2008 NHL offseason

Enforcer · June-17th-2008, 10:37 PM

Yeah, that's the way to start this thread! Expect more to appear randomly in the next few months. Yeah, baby.

So, Igor Larionov and Glenn Anderson make to the Hockey Hall Of Fame. Congrats!

Enforcer · June-20th-2008, 02:53 PM

The draft is just around the corner. The Red Wings know how to pick 'em. From the Detroit News:

Deft drafters

The days of the Red Wings living off free agency are long gone. A staggering 19 former Wings draft picks will be on the roster or competing for spots in training camp.

Justin Abdelkader, 2005, 2nd round, 42nd overall.
Pavel Datsyuk, 1998, 6th round, 171st overall.
Dallas Drake, 1989, 6th round, 116th overall.
Jonathan Ericsson, 2002, 9th round, 291st overall.
Valtteri Filppula, 2002, 3rd round, 95th overall.
Johan Franzen, 2004, 3rd round, 97th overall.
Darren Helm, 2005, 5th round, 132nd overall.
Tomas Holmstrom, 1994, 10th round, 257th overall.
Jimmy Howard, 2003, 2nd round, 64th overall.
Jiri Hudler, 2002, 2nd round, 58th overall.
Jakub Kindl, 2005, 1st round, 19th overall.
Tomas Kopecky, 2000, 2nd round, 38th overall.
Niklas Kronwall, 2000, 1st round, 29th overall.
Nicklas Lidstrom, 1989, 3rd round, 53rd overall.
Darren McCarty, 1992, 2nd round, 46th overall.
Derek Meech 2002, 7th round, 229th overall.
Chris Osgood, 1991, 3rd round, 54th overall.
Kyle Quincey, 2003, 4th round 132nd overall.
Henrik Zetterberg, 1999, 7th round, 210th overall.

Enforcer · June-20th-2008, 07:24 PM

Stamkos officially a Bolt! Congrats, Slurpy!

patricia · June-20th-2008, 08:57 PM

Just caught the end of the sports news, mostly feetsball and beezball.
But, I heard that Alex Tanguay has been traded to the Canadiens.
I think I heard him mention about halfway through the season that he wanted to go back home.
So...................

Mike Schwartz · June-20th-2008, 10:19 PM

Sharks have done pretty well over the years in the draft, aren't participating in the first round.

Pretty sure they gave up the 1st rounder for Brian Campbell, who helped a lot during the stretch run, but was a dud in the playoffs.

Mike Schwartz · June-21st-2008, 06:24 PM

Sharks didn't participate until the 3rd round #62......we did get two players that attended Kent School

Enforcer · June-22nd-2008, 01:08 PM

Hey, you never know!

The Wings take goaltender Tomas McCollum with their first round pick. With the Wings, we won't be able to evaluate their picks for 3 or 4 years. They tend to nurture them for a long time before bringing them up to the NHL.

Gentle Giant · June-22nd-2008, 10:05 PM

Looking for reasons to reconnect with hockey. I can't even pronounce some of the Bruins draft picks. Does the NHL have instant reply and a Designated Brawler yet?

Slurpy · June-23rd-2008, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Stamkos officially a Bolt! Congrats, Slurpy!

Thanks, Larry. We need all the help we can get and "the experts" are
already saying Stamkos has Sakic or Yzerman potential. He'd better
be good if we're already penciling him in to center our 2nd line (the
spot that was Richards')

No good deed ever goes unpunished though - wait for the Barry Melrose
coach announcement soon. And you thought Oren Koules' "Saw" movies
were scary! Revenge of the Mulllet has me shaking already.

Slurpy · June-23rd-2008, 06:10 PM

He he....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad4zG...eature=related

Mike Schwartz · June-23rd-2008, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slurpy

He he....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad4zG...eature=related

Mad skills indeed, but seriously, he'd never get nearly that close to an NHL goalie w/o a poke check throwing the puck the hell away from the net.

Slurpy · June-23rd-2008, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Schwartz

Mad skills indeed, but seriously, he'd never get nearly that close to an NHL goalie w/o a poke check throwing the puck the hell away from the net.

Exactly what I thought too. Watching it, I was like....no poke-check??
Especially the slower motion ones....when...is...the goalie...gonna react?

But still, whew!

Enforcer · June-23rd-2008, 07:48 PM

NHL-possible or not, that's a freakin' gorgeous move!

patricia · June-24th-2008, 12:21 AM

Very nice!!
It looked like a pond-hockey move that kids do when they are just fooling around when they've got a new kid in the castle.
Pretty though.

moneyp · June-27th-2008, 01:36 PM

Congrats again to Larry on Hockeytown bringing another one home. Congrats to Slurpy on Stamkos. Looks like you have another franchise center to build around. Bummer to Pat on Tanguay being traded to the Habs. The wrong move, I think.

Larry, you asked on the previous thread whether I thought Burke was headed to Toronto. Yeah, I think he's got one foot out the door. But aside from the dubious decision not to extend Al Coates' contract (where he, surprise surprise, signed with Toronto as their player personnel director), I can't fault anything he's doing this offseason.

As you can probably guess, I'm thrilled to have Scotty back for one more year. Any shot we have at the Cup requires having him around. Also incredibly pleased that Burke has more or less owned up to his mistake and placed Bert on waivers. One year, $4 million and one salary-cap necessitated trade of Andy McDonald too late. There's a significant portion of the Ducks fans who think that Bert wasn't that bad. Well, the team is going to pay him two-thirds of his salary NOT to play for us.

With Scotty returning, I have a feeling Schneider will get moved. He wasn't bad last year, but $5 million is high for a third-pairing defenseman. Wondering if we'll find a taker.

Larry, that hockey-related project I pitched to you months back is still open. Would love to do something like it for the upcoming season.

Enforcer · June-28th-2008, 09:21 AM

Hey, Mone. I was listening to Burke yesterday on XM 204 and I was reminded of what a fascinating guy he is. Never mind his acumen as an NHL general manager, I'm just talking about him as a person. There are a few people in various walks of life who I'd love to have a drink with and listen to their stories all night. My dad always said he'd pick Frank Sinatra for that type of thing. Hard to argue with that. But in hockey terms, I think it would come down to either Ron McLean or Brian Burke. Burke is an intellectual on many levels and he seems very honest and sincere while at the same time being a bit of a ham. He's also got healthy doses of loyalty and machismo in his makeup. My kind of guy.

I'm glad for your guys that Scotty is back. I was a little surprised he made his mind up so soon, but the team really needed him to decide quickly. I heard about Bert yesterday and it is a bit of a surprise. I wanted Bert back after the run he had with the Red Wings in 2007. I was discussing him yesterday with a co-worker and recalling how disappointed we both were that Bert didn't return. But at the same time, if Bert is on the 2008 Detroit roster when Holmstrom went down, would Franzen have ever gotten the chance to score 27 goals in 27 games? I'm thinking the big body in front of the net replacing Homer would have been Bert, and then we never find out how good Franzen could have been. Well, it's all speculation what would have happened, but it worked out okay for my guys.

I'm glad you brought up that project. I want to do it. I've been thinking of emailing you about it the past week or so. With the season over, I'm jonesing for hockey right now. I'm walking around like the biggest dork, wearing all my Stanley Cup championship gear. By the way, our locker room cap is the best item. It's a true fitted New Era cap (actually one size fits all with the elastic) and it looks great. I ordered the DVD for me and my daughter (I bought two of everything else I got, too) and I can't wait for it to arrive. Every few days, it's like Santa has dropped off some awesome new thing at my door, waiting in a brown box on my welcome mat when I get home from work. It's been a good summer so far.

I'll email you about the project and we'll get it started.

Larry

Enforcer · June-30th-2008, 11:15 PM

Can't wait to order my copy of this:

Slurpy · July-1st-2008, 12:22 PM

Well, at least new owner Oren Koules is backing up his talk, inking Ryan Malone (7 yrs), Gary Roberts (1 yr, thank you) and Vinny Prospal (4 yrs)
and we're now negotiating with Brian Rolston. Free agency kicked off
20 minutes ago.....over to tsn.ca for updates...

EDIT: BTW, Happy Canada Day, Patricia!

Slurpy · July-1st-2008, 12:31 PM

Congrats, Mone and Patricia.

Anaheim re-sign forward Corey Perry to a five-year deal worth $26.625-million which will average $5.325-million a year.

Calgary Flames re-sign forward Daymond Langkow to a 4-year deal worth $18 million. (average of $4.5 million per season)
Calgary Flames re-sign forward Craig Conroy to an undisclosed contract.

Slurpy · July-1st-2008, 01:54 PM

Damn, what's the cap this year??

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Lightning signed unrestricted free agent forward Radim Vrbata to a $9-million, three-year contract Tuesday.

He had 56 points (27-29) in 76 games for the Phoenix Coyotes last season.

The 27-year-old Czech winger has 226 points (102-124) in 422 career NHL regular-season games.

The Vrbata signing comes on the heels of Tampa Bay's signings of wingers Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Vaclav Prospal, giving the Lightning a drastically different group of forwards for the 2008-2009 season.

Enforcer · July-1st-2008, 02:12 PM

Yep, lots of good things all around the league, but nobody is happier with the improvement of their team than Bolts fans. Congrats, Slurpy! Your boys will be a much, much better team.

The Wings sign Lilja (barf) and Stuart (YEAH!) to contracts. Stuart's signing was huge, and ensures that they will return last season's top four. Stewie took a hometown discount, which is much appreciated. Word is out that the Wings have Sundin and Bert still on their radar.

Slurpy · July-1st-2008, 02:32 PM

Congrats on Stuart, Larry.

Yeah, I'm happy but don't know how we're going to handle the cap. The
lack of any new Dmen is a concern. But lines of Lecavalier/St Louis/Prospal,
Stamkos/Vrbata/Malone, Halpern/Roberts/Jokinen or Ouelette. Looks good to me but...something's gotta give.

Enforcer · July-1st-2008, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slurpy

Congrats, Mone and Patricia.

Anaheim re-sign forward Corey Perry to a five-year deal worth $26.625-million which will average $5.325-million a year.

Calgary Flames re-sign forward Daymond Langkow to a 4-year deal worth $18 million. (average of $4.5 million per season)
Calgary Flames re-sign forward Craig Conroy to an undisclosed contract.

Yep, congrats to both. Those are essential signings for both teams.

Slurpy, I heard your boys were on the verge of signing Kolzig, too. He'd make a nice veteran backup to Mike Smith.

Slurpy · July-1st-2008, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enforcer

Slurpy, I heard your boys were on the verge of signing Kolzig, too. He'd make a nice veteran backup to Mike Smith.

Really? I hope so, that'd be sweet.

Slurpy · July-1st-2008, 04:20 PM

Yep, Kolzig is a done deal. 1 yr / 1.5 mil. Not bad at all.

Slurpy · July-2nd-2008, 02:14 PM

Niiice, Larry.

Detroit Red Wings sign UFA forward Marian Hossa to a one-year contract worth $7.4 million.

moneyp · July-2nd-2008, 03:12 PM

Jesus Christ, Larry, how is that fair? :P I'm amazed he only went for a one-year deal.

Slurp! Love the moves in Tampa Bay. I think your boys are going to be in the thick of it again. Amazing what happens when you move an $8 million salary off the roster.

Love the Perry re-signing. He's making as much as Getzlaf, which either means he's overpaid or Getz is underpaid. But it seems to be all about when you hit the market.

The Campbell signing is the most ludicrous of the offseason so far. Overpayment by a team that's having a hard time attracting free agents.

patricia · July-2nd-2008, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slurpy

Well, at least new owner Oren Koules is backing up his talk, inking Ryan Malone (7 yrs), Gary Roberts (1 yr, thank you) and Vinny Prospal (4 yrs)
and we're now negotiating with Brian Rolston. Free agency kicked off
20 minutes ago.....over to tsn.ca for updates...

EDIT: BTW, Happy Canada Day, Patricia!

Thanks Slurp. Whooped it up, waving my flag and staring skyward at the exploding stuff. Good times.

Looks like the Flames avoided most of the hoopla and stayed about the same, with the exception of Tanguay going to the Habs, which he wanted. Minor moving arounds.
Sutter is not up for drama. He just did it, then, done.

Mike Schwartz · July-2nd-2008, 05:02 PM

[QUOTE=moneyp;759967]Jesus Christ, Larry, how is that fair? :P I'm amazed he only went for a one-year deal.

Slurp! Love the moves in Tampa Bay. I think your boys are going to be in the thick of it again. Amazing what happens when you move an $8 million salary off the roster.

Love the Perry re-signing. He's making as much as Getzlaf, which either means he's overpaid or Getz is underpaid. But it seems to be all about when you hit the market.

The Campbell signing is the most ludicrous of the offseason so far. Overpayment by a team that's having a hard time attracting free agents.[/QUOTE]

That's an insane deal for way too many years.
Too bad Sharks gave up Steve Bernier to get a rental, but he did help SJ go on that division clinching run, but was eaten alive in the playoffs. Was exposed as a regular season guy without the makeup for the playoffs (at least what he showed this past season)

Sharks concentrating on resigning the restricted free agents:
- Jody Shelley (now that coach Wilson is gone they'll probably use him more)
- Joe Pavelski (kid has a really heady game and hustles his ass off)
- Brian Bouche (decent back-up netminder)
- Jeremy Roenick one year; one more once (had 10 game winners last year)

Lost Patrick Rissmiller to free agency.

patricia · July-2nd-2008, 06:57 PM

Roenick is the surprise come-back for me. Gotta hand it to him. He's got a lot of miles on him. He's in there and he's doin' it. Good for him.

Wasn't surprised that Todd Bertuzzi seems to be being shuffled aside. I was surprised when he was picked up by the Ducks last season. He's putting it out there, but he's labouring, I think and not exactly an ambassador for the game. But, what do I know?