The OFFICIAL 2007 NHL Offseason Thread

[Dr. Sak]

Lots of good FA's out there.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Lots of good FA's out there.

And Alexei Yashin too.

[sachmo71]

i don't care anymore

[Draft Dodger]

It'll be an interesting offseason in Colorado.

The big question is will they or wont they buy out Theodore's final year. It would save them 4 million this year and cost them 2 million next year to do so. The issue is twofold. one, the FA crop for goalies is very weak - not too many quality backups available. two, the Avs have a ton of cap room, so don't really need the savings. they can sign a few players and still be in good shape. barring a trade (Fernandez?), the sentiment is that Theo will be back next year as an expensive backup to Budaj.

The Avs have a lot of their nucleus from last season under contract. And with crappy contracts like 1.5M for Turgeon and 3M for Brisebois coming off the books, the Avs have some nice cap room. They need to add a defensemen, but I personally think most of the available D on the market will be severely overpriced. I don't want to see them pay $5 mill for a Scott Hannan just because they can. As much as they need a #1 or #2 guy, I think they add more of a depth type player here.

Up front, there's a ton of talk about Ryan Smyth who would look really really nice in a Colorado uniform. Forsberg, of course, comes up a lot, as does Drury (although I think he's staying put). Whoever it is, I think there's going to be a pretty big addition to an offense that was (iirc) #4 last year.

There's a couple guys who might be on the block. Marek Svatos struggled a lot in his 2nd year. He really needs good linemates to make his game better, and it doesn't look like he's going to crack the top 2 lines next fall. That leads a lot of us to think he might get moved. On D, there's 6 guys under contract now with the thought that at least one more guy will be brought in through free agency. It wouldn't shock me to see them move a player. I'd love for it to be Karlis Skrastins, who has watched too many of his highlight reels and has become a liability back there. The Avs brass seem to like him though, so that's probably out. A more tradeable commodity is John-Michael Liles. He fell out of favor a bit last year, has a ton of offensive ability, he's unsigned (and due a raise) after this year, and, most importantly, we have what seems to be a similar player in Kyle Cumiskey waiting in the wings. Not a sure thing, but it wouldn't shock me.

I'm very excited, overall. The Avs have a great young nuclues, a lot of draft picks, a lot of good, young prospects (almost all at forward, however), and cap room to work with. If Giguere makes the right moves - and he's generally been solid so far - next year could be an enjoyable one for all you Avs fans out there!!!

[Honolulu_Blue]

As for the Wings...

Some interesting subplots to the off-season as always. Hasek is the biggest question mark. I don't think there's a better option out there, but it'd be a huge gamble to keep him. He was amazing this year, probably the best free agent signing in the league, but he's a year older, still flighty, and still has a wonky groin. Hitching the Wings' wagon to his star for another year is risky proposition. Still, if the option is Hasek and Osgood (with Howard in the wings) or just Osgood and Howard, the former is better than the latter.

Robert Lang is gone. I think the Wings will count on Filppula take over his role. Filppula really impressed. He will be asked to play many more minutes next year.

Kyle Calder was a mystery. Came on like gangbusters when he first got here, played fewer and fewer minutes in the playoffs until he was a healthy (presumably) scratch. I don't see them bringing him back.

I think the Wings would like to re-sign Schneider and Markov, but I am not sure both are an option. The Wings are really pushing to re-sign Schneider, which means Markov is likely gone. The Wings have some decent blueline depth in the organization, with guys like Kyle Quincey, Derek Meech, and Jonathan Ericsson possibly ready to play in the NHL. I assume if the Wings re-sign both Schneider and Chelios, they wont likely seek another UFA defensemen of note. At best they'd look for a cheap veteran guy.

I don't know about Bertuzzi. He had flashes of old Bertuzzi, but at other times he looked timid and broken-down. I think the only way the Wings keep him is if he signs a Lindrosesque deal at a low price and full of incentives. That may happen, since Bertuzzi seemed to be happy here. I'd be happy enough with it.

The Wings will give prospect Irgor Grigorenko a chance to play this year. He was a pretty highly touted draft pick out of Russia. A few years back he got into a horrible car accident that sidelined him for a while. He's been back playing for a couple of years and looks ready to come over. He's a winger with some size, but I would imagine his role, if any, next year would be similar to Filppula's and Hulder's this year. Some 3rd/4th line duty and not getting a ton of minutes.

Based on this, the Wings current lines look something like:

Zetterberg - Holmstrom - Datsyuk
Cleary - Draper - Maltby
Frazen - Filppula - Samuelsson
Hulder/Kopecky

Defense:

Lidstrom - Lilja
Kronwall - ?
Chelios - Lebda
(Quincey)

Goalies:
Hasek (presumably)
Osgood

The Wings need some size, speed, and scoring up front. Their first line is set as is their checking line, but at the moment they really don't have a second line. I think Filppula could be ready to be a second line center. If the Wings re-sign Bertuzzi then he could be a winger on that line. The Wings should try to get another winger with some scoring touch as well. I'd like to see a little more speed up front too.

There have been murmurings of Slava Kozlov coming back. He lacks size and any type of physical presence, and is not terribly fast, but he might not be a bad addition, especially if he developed some chemistry with Datsyuk.

If Hasek and Chelios come cheap and if the Wings can sign Bertuzzi to a reasonable incentive-laden deal, they may have some cap space to get a decent forward. Still, ever since the cap was instituted Holland has been very reluctant to sign free agents to large contracts. So far, I think he's done a great job. I don't really think the Wings will be in play for any of the big names out there again this year. Datsyuk and Lidstrom both have very large contracts. Zetterberg will command a significant deal in a few years and Schneider wont come cheap.

[Draft Dodger]

I assume Detroit won't have the money for a Giguere?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

I assume Detroit won't have the money for a Giguere?

Very unlikely. I can't see the Wings having the cap space for such a move given their current salary structure and the other holes that need be filled.

If Hasek decides not to come back, the Wings will be in a pinch. They may feel comfortable enough going with Osgood/Howard, or maybe another reasonably priced veteran and Osgood, letting Howard to continue to get more seasoning in the AHL. Granted, neither of those options really instills much confidence for any post-season success.

If the Wings did make a move for Giguere, he would come at a very high price and drastically change the make-up of the team.

[Draft Dodger]

well good!

[Draft Dodger]

Backstrom re-ups with the Wild

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

Backstrom re-ups with the Wild

You have to imagine that means Manny Fernandez will be on the block.

[nilodor]

I wonder if Ryan Smyth will come back to Edmonton, or if the Islanders might have a chance at retaining him.

[Travis]

Only way Smyth comes back to Edmonton is for money a whole lot closer to what Lowe was offering back at the deadline than what he was asking. I don't see it happening, but if he truly wants to play here, it's at least possible.

As far as the moves I'm expecting to be made, I figure we'll see some prospects/picks moved by the draft to acquire a top pairing defenseman or a true first line forward. Then they'll try and add whichever one of those they don't pick up that day through free agency, and failing that, a second trade.

Personally, I'd love to see them trade Horcoff, Pisani and Roloson, but highly unlikely in all cases. If I could choose one, it'd be Horcoff.

It's *very* hard to speculate too much on how the roster will look as I fully expect Lowe to move current prospects (as we have a lot of young guys ready to make the jump to the NHL or are very close) to acquire the pieces he wants as I don't think we're an attractive enough market to attract UFA's. Given that, he can use our 3 first rounders this year to reload the farm system to *hopefully* give us another wave of NHL ready players in 2 to 3 years. If for some reason he decides to move picks instead, then a lot of the current roster guys may be fodder as their replacements are already here and he'll have the ability to 2 and 3 for 1 trade to his hearts content.

On the free agent note, I'd like to see Sykora resign for less than he made last year, give that a coin flip's chance of happening. If we ink Peterson to even a min contract I'll be enraged. Biggest question (and one of the reasons I can't see Horcoff being moved) is whether or not Stoll will be able to come back as the player he was when he was injured. He was well on his way to being the #1 center on our roster (and probably the equivalent of a top 2nd line center on any team in the league) prior to that concussion, but until he gets playing again it'll be hard to gauge.

The organization has said that they want to be around $44 million next season and with guys like Schremp, O'Marra, Nilsson, Pouliot, Jacques, Mikhnov (?), Cogliano, Gilbert, Grebeshkov, Syvret and our two young goalies all either ready to make the jump or at least worth a look plus our multitude of picks over the next 2-3 years, it'll be a busy offseason.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Travis

As far as the moves I'm expecting to be made, I figure we'll see some prospects/picks moved by the draft to acquire a top pairing defenseman or a true first line forward.

Enjoy Wade Redden.

[bbor]

Everyone dive into the Drury pool....how much does he get....8mil?

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Enjoy Wade Redden.

I don't doubt it in the least. Redden would be a step up on anybody we currently have here (at their current playing levels) and could provide at least some leadership through his play to guys like Gilbert and Syvret for a year or two.

Honestly, at this point, I just want a season where MacTavish doesn't have a crutch. The year we made the Cup run he lamented all season that he didn't have a #1 goalie (and we won't even go into how he mismanaged that situation both before and after Roloson was acquired), and last year it was our lack of a puck moving defenseman.

And while I can understand that, it's the job of the coach to take the pieces he has and figure out how to be as effective as possible with them, not whine to the media after every other loss and insinuate that it's just impossible to do much given the current roster. We may not have had a true #1 line last year but we could roll 4 lines with any team in the league and rather than exploit that (and have the wingers get deeper in our own end to help with breakouts) they put even more pressure on the D to make that first pass a long pinpoint one no matter how much pressure they were under (and regularily shortened his bench to two lines for prolonged periods).

So this year I sincerely hope he can open the season without any roster complaints, and if we don't make it past the first round that Lowe has the cojones to give MacT the option of resigning or being fired. As sad as it is, that run to the Cup was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to this franchise as there seems to be no end in sight to the old boys club behind the bench so long as Lowe is GM (and while I like the job he does there, if it means getting rid of MacT/Simpson/Huddy, it might be worth the sacrifice).

[NoSkillz]

Originally Posted by bbor

Everyone dive into the Drury pool....how much does he get....8mil?

I'm thinking $18-20 million over 3 years might get him for Buffalo - other teams will need to offer more than $7 million per year though. Anyone who throws more money than that at him will ultimately end up disappointed, as he just isn't a point-a-game player. He's a glue guy (a great one) who can score 30 goals and maybe 70 points in the right situation.

Just as interesting will be how many teams will throw an offer sheet at Thomas Vanek, who scored 43 goals in his 2nd NHL season. Teams know the budget-conscious Sabres won't be anxious to match a $4 million+ offer for Vanek and might take the risk.

However, I won't be surprised to see Buffalo sign Vanek before the free agency period starts to avoid that scenario.

[Honolulu_Blue]

If a guy like Drury is making $6-$7 million a year and Pavel Kubina is making $5 million a year, what exactly did that whole lockout thing accomplish again?

I wonder how individual salaries and overall team salaries today compare to those in the 2003-04 season.

[duff88]

I can't wait for the Draft. Pretty much my favourite hockey day of the year. For those who want infos:

2007 NHL Draft

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by duff88

I can't wait for the Draft. Pretty much my favourite hockey day of the year. For those who want infos:

2007 NHL Draft

Good stuff!

Thanks for the link.

Tell Cup, that the Wings did not make it to the Finals and, therefore, will have a first round pick this year. No 2nd or 4th round picks, however.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I always find the NHL draft a little disappointing, because there is absolutely zero information on at least half the prospects the Wings inevitably draft.

[DeToxRox]

Will Webber at 71 is awesome. Saw the kid play a few games this year, would be a big coup for Michigan High School Hockey to see him go in the first three rounds. He's heading to the USHL next year I assume, as he was the #1 pick in the USHL Entry Draft to Chicago.

[duff88]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Will Webber at 71 is awesome. Saw the kid play a few games this year, would be a big coup for Michigan High School Hockey to see him go in the first three rounds. He's heading to the USHL next year I assume, as he was the #1 pick in the USHL Entry Draft to Chicago.

Yet he's, for a reason I can't understand, unranked by CSS.

Honolulu_Blue, you might be right, but Hakan Andersson really has proven he has the talent to draft unknown players who will turn out very well.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by duff88

Yet he's, for a reason I can't understand, unranked by CSS.

Honolulu_Blue, you might be right, but Hakan Andersson really has proven he has the talent to draft unknown players who will turn out very well.

Oh, I totally agree. I have full faith in the Wings' drafting and scouting departments, it's just that the day of the draft itself is always a bit anticlimactic because not only do you have no idea who these guys are. no one else seems to either. It usually takes about a day or two before some information begins to trickle in.

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I always find the NHL draft a little disappointing, because there is absolutely zero information on at least half the prospects the Wings inevitably draft.

Sounds like a lot of the players the Oilers favor in the first round of drafts.

Of course, 3-5 years later there is still no information on them and for good reason.

But hey, their names sounded cool...

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I always find the NHL draft a little disappointing, because there is absolutely zero information on at least half the prospects the Wings inevitably draft until a few years later when they're playing on the first line.

Fixed.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I always find the NHL draft a little disappointing, because there is absolutely zero information on at least half the prospects the Wings inevitably draft until a few years later when they're playing on the first line for a few years before "coming home" to play for the Leafs

even more fixed

[TurnerONU22]

Well, as a Jackets fan, the thing I am looking forward to is attending my first ever NHL Draft on June 22nd, the wife and I will probably go Friday night, and I might sneak back over on Saturday to catch some more of the draft action. I think the league will see how great of a city Columbus is and how passionate the fans are, even if the hockey team really, really sucks.

Speaking of that, would it be too much to ask to have a GM by draft time? After they canned MacLean (thank goodness), they bring in a new president, who seems to be holed up in the Bat Cave since we have heard nothing from him since he's been in charge of finding a new GM. On top of that, our number one choice, Bob Murray, turned us down to stay as an assistant! That's gotta say something about the front office, I would think. The top person on the list is Howson, the asst. GM from Edmonton (Oil fans, any opinions on Howson? I admittedly know nothing about him). I think we finally have a real coach in Hitchcock, he'll get more out of the team with a real training camp and have a team that should be in shape.

Time for the roster.....I really have no idea what the Jackets are going to do in FA this year. It has been repeated that we are not going to go after any of the big names, though we have clear needs of a top line centerman and a top-4 defenseman. Hitchcock mentioned the need for a couple of "glue guys" during some town meetings the Jackets had for season ticket holders. On top of this, I think the GM's first move will be to move Nikolai Zherdev, or I hope it will be.

Here's my projection of the roster for next year:

Nash-UFA/Platt/Brule-Vyborny
Modin-Fedorov-Zherdev
Chimera-Svitov-Fritsche
Shelley-Brule/Platt-UFA
In the mix: Brassard?, Malhotra, Picard

Foote-Klesla
UFA-Tollefson
Hainsey-Westcott
In the mix: Russell?, Johnson

Norrena
Leclaire

I think the Jackets will bring in a defensman that can move the puck, but I don't see them getting the top center they need, so that job will fall to whoever can win it in camp. Fedorov will be moved back to center. Brassard and Russell have a shot to make the big club, especially Russell, as he seems to excel in parts of the games (transition, moving the puck) that other Jackets D-Men suck at. I see Hitch getting a lot out of this team, with the upside being in the playoffs at 7 or 8 seed, and the lowside with the team at the same point they are now.

[gstelmack]

The Hurricanes will attempt to make a splash with a big-name Free Agent, they'll lose out to some other team, settle for a few role players, and go with roughly the same roster, hoping they'll play hard like they did 2 seasons ago and not walk through the season like they do almost every other time.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Well, as a Jackets fan, the thing I am looking forward to is attending my first ever NHL Draft on June 22nd, the wife and I will probably go Friday night, and I might sneak back over on Saturday to catch some more of the draft action. I think the league will see how great of a city Columbus is and how passionate the fans are, even if the hockey team really, really sucks.

there's a few new jerseys supposedly getting introduced at the draft. Washington is one. I thought I read the Jackets would unveil their new ones too. If you have a camera, I'd love to see pics of any/all new jerseys.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Michel Therrien said after Jordan Staal was picked #2 last year "We will not be drafting here (top 3) for a long time after this." And so far he's right.

The Pens have made undisclosed offers to both Mark Recchi, reportedly a 1 year for less than his $2.28 last year (God it better be!), and Gary Roberts, who wants 2 years, at the age of 41. Roberts was one of the best forwards in the series against Ottawa, but would not be shocked to see him in Toronto next year. Recchi is no longer a top line player, and maybe not even a 2nd line guy on a team with hopes of a deep playoff run. As well as he played in the first few months of the year, he was that bad at the end. But, he lives in Pittsburgh in the offseason, and is married to a Pittsburgh girl, so I have a feeling he'll be back.

Ideally, the Pens need a wing to play with Crosby and/or Malkin who is a premier player. But those guys cost money. It's not so much that the Pens are close to the cap, it's they need to leave cash and cap space to sign their own guys--Crosby in the final year of his entry deal, Fleury in the final of a 2-year deal, Ryan Whitney an RFA this offseason, and Staal and Malkin both end their entry level deals after the 08-09 season. Tying up big money in other players now may not leave room for the young guys when the time comes.

One name that gets alot of mention is Scott Hartnell from Nashville. First their is the Ray Shero connection. Second, he's still only 25, and should hit his prime in the next season or 2, much like the rest of the roster. Third, he shouldn't break the bank as he's never posted huge numbers. As mentioned above, at least one top 6 wing needs to come in. Mgmt would prefer they find a guy who is a 25+ goal scorer, and see him turn into a 35-40 goal guy playing along Crosby. Possibly a chance taken on a mid-age guy who still may have some upside like Kyle Calder, or an older skill guy like Slava Kozlov, depending which vets return.

Some talk of whether Jordan Staal moves back to center, and drops to the third line. I don't see that happening unless the team can get 2-3 top 6 wings. Otherwise, he takes his place at LW on one of the top two lines.
Possibly, Malkin moves to wing to allow Staal to center the 2nd line?
Other players like Max Talbot and Colby Armstrong on the 3rd line have roles secured. Also, a "fan favorite", Michel Ouellett seems to have won himself a job, most likely at RW on the 2nd line. He is maligned by fans as too slow, too soft, and whatever else they can think of, but finished with 20 goals, played the body, and generally just made plays.

An intriguing name is Erik Christensen. He won the WHL scoring title in his last year of junior eligibility in 2003. Unforunately for him, he plays center on a team with players named Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Much of the season he centered the 4th line and still scored 19 goals, mostly with a WICKED wrist shot. Also, he went something like 8 for 13 in the shootout. Talk of moving him to wing, but he got a shot there at times last year without much success.

Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque will be back on the 4th line. Hometown boy Ryan Malone goes through stretches of TERRIBLE play, but is one of the few big forwards with some scoring touch on the roster.

Ryan Stone and Jonathan Filewich are two players in the minors with an outside shot of making the club out of camp.

The Nils Ekman experiment is over.

Defense was a problem going into this season, and while it performed above what was expected, it was still average at best. Sergei Gonchar had a super year offensively and was as steady as he can be in his own end. Ryan Whitney also had a great season offensively, but is still only 24 and not a star in his own end either.

Brooks Orpik is the lone hitter on the blueline, a very good skater for his size, and finally quit taking all the hooking calls he did in the 05-06 season.

Mark Eaton was great in his first 15 games as a Penguin. He then took a terrible hit from behind from Jonathan Cheechoo and missed 2+ months. He came back only to get hurt again, and never regained the form he had early in the year.

Alain Nasreddine, Josef Melichar and Rob Scuderi would all make servicable #7 D for an NHL team...unfortunately, 2 of those 3 were playing every game. Melichar showed promise early in his career, but had two seasons ended with shoulder injuries and has never panned out. Nasreddine was the captain in Wilkes-Barre of the AHL, and has played something like 700 AHL games, but coming into the year about 10 NHL games. Rob Scuderi is the steadiest in his own end and good on the PK, please just ask him to ever handle the puck.

Kris "the drink of the French Astronaut" Letang has a spot waiting for him next season. He had a 7 game debut last season before being returned to the Q (where he won pretty much all the defensive awards), and scored twice. Not big (5-11, 180), but built for the "new NHL" and a RH shot, which the Pens missed last season.

Ideally, the Pens would add 2 NHL ready D alongside Whitney, Gonchar, Orpik and Eaton. Let Letang win a job, rather than hand him one. And make Nasreddine/Scuderi/Melichar a #8 if one must be back.

Same as mentioned earlier, long term, big money contracts do not make sense, so doubtful that Scott Hannan or Brad Stuart make it to Pittsburgh. Mid-level guys like Cory Sarich, Vitali Vishnevski, Tom Preissing and Ossi Vaannanen make more sense. While none are stars, they are head and shoulders above the threesome from last year.

MA Fleury is the man in goal. Jocelyn Thibault is an UFA. He may return, or Nolan Schaeffer, picked up from SJ at the deadline, becomes the backup.

Assuming Recchi returns, Roberts doesn't, and they don't break the bank on an big name FAs-

Christensen - Crosby - Hartnell
Staal - Malkin - Ouellett
Recchi - Talbot - Armstrong
Ruutu - Malone - Laraque


Sarich - Gonchar
Orpik - Whitney
Letang - Eaton
Vishnevski

Fleury
Schaeffer

[Suburban Rhythm]

dola

by far my longest FOF post ever.

[Draft Dodger]

which reminds me - how good would the freaking Ducks be if they hadn't finished 2nd in the Crosby sweepstakes...

[TurnerONU22]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

there's a few new jerseys supposedly getting introduced at the draft. Washington is one. I thought I read the Jackets would unveil their new ones too. If you have a camera, I'd love to see pics of any/all new jerseys.

Columbus is doing their unveiling on the main stage before the draft, that has been announced for sure. I will definitely take my camera with me to the draft, but we're in the upper bowl, so I don't know how good they will turn out.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Columbus is doing their unveiling on the main stage before the draft, that has been announced for sure. I will definitely take my camera with me to the draft, but we're in the upper bowl, so I don't know how good they will turn out.

well, I'm sure the awesome NHL marketing team will have tons of publicity photos ready to unleash on the media anyway.

but just in case they don't...

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

The Hurricanes will attempt to make a splash with a big-name Free Agent, they'll lose out to some other team, settle for a few role players, and go with roughly the same roster, hoping they'll play hard like they did 2 seasons ago and not walk through the season like they do almost every other time.

Yeah, that sounds about right. It's already begun, anyway, with the re-signing of Wesley for another year and locking up Cam Ward for a few more. Still, it does seem that Karmanos, et al, are at least committed to spending to stay in the mix now, which is much better than knowing they'd never lay out for anyone as was their usual SOP before the Cup run (though ironically they won the Cup on the cheap, essentially, with only Recchi and Weight's rental time really drastically increasing the salary base over the back half of last year).

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

Yeah, that sounds about right. It's already begun, anyway, with the re-signing of Wesley for another year

Glen Wesley is a charter member of the "Semi-Famnous Guys Who Played for the Leafs Who I Have No Recollection of At All" Club, along with Dave Gagner, Tom Barrasso and Phil Housley.

Jeff Brown is the president.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Glen Wesley is a charter member of the "Semi-Famnous Guys Who Played for the Leafs Who I Have No Recollection of At All" Club, along with Dave Gagner, Tom Barrasso and Phil Housley.

Jeff Brown is the president.

Dave Gagne and Phil Housley played for the Leafs? Huh.

[Fidatelo]

Ah PJ Philthy Phil. His passes to Teemu were magical; his position as "4th forward" admirable. I miss the Jets.

[bbor]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Glen Wesley is a charter member of the "Semi-Famnous Guys Who Played for the Leafs Who I Have No Recollection of At All" Club, along with Dave Gagner, Tom Barrasso and Phil Housley.

Jeff Brown is the president.

Add Brian Leetch....but i guess he is a bit more famous.

[bbor]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Dave Gagne and Phil Housley played for the Leafs? Huh.

yes and yes.

[General Mike]

You people forgot the biggest offseason?

Who will sign Jeremy Roenick?!?!?

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Glen Wesley is a charter member of the "Semi-Famnous Guys Who Played for the Leafs Who I Have No Recollection of At All" Club, along with Dave Gagner, Tom Barrasso and Phil Housley.

Jeff Brown is the president.

You have blocked Dmitri Khristich from your memory, haven't you?

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by General Mike

You people forgot the biggest offseason?

Who will sign Jeremy Roenick?!?!?

TSN or Versus?

[bronconick]

In San Jose.....

Ron Wilson will remain as coach, apparently due to lack of better options available. I'm not overly thrilled by this, as the Sharks have collapsed in the same fashion for three playoffs running now.

Guerin is almost definitely gone. Hannan and Rivet will both test free agency. Hannan's probably going to be offered 4 to 4.5 million by someone and the Sharks will likely let him walk for anything over 4 million. He's a great shutdown defensemen with almost no offensive skills of any kind. Rivet may be resigned, though he'll burn out again if he has to play as many minutes as he did in the playoffs. Mark Smith is also a UFA and probably won't be back.

Devin Setoguchi will be coming up from Juniors and probably pushing hard for a spot on the big club. He was almost on the team last year. I don't know of any other minor leaguers likely to move up.

Trade possibilities include Toskala being moved somewhere. Officially it's "one of the two goalies" but Nabokov redeemded himself last season and with his higher salary (5.25 per vs. 1.25) and NTC, that leaves Toskala as the likely one to be moved. A package including him to either Florida or Tampa Bay keeps cropping up for either VanRyn or Kuba. Marleau was actually mentioned by some fans to move after his disappearing act in this year's playoffs. That's unlikely unless the Sharks break the bank on Drury, who according to some Buffalo radio station, has a wife who wants to go west. Marleau and Thornton are also both UFA's next year, which is why some want Marleau to be moved now as well. He may also be moved to wing, since he doesn't play defense well or win faceoffs consistently. They'd love to move Bell as well, but a forward who gets paid $250,000 per goal isn't a hot commodity.

Otherwise, Doug Wilson is negotiating with Thornton on a long term extension.

Guessing lines at this point is impossible to make for myself. Michalek-Thornton-Cheechoo will be the first line, and Vlasic will continue to see top 2 minutes on defense. Frankly, he was one of the best 3 rookies last year, but in a year with Malkin, a 19 year old defensemen who plays like a 28 year old isn't going to get much notice.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Dave Gagne and Phil Housley played for the Leafs? Huh.

Dave Gagner and Stars 6th Round pick to Toronto for Benoit Hogue and Randy Wood.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by sachmo71

Dave Gagner and Stars 6th Round pick to Toronto for Benoit Hogue and Randy Wood.

Wow. How could I ever forget such a blockbuster...

Randy Wood. Heh!

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Johnny93g

You have blocked Dmitri Khristich from your memory, haven't you?

No, I remember him. There's plenty of guys who played for the Leafs briefly who I do remember -- Sergio Momesso, Mike Ridley, Derek King, even Calle Johansson.

Then you have the guys who you see mentioned somewhere as ex-Leafs and I just have no recollection at all. Sylvain Cote is another one.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by HiFiRevival

Cote, Housley, Johannsen, Khristich, Ridley etc. It's like Toronto was a retirement home for mediocre former Caps.

It was payback for you guys taking Rob Pearson off our hands.

P.S. Don't forget Bob Rouse and Peter Zezel, acquired for Al Iafrate. Man, I loved all three of those guys.