The OFFICIAL 2007 NHL Offseason Thread

[Suburban Rhythm]

How did nobody post Michel Ouellett to Tampa yet?
$1.2M a year for 2 years. Can't believe the Pens couldn't have at least gotten a conditional pick for him.

[TazFTW]

Originally Posted by Simms

Sportsnet reporting that the Rangers have also signed Drury.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/artic...01_162329_4180

Awesome.

[Dr. Sak]

So in total, how much is tied up in Drury, Jagr, and Gomez?

[johnnyshaka]

Boy, sure is tough to be an Oilers' fan on a day like today...we've got all this cap space and lots of young talent and the best we can do is trade for a young defenseman who hasn't fulfilled his potential and who's going to be entering his RFA years and a 35-year old winger. With most of the big names in the FA market off the board, I'm afraid the Oilers are no better, if not worse, than last season and that is pretty hard to swallow after the way Lowe let the team fall apart following the Stanley Cup run.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by bsak16

So in total, how much is tied up in Drury, Jagr, and Gomez?

$23M per year +/-

[SteelerFan448]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

How did nobody post Michel Ouellett to Tampa yet?
$1.2M a year for 2 years. Can't believe the Pens couldn't have at least gotten a conditional pick for him.

I can't say I'm sorry to see him go.

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

$23M per year +/-

19.4M Washington is still paying alot of Jagr;s contract.

[Milton]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

I think the idea was that he's moving from one half-empty arena to another...

you must have misunderstood the news about drury. signed with the rangers, not the isles. rangers play to full house. isles play in front of a few scattered cretins and half wits.

[Draft Dodger]

we done for the night?

[bbor]

I like the Rafalski signing....he fits great in the new NHL IMHO.

I like the Blake move for the Leafs......Sundin now has a shooter on his line....5 years though?

Oiler/Philly deal?...I don;t get it.

Rangers are BIG BIG BIG winners today.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by Milton

you must have misunderstood the news about drury. signed with the rangers, not the isles. rangers play to full house. isles play in front of a few scattered cretins and half wits.

Hey, I wasn't the one who made the post. Logan himself is a Rangers fan. Maybe I mis-interpreted. And the post was about Gomez, not Drury.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by bbor

I like the Rafalski signing....he fits great in the new NHL IMHO.

I like the Blake move for the Leafs......Sundin now has a shooter on his line....5 years though?

Oiler/Philly deal?...I don;t get it.

Rangers are BIG BIG BIG winners today.

Blake can be an awful big puck-hog. He loves to skate in circles with the puck. Doesn't seem like something Sundin will appreciate. On the surface seems like a great signing (for the first two years of the deal), but with the Toronto fans and media, I could see a meltdown happening rather quickly.

[Simms]

Smyth to the Avs per TSN. 5 years, 31.25 mil.

[Draft Dodger]

ok. that works.

[Draft Dodger]

JF Giguere has signed two impact players tonight. Both seem to be a tad under market value, and, unlike some of the deals, will be up before the players are joining the AARP (Smyth will have just turned 36 at the completion).

Both Smyth and Hannan were heavily coveted by Avalanche fans - probably our first two choices, with Forsberg a close third. Smyth, I think, is going to look very very good in an Avalanche uniform.

[RPI-Fan]

That is a RIDICULOUS discount for Smyth.

Congrats.

Sulking Isles fan = me.

[Simms]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

we done for the night?

Nope.

Kariya to the Blues. 3 years. No $$ announced yet.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Hey, I wasn't the one who made the post. Logan himself is a Rangers fan. Maybe I mis-interpreted. And the post was about Gomez, not Drury.

My original post was to imply that the Devils' OLD arena was half empty...The Rock will be a near sell-out, at worst, for the coming season.

[Pyser]

to the rangers? fuck. absolute worst case scenario.

holy hell did the devils lose a lot of ground to division rivals today.

parise better step up, he's our new first line center.

[bbor]

No moves by the Sabres?

How they filling those holes?

[Pyser]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGoK-4ZYqgg

devils fan burning his gomez jersey

and the devs re-signed oduya

[TazFTW]

Nylander to the Oilers. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212502&hubname=nhl

Sykora and Sydor to the Pens.

[miked]

I hate the Devils sometimes. I hope Scott Gomez breaks his leg on the way to the Garden. May he find as much Rangers success as the turncoat Holik.

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by bbor

Oiler/Philly deal?...I don;t get it.

The Flyers have been real frustrated with the play of Pitkanen. I wouldn't call him a bust because he has had over115 pts in the 3 season he played. But what hurt his game is his mental play. He would have some great moments and then just go on total mental lapses for games on end. He is a total offensive minded player. The Flyers have tried numerous times with different coaches to try to get through to Joni but he just doesn't seem to have the drive. I also think he needs to get a little physically stronger.I hope a change of location helps him.

Since the Flyers got Timonen, they really did not need Joni as much, but did need a shutdown defenseman and I think that is where Jason Smith comes in. Joffrey Lupul is a big winger who I think will end up playing with Mike Richards and Sami Kappen on the checking line.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Devils fan chiming in...

I'm upset about Rafalski leaving for Detroit, but that's because he had grown into being one of my favorite players, and I personally can't stand the Red Wings. Even so, I wish him much success, and I think Wings fans are going to enjoy his play as much as I do.

As for Scott Gomez, screw him. I remember the rumors flying around last year about him going to the Rangers, but I never thought that he'd actually ever do it. I know money talks and all that, but it still makes me angry. I don't know what else to think right now. I guess the Rangers fans are going to be happy with him, but I can't say that I wish him any success. I hope it's a very, very long seven years for him.

Now that that's out of the way, I wonder who's going to replace Rafalski in New Jersey. The Devils really don't have another defenseman quite like him. I don't know who they've got stashed in Lowell, but I hope that they at least try to find a free agent before dipping into the minors.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by miked

I hate the Devils sometimes. I hope Scott Gomez breaks his leg on the way to the Garden. May he find as much Rangers success as the turncoat Holik.

Glad you said it. I was thinking the same f-ing thing.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by Logan

My original post was to imply that the Devils' OLD arena was half empty...The Rock will be a near sell-out, at worst, for the coming season.

I can't wait to see a game there. And yes, it's 2k miles away now. But I'll be sure to make my way up there sometime in November. Even if they're not good. The Rock...is gonna be awesome.

[Young Drachma]

The pulse I read from most message boards from Ranger fans is "Devils fans don't care. Their arena is half-empty. No one cares about the Devils, not even Jersey fans."

Figures.

[miked]

Originally Posted by Dark Cloud

The pulse I read from most message boards from Ranger fans is "Devils fans don't care. Their arena is half-empty. No one cares about the Devils, not even Jersey fans."

Figures.

Well, that's not true. Gomez was a great player...for the Devils. Will his scoring justify the 55+ over 7 years, probably not. I'm glad the Devils didn't pony up that much for him, but I can't stand seeing him on the Rangers. It's kind of silly to think how much the Rangers have spent over the past 5 or 6 years with such little success.

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by bbor

No moves by the Sabres?

How they filling those holes?

Regier must have been on the golf course yesterday. It was a sad day for Sabres fans.

My guess is that Buffalo will go after a third-line center type and have Tim Connolly and Derek Roy be the number one and two centers. Paul Gaustad is still the fourth line center.

That means the Sabres (unbelievably) could go after former captain Michael Peca for the third line slot. I also guess they'll overbid on Dainius Zubrus too.

[Young Drachma]

Originally Posted by miked

Well, that's not true. Gomez was a great player...for the Devils. Will his scoring justify the 55+ over 7 years, probably not. I'm glad the Devils didn't pony up that much for him, but I can't stand seeing him on the Rangers. It's kind of silly to think how much the Rangers have spent over the past 5 or 6 years with such little success.

You know I know it's not true. It's just the Ranger fans talking. They're desperate that team is, that they have to overpay our guys. Just to create a buzz. It's fine with me. 3 Cups in 8 years or 1 Cup in a generation. I like our odds long term.

[Honolulu_Blue]

There are a few teams right now with some money to burn and big holes up front. Between buying out Yashin and losing both Blake and Smyth in free agency, the Islanders need to get some more forwards. Same with Buffalo losing both Briere and Drury.

This could really hurt the Wings' chances of getting Bertuzzi back. Either team could offer Bertuzzi more than the Wings if they wanted. They'd be over paying on a risky investment, but they may feel they need to do something to generate interest. And Bertuzzi might be that something.

With Kariya in St. Louis ($10 in total to Kariya and Tkahuck), the purge in Nashville continues.

After the Gomez, Briere, and Drury deals, the Datsyuk deal doesn't seem all that bad...

[Dr. Sak]

It's great that the Rangers signed these guys and have all this offensive power, but who besides Michael Roszival is going to play defense for them. I hope Lundquist has a nice rest this offseason because he could be facing a lot of shots come this winter.

[Pyser]

from the nj papers:

"I don't look at it as a damaging day," Lamoriello claimed. "This is not the first time this has happened. Bobby Holik played there, Johnny MacLean and Bruce Driver played there. I look at it as an opportunity for our other players. It's happened in the past. We can't look at it any other way.

"The figures (offered to Gomez) were not something we could afford. You can't just give money away. The well is not unlimited. The Devils did not feel we could put this kind of money into Scott. Not that we didn't respect him. The number of years is too long."

The Devils never did exchange figures yesterday with Gomez or his representatives, dad Carlos Gomez and agent Ian Pulver. The Rangers will pay the playmaking center $10 million next season; $8 million in 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11; $7.5 million in 2011-12; $5.5 million in 2012-2013 and $4.5 million in 2013-14.

Gomez also had lucrative offers from Philadelphia, Montreal and Los Angeles.

"What a day. It was exciting, but I'm glad it's over," Gomez said. "It's definitely a new chapter in my life. We didn't even talk to the Devils (yesterday). It's time to move on. My time there was wonderful with all the Stanley Cups. But it's a business.

"In (one day) I became the villain (to Devils fans). I'm sure I'll be getting booed a lot when I go back."

[Pyser]

dola

Rafalski, who earned $4.2 million last season, will get $6 million in each of the next five seasons from the Red Wings. He turned down considerably more from another club he refused to reveal.

"He left well over $10 million in other offers from other places to go to Detroit," Zito revealed.

Lamoriello admitted it was a significant loss.

"We really wanted him to stay," the GM said. "It just comes down to the fiscal aspect of decisions and what you can afford in putting a team together while respecting the other players. We just couldn't compete with some of the numbers out there. No animosity. This is the unfortunate part of the game. Money has a way of making decisions.

"We have tremendous confidence in Andy Greene, Johnny Oduya and Paul Martin."

[Pyser]

double dola

a 34 year old defensemen got a $40 million offer?!?!

im more angry today about the lockout than i was that entire year there was no hockey.

[Draft Dodger]

so, what's with all the front-loaded contracts?
it doesn't seem to mean anything cap wise to the team. is it just a little extra buyout protection for the player?

[Dr. Sak]

All New Jersey needs now is for Marty Brodeur to announce his retirement

[Dr. Sak]

Hey Suburban, the Pens resigned Scuderi.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Lou Lamoriello

"We have tremendous confidence in Andy Greene, Johnny Oduya and Paul Martin."

Well, Lou, that makes one of us.

[Milton]

Like Mark Messier, I issue the following:

First guarantee: After opening night, the Devils new arena in Newark will be half filled the rest of the season. That includes playoffs, if, somehow, given these tremendous losses and their elderly goaltender, they make it.

Second guarantee: Should their be a sellout post-opener, it will be when the Rangers come to town, and Ranger fans will outnumber Devil fans. Gomez will score the game winner, and the place will sound like the Garden.

[Pyser]

i dont know who you are, milton, but i dont like you.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Milton

Like Mark Messier, I issue the following:

First guarantee: After opening night, the Devils new arena in Newark will be half filled the rest of the season. That includes playoffs, if, somehow, given these tremendous losses and their elderly goaltender, they make it.

Second guarantee: Should their be a sellout post-opener, it will be when the Rangers come to town, and Ranger fans will outnumber Devil fans. Gomez will score the game winner, and the place will sound like the Garden.

they are awarding Stanley Cups based on attendance?

[miked]

The Rangers are lucky the NHL instituted a salary cap...they had a chance to be the first team to spend 100M and not make the playoffs. I just googled Rangers payroll and the 3rd or 4th link was from Forbes:

The skinny
The New York Rangers are the most mismanaged team in the history of the NHL. Last season the Rangers failed to qualify for the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, a franchise record, despite having the highest payroll in the history of hockey. The waiting list for season ticket holders has dwindled and fans are no longer flocking to Madison Square Garden. This year should bring more of the same as the team is now laced with a roster of underachievers and has-beens. The richest cable deal in hockey keeps the team's value atop the league.

Apparently, the Devils should just stick a rink on the top of a major rail/bus/etc hub and just hope people wander in like in MSG.

[Milton]

Originally Posted by Pyser

i dont know who you are, milton, but i dont like you.

I am Milton, purveyor of truth. And I like you. Call me, we'll get coffee.

[TazFTW]

Originally Posted by TazFTW

Nylander to the Oilers. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212502&hubname=nhl

Sykora and Sydor to the Pens.

I take that back. The Capitals have signed Nylander, 4 years $19.5 million.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212549&hubname=nhl

[TazFTW]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

There are a few teams right now with some money to burn and big holes up front. Between buying out Yashin and losing both Blake and Smyth in free agency, the Islanders need to get some more forwards. Same with Buffalo losing both Briere and Drury.

This could really hurt the Wings' chances of getting Bertuzzi back. Either team could offer Bertuzzi more than the Wings if they wanted. They'd be over paying on a risky investment, but they may feel they need to do something to generate interest. And Bertuzzi might be that something.

With Kariya in St. Louis ($10 in total to Kariya and Tkahuck), the purge in Nashville continues.

After the Gomez, Briere, and Drury deals, the Datsyuk deal doesn't seem all that bad...

Bertuzzi to the Ducks according to TSN. 2 years with no amount given.

[bbor]

Someone wake up Darcy Regher.

[Pyser]

ill stick by lou forever, but if i ever had to acknowledge another excellent gm, it's burke

he does things completely different from the devils way, but i like his moves a lot.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Hey Suburban, the Pens resigned Scuderi.

I was OK with the Sykora and Sydor deals. Sydor, not the ideal guy I wanted, was hoping for someone more of a top 4 type, and let Eaton play alongside Kris 'The drink of the French Astronaut' Letang. Now it looks like it's Sydor's job.

For the 7th D (6th if Letang flops in camp) I was holding out hope for Ossi Vaannanen. Instead, we bring back Rob Scuderi. He is beyond atrocious with the puck. One of the games I was at this past season, he was skating up the boards, and fanned 3 times on the same clearing attempt!

I was about to say at least a Sydor/Letang pairing will be better than Scuderi/Melichar...but looks like I was only half right, if Scuderi is playing often.

I like the Sykora signing. He's better than Recchi at this point, and he played with Malkin in the RSL during the lockout year.

So looking like this--

??????- Crosby - Staal
Roberts - Malkin - Sykora
Recchi - Talbot - Armstrong
Ruutu - Malone/Christensen - Laraque

Eaton - Gonchar
Orpik - Whitney
Sydorm - Letang

That ???? is probably either Malone or Erik Christensen at this point, and the other centering the 4th line. EC is money in the shootout. Malone was OK on the OK last year. If EC can successfully shift to wing, he's a 30+ goal guy with Sid.

By why I fucking why, Rob Scuderi!