br />
Okay, so its pretty clear that the 2003 draft had a way better first round. Crosby and Kopitar aside, the first round of the 2005 draft was pretty below average, overall. However, its the supposed depth of the 2005 draft that's so impressive. So I'm going to keep digging. I'm not going to list busts for the 2nd round on.<br />
<br />
<b>2003 2nd Round:</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>Stars/high end support:</u></b><br />
Shea Weber<br />
Louie Eriksson<br />
Patrice Bergeron<br />
David Backes<br />
Matt Carle<br />
Jimmy Howard<br />
<br />
<b><u>Notable Role players:</u></b><br />
Kevin Klein<br />
Cory Crawford<br />
BJ Crombeen<br />
Patrick O'Sullivan<br />
Maxim Lapierre<br />
<br />
Not bad, with 4 legit stars, a quality d-man and a legit starting goalie, along with a handful of useful role players.<br />
<br />
<b>2005 2nd Round:</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>Stars/high end support:</u></b><br />
James Neal<br />
Paul Stastny<br />
Ondrej Pavelec<br />
M-A Vlasic<br />
<br />
<b><u>Notable Role players:</u></b><br />
Justin Abdelkader<br />
Mason Raymond<br />
Guillaume Latendresse<br />
Adam McQuiad<br />
*Matt Kassian (only 28 career games so far, but looks like a bit of a late bloomer)<br />
<br />
Okay, so the 2nd round in '05 is solid, but doesn't quite stack up against the '03 class. Which is looking more and more obvious as the best draft class of a generation. Let's take a look at rounds 3-7<br />
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<b>2003 later rounds</b><br />
<br />
<b><u>Stars/high end support:</u></b><br />
Joe Pavelski (*7th round)<br />
Kyle Quincey<br />
Lee Stempniak ("high end support" is maybe a stretch?)<br />
Clarke MacArthur<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u>Notable Role players:</u></b><br />
Dan Carcillo<br />
Drew Miller<br />
Ryan O'Byrne<br />
Nate Thompson<br />
Alexandre Picard<br />
Zach Stortini<br />
Kyle Brodziak<br />
Jan Hejda<br />
Nathan Paetsch<br />
Johnny Mitchell<br />
Brad Richardson<br />
Mark Methot<br />
Bruno Gervais<br />
Paul Bissonette<br />
Jay Rosehill<br />
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Decent draft from the 3rd round on, but the only player resembling a star in there is Joe Pavelski. The super stars drafted in the first couple rounds of this draft are undeniable, but let's see if the '05 draft can make it up in the later rounds:<br />
<br />
2005 later rounds:<br />
<br />
<b><u>Stars/high end support:</u></b><br />
Kris Letang<br />
Jonathan Quick<br />
Keith Yandle<br />
Niclas Hjalmersson<br />
Sergei Kostitsyn<br />
Patric Hornqvist (*last pick of the draft! )<br />
<br />
<b><u><br /></u></b><br />
<b><u>Notable Role players:</u></b><br />
Darren Helm<br />
Nathan Gerbe<br />
Kris Russell<br />
Cody Franson<br />
M-A Gragnani<br />
Anton Stralman<br />
TJ Hensick<br />
Mark Fayne<br />
Matt D'Agostini<br />
Jarred Boll<br />
Kyle Cumiskey<br />
Vladimir Sobotka<br />
Oscar Bartulis<br />
Tom Pyatt<br />
Tim Kennedy<br />
Colin Greening<br />
Chris Butler<br />
Tom Wandell<br />
*Ben Bishop (potential to be a good goalie)<br />
<br />
Well, not a lot to suggest that the '05 draft is in any way better than the '03 draft, except that it has produced a few more NHL'ers. The '05 players would all be about 24-25 years old right now, so there is still a chance that a few of the "notable role players" could make the leap in to the "high end" category, where as we have a better handle on the '03 players who are all 26-27.<br />
<br />
Either way, my conclusion is that the '03 draft class is the draft of the generation, although the '05 depth is fairly impressive.<br />
<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-29072762495424481532012-04-07T22:04:00.003-04:002012-04-07T23:55:01.129-04:00Top Available Goalies This Offseason<b>UFA's</b><div><br /></div><div><b><i>Potential Starter's</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tomas Vokoun, 36</b>: 25-17-2/ 2.51/ .917</div><div>Vokoun is a stud. Puts up good numbers every year. I think, depending on what happens in the playoffs the Capitals may or may not get a deal done to re-sign him. If he hits free agency he'll most likely be the most established goalie available with Nabokov having re-signed on the Island.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Josh Harding, 28</b>: 13-12-4/ 2.62/ .917</div><div>Harding is a guy who has played well since he's entered the league but has never had a shot at being a starter playing behind Backstrom in Minnesota. He could be approaching his prime and as a UFA for the first time he will be looking for a situation where he can go and be a starting goalie.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Johan Hedberg, 39</b>: 17-7-2/ 2.22/ .918</div><div>The old man can still stop the puck. Winning three quarters of his starts, he quietly put up amazing numbers in New Jersey. This guy has had a losing record just once since the lockout (14-15-3 in '08 with Atlanta). I See "Moose" as being a quality back up, capable of playing upwards of 30 games and winning 15-20 of them. Could be a great bargain too. Underrated goalie.<br /><div><br /></div><div><b>Martin Brodeur, 40</b>: 30-21-4/ 2.41/ .907</div><div>Doubt Marty would leave NJ at this point in his career. I would imagine he'll stay in NJ where he's been a God for the last 20 years, or retire. But for every Yzerman, Sakic, and Jeter, there is a Favre, Modano, and Bourque who do change teams. Long shot, but had to include him.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Martin Biron, 34</b>: 12-6-2/ 2.46/ 9.04</div><div>Biron hasn't been a starter in 3 years (29-19-5 with Philly in '09) but has always been a very good goalie and could potentially be a 1A/tandem goalie in the right situation. He always seems to play well and post solid numbers in goal.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Al Montoya, 27</b>: 9-10-5/ 2.96/ 8.97</div><div>Not great numbers. Typically my rule is your GAA should be below 3.00, and SV% above .900 to be considered respectable. Montoya was hovering around both those numbers so he was pretty average stats wise, but keeping in mind he was playing on one of the worst teams in the Islanders. Montoya was a big time prospect 8 years ago (drafted 6th overall in the '04 draft) and has shown flashes of why. A lot of goalies don't come into their own until they are in their late 20's and I wouldn't be surprised to see Montoya find a good situation where he can succeed and become a legitimate starter. Or he might just be a back up, it could really go either way with this guy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>A few notable back ups</i></b></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Chris Mason, 36</b>: 8-7-1/ 2.59/ .898</div><div>Decent back up numbers for the Jets. He was pretty much a .500 goalie with average numbers and average play across the board. Could have a bit left in the tank in a back up role.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Dwayne Roloson, 42</b>: 12-16-3/ 3.68/ .886</div><div>These are bad numbers, even for a back up. The veteran, who turns 43 at the start of next season will almost definitely retire. But he did look okay for stretches this year and could sign a cheap deal as a back up. Rolly never puts up spectacular numbers in the regular season but routinely goes deep in the playoffs (conference final last year, Cup final in '06, conference final in '03). His clutch play could make him an interesting option for a team looking for depth in goal, and he's a goalie who is used to playing in a tandem role. (As I write this Elliot Friedman reports that Rolly kept the game puck after tonights Tampa game and will most likely retire. Great career, if not for his fluke injury late in game 6 of the 2006 Cup final he would have his name on the Cup. Bad break, but great goalie, and great career.)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Marty Turco, 37</b>: 2-2-0/ 3.68/ .855</div><div>These numbers are just terrible. Marty has actually been a .500 goalie for a while now (11-11-3 in '11, 22-20-11 in '10, 33-31-10 in '09). You have to go back to '08 to find him as a legit, winning starter (32-21-6). He used to be one of the best and he may retire, but I think he could be a good pick up as a veteran back up, especially for a team with a young goalie who could use a good team guy. Turco is a character and would bring a ton of experience to the bench. Just a side note, his performance against Vancouver in the 2007 playoffs has to be the greatest goaltending performance in a losing effort in NHL history. He had 3 shutouts in that series, carrying Dallas on his back, a GAA of 1.30 and a SV% of .952. Dallas lost this series...are you kidding me!</div><div><br /></div><div>Other goalies like Clemmensen, Auld, Gustavsson, etc. Are UFA's too. </div><div><br /></div><div>*For anyone thinking "none of these guys are any good except for (so and so)" just remember, many questioned if Theodore could return to form and be a starter again after a few mediocre seasons but he's played really well for Florida. Goaltending is a tricky position to predict sometimes. Another under the radar signing was Mike Smith in Phoenix, look how that turned out.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Available via trade</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>A few names being rumoured include:</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Niklas Backstrom</b>, Minnesota - Another bad season for the Wild, the rumours were out there at the deadline. I could see them shopping Backstrom's $6 million salary for some help up front and then re-signing Harding.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tim Thomas</b>, Boston - Entering the final year of his contract and coming off a slight decline this season, I could see Boston maximizing the value on Thomas and moving him either in the offseason or sometime throughout the season and handing the reigns over to Tuuka Rask. Thomas has won a Conn Smythe and 2 of the last 3 Vezina Trophy's. Even though he's getting up there I think the market would be fairly big for Timmy.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Miikka Kiprusoff</b>, Calgary - Another year of missing the playoffs and the rumblings have started that Calgary could finally start their rebuild. Moving 34 Kipper is an obvious option. Ron MacLean even suggested that this summer Calgary could shop Iginla and give him a chance to play for a true contender. If these rumours are true a young package of picks and prospects could land Kiprusoff who is still one of the NHL's best goalies, posting ridiculous stats on a bad team this season (35-22-11, 2.35, .921).</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Jaroslav Halak/Brian Elliot</b>, St.Louis - Here's a team with two good goalies, both with a couple years left on their deals going into next year. I think the results of these playoffs could determine which stays and which goes. Slight edge to stay would go to Halak right now because he played more games. Halak's numbers were stellar this year, but Elliot's were actually even better. I think Hitchcock's defensive system is flattering to goalies but still you have to give credit to the guys stopping the puck. Elliot's cap hit is $1.8 million for the next two seasons, a little less than half of what Halak makes which could make Halak the trade bait.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Cory Schneider</b>, Vancouver - The kid has put up outrageous numbers (20-8-1, 1.96, .937 this year, 16-4-2, 2.23, .929 last year). I know the wins are going to be inflated playing in Vancouver but you can't argue that the kid has proven over the last two seasons that he can play. He's primed to have an opportunity to be a starter somewhere. If Gillis can have some faith in Luongo he could move Schneider for a very nice return. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Steve Mason</b>, Columbus - A fresh start in Columbus for next year and Mason coming off a terrible season, the rumours are that they tried to move him leading up to the deadline but nothing happened. He's 23 and was brilliant a couple seasons ago. He carries a $2.9 million cap hit which is affordable for a team looking to roll the dice on a kid who could use a change of scenery. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Nikolai Khabibulin</b>, Edmonton - One year left on his contract with the Oilers, they said the asking price was too high for 'Bulin at the deadline, but keep in mind that was a sellers market and the asking price will likely drop this summer. At the start of this year Khabibulin played outstanding hockey but with the brutal... I mean re-building Oilers in front of him, he burnt out quickly. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Sergei Bobrovsky</b>, Philadelphia - For a while this season Bob has actually been better than Bryz in Philly and he's playing the best hockey of his career. Since Bryz is locked up to the big contract Bob could be available. We all know Paul Holmgrem loves to wheel and deal so we'll see if this guy moves this summer.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Jonathan Bernier</b>, LA - Everyones favourite unproven goalie. There's a ton of hype around this kid, and he is almost certainly available for the right price with Quick playing so well in LA. He's definitely a good prospect but time will tell if he can be a starter in the NHL. He's 19-14-5 career over the past 3 seasons, which suggests that he has earned a shot at being a starter somewhere.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Anders Lindback</b>, Nashville - Even less proven than Bernier, but has shown flashes of being pretty good. I doubt he moves but Nashville will have some decisions to face this summer and Lindback could be a trading chip to address needs at other positions. Lindback is closer to a Bishop (acquired from St.Louis by Ottawa) in a sense that we really don't know what he could be capable of, but there is a belief out there that he could be a starting goalie at some point in the next couple of seasons.</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's it. If anyone knows of any good rumours of anyone I may have missed I'd love to hear it.</div><div><br /></div>Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-25423827474285309862012-02-29T14:11:00.003-05:002012-02-29T15:01:58.479-05:0035 interesting UFA's for July 1st, 2012Just looking ahead to one of the best day's of the year for any hockey fan, here are 35 player's scheduled to UFA on July 1st (some of these guys will re-sign with their current club, some may retire)<div><br /></div><div>SCORING FORWARDS (12) - </div><div><br /></div><div>1. Zach Parise, 27 - likely to re-sign, but there is a belief that he could hit the market</div><div>2. Alex Semin, 27 - I actually think he won't stay in Washington, they need some big changes</div><div>3. Shane Doan, 35 - Probably staying with the 'Yotes, but some uncertainty there</div><div>4. Teemu Selanne, 41 - Could retire or stay in Anaheim, but when it comes to Teemu, who knows?</div><div>5. Jaromir Jagr, 40 - The man can flat out still play. Could stay in Philly, retire, or test the market</div><div>6. P.A. Parenteau, 28 - 50+ pts last year, and close to pt per game this year, could cash in</div><div>7. Olli Jokinen, 33 - honestly, would be surprised to see the rejuvenated sniper leave Calgary</div><div>8. Jason Arnott, 37 - Veteran is more of a 2nd/3rd line C now, but 15 G so far this year, decent</div><div>9. Ray Whitney, 39 - Vet has not slowed down. A bit under a pt per game again, every year</div><div>10. Brad Boyes, 29 - his last 20+ G season was in '09 (33 goals). Could be a gamble signing</div><div>11. Petr Sykora, 35 - Comeback player of the year candidate likely sticking in NJ</div><div>12. Steve Sullivan, 37 - The man can still fly out there, would be a solid addition anywhere</div><div><br /></div><div>ROLE PLAYING FORWARDS (12) - </div><div><br /></div><div>1. Paul Gaustad, 30 - Big 6'5" frame, he's the ideal 4th line centre</div><div>2. Dustin Penner, 29 - Brutal year aside, he still has good hockey left in him</div><div>3. Jordin Tootoo, 29 - Having a career year, could be a cap/salary casualty in Nashville</div><div>4. Brandon Prust, 27 - Posts tons of PIMS, had a career high in pts with 29 in 2011</div><div>5. Jamie Langenbrunner, 36 - former playoff hero has slowed down, but still a great leader</div><div>6. Shaun Thornton, 34 - one of the toughest grinders in the league. </div><div>7. Jarret Stoll, 29 - Having an off year, typically good for 45 pts. Reliable 3rd line C, and tough</div><div>8. Taylor Pyatt, 30 - Big 6'4" 230 lbs, gritty, veteran winger</div><div>9. Darcy Hordichuk, 31 - Tons of energy. Great agitator as a 4th line centre</div><div>10. Travis Moen, 29 - Big grinder does a lot of the little things well</div><div>11. Dan Carcillo, 27 - Major league agitator, prone to bad penalties</div><div>12. Zenon Konopka, 31 - Big 4th line centre, drops the gloves, hits, limited minutes</div><div><br /></div><div>DEFENSE (8) *could've done way more, lots of role players out there</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Ryan Suter, 27 - Could test the market, would be a huge prize for any team</div><div>2. Brad Stuart, 32 - Excellent steady D-man, although the Wings have some cap room to re-sign</div><div>3. Matt Carle, 27 - Matt "Hot" Carle is a quality puck mover and will get attention</div><div>4. Dennis Wideman, 28 - Quality hockey player has bounced around. Likely seeking longer term</div><div>5. Hal Gill, 36 - PK specialist and 5 on 3 king pin. Solid veteran.</div><div>6. Pavel Kubina, 34 - Slow, but still has the big shot and plays with a physical edge</div><div>7. Scott Hannan, 33 - one of the many vets scheduled to be available</div><div>8. Colin White, 34 - see Hannan. And there are more like this so I'm stopping here</div><div><br /></div><div>GOALIES (3)</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Evgeny Nabakov, 36 - Isles trying hard to sign him. His #'s have been good this season</div><div>2. Tomas Vokoun, 35 - Having a bad year, but wouldn't be too quick to call him washed up</div><div>3. Martin Biron, 34 - Best back up out there for my money. I think he could be a 1A in a lot of towns</div><div><br /></div><div>And that wraps it up, 35 UFA's for July 1st. Although expect half these guys not to make it to free agency, as per recent NHL trends. Oh I left of Grabovski because this was originally a Leaf wish list, then it morphed into something else. </div>Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-44393193206909802322012-02-28T23:04:00.004-05:002012-02-29T01:12:44.177-05:00"Fire Wilson" Chants rain down at the ACC, #FIREWILSON is trending on TwitterI have to agree with the thousands of angry fans who were at the ACC earlier tonight. Ron Wilson has to go.<div><br /></div><div>This is not a good guy. He publicly blasts his players, and I think he's lost the room. He complains that he gets blamed for losses but doesn't get any credit for the wins. So what? Do you want it the other way around, Ronnie? Do you want credit for wins and no blame for losses? Well, maybe if you were in 1st place, or at least 6th, then ya we could give you credit for a winning record and go easy on you when the team is losing. But when you're in 10th place, slipping in the standings like this, and out of the playoffs for a what's looking like a 4th straight year - you get the blame.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think this team on paper is good enough to make it (http://nhlkvasni.blogspot.com/2011/07/leafs-blog.html) and at one point the Budd's were playing well enough to make it, in fact, 3 weeks ago we were 4 or 5 points behind Pittsburgh, Philly, New Jersey, etc. on the cusp of fighting for home ice in the playoffs. I don't think I, and other Leaf fans like me are overreacting from one bad losing streak. I think this "Fire Wilson" mentality has existed for about as long as he's been the coach. Here is some evidence of that: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/fireronwilson/</div><div>That link is for a "Fire Ron Wilson" petition that was set up in 2010, and has dated signatures from November 201o, and continued signatures leading up to tonight, where it appears a handful of angry Leaf fans, presumably googling "Fire Ron Wilson Petition" came across it and have voiced their opinions.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a lot more to this issue, i.e. the friendship of Burke and Wilson which I don't wish to comment on because, frankly, I find it boring. End rant.</div>Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-47685680105054575712012-02-25T18:49:00.002-05:002012-02-25T19:03:41.368-05:00Rick Nash/Jake Gardiner - one man's takeWhat up. Since Leaf Nation is torn on whether or not moving Gardiner in a deal for Nash makes sense, here's my 2 cents:<br /><br />Flash back to 2001, the Leafs have a deal in place that would send Kaberle, Antropov, a 1st and prospect (wanna say it was Colaiacovo) to the Bolts for Vinny Lecavalier. Pat Quinn balked because he had to give up Kabby, wanted to move Markov but that was a no-go for Tampa Bay. And so the deal fell through.<br /><br />Now of course Kaberle went on to have a great career with Toronto, currently sitting at 5th on the team's all time assist list. Nik Antropov also was a very good player for us for a long time and one of our top scorers, consistantly for a few seasons.<br /><br />Vinny Lecavalier scored 50 goals, 40+ on multiple occasions, cracked 100+ points in a season, racked up crazy stats, won a cup, played for Canada in the Olympics and is still a great hockey player (19 pts in 18 games last year in the playoffs!)<br /><br />Holding onto Jake Gardiner would not be a bad decision by any means, and if he becomes the next Kaberle, or even comes close to replicating Kabby's stats then that's awesome. But I would always trade a great young puck moving defenseman for a stud, big forward.<br /><br />Best case scenario for Jake Gardiner: He becomes a Scott Niedermayer<br />Likely/Optimistic scenario for Gardiner: He becomes a Liles, Kaberle, etc.<br />Likely/Pessimistic scenario for Gardiner: He becomes Colaiacovo, Tverdovsky, etc.<br /><br />Only scenario for Nash: He is Rick Nash. Enough said.<br /><br />Next, for those of you whining about holding onto our 1st rounder and some prospects. I feel you, and I don't want to throw away our future either. However, please consider this -<br />I want to talk about JFJ's first year at as Leafs GM. This was in 2003/04<br />At the trade deadline that season there were a few big names bouncing around, including Alex Kovalev who was traded from NYR to Montreal (eventually becoming the face of the franchise) and another player traded from NYR, Brian Leetch who became a Maple Leaf for:<br /><br />Maxim Kondratiev, Jarko Imminen, 1st round pick (and a later pick)<br /><br />A lot of people were calling into the radio station that night with mixed feelings. "We gave up a 1st rounder and 2 of our best prospects for a 38 year old..." etc. But the fact is, none of those assets amounted to anything. Statistically speaking most draft picks and prospects don't. And historically speaking the team that trades the star for the package of prospects loses in the long run. This fact transcends hockey, Drabek for Halladay, those (Williams? Wilson?) brothers and Alonso Mourning for Vince Carter... (burnt Toronto Sports fan rant).<br /><br />Of course this isn't 2004, we don't have Sundin, Roberts, Renberg, Mogilny, Nolan, Nieuwendyk, McCabe, Kaberle, Antropov, Reichel, Ron Francis... what a team! But Rick Nash is also not a 38 year old Brian Leetch. This is a move both for now and the future, and its one the Leafs should make.<br /><br />Let's assume Gardiner is a MUST from Columbus's end, and especially to out bid the Rangers, and a 1st rounder is a given. The other pieces would include 2 of Frattin, Colbourne, Kadri, and the Jackets could possibly have interest in Keith Aulie, Nikolai Kulemin, or Korbinian Holzer as a little icing in the cake.<br /><br />So I figure it would cost us:<br />Gardiner<br />Frattin<br />Kadri<br />1st rounder<br /><br />Fat package. All 3 guys have some NHL experience, all are young, all have varying degrees of potential/upside. None are statistically or reasonably likely to ever be as good as Rick Nash will be for the next 5-10 years. This would be a good short/long term move.<br /><br />Anyway's, 1 guys opinion.Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-1223853948298416472012-02-21T13:02:00.003-05:002012-02-24T16:11:36.369-05:00Trade Deadline Top 25 Available ForwardsLess than 1 week before the NHL trade deadline. Check this out:<br /><br />TOP 15 RENTAL FORWARDS:<br />These are the top 15 most talked about names in rumours, including only players who are scheduled UFA's on July 1.<br /><br />1. Teemu Selanne, ANA<br />2. Alex Semin, WAS<br />3. Shane Doan, PHX<br />4. Ales Hemsky, EDM<br />5. Ray Whitney, PHX<br />6. Mikhail Grabovski, TOR<br />7. PA Parenteau, NYI<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. Tuomo Ruutu, CAR</span> *<span style="font-weight: bold;"> signed extension with Hurricanes</span><br />9. Mike Knuble, WAS<br />10. Brad Boyes, BUF<br />11. Paul Gaustad, BUF<br />12. Sami Pahlsson, CBJ<br />13. Andre Kostitsyn, MTL<br />14. Wojtek Wolski, NYR<br />15. Dustin Penner, LAK<br /><br />Top 10 Available Forwards, non-UFA<br />This list includes players who are not UFA but rumoured to be available. They're either under contract for next year or are RFA's. A lot of these players are dealt at the draft and in the offseason but some get dealt at the deadline.<br /><br />player, age. length of contract @ cap hit<br />1. Rick Nash, 27. 6 years @$7.8 mil<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Jeff Carter, 27. 9 years @$5.3 mil</span> *<span style="font-weight: bold;">traded to LA</span><br />3. Paul Stastny, 26. 3 years @$6.6 mil<br />4. Bobby Ryan, 24. 3 years @$5.1 mil<br />5. Brendan Morrow, 32. 1 year @$4.1 mil<br />6. Vinny Lecavalier, 32. 7 years @$7.7 mil<br />7. Sam Gagner, 22. RFA<br />8. Derek Roy, 28. 1 year @$4 mil (*actual dollars $5.5 mil, could limit trade value)<br />9. Ryan Malone, 31. 3 years @$4.5 mil<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">10. Antoine Vermette, 28. 4 years @$3.75 mil *traded to Phoenix<br /><br /></span>Additions:<br />- Dustin Brown may or may not be traded. But his name has come up with Carter in LA<br />- Steve Ott has been added to the rumour mill as well.Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-63457739713503923922011-10-20T18:26:00.002-04:002011-10-20T18:34:05.654-04:00Predictions: Tonights games (OCT 20/2011)TOR @ BOS - TOR 5-2, gwg Kulemin<br />WAS @PHI - PHI 4-3 OT, gwg Jagr<br />MON @ PIT - PIT 4-1, gwg Dupuis<br />WPG @ OTT - WPG 3-0 gwg Antropov<br />NYI @ TB - TB 4-2 gwg Lecavalier<br />BUF @ FLA - FLA 3-2 SO, no gwg<br />CHI @ COL - CHI 3-1, gwg Hossa<br />NYR @ CAL - CAL 6-4 gwg Iginla<br />MIN @ EDM - MIN 3-2, gwg Heatley<br />NAS @ VAN - NAS 2-0, gwg Blum<br />LAK @ PHO - PHO 6-5 SO, no gwgDoc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-6537856796913065222011-08-10T16:17:00.003-04:002011-08-10T17:00:23.839-04:00Team to Beat in the East?Some changes over the course of the summer have altered some teams. I really like the Washington Capitals right now, with Vokoun. I think that was an incredible addition for them. Also, consider how good New Jersey was from January on, really meeting their full ability and you have consider them a top team. Flyers without Richards and Carter kind of slip but Bryz is good and its still a good roster. Anyway's, here are my top 5 picks for the East (regular season standings)
<br />
<br />Key injuries to factor in:
<br />Pronger out until ?? Dec?
<br />Crosby???
<br />Malkin returning from torn ACL+MCL, will he be 100% all year?
<br />Savard - I'm just gonna count him out
<br />
<br />Here's the picks and some rough line ups -
<br />
<br />1. Washington Capitals:
<br />
<br />Ovechkin - Backstrom - Semin
<br />Knuble - Laich - Johanssen
<br />Brouwer - Ward - Chimera
<br />Hendricks- Halpern - King/Beagle
<br />
<br />Hamrilik - Green
<br />Schultz - Wideman
<br />Erskine - Poti
<br />+Carlson/Alzner
<br />
<br />Vokoun
<br />Neuvirth
<br />
<br />I really think the Caps are looking grittier this year with Ward and Brouwer in there. Halpern is a nice veteran depth move, and I really like Johanssen. He was excellent in the playoffs and could be poised for some kind of breakout year.
<br />
<br />2. Boston Bruins
<br />
<br />Lucic - Bergeron - Horton
<br />Marchand - Krejci - Peverly
<br />Pouliot - Seguin - Kelly
<br />Paille - Campbell - Thornton
<br />
<br />Chara - Seidenberg
<br />Ferrence - Boychuk
<br />Corvo - McQuiad
<br />+Kampfer
<br />
<br />Thomas
<br />Rask
<br />
<br />Pretty workman-like group of FWD's, but with Chara out there half the game and 2 time Vezina winning goalie Tim Thomas in goal, I still think this is a great team. Losing Ryder takes some zip from the offense but they still have enough guys who can chip away offensively. I think Marchand is a really solid player and could have a good year. Also look for Caron to make the team out of camp and stick.
<br />
<br />3. Philadelphia Flyers
<br />
<br />Hartnell - Briere - Giroux
<br />Voracek - VanRiemsdyk - Jagr
<br />Simmonds - Talbot - Schenn
<br />Laperierre - Betts - Shelley/Nodl
<br />
<br />*Pronger - Timmonen
<br />Carle - Coburn
<br />Meszaros - Lilja
<br />+Bartulis
<br />
<br />Bryzgalov
<br />Bobrovsky
<br />
<br />Not as much star power as before, obviously. But JVR was outstanding in the playoffs and could be a big factor. Voracek and Simmonds could both be poised for a bit of a breakout and even if only 1 gets there, they're looking good. Jagr is a wild card, I'm going on a limb and predicting 25 goals, and up over 60 points. I know a lot of people seem to think he'll be in the 40-50 pt range and they could be right but we will see. Obviously the biggest offseason addition for Philly was Bryzgalov who should take the guess work out of who their starter is for the first time in about 12 years.
<br />
<br />4. Pittsburgh Penguins
<br />
<br />Neal - Crosby - Kunitz
<br />Sullivan - Malkin - Dupuis
<br />Kennedy - Staal - Letestu
<br />Asham - Cooke - Adams/MacIntyre
<br />
<br />Letang - Orpik
<br />Michalek - Martin
<br />Niskanen - Lovejoy
<br />+Engleland
<br />
<br />Fleury
<br />Johnson
<br />
<br />Take Crosby and Malkin out of the line up for 1/2 the games and its still a solid D, goaltending and hard working group of FWD's type of team. Their health is the biggest X-factor in the East. They could finish as high as 1st and as low as 10th or 11th in my opinion. Love the Sullivan addition he showed for Nashville in the playoffs last year that he can still play. I also think James Neal will have a really solid year overall.
<br />
<br />5. New Jersey Devils:
<br />
<br />Kovalchuk - Zajac - Parise
<br />Elias - Zubrus - Tedenby
<br />Hunter - Steckel - Clarkson
<br />Janssen - Pelley - Boulton/Josefson
<br />
<br />Volchenkov - Tallinder
<br />Greene - Salvadore
<br />Fraser - Corrente
<br />
<br />Brodeur
<br />Hedberg
<br />
<br />The team doesn't seem as deep as last year's without Langenbrunner, Colin White, Rolston etc. But there are always a few good young players in the Devils' organization such as Matthias Tedenby who can fill in at an NHL level and sometimes even really surprise. The defense is solid and unspectacular and the goaltending is....old. But I like the star power and I think if the new coach isn't a dud it should be a solid enough group to fight for home ice and contend for a cup.
<br />
<br />6-11 is tough but those are my top 5 as it stands right now. I think the next group of 6 in no particular order will include Tampa Bay, Buffalo, Toronto, New York Rangers, Montreal, and Carolina. Leaving the bottom 4 as Winnepeg, Florida, New York Islanders and Ottawa.
<br />Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-60471196173028102432011-07-07T02:00:00.004-04:002011-07-07T02:39:37.930-04:00Leafs Blog...Okay! This is crazy. So many Leafs fans that I know and from what I've been reading across the internet and twitter are really upset at the fact that the Leafs never made that big splash this offseason and now are claiming to be pretty much done, save some minor signings before the season starts. Well I can definitely sympathize, and as a Leafs fan I can't say I didn't have my hopes set on Steve Stamkos as well (not so much Brad Richards but I wouldn't have complained). But I am going to tell you that I think the Leafs will be a playoff team this year and here's why...<br /><br />First off I like the depth we have now. Ya, "depth" can sometimes be a buzz word that's used to describe mediocre teams, granted. But I look at some teams that have been succesful without having much star power in the line up, I consider the Nashville Predators mold, or the Buffalo Sabres (Pre-Pegulla) who were able to throw out 3 lines of balanced attack up front, solid defense and got timely goaltending and were able to be competitive teams. I am not claiming that the Leafs are cup contenders but they are looking like a playoff team.<br /><br />Take a look at this line up, as it stands right now:<br /><br />Joffrey Lupul - Tim Connolly - Phil Kessel<br />Clarke MacArthur - Mikhail Grabovski - Nikolai Kulemin<br />Nazem Kadri - Tyler Bozak - Colby Armstrong<br />Mike Brown - Phillipe Dupuis - Jay Rosehill<br /><br />Dion Phaneuf - Cody Franson<br />John Michael Liles - Luke Schenn<br />Keith Aulie - Carl Gunnarsson/Mike Komisarek<br /><br />James Reimer<br />Jonas Gustavsson<br /><br />*IR Wildcards - Matthew Lombardi, Colton Orr<br />+ Joe Colborne, Matt Lashoff, Luca Caputi all have a good shot to make it along with a couple surprise underdogs at camp<br /><br />Now, what I like about this line up is this - even with Brad Richards or Steve Stamkos in for Tim Connolly this is not a Stanley Cup contending team. More likely to make the playoffs? Absolutely, but still not a contender. So we didn't get "that guy" this summer. This is not a huge concern for me. What I really like about this line up is that management has left room on the roster for Kadri to get a significant role if he is able to play well enough to take it. If not, that role could be occupied by Colborne or another Leafs prospect. There is room for good young players to develop and get some playing time. If you listened to the comments made by Dave Nonis on July 1st, he said that the Leafs made some offers to 4 or 5 UFA's but they were not going to go out and sign a bunch of guys to long term deals at inflated rates and take ice time away from the young core they've put together. I have to agree with this because the team is so young and these guys need more time to gel, and to develop. Remember that there is no quick fix....<br /><br />I'm gonna take you all back to about, 10-11 years ago, there was a time in Leaf Nation when Leafs fans were pissed off because we were a guaranteed playoff team each year but had no chance to compete for a cup against the likes of New Jersey, Detroit, Dallas, Colorado. Many Leafs fans were pissed off at the quick fix efforts put forth by Pat Quinn and his predecessors who traded away the following players:<br />Fred Modin, at the time a 30 goal man in Tampa,<br />Mike Johnson, the leading scorer of the Coyotes (60+ pts)<br />Steve Sullivan, 30 goal man with Chicago<br />Alym MacCauley, some Selke consideration and wore the 'A' in San Jose<br />Jason Smith, solid stay home d-man and captain for Edmonton<br />Brad Boyes, hot shot up and comer in the Sharks system<br /><br />The list goes on to a lesser extent and I may be forgetting a couple other big ones, but the general concensus at this time is that if we had waited another year or two this group could have become a really good team, but we dealt them all away to make way for aging vets like Owen Nolan and Dmitri Khristich. Now Burke and co. are holding onto the young guns like Kadri, Kulemin (rumored in the Mike Richards would-be trade) and Leafs fans are not happy that we didn't bring in "that guy". Well I'm gonna tell you all that this is a good thing.<br /><br />This is going to be a young line up again and were gonna see what kinds of strides they can take this season. I know a lot of people will say "its the same team that missed the playoffs last year". And if everyone was roughly 27-30 last year, then I would agree, this team will miss again. But all the key guys are here are 26 and under except for a couple, like Grabovski and Armstrong who are still both under 30. So keeping that in mind, I am of the mind that the majority of the players in this line up will only be better this season, and the additions of Connolly, Liles, Franson, and Lombardi, although not pocessing the sex appeal of Steven Stamkos are all quality NHL'ers which only make the team deeper and stronger. Really the biggest wild card here is James Reimer, and if he can even play close to the level that he played at last season with a certain amount of consistency (because its a lot to ask that he plays that good all year, we can expect some ups and downs or else he's winning the Vezina) then the Leafs should be a playoff team.<br /><br />Again, if you take one point away from this blog, let it be that there are no quick fixes, let this group have another year together, then re-evaluate and improve on it some more next offseason. Then repeat that process and improve again in the following offseason. I expect the core players from this group to be Cup conteders within 3 years. Patience. I like this team, and so should you.<br /><br />-Mojo/DocHockDoc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-33176229378620032011-07-04T18:40:00.002-04:002011-07-04T19:07:44.372-04:00Philly.... better now? Even without Richards and Carter?Its hard to say that a team is better after losing two centers as great as those guys... here is their line up right now:<br /><br />Claude Giroux - Daniel Briere - Jaromir Jagr<br />Scott Hartnell - James VanRiemsdyk - Jakub Voracek<br />Wayne Simmonds - Max Talbot - Brayden Schenn<br />Jody Shelley - Blair Betts - Ian Laperriere/Adreas Nodl<br /><br />Kimo Timmonen - Chris Pronger<br />Matt Carle - Brayden Coburn<br />Andrej Mezsaros - Matt Walker/Andreas Lilja<br /><br />Ilya Bryzgalov<br />Sergei Bobrovsky<br /><br />I don't know if Schenn would make the team, but I think he'll get a good look, if he can't make it then they'll have a good mix that can take on that role on the third line, Laperriere for sure. Anyways is this team better even though they lost Carter, Richards, and Leino? I mean, consider that Voracek put up 38, 50, and 46 points in his 3 seasons in the league. If he even puts up similar production that would be solid. JVR looks poised to take that next step, especially after how he looked in the playoffs (better than Richards and Carter). Jagr is a wild card, Simmonds and Talbot should be good role players, and Schenn is another wild card, if he can play at an NHL level and progress throughout the year this is a hell of a team. Defense is of course solid and deep, and best of all for Philly, goaltending no longer a concern.Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-16923651122529927272011-07-04T01:09:00.003-04:002011-07-04T01:45:41.194-04:00Look at the Wild and Sharks after the 2 big tradesI like this trade for Minnesota. Marty Havlat is a solid player but not nearly the goal scorer that Heatley is. In the last 3 years Havlatt has stayed healthy and has scored a total of 69 goals (avg 23 per year), Dany Heatley during that same time has scored 104 goals (avg 35 per year). But I guess the Sharks wanted to free up some cap space and make a shake up trade at the same time.<br /><br />As for the other trade, Setogucchi for Brent Burns, I like what the Sharks did there, but Minnesota did need a fwd so its a pretty solid trade for both sides.... Anyways heres a look at the two rosters as of right now (although more moves might be made)<br /><br />Dany Heatley - Mikko Koivu - Devin Setogucchi<br />Kyle Brodziak - P.M. Bouchard - Giullaume Latendresse<br />Eric Nystrom - Matt Cullen - Cal Clutterbuck<br />Brad Staubitz - James Sheppard - Darryl Powe<br /><br />Nick Schultz - Marek Zidlicky<br />Greg Zanon - Clayton Stoner<br />Marco Scandella - Jared Spurgeon<br /><br />Niklas Backstrom<br />Josh Harding<br /><br />- I don't know if it makes them a playoff team, I definitely like the Kaberle to Minnesota rumors. The Wild could definitely use another quality d-man but other than that I like their forwards a lot. I think the Havlat/Heatley upgrade and addition of Setogucchi up front helps to offset the loss of Brunette to the Hawks. Brunette was the 3rd top scorer on the team last season behind Koivu and Havlat.<br /><br />And here's the Sharks:<br /><br />Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Martin Havlat<br />Ryan Clowe - Joe Pavelski - Logan Couture<br />Torrey Mitchell - Michael Handzus - Jamie McGinn<br />John McCarthy - Ben Ferriero - Tommy Wingels<br /><br />M.E. Vlasic - Dan Boyle<br />Douglas Murray - Brent Burns<br />Justin Braun - Jim Vandermeer<br /><br />Antti Niemi<br />Antero Niittymaki<br /><br />I don't know about the depth up front for the Sharks. But if Couture builds on his rookie year they're looking pretty good. Still, I think the Heatley trade might be to free up a couple mil to replace role players lost like Ben Eager and Jamal Mayers. Also there is no rush for this team to get those players, they could add them at the deadline. But with Brent Burns in there, you have to love San Jose's defense.Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1227782938436562107.post-2957854493288731262011-07-02T14:09:00.009-04:002011-07-06T15:50:59.142-04:00July 2nd: Top 50 remaining UFA'sBlack Friday is over and Brad Richards signed this morning. Here is a list of remaining UFA's<br /><br /><strong>CENTERS (Top 10)</strong><br /><br /><strong><em>Tim Connolly, 30 (TOR)<br /></em>Jason Arnott, 36 (STL)<br /></strong>Vinny Prospal, 35<br />Chris Drury, 34<br />Brendan Morrison, 36<br /><br />John Madden, 38<br />Rob Schremp, 25<br /><strong>Rob Niedermayer, 36 (EUROPE)<br /></strong>Kyle Wellwood, 28<br />Patrick O'Sullivan, 26<br /><br /><strong>WINGERS (top 15)</strong><br /><br /><em><strong>Simon Gagne, 31 (LAK)</strong></em><br />Teemu Selanne, 40<br /><strong>Jamie Langenbrunner, 35 (STL)</strong><br />Nikolay Zherdev, 26<br />J.P. Dumont, 33<br /><br />Alex Kovalev, 38<br />Alex Frolov, 29<br />Chris Clark, 35<br />Anti Miettenen, 30<br />Cory Stillman, 37<br /><br />Sergei Samsonov, 32<br />Ethan Moreau, 35<br />Mike Grier, 36<br />Petr Prucha, 28<br />Wade Belak, 34<br /><br /><strong>DEFENSE (top 15)</strong><br /><br /><strong>Tomas Kaberle, 32 (CAR)</strong><br />Scott Hannan, 32<br />Bryan McCabe, 36<br />Niclas Wallin, 36<br />Anton Stralman, 24<br /><br /><strong><em>Ian White, 27 (DET)<br /></em></strong>Shane O'Brien, 27<br />Steve Eminger, 27<br />Kent Huskins, 32<br /><strong>Anton Babchuk, 27 (CAL)<br /><br />Radek Martinek, 34 (CBJ</strong>)<br /><strong>Matt Gilroy, 27 (TBL)</strong><br />Steve Staios, 37<br />Brent Sopel, 34<br />Craig Rivet, 36<br /><br /><strong>GOALIES (top 10)<br /></strong><br /><strong>Tomas Vokoun, 34 (WAS)<br /></strong>Chris Osgood, 38<br />Marty Turco, 35<br />Ray Emery, 28<br />Pascal Leclair, 28<br /><br />Ty Conklin, 35<br />Thomas Greiss, 25<br />Martin Gerber, 36<br />Joey MacDonald, 31<br />Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, 27Doc Hockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14778046457060390239noreply@blogger.com0