National Hockey League 2010-2011

[PhilsFan]

Philly did well in this. They got Schenn, Simmonds, and drafted Sean Couturier, the pre-season favourite for #1 overall.

If they pan out as they're projected to, and with JVR and Giroux in the mix, then Philly will be in good shape for the next decade or more.

I'm pretty psyched.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

It's always dangerous to draft a dropper, although Philly's in just the situation where that's okay.

 

[PhilsFan]

Didn't he drop because he missed part of the year with illness? I'm not too worried about that.

I would have liked Dougie Hamilton, but it would have been stupid to pass this guy up.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

There's questions in his ability to translate talent into the NHL.

Players don't simply drop from the #1 overall pick for missing 10 games in a season. That would never happen. Adam Larsson was also a dropper. Both of those players were talked about well before their draft, too. Perhaps as early as two or three years previous to it.

I mean, there are cases where droppers did well (Cam Fowler, originally prospected around #3, went #12, need I say more?) and also cases where droppers dropped for a clear reason (Angelo Esposito originally prospected at #1, went #20, bust).

Obviously Couturier didn't drop as much, but it's always good to be cautious of a dropper. Usually, something is up that the scouts know about.

 

[PhilsFan]

Not for missing ten games, for being sluggish when he returned. Mono does that. Most experts seem to agree that he shouldn't have dropped to 8.

But I digress. You are correct to note that there is reason to be cautious. I'm just hoping we got lucky on a guy who shouldn't have dropped. With him and Schenn, the future looks much more promising than even a couple days ago, when everything seemed to be built around a "have to win now" mentality.

 

[ryancoke71]

For anyone who lives in Montreal, could you shoot me a pm and let me know a great place to stay by the Bell Centre? My hubby is a huge Habs fan, and has never seen them play at home, so I want to surprise him for his birthday. Thanks!

 

[BoMac]

Pretty much anything downtown is within walking distance to the Bell Centre.

Booking.com: Hotels near Bell Center, Canada. Book your hotel now!

 

[ryancoke71]

Thanks! I want to book the hotel before the tickets go on sale in August.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Oh, and the Panthers moved in with the steal of the draft with Rocco Grimaldi at #33. Arguably the most talented and one of the most athletic players in the draft. If he was 6'0" and not 5'6", he would've been a top 5 pick.

I'm totally okay with drafting him though, considering we had 5 picks in the next two rounds. Hopefully he pans out, because this draft will otherwise be golden for us.

 

[PhilsFan]

I was just talking to a hockey scout the other day about the draft, and he did say that teams today tend to put a disproportionate amount of value into size.

 

[Hewson]

I was just talking to a hockey scout the other day about the draft, and he did say that teams today tend to put a disproportionate amount of value into size.

You'd think Brad Marchand's play in this year's playoffs might help dissuade that a bit, but apparently not.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

Or Brian Gionta and his 200 NHL goals/400 NHL points and his Stanley Cup ring.

Or Marty St. Louis and his 300 NHL goals/800 NHL points, his Stanley Cup ring, his Art Ross trophy, his Lester B. Pearson Award, and his Hart Memorial Trophy, and his 6 NHL All-Star appearances.

Or Mike Cammalleri, Ray Whitney, Danny Briere, and I believe Andy McDonald. All players under 5'10". Granted, for so many success stories I'm sure there are plenty of stories where the little guy got tossed around in the AHL and couldn't make it through the pros.

 

[Canadiens1131]

The way the refs are calling the game post lockout is much more conducive to small quick players. It's a lot harder for slower, big dmen to hang themselves over a forward or keep harassing/obstructing him with a stick.

 

[BoMac]

I was just talking to a hockey scout the other day about the draft, and he did say that teams today tend to put a disproportionate amount of value into size.

You need a healthy balance, though. I don't mind small players, but if there's too many on one team then there's a problem. In the case of Montreal, they're littered with small, quick players, and I was closely watching if they were drafting bigger players this time around. In some instances they drafted players 6'1" or taller, which pleased me because they need that size. Although their third round pick is a small offensive dynamo who's 5'9" or thereabouts, so we'll see how that pans out.

 

[kramwest1]

Not too sad to see Burns go--our only All Star this past year, but our defense still sucked.
Maybe the better defense will be a good offense?

I think it's safe to say that this will be a fun season to watch, but I'm not expecting too much. Glad that if we gave up a great 26-yr-old, we are getting a great 24-yr-old.

Wild Pulls Off Blockbuster With San Jose - Minnesota Wild | 2011 NHL Entry Draft

 

[Canadiens1131]

Not too sad to see Burns go--our only All Star this past year, but our defense still sucked.
Maybe the better defense will be a good offense?

I think it's safe to say that this will be a fun season to watch, but I'm not expecting too much. Glad that if we gave up a great 26-yr-old, we are getting a great 24-yr-old.

Wild Pulls Off Blockbuster With San Jose - Minnesota Wild | 2011 NHL Entry Draft

The announcement of that Wild trade on the floor of the arena during the draft was brilliant to watch.

 

[Bluer White]

Not too sad to see Burns go--our only All Star this past year, but our defense still sucked.
Maybe the better defense will be a good offense?

I don't think Burns would have been re-signed next summer. Deal made sense for both teams

 

[kramwest1]

I don't think Burns would have been re-signed next summer. Deal made sense for both teams

What do you think of Yeo?

 

[LuckyNumber7]

You need a healthy balance, though. I don't mind small players, but if there's too many on one team then there's a problem. In the case of Montreal, they're littered with small, quick players, and I was closely watching if they were drafting bigger players this time around. In some instances they drafted players 6'1" or taller, which pleased me because they need that size. Although their third round pick is a small offensive dynamo who's 5'9" or thereabouts, so we'll see how that pans out.

Definitely, when you're constructing a team you can't be undersized. But I believe the point was that the scouts in particular give a guy like Grimaldi much less value than his talent shows.

That's not because they don't want a small player on the team. It's because they fear a small player like Grimaldi might have a tough time adjusting to the NHL or translating his talent into NHL talent because of his size. It's why he in particular was passed on by 32 other players.

 

[bono_man2002]

Looks like Bieksa has re-signed for the canucks.

Bieksa Set To Re-Sign with Canucks | TEAM Radio | TEAM 1040 AM | TEAM 1410 AM | Home of Vancouver Canucks and BC Lions

What I don't get in American sports mostly, how new contracts for 30+ year olds seem to be for long term periods? Its a big deal in Australia if someone signs anything more than a two year deal in say the AFL.

 

[PhilsFan]

Because years matter just as much as money so it's part of the bargaining. The team that offers you an extra year or two at the same salary is the team that gets the player.

 

[PhilsFan]

Sources are indicating a deal for Stamkos is definitely being talked about, though the Flyers aren't the only team in the mix.

The Flyers are considering an attempt to offer out of Tampa's price range.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

You know what sucks about offer sheets? They only work for teams that meet two characteristics:

1. Rich teams
2. Good teams

So what if you lose your next 4 1st round picks? They're late 1st round picks anyways. If we offered up, we could potentially be losing 1-4 top 10 picks. Oh, and we can't afford to offer up 11m a season.

I still think it's a stupid idea for the Flyers. You're just going to piss people off with an offer sheet for a seemingly untouchable player. If you want Stamkos, get him through a trade like a gentleman or don't do it at all.

In fact, it would probably be a whole lot easier on the Flyers to get Stamkos through a trade, too. You could send salary back the other way.

 

[PhilsFan]

In a league with $16 million between the cap floor (48) and the cap ceiling (64), it's difficult for me to understand the rich vs. poor argument.

I'm not sure how I feel about some sort of godfather offer for Stamkos. I'll have to look more into the potential deal here.

 

[BoMac]

I remember when Philly signed Ryan Kesler to an exorbitant offer sheet and most people wondered: who? He had 5-10 goals at the time and only 2 or 3 years of experience.

Seems they were right about that guy.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

In a league with $16 million between the cap floor (48) and the cap ceiling (64), it's difficult for me to understand the rich vs. poor argument.

I'm not sure how I feel about some sort of godfather offer for Stamkos. I'll have to look more into the potential deal here.

In a league where cap hit is especially important and there are several ways to circumvent the cap, the difference is a little larger than it seems. I'm sure you know how cap hit works, but a team doesn't necessarily need to pay off the minimum (or the maximum for that matter).

While the difference is still pretty small, you've got to forget the fact that other sports have larger cap differences as well. It's all relative to the league. Teams like the Islanders and Panthers simply don't have the physical cash to spend every season, unlike the Flyers who probably have more money than the cap allows. Ideally, the Flyers can get whatever they want. The Panthers can't exactly spend to the cap without going under.

And the point behind the Stamkos godfather offer as you say is that Tampa Bay WILL match any deal presented by Philly because 4 Philly 1st round picks are not worth Steven Stamkos. They'll match the deal, and then they'll be pissed off with Philly because they'll have to get rid of other players that they can no longer afford.

 

[PhilsFan]

I agree to an extent, and there are questions about whether Tampa has the cash to pony up for Stamkos if a Philly or a Toronto makes a big play for him.

The Flyers have a shit ton of money. They could reach the cap if it was $120 million, especially now that Spectacor is selling the Sixers.

 

[Canadiens1131]

It sure has been fun trolling TBL fans with the Stamkos talk this past week or two. Too bad, he looks so nice in the new jersey on the NHL 12 cover.

Oh well

 

[PhilsFan]

Flyers sign Jagr, Talbot, and Lilja, lock up Voracek, trade Versteeg to the LN7's, and now may be making a play for Brad Richards. They lose Ville Leino, who signs a deal with Buffalo.

I have no idea how I feel about all this.

 

[LuckyNumber7]

The Jagr bit will be interesting to say the least.

Told ya the Versteeg deal was bound to happen one way or another.

Looks like the PhilsFans and the Panthers have gone out and monopolized on the FA market...

Panthers nabbed Jose Theodore, Scottie Upshall, Tomas Fleischmann, Marcel Goc, Ed Jovonovski, and Kris Versteeg. Likely to lose Vokoun unless a Clemmensen trade is in the works. Gotta sign Santorelli and Matthias which will put us just at the cap... wont be surprised if the Panthers make a big move via trade though.