The OFFICIAL 2007 NHL Offseason Thread

[bbor]

Interesting little tid-bit.....Rep hockey here in Toronto is played in what is called the GTHL(greater Toronto hockey league)7 draft picks in the 1st 3 rounds all played thier minor hockey there...on the same team!

That is pretty amazing.

[bbor]

These are the guys in case you are interested.

Sam Gagner
John Travares
Bryan Cameron
Akim Aliu
Brendan Smith
Justin Vaive
Wilson Ngai

Pretty sure Justin Vaive is former Leaf captain and 50 goal scorer Rick Vaives' kid.

[Travis]

Early opinion on the Oilers draft.

The guys we took at 15 and 21 (after using our second rounder to trade up) could have been had at 30 and in the second round had we not traded up.

Which means we could have kept our current draft class and added Esposito at 15 (or Petrecki if they wanted another defenseman).

Way to go Lowe, two big reaches including an unnecessary trade up while avoiding a good value pick on a kid with top 5 talent.

[Maple Leafs]

The Edmonthon Sun was saying that Lowe could have had Gagner, Esposito and Backlund. I guess will time will tell if he made the right calls.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Holy crap do I ever hate the Penguins.

ML you probably get much better coverage than I do here...

How much of Esposito's fall was scouts having 2+ years to search and find something to not like about him?

I'm seeing all sorts of things about him getting lazy, attitude issues, etc. What 17-18 year old kid doesn't have that (except, you know, Sid...and Staal )

Also, I think it will he'll never have to the THE man here.

And, it's just good drafting by Ray Shero. If everyone pans out as expected, no way both Crosby and Malkin can be kept long term. But you can do worse than shifting one of Staal or Espo back to C.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Well, I have never heard of Brendan Smith before Friday, but time will tell whether the Wings picked the right guy.

I was really happy with the later rounds. A couple of mock drafts I saw had the Wings taking Joakim Andersson in the first round and the Wings got him in the 3rd. Seems like a good value. As a Wings' fan you can't help but be excited by the guy. First, he's Swedish. The land of Swede has been good, very good to the Wings. His favorite team is the Red Wings and his favorite player is Zetterberg. All good things. Hopefully he'll refine his offensive game and turn into Zetterberg 2.0.

The Wings got Zach Torquato in the 6th round. I actually have heard of this guy, which means he most likely has some upside to him. A decent pick that late in the draft.

Back to the first round choice. I took a look at TSN's "draft tracker" for the first round.

Here's what they say about Brendan Smith:

The St. Michael's Buzzer defenceman will get discounted a little because of the level of competition in the Ontario Provincial Jr. A League, but there are few defenceman at any level that can skate the puck up the ice like Brendan Smith. He has a tendency to try to do too much with the puck but scouts like the raw potential.

Here's what they say about Nick Petrecki, the very next player taken after Smith by San Jose (also a defensemen):

Scouts agree on so little in general, but this is pretty much unanimous: Nick Petrecki is the most physical defenceman available in the draft. If there were an award for best bodychecker and most aggressive play, Petrecki would likely win it.

That will make a great many Wings' fans cry out in anguish and curse Holland all the more...

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

The Wings got Zach Torquato in the 6th round. I actually have heard of this guy, which means he most likely has some upside to him. A decent pick that late in the draft.

fuckingZetterbergDatsyuklateroundpicks

anyway, the Avs also went with an offensive guy at D (5'11 Kevin Shatterkirk) with Petrecki on the board. seems like Petrecki is a guy a lot of fans would have liked to see taken

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

How much of Esposito's fall was scouts having 2+ years to search and find something to not like about him?

I'm seeing all sorts of things about him getting lazy, attitude issues, etc.

That's pretty much it. Apparently his attitude was quite poor this year, which worries a lot of people. If you can'tbe bothered to give a full effort when you have a chance to be the #1 overall pick, when will you give it.

The other knock on him was that despite his talent, he doesn't seem to make the players around him any better. Of course, that may not be much of an issue in Pittsburgh...

[TurnerONU22]

I might be a little biased, but I think Columbus did an excellent job of hosting the draft. My wife and I got downtown at about 4 pm, wandered around outside, then made our way in at about 4:30. We took a look around the concourse, seeing the different trophies, including the Stanley Cup (which I didn't go near). We ended up in line at the section we wanted to set in at about 5, so we waited about 30 minutes and then got some pretty good seats.

I wasn't able to sit close to the draft tables (those sections were reserved for the draftees and their parents), but we were able to sit right beside where the 'suits' were coming in an out (there is a nice lounge underneath where they were chatting, getting drinks, ect..). There were tons of people on the floor, moreso than I had expected. When I finish uploading the pictures, you'll be able to point out some of the people (probably better than I am) that we were able to notice.

The arena was completely full, and were very much into it. Bettman got his usual boos, but we were wise enough to give Gretzky a nice rousing cheer. We got to see the new jerseys of the Blue Jackets modeled by Fritsche and Shelley (very nice!). And the draft seemed to work out nicely for the Jackets, with Voracek falling right into their lap due to the selection of Hickey by LA. I still wanted Alzner, but since he was gone, Voracek was perfect.

We stayed for the first ten picks, then we had to leave, as my wife had to get up early for work the next day. I guess they gave Yzerman plenty of boos, which offended some (read: the same DET fans who boo Fedorov) , but he's associated with that state up north, so that was expected. The Jackets seemed to get a steal in the 4th round, trading up to get Mayorov, and then ended the draft in a classy fashion, by selecting the first ever Columbus born and raised prospect, Trent Vogelhuber.

All in all, it was a very cool experience, and I hope that the NHL enjoyed it enough that we can get an All-Star game in 2012 or 2013.

BTW, a link to the pictures should be up shortly!

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

The other knock on him was that despite his talent, he doesn't seem to make the players around him any better. Of course, that may not be much of an issue in Pittsburgh...

Right on. He can always play Rob Brown to Sid's Mario.

I was sort of torn watching Friday night with both Espo and Petrecki available at Pittsburgh pick. Even if Petrecki won't be in the NHL for 3 years, he's exactly what Pittsburgh is currently missing (outside of maybe Orpik). But when you have arguably the best talent in the draft fall to you at 20, you take him.

With Espo chosen and Recchi and Roberts back for another year, I don't see them bringing in a wing now, unless it's a mid or lower tier guy at one or two years (think Kyle Calder). And with the 4 young guns, plus guys like Armstong and Talbot filling bottom 6 roles, not really a need to sign a premier forward long term.

I'd love to see them go all out and nab Scott Hannan. Play him big minutes with Gonchar, and that allows Eaton to slide to the 3rd pair with Kris 'drink of the French astronaut' Letang or another low tier guy they bring in.

[TurnerONU22]

Here it is:

http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa29/TurnerCU22/

NOTE: There are two pages, and those who don't have a title are the ones that I am unsure of who the person is

[Suburban Rhythm]

Dola

Seeing over at HF, Coyotes are shopping Nick Boynton. Not in the Hannan class, but by far an upgrade over what he had last year in Scuderi and Melichar. Pens probably have the young forwards Phoenix may want.

[RPI-Fan]

I've played with Petrecki. He's not particularly great with the puck, and when I played there was no checking, etc. He did seem to read things quite well in the defensive zone. Didn't seem as big as he's made out to be.

[Coder]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I was really happy with the later rounds. A couple of mock drafts I saw had the Wings taking Joakim Andersson in the first round and the Wings got him in the 3rd. Seems like a good value. As a Wings' fan you can't help but be excited by the guy. First, he's Swedish. The land of Swede has been good, very good to the Wings. His favorite team is the Red Wings and his favorite player is Zetterberg. All good things. Hopefully he'll refine his offensive game and turn into Zetterberg 2.0.

The knock on Andersson is his skating. I've only seen him once, so I won't comment from personal experience, but just about every scout-report I've read says he's not a good skater. Now.. skating can be taught, so we'll see where he goes from here.

For next season, he's got a junior-pro contract with the big team (Frölunda) and will be practicing with the pro team but officially is still a junior player. He will, however, get a chance to be on the bench for a few pro-games and should get a few shifts during the regular season. If his development curve looks good, I think he'll be sent down to Boras of the second-tier league in Sweden to get some real ice time playing versus men rather than juniors.

Frolunda did that with both Joel and Henrik Lundqvist for one season and they progressed well there rather than playing only with the junior team and getting very little ice time in the Swedish Elite League.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Just saw that Bill Simmons (ESPN 2) did a running diary for part of the NHL Draft.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...e=bill_simmons

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Just saw that Bill Simmons (ESPN 2) did a running diary for part of the NHL Draft.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...e=bill_simmons

Cool. I'll have to check it out to see how many ways he can rephrease the "I've never heard of this guy due to the NHL's lack of popularity" joke.

[Draft Dodger]

the Simmons reference reminds me of a recent minor controversy. Adrian Dater - sportswriter for the Denver Post (and they guy who wrote "Blood Feud") the other day went OFF on ESPN because their on-air personalities steal scoops from print journalists. He takes a dig at Simmons as well.

not really hockey-related, but still an enjoyable rant.

The Denver Post took it down rather quickly. He did a follow up semi-apology, and that got nuked as well. the original post was saved by an Avs blogger.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1393/...2eae5d79_o.jpg

[Travis]

Originally Posted by TurnerONU22

Here it is:

http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/aa29/TurnerCU22/

NOTE: There are two pages, and those who don't have a title are the ones that I am unsure of who the person is

Thanks, good stuff!

[MikeVic]

I enjoyed that Simmons article. It was pretty funny. Although I don't think I have a Canadian accent.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

The Denver Post took it down rather quickly. He did a follow up semi-apology, and that got nuked as well. the original post was saved by an Avs blogger.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1393/...2eae5d79_o.jpg

What a strang article. It reads like the sort of "real journalism vs info-tainment" rant you'd hear from some embedded reporter in Iraq or a bureau cheif in Korea... except it's from a guy who's noble call in life is to collect post-game cliches from Jorge Posada.

[Simms]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

Although I don't think I have a Canadian accent.

Trust me, you do.

I used to think the whole concept of a Canadian accent was ridiculous....then I moved to the States. After a year of eliciting guffaws every time I said "sorry" or "about", I finally conceded that there might be a few dialectic differences.

[Fidatelo]

I don't get it, when I say "about", it sounds like "a-bowt", not "a-boot". Who are these Canadians that keep saying "a-boot"? Are they all french-canadians?

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

the Simmons reference reminds me of a recent minor controversy. Adrian Dater - sportswriter for the Denver Post (and they guy who wrote "Blood Feud") the other day went OFF on ESPN because their on-air personalities steal scoops from print journalists. He takes a dig at Simmons as well.

not really hockey-related, but still an enjoyable rant.

The Denver Post took it down rather quickly. He did a follow up semi-apology, and that got nuked as well. the original post was saved by an Avs blogger.
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1393/...2eae5d79_o.jpg

I liked the article. Kindof silly that it got taken down tho it was more blog rant than deep article.

SI

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I don't get it, when I say "about", it sounds like "a-bowt", not "a-boot". Who are these Canadians that keep saying "a-boot"? Are they all french-canadians?

My thoughts exactly.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I don't get it, when I say "about", it sounds like "a-bowt", not "a-boot". Who are these Canadians that keep saying "a-boot"? Are they all french-canadians?

Yeah, I don't get that one either. The other pronounciations I can't say yes or no... but I'm 99% sure I don't say a-boot. It's like you said: more like a-bowt.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

I don't get it, when I say "about", it sounds like "a-bowt", not "a-boot". Who are these Canadians that keep saying "a-boot"? Are they all french-canadians?

there's a ton in the Ottawa valley, eh?

[Maple Leafs]

Canadians: "ah-bowt"
Americans: "ah-booowwwwwhhhhtttt"

[Honolulu_Blue]

Speaking of Candian accents, one of the most bizzare sporting-related television events I can ever re-call watching was some snowboarding, half-pike Olympic event back in 1998.

I was watching CBC's coverage and they had some guy doing the commentary. He had this incredibly thick Canadian accent, but kept using all of the snowboarding lingo. It was very, very odd...

[Suburban Rhythm]

I made it this far...

Kudos to Canada and the NHL draft
By Bill Simmons

...then couldn't read anymore.

He is a shining example of everything that sucks about ESPN--too heavy on the 'E' (or at least attempting to be) and way short on the 'SP'.

I bet he was really pissed when the Sox won in '04 (I think that's when it was...maybe I should write a 50,000 word column sort of about MLB, which I admittedly don't follow, nor care about, and makes overused jokes about not caring about it).

In actual hockey news, Pittsburgh does not offer a qualifying deal to Michel Ouellett. He is a favorite whipping boy of Pens "fans". While I will admit he's not great, or really even good, he's a try hard type who can score some garbage goals. Poor skater, adequate defensively. He scored 19 times last year in about 70 games, getting only about 13 mins a game. Think poor man's Rob Brown (outside the 49 goal year).

Some team desperate for wings will pick him up.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Dola

Other names NOT getting QO's

Alex Auld, Alexei Semenov and Juraj Kolnik in FLA

Kris Beech and Jiri Novotny in WAS

Adam Hall in MIN

[Dr. Sak]

Instead of not giving an offer to Michel Ouellett they should get rid of Ryan Malone. He only shows up about 5 times a year.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Instead of not giving an offer to Michel Ouellett they should get rid of Ryan Malone. He only shows up about 5 times a year.

Agree, but he's got a year left...something like $1.25M.
Hopefully someone will take him. The most important thing he brings to the team is he's from Pittsburgh, and Pittsburghers love other Pittsburghers.

Oh, and he had 2 HTs against the Isles, and played well at times on the PK. But mainly, he's from Pittsburgh.

[Pyser]

what the shit kind of collusion is this?!


The St. Louis Blues acquired the rights to centre Keith Tkachuk from the Atlanta Thrashers along with a conditional fourth round draft pick in 2008, which could become a third round choice in 2009, in exchange for a conditional first round draft choice in 2008 on Tuesday. This past February, the Blues shipped Tkachuk to Atlanta in exchange for a first round draft choice in 2007, a third round draft choice in 2007, a second round draft choice in 2008 and forward Glen Metropolit.

[Pyser]

dola

this is nice for devils fans, i guess. at least it should keep his price down:

In five days, Devils defenseman Brian Rafalski will be free to field offers from other teams as an unrestricted free agent. Although that possibility looms, Rafalski's agent, Bill Zito, reiterated Monday that his client wants to remain a Devil and has instructed him to make sure that happens. - bergen record

[bhlloy]

OK - so pick four guys from the following list to go into the hall of fame.

Messier
R. Francis
S. Stevens
MacInnis
Oates
Larionov
C. Lemieux
Damphousse

My initial thought is that Messier will get 100%, and Stevens is a no brainer. Lemieux is too hated to make it on such a tough list and doesn't have the numbers or the rep of the others. Damphousse isn't at the same level either IMO. So pick two of Francis, Oates, Larionov and MacInnis.

I'm amazed at how many points Ron Francis ended up with, and that coupled with his defensive play and 2 Stanley Cups means he makes it for sure. It's tough to leave Larionov off if you include all of his time in Russia, but I didn't see any of that and Oates stands out as one of the best playmakers I have ever seen. So I'll go with Oates for the last spot, with Larionov and MacInnis making it in easily next time.

A full list of first-year eligibles, along with notable guys who arent in yet is at
hxxp://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind07prolog.htm

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

OK - so pick four guys from the following list to go into the hall of fame.

Messier
R. Francis
S. Stevens
MacInnis
Oates
Larionov
C. Lemieux
Damphousse

Messier, Stevens, Larionov, and MacInnis. I am torn on Francis vs. MacInnis really...

[Pyser]

messier, francis, stevens, lemiuex

its all about multiple cups.

[General Mike]

I agree. Messier, Stevens, Francis and Oates get the Hall of Fame nod from me.

[st.cronin]

Messier, Stevens, Francis, Larionov.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Pyser

what the shit kind of collusion is this?!

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sp...thrashers.html
In one small trade, the Thrashers increased their chances of signing Keith Tkachuk and at the same time aided the team widely considered the favorite to sign the veteran forward.

On Tuesday, the Thrashers traded the exclusive rights to negotiate with Tkachuk until July 1 to St. Louis. In return, the Thrashers no longer have to surrender a 2008 first-round draft pick to the Blues if they sign Tkachuk, which was a condition of the original trade with St. Louis in February.

If the Thrashers sign Tkachuk after free agency starts at noon on July 1, they now only have to give St. Louis a conditional fourth round selection in the 2008 draft that could become a third-round pick in the 2009 draft.

Confusing? A little, but as it stood before the trade the Thrashers weren't going to sign Tkachuk if they had to give up a first-round pick in a deep draft. That's no longer the case.

"[Signing Tkachuk] is a lot better possibility now that it was before, that's for sure," said general manager Don Waddell.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Messier, Stevens, Larionov, and MacInnis. I am torn on Francis vs. MacInnis really...

Probably biased as a Pens fan, but I think Francis is a lock. The 3 locks are Messier, Stevens and Francis. Everyone else is fighting for the 4th spot.

[MikeVic]

I'd also say Messier, Stevens, and Francis have to make it. Didn't realize how many points Francis ended up with either!

The last spot is hard, but I personally like MacInnis or Lemieux out of the rest. I view MacInnis as an upper-class defenceman, and Lemieux as the ultimate playoff performer.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by MikeVic

I'd also say Messier, Stevens, and Francis have to make it. Didn't realize how many points Francis ended up with either!

The last spot is hard, but I personally like MacInnis or Lemieux out of the rest. I view MacInnis as an upper-class defenceman, and Lemieux as the ultimate playoff performer.

I think Lemieux's (deserved) reputation as a dirty player keeps him out this time around.

[bbor]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I think Lemieux's (deserved) reputation as a dirty player keeps him out this time around.

Spoken like a true Wings fan

Out with Claude in with Petr!

[Fidatelo]

Mess, Stevens, Francis, and Larionov.

[Dr. Sak]

I always found Stevens dirty but it seemed he always got a free pass.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by bbor

Spoken like a true Wings fan

Out with Claude in with Petr!

Amen, brother!

[Honolulu_Blue]

I found this on Kukla's. These guys have been put on waivers. It's translated from French I believe. I love internet translations:

At least three players were placed at the ballot in the national League Wednesday. Thus, in Vancouver, Canucks made available to the other teams, the attacker Marc Chouinard.

In Phoneix, the Coyotes made the same thing with the center Kevyn Adams and the defender Nick Boynton.

In 42 parts the year spent, Chouinard marked two goals and obtained as many master keys.

For its part, Adams marked three goals and nine master keys in 33 meetings. As for Boynton, it registered two goals and nine master keys in 59 matches.

It should be provided that the contracts of all these players are repurchased by their team respective if they are not claimed.

At the Canadian, Jassen Cullimore and Tony Salmelainen were not claimed with the ballot.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

I found this on Kukla's. These guys have been put on waivers. It's translated from French I believe. I love internet translations:

At least three players were placed at the ballot in the national League Wednesday. Thus, in Vancouver, Canucks made available to the other teams, the attacker Marc Chouinard.

In Phoneix, the Coyotes made the same thing with the center Kevyn Adams and the defender Nick Boynton.

In 42 parts the year spent, Chouinard marked two goals and obtained as many master keys.

For its part, Adams marked three goals and nine master keys in 33 meetings. As for Boynton, it registered two goals and nine master keys in 59 matches.

It should be provided that the contracts of all these players are repurchased by their team respective if they are not claimed.

At the Canadian, Jassen Cullimore and Tony Salmelainen were not claimed with the ballot.

I am SO confused!

[Fidatelo]

I'm saddened to see that Chouinard had only 2 master keys all year.