Exciting Draft Day And Trades

Draft day 2013 is beyond us now. So I guess it's time to have a look at the happenings of the day!

First off what a draft day. Brodeurs picking Brodeurs. 6 foor 4 inch Seth Jones comes up a little short in the 1st. Some trades also happened like Nino "coolest name in the league" Niederreiter being traded for Cal "also the coolest name in the league" Clutterbuck. How can you go wrong? Unless your Dave Bolland... Traded to my beloved Leafs as punishment for scoring the game winning Stanley Cup goal. Don't teams normally make statues for hero's? No... just no...  according to Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien.

Lets start with me being right. In my last post Craziest Week In NHL History? I mentioned a man named John Tortorella. I also mentioned how he was trading down from Henrik Lundqvist to Cory Schneider. Yes well blame Gillis all you want(he deserves it) but I'm willing to bet Tortorella's all over this one. I called it days before it was announced that Cory Schneider was on the block and days later he is in New Jersey auditioning for that gaping hole that Martin Brodeur's going to leave when he decides to retire.

While we are on the subject of Brodeur lets have a look at a rare occurrence.

 

 

 

 

The Devils swing a trade to acquire the 208th (seventh round) pick of the 2013 draft and give Martin Brodeur the honor of drafting his own son into the NHL. While it's not a guarantee he will make it, having arguably the best goaltender ever as your father can certainly help you grow quicker than projections with input from good ol' dad.  If I'm Anthony Brodeur I'm picking on dad for not using his pull to make me a first round pick. All in theory but could you imagine the Prudential Center's hometown New Jersey Devils selecting a Brodeur in the first round on tv. Ridiculous would be the word to describe the crowds. While scouts are far from high on the kid I hope he gets a crack one day. Almost like Brent Gretzky versus Wayne Gretzky in stat comparison.

 

 

Clutterbuck for Niederreiter is the classic prospect goes sour story. Niederreiter is a very talented player and at 20 years old Garth Snow made a bold move in shipping him to Minnesota. The Wild on the other hand add a former 5th overall pick to their stable that already includes some impressive names like Charlie Coyle and Matthew Dumba. 

 

The Isles get tougher and get a guy who has played with Tavares before and therefore should have instant chemistry in a perfect world. Clutterbuck's role is unlikely to change as he'll be expected to lay the body as often as he likes(and enjoyes to) and may even get some reps with Tavares and Moulson. I like the move from both ends to be honest, however I do think Snow could have pulled a little more out of Minnesota.

 

Future superstar Seth Jones saw his stock drop to fourth as teams loaded up on offense. Don't read too much into this one. The big story here is Ryan Suter bolts to Minnesota and David Poile who nearly had his heart ripped out twice in one offseason (see Shea Weber offer sheet) now has another franchise defenseman to play in front of Pekka Rinne. Barry Trotz is also loving life at the moment. Can it go any more storybook for the Preds? What's next a Stanley Cup to spite Suter?

 

Dave Bolland wins his second Stanley Cup. Scores the dramatic game winner in game 6. Gets traded one week later to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Also Bryan Bickell within an hour of the trade signed a 4 year $16 million contract. If there is any solace to find it's that 1. He will get a more prominent role in Toronto. 2. He's close to home. 3. He didn't get screwed by being shipped to Atlanta like Byfuglien and Ladd or a train wreck Toronto team like Versteeg who later got traded to another train wreck in Philly and then another in Florida. It's like the Vince quote from the movie Fast Five... What? After you messed things up in Chicago? I free fell through every hell hole in the league.

 

For Toronto this trade gives Randy Carlyle the grit he loves and another player of his liking, Much like the signing of Jay Mcclement who is looking like a steal. It also may signal a new opportunity for Mikhail Grabovski who spent much of the lockout shortened season in the checking role dog house. If Grabovski gets a chance to play a more offensive role (See Tyler Bozak's spot on the top line) He will certainly chase it with everything he's got trying to cling to that opportunity. If he fails to grasp a bigger role it's likely going to be a change of scenery for Grabo.

 

 

There is still so much to come in a league ripe for action. July 5th marks the opening of NHL Free Agency. The buyout period ends in a couple days and the buyouts will be made official. Teams are still searching for all sorts of help in every area. Edmonton looking hard for help on the blue line. Philly wants a goaltender. Toronto and virtually every team except Colorado is looking for a centre. There are a host of compliance buyouts that have yet to be decided on let alone be announced and by the sound of things a lot of GM's are dangling some game changers due to salary cap constraints.



The craziest week in NHL history?



Toronto at Ottawa 4/20/2013

It's going to be one of those times where the excitement is going to be there but not boiling over and TSN will have some lame show to follow the action that wasn't. Maybe, just maybe, this time though they may have something...

It's been less than a week since the Blackhawks stunning 17 second comeback against Boston to win the Stanley Cup... Teams are itching to make improvements. There is a certain buzz about this offseason that hasn't been present since the pre-lockout era when teams like the New York Rangers spent lavishly trying to buy cups... Oh wait... They still do... see: Brad Richards, Bobby Holik, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, Dariusz Kasparitis and Chris Drury to name a few.

The new CBA(Collective Bargaining Agreement) has put many teams in a frenzied position heading into this offseason as the salary cap drops to 64.3 million. Many teams are sitting on their buy outs while others are being forced already to make cuts to prepare for next season.

Several buyouts have already been announced. Today it was revealed by Lightning GM Steve Yzerman that career Lightning player and former captain Vincent Lecavalier would have his contract which was paying a whopping 7 million+ per season bought out and he will join the likes of Daniel Briere and Ilya Bryzgalov as free agency is on the horizon.

Vancouver is looking for a suitor for Roberto Luongo still and suggested today they will pursue a trade more aggressively in the coming weeks. Luongo is a compliance buy out candidate and any team interested is fully aware of the akward situation in Vancouver with 9 million in salary between the pipes. While unlikely it remains to be seen whether new Vancouver coach John Tortorella is comfortable going from King Henrik to Cory Schneider so this may be an interesting story as Torts looks at his current roster situation more closely and maybe just maybe Cory Schneider gets traded instead.

I believe any team interested in Luongo will wait to see if Vancouver cracks and uses a buy out before making any further pitches. If Luongo hits the open market he is likely to get a shorter but similar value contract although with Ray Emery, Mike Smith and the aforementioned Ilya Bryzgalov also available the market for the veteran netminder may dry up quickly as teams choose not to give up assets to fill the void between the pipes.

The GM's of the league will truly be tested in the coming weeks. Many more will falter than thrive as some will be gun shy while others will be throwing out big contracts on risky players. Trades will be coming and free agent bidding wars may get nasty as teams see a rare chance to sign pivots. The market for centers is a little deeper than usual with Lecavalier, Ribeiro, Elias, Bozak, Zubrus, Malhotra and a host of others still without contract presently

All this lunacy and we still haven't even touched on the draft... Do they take Mackinnon? or do they sucker someone just below them into trading up and then take the Denver kid Seth Jones? Last year Garth Snow  GM of the Islanders wanted Ryan Murray so bad he offered all of the Islanders picks to get the first overall and was rejected. This year Calgary offered all three of their first round picks for the 1st overall and that to was also rejected. In my opinion this year will be a record for Gary Bettman approaching the podium to announce trades. Ridiculous out of the blue trades coming... I think so.

Final thoughts: There are some interesting minor stories to watch out for in the coming weeks as well. Where does Jagr land next? Does Tim Thomas attempt a comeback? Does Selanne continue schooling players half his age and how about Alfredsson? Does Jarome Iginla take his talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat? Stay tuned

 

Leafs Defeat The Sabres

                                                      Recalled for last nights game

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked up a well earned with in a hard fought exciting matchup. Big hits and solid play kept the building on it's feet as the Torontos "goal"den boy Nazem Kadri gets called up and nets the game winning goal in his return to the NHL.

The former 7th overrall pick in NHL Draft has struggled to keep a place with the big club. It's been said that Kadri's next call up would be his last and if last night was any indication Naz has made this claim look like a good one. He showed great speed throughout the game and looked as though he finally belongs in NHL. A great shot top shelf on Miller and he has the game winner.

Toronto got into penalty trouble. 4 penalties in the second period but they bounced back after allowing a power play goal and continued to battle and you can't ask for anything more from a team than to not give up.

James Reimer seems like he is returning to the form that made everyone so excited about the young goaltender. He stopped 40 of 42 shots and looked solid throughout making all the necessary saves to lead him team back into the win column.

If the team can beat the Islanders tonight Toronto will head into Christmas with a 18-13-4 record. Despite that many people still believe Wilson should be fired. Brian Burke is a family guy. A high moral guy so if he were even thinking about it just a little bit you would be waiting until the New Year but I highly doubt Wilson gets fired. Contract extension? Now that I highly doubt also.



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Concussion Control: Part 2 Fighting

                                          

In part one it was head shots and my observation that players simply are not doing enough to protect themselves. Now we look at one of the most discussed issues in hockey. Fighting.

                                                                 Downey vs Boulerice

For as long as hockey has been played big hits have been a part of it and with big hits comes injuries and the all important intimidation factor. Hitters like Scott Stevens were feared by many for their ability to lay career shortening hits.

With the realisation that star players had targets painted on them came the birth of a new player. A new breed of toughness and those men are called "Enforcers" There job is to protect the skill guys and allow them to focus on scoring.

These guys are tough as nails. Many of them admittedly feel very nervous before games knowing they are likely going to fight,There are those who look forward to it and then there are some who do it because it's their best chance to be able to play the game they love and not because they want to.

In the last couple years the NHL and alumni ranks have been hit hard by some tragic deaths to well known enforcers.

Wade Belak who I had the pleasure of meeting as a kid during his days in Cornwall with the Aces (Hershey Bears now). He was honestly one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. A Funny guy. Liked to have fun. Admitted after his career he would have trouble sleeping the night before if he knew he was going to have to fight.

Other players included Derek Boogard, Bob Probert and Rick Rypien. All well respected men all dying within a short 2 year span which led to the outpouring of frustration as Probert's brain showed signs of a degenerative brain disease that was later revealed to be found in Boogard's brain as well.

Doctor's want fighting out. Players want fighting in. "Heavyweights" in the NHL are on the decline and are finding themselves benched or demoted more often than ever before as the NHL transitions to a more speed and finesse game.

Beagle vs Asham

Aaron Asham and the controversial "Go to sleep" KO celebration shows that despite the time passed since the unfortunate deaths, the complaints on fighting are not going away. Beagle the other fighter in this video suffered a concussion. Whether his concussion was from the punches or hitting the ice is up for debate.

Can fighting be banned? In my opinion no absolutely not. Guys like the concussed Sidney Crosby need protection or the game will fail to grow. Wayne Gretzky proved this. Gretzky was nearly untouchable but that's because his supporting cast was built so that anyone who dared touch him would be punished. That intimidation factor is critical to the protection of star players.

It's not the ideal job but someone has to do it and as long as hockey exists their will always be people ready and willing to drop the mitts to keep their jobs to protect their friends to protect themselves.

Shout out to Paul Shantz! Guy is tough as nails. Go Warriors

From Russia With Love: Nail Yakupov

In honor of the fact the blog has just gotten it's first views in Russia I am happy to post my review on top Russian prospect Nail Yakupov.

In 26 games played so far with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League, Yakupov has been deadly posting 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points . Last season Nail was on fire also(65 games: 49 goals 52 assists for 101 points)

2010/2011
The most telling number of all is +-. Last season Nail was -2 despite putting up 101 points so it's fair to say his game was incomplete. A solid scorer... lethal even. But scoring 100+ points only to allow more while on the ice than you produce certainly raised questions last season as teams looked ahead to the 2012 draft class.

2011/2012
A different player entirely. Maturation is in full flight with Nail and his all out attack has not been hamped by his impressive defensive play and increased responsibilities. This season Yakupov is once again lighting the lamp but he's doing it while being a +21! No other player on the team is above +9.

His size is his biggest downfall but Martin St Louis will argue otherwise. At 18 years old Nail is a special kid and I don't see anyone near his caliber just yet. It's still a long season and other top prospects have time to catch up but Nail is far and away the best player in this draft.

The future is bright for Russian hockey if players of Yakupov's calibre continue to come. Now if only Nail could show fellow Russians Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin how to score again the Capitals would be fixed.