NHL Discussion - 2009-2010 Season

[Timby]

Where does anyone see Huet going? Is any team so desperate for a goalie to take on that ridiculous contract? Maybe Tampa?

Huet is no improvement over Niitymaki. In fact the only goaltenders that played 30+ games with a worse SV% than Huet are Leclaire and Toskala. I'd say Huet's headed to the Hawk's AHL affiliate with a 0% chance of cracking the Hawks' roster.

I still don't think they'll stuff him in the AHL. That sends a horrible message to any prospective free agents in the future: "If we decide that we don't like your contract anymore, we'll just send you down to the minors and wreck your career until we can find a way to be free of you."

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Where does anyone see Huet going? Is any team so desperate for a goalie to take on that ridiculous contract? Maybe Tampa?

Huet is no improvement over Niitymaki. In fact the only goaltenders that played 30+ games with a worse SV% than Huet are Leclaire and Toskala. I'd say Huet's headed to the Hawk's AHL affiliate with a 0% chance of cracking the Hawks' roster.

I still don't think they'll stuff him in the AHL. That sends a horrible message to any prospective free agents in the future: "If we decide that we don't like your contract anymore, we'll just send you down to the minors and wreck your career until we can find a way to be free of you."

They don't really have a choice. They can't trade him. Nobody would take him. They can't afford to buy out his contract. That would still count to next year's cap. They can't afford that because they already exceed the cap by over $4,000,000 with only 14 players signed.

 

[Timby]

They can't afford that because they already exceed the cap by over $4,000,000 with only 14 players signed.

I'm well aware that they're in cap hell (which I've spoken about, extensively, already in this thread). It's a messy situation, and I really don't envy Stan Bowman at all. But I don't think they can afford to torch any potential bridges with future unrestricted free agents by saying, "Yeah, we mortgaged the future for one run at a Cup, and after we won it, we had to say 'fuck anyone whose last name isn't Hossa, Kane or Toews,' so we started dumping them to the minors to hide their cap hits. You could be next!"

Granted, if someone will trade for a $7 million Scott Gomez, someone will trade for a $7 million Campbell. Assuming they can make that happen, and then dump Byfuglien and maybe Versteeg or Sharp, that should give them the cap space to re-sign the key RFAs like Niemi. But I think they're going to be stuck with Huet.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

I'm well aware that they're in cap hell (which I've spoken about, extensively, already in this thread).

My mistake. I missed that the Toews/Kane bonuses had been discussed on the previous page. But my argument still stands.

A buyout would cost them $2,000,000 a year for 4 years. That's too heavy a price to pay when you're millions above the Cap with over half a dozen positions to fill. As for the PR side of things, Chicago is not going to have any trouble luring Cup-hungry free agents. I don't think sending an mediocre golatender to the AHL (where he belongs, anyway) will hurt them that much.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

 

[Danny99]

Any thoughts on the Leafs naming Phaneuf captain?

I, as a Leafs fan, am on the side of this being a good thing. Though the role of Captain has been diminished by handing it to people like Ilya Kovalchuk and rotating it around like Buffalo and Minnesota did in the past, I believe having a leader is a pivotal thing for a hockey team.

Phaneuf may not be the media darling (in fact, Toronto media outlets are slamming the choice for that reason), but does it really matter? If the players listen to him and he brings them up from pretty much rock bottom, who cares what the media thinks?

Thoughts?

 

[Garak]

Phaneuf wasn't a captain in the minors. Not in juniors. Neither in the NHL until now. No one, depsite his obvious talent, has seen fit to make Phanuef a captain in his entire career. Captains are supposed to be the bridge between all personalities in the locker room - by all accounts coming out of Calgary he was a massive divisive force in the locker room and there are rumours that he and Iginla even had a fist fight. Saying that, maybe he can grow up and be the man he needs to be to lead a team.

I'll tell you what this is though - Brian Burke's magic show to distract from the fact the Maple Leafs wont' be picking 2nd overall this year, nor in the second round. When this dies down, we'll hear once again how "teams are interested in Kaberle" or "we have our eyes on some big name free agents". I have to admit, Burke is good at what he does, because he has Leafs nation completely fooled right now.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Phaneuf wasn't a captain in the minors. Not in juniors. Neither in the NHL until now. No one, depsite his obvious talent, has seen fit to make Phanuef a captain in his entire career.

Wasn't he an alternate with the Flames? I can't imagine them taking the "C" from Iginla for anybody, so that's the best he could have hoped for.

 

[AdmiralGarak]

Jaroslav Halak has been traded to the Blues for a pair of average prospects!?

What the hell do they see in Price that they keep siding with him? He's crap every postseason he plays in.

 

[Danny99]

The only way this trade makes sense is if they had no intention to re-sign him, which is stupid in it's own right.

Halak has proven himself, Price has faltered with every recent opportunity.

I don't get this one.

 

[Garak]

Phaneuf wasn't a captain in the minors. Not in juniors. Neither in the NHL until now. No one, depsite his obvious talent, has seen fit to make Phanuef a captain in his entire career.

Wasn't he an alternate with the Flames? I can't imagine them taking the "C" from Iginla for anybody, so that's the best he could have hoped for.

Unsure, I pay as little attention to that farm team as possible.

That trade makes me go

You'd think that stellar performance in the playoffs would have sealed the deal.

 

[hamudm]

Jaroslav Halak has been traded to the Blues for a pair of average prospects!?

WTF?!?!?!?

 

[tomalak301]

Jaroslav Halak has been traded to the Blues for a pair of average prospects!?

What the hell do they see in Price that they keep siding with him? He's crap every postseason he plays in.

I really need to learn more about NHL free Agency because I don't know much about it, but this was a bad trade for Montreal. Maybe they just couldn't sign him, but wasn't he the savior in the Playoffs this year? Also, as a Sharks fan who thinks the team needs to get a goalie, it would have been nice to see him in Teal. I think the Sharks could have made a better offer, and if it was just for prospects, that's a steal.

 

[Warped9]

Jaroslav Halak has been traded to the Blues for a pair of average prospects!?

What the hell do they see in Price that they keep siding with him? He's crap every postseason he plays in.

I learned of this yesterday and I'm still in shock. What kind of a reward is this for what Halak has done for the team? Trade him for a couple of nobodies? This is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. And I can see this blowing up in their face real good leading to Price being chased out of town.

I get angry just thinking about it.

 

[Danny99]

Big day today in the NHL:

- Scott Niedermayer retires
- Pat Quinn is promoted to senior advisor in Edmonton, Tom Renney taking over as coach
- Nathan Horton dealt to Boston
- Dino Ciccarelli, Cammi Granato, Angela James named to Hall of Fame

 

[Danny99]

I am shocked Pat Burns did not get into the Hall of Fame. The Hall had a great chance year to give a dying Burns his due while he was still alive. Couldn't the posthumous induction of Calgary's first owner have waited, given this being possibly Burns' only chance to be at the induction ceremony?

I was happy to see two female players inducted and the two best retired ones at that in James and Granato. The only thing that worries me is that Canadian annoyance Hayley Wickenheiser will someday be inducted even though she has no character.

 

[Garak]

I'm not getting the Wickenheiser hate?


Oh and in other news, San Jose cut ties with Nabokov and are going to let him enter the free agent market.

 

[DeafPoet]

- Pat Quinn is promoted to senior advisor in Edmonton, Tom Renney taking over as coach

One wonders how apt the term "promotion" is.

 

[Timby]

The Blackhawks are shopping Dustin Byfuglien.

And they've told other teams that the price tag is a front-line prospect and a first-round draft pick.

 

[Danny99]

I'm not getting the Wickenheiser hate?

I lost a lot of respect for her during the 2002 Olympics and her Americans having the Canadian flag on the floor interview. She went at it like a pitbull with no proof of the allegations and was a national embarrassment.

She has also done nothing for the women's game in terms of help growing it. Women's hockey in every country besides Canada and the United States is in such dire straights that the consideration of taking away it's Olympic status is a very real possibility. Instead of being an ambassador for her sport and trying to assist in those countries, she is more concerned with proving she can play along side men in Finnish and Swedish leagues.

Hopefully the Hall will take more factors than her skill level into consideration when they come to induct her.