2013 NHL Season Thread: TUUKKA RASK, HE'S FROM FINLAND, AND IS INELIGIBLE TO BECOME MAYOR

[Ishido]

Derek Stepan has emerged as true number 1 center.

If by true number 1 center you mean "wow some teams have some really bad top centers" then yeah, but he's a number 2 center on half+ the teams in the league

[Ishido]

Vanek still has one year left with a $7m+ cap hit, nobody is going to take that on for a guy with his numbers.

I would say the opposite, lots of teams would love Vanek and his cap hit when you look at what he did during the first half of the season (with garbage around him), but if he's gone Buffalo has very little left to rebuild around.

[Thoronas]

22 points in 30 games is miserable? He was fine here, but we weren't paying him $6 mil a year to extend him.

I am sad about Jagr but hopeful for the return. Please be Spooner.

DAL will receive prospects Lane MacDermid and Cody Payne (Plymouth) as part of the Jagr trade with BOS. via Bob McKenzie.

[Palin]

Fuck off Joe.

[Bregor]

DAL will receive prospects Lane MacDermid and Cody Payne (Plymouth) as part of the Jagr trade with BOS. via Bob McKenzie.

http://i0.wp.com/i.imgur.com/lSglLc6.gif

[Ishido]

Not a bad deal if Dallas is thinking they are out of the playoffs, Jagr is old and signed as a UFA, everything from that deal basically cost whatever money they paid to Jagr.

[Palin]

Nothing about this makes god damn sense.

Why not wait until tomorrow and see if the price goes up? THIS was the alternative to not signing him another ****ing year? Sure a late first might be nice... but that's not guaranteed.

This organization is a joke.

[Bregor]

Not a bad deal if Dallas is thinking they are out of the playoffs, Jagr is old and signed as a UFA, everything from that deal basically cost whatever money they paid to Jagr.

Sure but Khocklachev or Spooner or Subban would have been more fun.

[Callisto]

I would say the opposite, lots of teams would love Vanek and his cap hit when you look at what he did during the first half of the season (with garbage around him), but if he's gone Buffalo has very little left to rebuild around.

He has that one 15-game span as an elite player, and otherwise has never even scratched being a point-a-game guy for a contract that's pretty high up relative to the league. I could see maybe FLA or someone taking him on to double-duty as something to stay at the floor plus rebuild around, but he only has that one year left. If he plays well next year he'd be due a raise in a lower cap scenario so he'd probably be out of the range of whatever team traded for him this year anyways. Just seems like $7m is a hell of a gamble for a guy who might give you 60-70 points at best.

[Ishido]

The conditional pick is the only thing with any likely value in the trade, but the guy is 41.

[Palin]

The conditional pick is the only thing with any likely value in the trade, but the guy is 41.

He's scored 14 goals this season and he's a rental. His age doesn't matter.

Sure if you think about it from a FA/Asset perspective it's not bad at all. But from a potential trade perspective, we expected a lot more. And the fact that Jagr would have re-signed with us but we opted to sell instead... makes it even more painful. I'd rather have another year of Jagr than this return.

Nieuwendyk is horrible.

[Brill Weave]

Let the Pominville sweepstakes begin!

[Callisto]

Nothing about this makes god damn sense.

Why not wait until tomorrow and see if the price goes up? THIS was the alternative to not signing him another ****ing year? Sure a late first might be nice... but that's not guaranteed.

This organization is a joke.

I just google'd those two prospects and looooooooooool

[bluefan]

Taking bids for Antropov! We'll throw in Hainsey as a sign of goodwill.

/wantssomethingtohappen

[Bregor]

Let the Ribeiro sweepstakes begin!

oh please oh please oh please

[Brill Weave]

He's not going anywhere Bregs. Caps still think they are going to squeak into the playoffs.

[Bregor]

He's not going anywhere Bregs. Caps still think they are going to squeak into the playoffs.

I hate that that's the threshold. If you don't think you can actually win the Cup, BURN IT DOWN

Also:

Washington Signs Nate Schmidt

by Corey Pronman

Washington got one of the top free agents in this college class in Nate Schmidt. The 21 year old Junior was a first team All-Star in the WCHA this season and tied for 3rd in defensemen scoring in the NCAA. He was 2nd in defensemen scoring in 2011-12.

Schmidt is a dynamic offensive defenseman as you could imagine with those numbers. He’s a high-end puck handler and passer who has wowed observers in the NCAA on many occasions with his skill. He’s a creative player with great offensive instincts who projects to play on an NHL team’s power play, if not their top unit. He skates well and while he doesn’t score a lot, there’s potential in his shot too. The concerns with Schmidt has been his defensive and physical game. The former I thought showed progression this season, as he started to log more tough minutes and be used in critical situations. I doubt he’ll ever be a better than average defensive player, but there’s a possibility he can play at a high enough level to survive given his other tools. Schmidt is also slightly undersized and I question how he’ll be able to handle NHL-level physicality.

He projects as a top four defenseman in the NHL and while I lean to seeing him get some AHL time first, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s utilized by Washington in an NHL line up from the get go. If you don’t count Orlov as a prospect anymore, Schmidt instantly becomes the top young defense prospect in the Capitals organization.

aw_yeah.jpg

[Ratatapa]

I hate that that's the threshold. If you don't think you can actually win the Cup, BURN IT DOWN

Also:

aw_yeah.jpg

Anybody who gets in the playoff can win the cup

Look at the kings last year

[Brill Weave]

Anybody who gets in the playoff can win the cup

Look at the kings last year

Kings got extremely hot at the right time. The Caps aren't.

[Bregor]

Anybody who gets in the playoff can win the cup

Look at the kings last year

They were the best team in the league judged by some advanced metrics and possession numbers, not really a stretch for them to win it all, despite what Jorn says.

Also, they're even better this year. Look out, Chicago.