The Official 13-14 NHL Regular season thread

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by chrisj

Vancouver is trying to give Edmonton a run for their money as one of the worst run franchises. How can you turn two top starters into very little...

Yes, this was not great asset management. They turned Schneider and Lugongo into Bo Vorvat, Jakub Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

Interesting note on Matthias, the Wings traded him to Florida for Bertuzzi, who was traded to Florida by Vancouver as part of the Luongo deal.

Maybe it's not that interesting, but now you know and knowing is half the battle.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Yes, this was not great asset management. They turned Schneider and Lugongo into Bo Vorvat, Jakub Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

Interesting note on Matthias, the Wings traded him to Florida for Bertuzzi, who was traded to Florida by Vancouver as part of the Luongo deal.

Maybe it's not that interesting, but now you know and knowing is half the battle.

That's Lupul territory...he was traded twice for Pronger I think. Anaheim and Edmonton.

[JPhillips]

I'm afraid in a few years we'll be talking about how amazing it was that WAS essentially traded Forsberg for a fourth line grinder and a third line prospect.

Amazing how that team completely fell apart in the span of three years while retaining all of their star level talent.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Callahan, '14 2nd and '15 1st to TB for MSL

Guess makes sense on both sides. Rangers weren't bringing Callahan back. MSL wanted out of Tampa, Lightning get 1st in a deep draft next year for their troubles.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Callahan, '14 2nd and '15 1st to TB for MSL

Guess makes sense on both sides. Rangers weren't bringing Callahan back. MSL wanted out of Tampa, Lightning get 1st in a deep draft next year for their troubles.

I'm happy with the deal. MSL can still score with the best of them and I think he can have some longevity beyond next year. Supposedly he's wanted to play in NY for a while, and if he will take a discount to stay, I think we'd have him.

Hate giving up the 2015 1st. The 14 2nd becomes a 1st if the Rangers make the conference finals, which I hate. Make the SCF the condition, if anything.

[bhlloy]

The Rangers get a second if Callaghan signs with TBL, which would make the deal a lot more palatable for them. Otherwise, that's a lot for a 38 year old who might be done after next year and was only ever going to be traded to one team

[Logan]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

The Rangers get a second if Callaghan signs with TBL, which would make the deal a lot more palatable for them. Otherwise, that's a lot for a 38 year old who might be done after next year and was only ever going to be traded to one team

I think it was an interesting how Callahan was supposedly shopped, but all we ever heard for a potential return before this was Chris Stewart and maybe a pick, before he got traded on his own. Maybe there were things kept very quiet, but I think once word got out on his contract demands, there may have been no real market for him. I can't see any contending team willing to go to the years and money that the Rangers were offering, and I thought that was crazy to begin with. So you might need to basically cross his name off the list, or think of him like another 2nd rounder, when evaluating the return.

I think Cally ends up getting a big offer to play in Buffalo and serve as a mentor to their rebuilding project. Otherwise, he's going to need to take a 4x5 type deal from a potential contender.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Yes, this was not great asset management. They turned Schneider and Lugongo into Bo Vorvat, Jakub Markstrom and Shawn Matthias.

Interesting note on Matthias, the Wings traded him to Florida for Bertuzzi, who was traded to Florida by Vancouver as part of the Luongo deal.

Maybe it's not that interesting, but now you know and knowing is half the battle.

In the same realm...

Last time a Rangers captain was traded, Messier to Sharks in 2003, for a 4th round pick.

That 4th round pick became....Ryan Callahan.

[RomaGoth]

Not sure what Holland was thinking today by trading Eaves, Jarnkrok, and a conditional 3rd to the Predators for a 33 year old David Legwand.

Unless he knows something about Jarnkrok (who has been compared to Henrik Zetterberg) that the rest of us don't, this deal looks awful.

[Logan]

The NHL has reversed the Devils penalty on the Kovalchuk cap circumvention. They'll lose whatever slot they were supposed to be picking this year, and will pick 30th instead.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Not sure what Holland was thinking today by trading Eaves, Jarnkrok, and a conditional 3rd to the Predators for a 33 year old David Legwand.

Unless he knows something about Jarnkrok (who has been compared to Henrik Zetterberg) that the rest of us don't, this deal looks awful.

Here's what Holland was thinking. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Weiss and Helm are all injured.

Prior to getting Legwand here were the Wings starting centers for tonight's (and perhaps the next couple of weeks) game:

Andresson
Sheahan
Glending
Emmerton

This would be a decent team down the middle for an AHL squad, not a NHL team fighting for its playoff life.

The injuries to Datsyuk and Helm forced Holland's hand here.

Even with Legwand the playoffs are a long shot now. The Wings gave up too many points early on in the season and are too badly injured now to make a big push. That said, without him it's pretty much done.

I am not too worried about the 3rd round (could become a 2nd round if the Wings make the playoffs) pick. Eaves was a throw in. I imagine that the Wings probably forced Nashville to take Eaves as part of the deal for cap/CBA/financial reasons. Eaves has been waived twice this season and has been claimed by zero teams. I like Eaves. I am sad to see him go, but his time here is done.

The trade will depend on how Jarnkrok pans out. He is a pretty highly regarded prospect. That said, there were rumblings that if he didn't make the Wings next year, he'd bolt to Sweden. He's not likely going to make the Wings next year. Sheahan has already passed him on the organizational depth chart. There were also rumblings that he may go back to Sweden any way. If Jarnkrok does stay in America and pans out a decent NHL center, then the deal is pretty bad. If not... The Wings desperately needed help at center and got a quality NHL center.

Too bad Garth Snow isn't Nashville's GM or that Vanek isn't a center.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Logan

The NHL has reversed the Devils penalty on the Kovalchuk cap circumvention. They'll lose whatever slot they were supposed to be picking this year, and will pick 30th instead.

It seems like the Devils are always getting off the hook for their cap shenanigans.

[Pyser]

Originally Posted by Logan

The NHL has reversed the Devils penalty on the Kovalchuk cap circumvention. They'll lose whatever slot they were supposed to be picking this year, and will pick 30th instead.

woohoo! wonder what happened?

guess lou wasnt so dumb for keeping pick 29 in the cup final run year.

still wouldve been smarter to pass then, but hurts a LOT less now, with a 20 pick or so slide this year.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Pyser

woohoo! wonder what happened?

guess lou wasnt so dumb for keeping pick 29 in the cup final run year.

still wouldve been smarter to pass then, but hurts a LOT less now, with a 20 pick or so slide this year.

Unless he knew they were going to get the pick back (always a possibility with the NHL), yes he was so dumb for keeping that pick.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Logan

Unless he knew they were going to get the pick back (always a possibility with the NHL), yes he was so dumb for keeping that pick.

I like this line of thinking, since we can move on from the "Bettman promised Crosby to Pittsburgh" conspiracy, and now concentrate on the "Bettman told Lamoriello they'd get the pick back" conspiracy.

[Pyser]

Originally Posted by Logan

Unless he knew they were going to get the pick back (always a possibility with the NHL), yes he was so dumb for keeping that pick.

there must've always been a chance, because if the devils had already given the pick up, there wouldnt have been much left to appeal. so it makes a lot more sense now why they didnt give it up then.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Crosby went full Ovie in SJ last night

[mrtourette]

Originally Posted by The Jackal

Crap, I really did not want Andrew MacDonald. I hope he proves me and the advanced stats community wrong.

Disappointed to see MacDonald leave the Islanders, always seemed to be one of those guys who contributed a lot through smart play despite it not being obviously quantifiable. Although it's probably only Islanders fans who thought that.

The Vanek situation was a massive kick in the nuts, but once he refused a new deal (not that unsurprising) it was always going to be.

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Crosby went full Ovie in SJ last night

That is some awesome non-backchecking!

[RomaGoth]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Here's what Holland was thinking. Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Weiss and Helm are all injured.

Prior to getting Legwand here were the Wings starting centers for tonight's (and perhaps the next couple of weeks) game:

Andresson
Sheahan
Glending
Emmerton

This would be a decent team down the middle for an AHL squad, not a NHL team fighting for its playoff life.

The injuries to Datsyuk and Helm forced Holland's hand here.

Even with Legwand the playoffs are a long shot now. The Wings gave up too many points early on in the season and are too badly injured now to make a big push. That said, without him it's pretty much done.

I am not too worried about the 3rd round (could become a 2nd round if the Wings make the playoffs) pick. Eaves was a throw in. I imagine that the Wings probably forced Nashville to take Eaves as part of the deal for cap/CBA/financial reasons. Eaves has been waived twice this season and has been claimed by zero teams. I like Eaves. I am sad to see him go, but his time here is done.

The trade will depend on how Jarnkrok pans out. He is a pretty highly regarded prospect. That said, there were rumblings that if he didn't make the Wings next year, he'd bolt to Sweden. He's not likely going to make the Wings next year. Sheahan has already passed him on the organizational depth chart. There were also rumblings that he may go back to Sweden any way. If Jarnkrok does stay in America and pans out a decent NHL center, then the deal is pretty bad. If not... The Wings desperately needed help at center and got a quality NHL center.

Too bad Garth Snow isn't Nashville's GM or that Vanek isn't a center.

Yeah I get why he made the move, just don't agree with it. Comes off as a panic move after Helm went down. I like Eaves too but he was just a throw-in, and the draft pick is not a huge deal even if it turns into a 2nd. I am just surprised they moved Jarnkrok considering he was a top-5 prospect within the organization, and even if he did go back to Sweden there is a chance they could convince him to come back after a year or two. After all, the Wings are THE Swedish Connection in the NHL (no offense to Vancouver).

Garth Snow is a riot.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by RomaGoth

Yeah I get why he made the move, just don't agree with it. Comes off as a panic move after Helm went down. I like Eaves too but he was just a throw-in, and the draft pick is not a huge deal even if it turns into a 2nd. I am just surprised they moved Jarnkrok considering he was a top-5 prospect within the organization, and even if he did go back to Sweden there is a chance they could convince him to come back after a year or two. After all, the Wings are THE Swedish Connection in the NHL (no offense to Vancouver).

Garth Snow is a riot.

I listened to an interview with Holland yesterday. The organization felt like Jarnkrok projected out to be a 3/4th line center. The Wings have a glut of those types of players now.

The keys to this trade will be: 1) Whether the Wings can make it to the playoffs (unlikely) and 2) How Jarnkrok will develop. If he has a good, solid NHL career then it's a bad deal. If he's a middling player or never makes it, then deal isn't so bad.

The Wings tend to be very protective of their prospects. Very protective. I trust the Wings to have a better sense of their prospects' true potential than any website or other source. They've earned it. This isn't like the Lions or Pistons front offices making these calls.

While it's possible I am forgetting about one, in recent memory the only Wing prospect that they've dealt and who arguably has some NHL potential is Shawn Matthias (see above). Going way back you could say Tomas Fleischman is another, who they moved for Lang back in the day.

[Suburban Rhythm]

[Galaxy]

Sabres are just loaded with high draft picks into the next three years. Add on back-to-back first round picks from the last two years, and a trio of second round picks from last year's draft, this team is really rebuilding.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Sabres are just loaded with high draft picks into the next three years. Add on back-to-back first round picks from the last two years, and a trio of second round picks from last year's draft, this team is really rebuilding.

Let's hope that the Sabres follow the Blackhawks and Penguins suck real bad, get high draft picks and rebuild plan and not the Oilers' suck real bad, get high draft picks and rebuild plan. So far, the fact that the Sabres actually drafted some defensemen is a good sign.

[Travis]

Hey, the Oilers drafted defensemen too, they just haven't bothered to actually develop any of the guys currently on the team or gotten enough actual NHL caliber D to bridge us until the kids are ready.

But hey, the new coach made sure the press guys couldn't eat donuts anymore. Because he's big on being healthy and cardio and stuff. Hell, he has the guys up to playing hard 15 minutes a night now. Much more entertaining than the 10 minutes of effort we're used to.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Travis

Hey, the Oilers drafted defensemen too, they just haven't bothered to actually develop any of the guys currently on the team or gotten enough actual NHL caliber D to bridge us until the kids are ready.

But hey, the new coach made sure the press guys couldn't eat donuts anymore. Because he's big on being healthy and cardio and stuff. Hell, he has the guys up to playing hard 15 minutes a night now. Much more entertaining than the 10 minutes of effort we're used to.

Doesn't he also bike to work (on the three days that one can actually ride a bike in Edmonton during hockey season)?

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Doesn't he also bike to work (on the three days that one can actually ride a bike in Edmonton during hockey season)?

Hadn't heard that. Makes the hair that much more epic if it holds up after the brisk sprint that must be his bike rides.

Oddly enough, winter biking really seems to be on the rise around here. I work/walk a lot around downtown and have seen at least a few people on bikes pretty much every day of the year no matter the conditions. They're a lot braver (or dumber) than I on quite a few of those days.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Let's hope that the Sabres follow the Blackhawks and Penguins suck real bad, get high draft picks and rebuild plan and not the Oilers' suck real bad, get high draft picks and rebuild plan. So far, the fact that the Sabres actually drafted some defensemen is a good sign.

Mark Pysyk (2010 first round pick), Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov (2013 first round picks) seem like they'll be strong-especially now that Darcy Reiger is gone. The question is will Tyler Myers be moved in the off-season.

The Sabres will also have the Islanders' first round pick this year or next. (If the Islanders have a top 10 this year, it will be defer to 2015). If Mikhail Grigorenko can get his work ethic and attitude in check, he could be a very good top 6 forward.

[cartman]

Something strange is going on at the Stars-Blue Jackets game. The game is suspended and the players have gone to the locker rooms.

[cartman]

Rich Peverley collapsed on the bench and had to be carted off. He has a history of heart conditions, and missed a couple of games last week due to irregular heartbeat.

edit: they are reporting that he is conscious and responding on the way to the hospital, so that is good news

[cartman]

They've now called off the rest of the game, and will reschedule.

[DaddyTorgo]

Was just coming to post about this. Scary shit. Hope Rich ends up being okay. Dude might want to consider hanging up his skates...

[Logan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Was just coming to post about this. Scary shit. Hope Rich ends up being okay. Dude might want to consider hanging up his skates...

Glad to hear he is doing well. There was a report that once he regained consciousness, he asked how much time was left in the period and wanted back in to the game.

Hockey players.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Logan

Glad to hear he is doing well. There was a report that once he regained consciousness, he asked how much time was left in the period and wanted back in to the game.

Hockey players.

Lindy Ruff confirmed this, the first thing Peverley asked was "How much time is left in the game?"

[SirFozzie]

Second Stars player hospitalized, Alex Chiasson, apparently had some kind of an emotional breakdown over the Peverly thing.

[MikeVic]

Well I was at this Stars/Jets game. Crazy that it was 2-1 for Dallas at one point, and I was thinking the Jets were playing really sloppy at that point.

[TroyF]

The Avalanche continue to take the "lets get outshot 400-32, but win 3-1" montra to the playoffs. Love Roy coaching them, love the effort the guys are showing and love how the youth is coming along. . . but this team is more smoke and mirror than the KC Chiefs were in football this year. They are going to get smoked by the Blackhawks in the playoffs.

[Dr. Sak]

Even SR has to laugh a little at these...

The Penguins’ #AskNeal Twitter Hashtag Went Horribly Wrong | Crossing Broad

My favorite is:

If you opened a bar how cheap would your shots be? #AskNeal

[Fidatelo]

Those tweets are amazing, I love it.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Even SR has to laugh a little at these...

The Penguins’ #AskNeal Twitter Hashtag Went Horribly Wrong | Crossing Broad

My favorite is:

If you opened a bar how cheap would your shots be? #AskNeal

I honestly can't believe any team does these anymore...they have to know they are only getting bombarded with funny "questions".

The best I ever saw, and it made it to print, was #AskTK48, for Tyler Kennedy. He of the wild shot that either missed wide by 10 feet, or right to the goalies logo.

One of the questions submitted was -

"TK, where do you best like to shoot wide from - the wall, the slot, or the bench?"

It was included in the IceTime magazine (Penguins game program), without edit. His answer was something like "I think I'm best coming down the wing"

[Suburban Rhythm]

DOLA

There is a twitter feed called @SinceFlyersLastCup. His tweets everyday consist of just that - a number representing the number of days since the Flyers won the Cup (Today 14,184)

Flyers recently had an #Ask47, for newly acquired Andrew McDonald. @SFLC asked "Do you know how many days it's been since the Flyers last won the Cup?"

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

DOLA

There is a twitter feed called @SinceFlyersLastCup. His tweets everyday consist of just that - a number representing the number of days since the Flyers won the Cup (Today 14,184)

Flyers recently had an #Ask47, for newly acquired Andrew McDonald. @SFLC asked "Do you know how many days it's been since the Flyers last won the Cup?"

This fits in line perfect with a comment I saw to that article...

Pitts Fan: I got 4 numbers for you 1975
Flyers Fan: That's 1 number you dumbass.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Even SR has to laugh a little at these...

The Penguins’ #AskNeal Twitter Hashtag Went Horribly Wrong | Crossing Broad

My favorite is:

If you opened a bar how cheap would your shots be? #AskNeal

This is good stuff... lol


If a tree falls down in the forest and nobody is around to hear it, does James Neal still cross check it in the face?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Even SR has to laugh a little at these...

The Penguins’ #AskNeal Twitter Hashtag Went Horribly Wrong | Crossing Broad

My favorite is:

If you opened a bar how cheap would your shots be? #AskNeal

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sak

Even SR has to laugh a little at these...

The Penguins’ #AskNeal Twitter Hashtag Went Horribly Wrong | Crossing Broad

My favorite is:

If you opened a bar how cheap would your shots be? #AskNeal

I loved the elbow macaroni endorsement one

SI

[Suburban Rhythm]

Teammate Simon Despres' was pretty...interesting

Originally Posted by @Despres747

@jneal_18 are you shy in the showers? #AskNeal

[The Jackal]

A Bruins fan sent this to me, funny stuff - I also liked the elbow macaroni one. Neal is a pretty talented guy but he's asking for this kind of stuff with the way he plays.

[Logan]

After Brodeur's 'embarrassing' call out, Sean Avery responds with burn of the year | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports

[Suburban Rhythm]

April Fools!

[bhlloy]

#1 overall prospect and hopefully the future of team USA goaltending John Gibson makes his NHL debut tonight for the Ducks vs Vancouver in what's a pretty huge game for a Ducks team who pretty much have to win the division to have any chance of another embarrassing first round exit