2010 NHL Offseason Thread

[Callisto]

Giving up Kopitar rather than calling Kovy's bluff and getting him down to 8-9m would be idiotic, they'd be boned like hell when it comes time to re-sign Doughty after next year.

[vagus]

That's the most retarded deal ever. LA had a decent year and blowing up the team for a player that's penis doesn't make sense. Kovy is 2nd almost current players in the last 5 years for goals, dude has no intention of being a team player. It's all about money to him, let the dude go back to Russia.

[Ishido]

In other news the Maple Leafs apparently exceeded the cap last year and have a $1.4m penalty this year, similar to the Hawks.

The main difference being that the Hawks won the Stanley Cup, and the Maple Leafs were the 2nd worst team in the NHL. How the fuck.

[Selamis]

How is this possible?

[Deader2818]

Why in the world would the Kings give up Top Forward, Captain, , number 1 goalie, and their number 2 defense-men for that? makes 0 fucking sense.

Kings could add nothing and still be a playoff team with what we have.

[Bregor]

When it's back up you gotta check out Dan Ellis', it's the best hockey player one I've seen lol, much better than Havlat's at the least.

Maybe he's got some hidden gems somewhere, but Jesus Christ no self-respecting man should use that many exclamation points.

[Oxyminus]

That proposed LA/Philly deal makes ZERO sense, can't happen.

[Ivaden]

NHL.com seems to think the Islanders are most likely to end up landing Kovalchuk.




Why exactly is he so sought after for anyway? He's a good player, but good expecting 10m a year? Nah. Is it just because of the otherwise incredibly weak free agency pool?

[Deader2818]

Funny thing is, Why turn down the Thrashers, just to end up with the Islanders?

[Oxyminus]

Dreger still has Kovy going to LA, which makes more sense than LI

[Vaspinne]

Time for some rumors, hilarious rumors.



I wish there were more Flames fans here.

I heard this rumor pretty soon after the trade actually. I also heard that Phaneuf had a big drug problem and was a coke head.

Not to forget, he was doing shit like this during the season.

[Thoronas]

I heard this rumor pretty soon after the trade actually. I also heard that Phaneuf had a big drug problem and was a coke head.

Not to forget, he was doing shit like this during the season.

I too heard the Conroy's wife rumour from a Flames fan here in Vancouver not long ago. All the details involved were exactly the same. I'm starting to believe it's true, which would be fucking hilarious because he's now the capt of the Maple Elves. Way to pick a class act guys.

[Bregor]

The Leafs need to keep anyone who can score. Incoming trade for Jeff Carter?

Two Hershey Bears have signed with other teams, Alex Giroux to Edmonton and Kyle Wilson to Columbus. Caps still asleep at the wheel on any free agents, and still no word on progress with Fehr, Fleischmann or Schultz. FML.

[Callisto]

Maybe he's got some hidden gems somewhere, but Jesus Christ no self-respecting man should use that many exclamation points.

Yeah he's a total fucking goofball, I kept laughing at "THX LOLLIPOPS !!!"

[Callisto]

I too heard the Conroy's wife rumour from a Flames fan here in Vancouver not long ago. All the details involved were exactly the same. I'm starting to believe it's true, which would be fucking hilarious because he's now the capt of the Maple Elves. Way to pick a class act guys.

I more find it hilarious because yes Conroy's wife is probably hot BUT HE ALREADY WAS FUCKING ELISHA CUTHBERT

That's about as insane as Kovy thinking that $10-12m is so much better than $7-9m as to risk your chance at playing in the NHL over it.

[Bweigelt]

In other news the Maple Leafs apparently exceeded the cap last year and have a $1.4m penalty this year, similar to the Hawks.

The main difference being that the Hawks won the Stanley Cup, and the Maple Leafs were the 2nd worst team in the NHL. How the fuck.

The leafs didn't exceed the cap, neither did the Hawks, they just had players that reached their performance bonuses which as part of the CBA could be deferred to this season. It actually was the case with about 11 teams. Chicago just happened to have 3x the bonuses to pay out compared to everyone else. The Hawks are in the minority in that their top players were still on entry level contracts and so they were able to obtain their ridiculous bonuses. I doubt even Toews thought he would get his bonus for winning the Conn Smythe when he first signed the contract.

[Ishido]

The leafs didn't exceed the cap, neither did the Hawks, they just had players that reached their performance bonuses which as part of the CBA could be deferred to this season. It actually was the case with about 11 teams. Chicago just happened to have 3x the bonuses to pay out compared to everyone else. The Hawks are in the minority in that their top players were still on entry level contracts and so they were able to obtain their ridiculous bonuses. I doubt even Toews thought he would get his bonus for winning the Conn Smythe when he first signed the contract.

They exceeded the cap with the bonuses, which is why they have the penalty. I fully understand that Chicago's situation merited that kind of thing, the point I was making is that the Maple Leafs put themselves in a similar situation while finishing 2nd to last in the entire league.

Also the Islanders need to sign Kovalchuk so that their 2 largest contracts aren't a buy-out and a guy who sits in the press box with destroyed knees/hips. They have like 30m in cap room. And no Kovalchuk is not "worth" 10m but 8-9 is realistic and depending on who you compare him to, 10 is actually not a terrible deal. That said, I think the guy is retarded for demanding that extra few million bucks because it pretty much makes it impossible for him to go to a contending team, which he said he wanted.

[Bregor]

http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/88...bby_medium.jpg

Cool cap hit, bro.

In all honesty, Kovalchuk might be worth $8-9 million a year, but at the risk of self-incrimination, the Southeast Effect could be an issue. I mean look at Olli Jokinen, 89 and 91 point seasons in Florida, and then what? Hossa had 100 points in Atlanta and hasn't sniffed anywhere near that since he left. Do you think Carolina's happy about Eric Staal's $8mil+ cap hit? Now I don't think Kovalchuk will turn into a pumpkin as badly as Jokinen has, but if his offensive production drops off even a small amount, he's definitely not worth what he's asking.

[Bweigelt]

They exceeded the cap with the bonuses, which is why they have the penalty. I fully understand that Chicago's situation merited that kind of thing, the point I was making is that the Maple Leafs put themselves in a similar situation while finishing 2nd to last in the entire league.

Also the Islanders need to sign Kovalchuk so that their 2 largest contracts aren't a buy-out and a guy who sits in the press box with destroyed knees/hips. They have like 30m in cap room. And no Kovalchuk is not "worth" 10m but 8-9 is realistic and depending on who you compare him to, 10 is actually not a terrible deal. That said, I think the guy is retarded for demanding that extra few million bucks because it pretty much makes it impossible for him to go to a contending team, which he said he wanted.

It's actually stranger that Chicago has to pay out all those bonuses though. It's so rare to see a Stanley Cup winning team relying so heavily on players on ELC's. A bad team on the other hand is far more likely to have young players on ELC's in prominent positions. Teams like Toronto, Edmonton, Colorado, Tampa and Toronto and Edmonton both have had bonuses money pushed to this season. The only reason Colorado and Tampa don't have to is they have financial issues that prevented them from spending anywhere near the cap. I expect Boston is going to run into the same thing next year, although they might actually be a good team like Chicago because of Brian Burke.

[Thoronas]

I more find it hilarious because yes Conroy's wife is probably hot BUT HE ALREADY WAS FUCKING ELISHA CUTHBERT

Clearly Phaneuf has a thing for sloppy seconds.