TRADES, HORTON, HABS, ROOKIES, BOUCHARD
TRADES
-There are plenty of intriguing stories coming into the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Teams like the Edmonton Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Vancouver Canucks, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres will all be trying to make changes to the future of their franchises. Will Pittsburgh give Kris Letang more than 7M per year or is he a goner? Will the Oilers make a gutsy call with their draft picks?
-I don't know why Boston would even consider trading Tyler Seguin at his age and with his potential. A Boston team without both Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin next year would be majorly different, especially if part of the plan to replace a young talent in Seguin would be to get an older talent like Vincent Lecavalier.
-The team that trades for Cal Clutterbuck today is acquiring a hard worker and a player not afraid to hit. I'm interested to see who gets him.
-Cory Schneider to Edmonton? I don't see this happening at all. Vancouver would be dumb to move a goaltender to a division rival. Could I see the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers trying to get in this mix? Certainly.
-I hope the day is exciting and not a dud, the mainstream media have really been pumping the tires for moves lately.
-Minor note, but Toronto should give Mark Fraser a one-way deal, he's deserved it.
HORTON
-Nathan Horton will become a UFA on July 5, deciding to leave Boston. I'm a little surprised that Horton wouldn't take a discount to remain on a competitive team, but he's exercising his right as a UFA to explore options. Horton can be a beast in the playoffs, and he was huge for Boston in the 2011 cup run up until his injury in the final. He probably could chip in 40-60 points for your team, while providing some grit and toughness, but the injury history is going to be a concern for teams wanting to commit to him, especially if Horton asks for a 6M cap hit over 6 years. Someone will pay him, I think.
HABS/LECAVALIER
-Vincent Lecavalier is a good fit in Montreal to a certain degree, but Marc Bergevin has stressed that he wants to build his team young, and Vinnie isn't part of that notion. If a deal here is anything more than two years, Bergevin may want to back off. He might help the development of Galchenyuk and Eller in the short term, but he'll impede it in the long term.
-I still think Vinny is headed to the USA, for a smaller market team.
-I once again wonder, if Montreal was willing to go for Lecavalier, does this mean David Desharnais is available?
-No surprise that Montreal won't bring back Colby Armstrong, as he's replaceable. Montreal could use some size and grit, and I won't be surprised if they make a bid in a trade for Cal Clutterbuck or make free agency bids on UFAs Ryane Clowe and Bryan Bickell, if the price and term is right. I also believe they'd like a big, depth kind of D-man.
ROOKIES
-I would have given Brendan Gallagher the Calder Trophy based on who was nominated. This guy is going to be a stud.
-Once again, Nail Yakupov was ripped off, as he was snubbed from the NHL All-Rookie Team, but the NHL safely named their Calder candidates as the three forwards.
-Jake Allen? If there was no age limit, Viktor Fasth would have been the rookie goalie of the year.
BOUCHARD
-So much talent for this guy as he heads to free agency, it would have been nice to see his career without concussions.
SCHNEIDER/LUONGO
-Surprise! I didn't put anything about this in my title, but of course I had to talk about it.
-It's about time that Mike Gillis actually considered moving Cory Schneider, and the idea of it is about a year too late. If you are going to get more in a trade for Schneider (way more), then you might as well explore the option and be ready to go with Roberto Luongo as your No.1 goalie. Roberto is a stand-up guy who would be fine in net for several years as Vancouver's window arguably closes.
-The only problem with not moving Luongo from Vancouver is less cap space to gain from a goalie deal. Using an amnesty buyout on Keith Ballard and/or David Booth should help.
-I still think Mike Gillis should be fired for how he handled this situation.
-If I'm the Edmonton Oilers, unless I can totally fleece Gillis in a deal, I'm backing away. The Oilers are much better served using that pick to either add a young forward or D-man to their core or trading for one then shoring up a position that already has a good No.1 goalie in Devan Dubnyk. The Oilers should wait for July 5 and sign a good 1A type of back-up, like Anton Khudobin or Ray Emery. Regardless, I still don't see Vancouver trading Schneider to their division rival.
Thanks for reading,
Prayers to Tobias Enstrom after suffering a minor cut above his eye from a robbery in Sweden
-There are plenty of intriguing stories coming into the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Teams like the Edmonton Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Vancouver Canucks, the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres will all be trying to make changes to the future of their franchises. Will Pittsburgh give Kris Letang more than 7M per year or is he a goner? Will the Oilers make a gutsy call with their draft picks?
-I don't know why Boston would even consider trading Tyler Seguin at his age and with his potential. A Boston team without both Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin next year would be majorly different, especially if part of the plan to replace a young talent in Seguin would be to get an older talent like Vincent Lecavalier.
-The team that trades for Cal Clutterbuck today is acquiring a hard worker and a player not afraid to hit. I'm interested to see who gets him.
-Cory Schneider to Edmonton? I don't see this happening at all. Vancouver would be dumb to move a goaltender to a division rival. Could I see the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers trying to get in this mix? Certainly.
-I hope the day is exciting and not a dud, the mainstream media have really been pumping the tires for moves lately.
-Minor note, but Toronto should give Mark Fraser a one-way deal, he's deserved it.
HORTON
-Nathan Horton will become a UFA on July 5, deciding to leave Boston. I'm a little surprised that Horton wouldn't take a discount to remain on a competitive team, but he's exercising his right as a UFA to explore options. Horton can be a beast in the playoffs, and he was huge for Boston in the 2011 cup run up until his injury in the final. He probably could chip in 40-60 points for your team, while providing some grit and toughness, but the injury history is going to be a concern for teams wanting to commit to him, especially if Horton asks for a 6M cap hit over 6 years. Someone will pay him, I think.
HABS/LECAVALIER
-Vincent Lecavalier is a good fit in Montreal to a certain degree, but Marc Bergevin has stressed that he wants to build his team young, and Vinnie isn't part of that notion. If a deal here is anything more than two years, Bergevin may want to back off. He might help the development of Galchenyuk and Eller in the short term, but he'll impede it in the long term.
-I still think Vinny is headed to the USA, for a smaller market team.
-I once again wonder, if Montreal was willing to go for Lecavalier, does this mean David Desharnais is available?
-No surprise that Montreal won't bring back Colby Armstrong, as he's replaceable. Montreal could use some size and grit, and I won't be surprised if they make a bid in a trade for Cal Clutterbuck or make free agency bids on UFAs Ryane Clowe and Bryan Bickell, if the price and term is right. I also believe they'd like a big, depth kind of D-man.
ROOKIES
-I would have given Brendan Gallagher the Calder Trophy based on who was nominated. This guy is going to be a stud.
-Once again, Nail Yakupov was ripped off, as he was snubbed from the NHL All-Rookie Team, but the NHL safely named their Calder candidates as the three forwards.
-Jake Allen? If there was no age limit, Viktor Fasth would have been the rookie goalie of the year.
BOUCHARD
-So much talent for this guy as he heads to free agency, it would have been nice to see his career without concussions.
SCHNEIDER/LUONGO
-Surprise! I didn't put anything about this in my title, but of course I had to talk about it.
-It's about time that Mike Gillis actually considered moving Cory Schneider, and the idea of it is about a year too late. If you are going to get more in a trade for Schneider (way more), then you might as well explore the option and be ready to go with Roberto Luongo as your No.1 goalie. Roberto is a stand-up guy who would be fine in net for several years as Vancouver's window arguably closes.
-The only problem with not moving Luongo from Vancouver is less cap space to gain from a goalie deal. Using an amnesty buyout on Keith Ballard and/or David Booth should help.
-I still think Mike Gillis should be fired for how he handled this situation.
-If I'm the Edmonton Oilers, unless I can totally fleece Gillis in a deal, I'm backing away. The Oilers are much better served using that pick to either add a young forward or D-man to their core or trading for one then shoring up a position that already has a good No.1 goalie in Devan Dubnyk. The Oilers should wait for July 5 and sign a good 1A type of back-up, like Anton Khudobin or Ray Emery. Regardless, I still don't see Vancouver trading Schneider to their division rival.
Thanks for reading,
Prayers to Tobias Enstrom after suffering a minor cut above his eye from a robbery in Sweden