2010 NHL Offseason Thread

[Deader2818]

I hope he goes to the Islanders so I can laugh my ass off.

I don't see why he would take less money to go with NJ when he could go to the Kings, make more money. and have just as good of a shot at winning.

[Bregor]

My money's still on the Kings, or KHL.

[Thoronas]

Ny post reporting kovie signs with NJ for 7 years at 60 mil

[Deader2818]

I somehow get the feeling he never wanted to play for the Kings and was using them to try and get max money out of the Devils.

Arent the Devils in serious cap issues now?

[Richybear]

Woo, all that hype for him to not even leave NJ.

[Bregor]

Arent the Devils in serious cap issues now?

They still have Parise and Zajak kind of cheap. But between bringing in Arnott, Volchenkov, Tallinder and Hedberg, I don't see how they can make it work. I keep reading that the deal isn't 100% done and it's just the most likely scenario right now, though.

[Deader2818]

Apparently, a team can only go over the cap by 10% during the off season so, the reported dead can not even be official till the devils clear some room so, as of right now, he is still a UFA.

[Ishido]

In other news Bob Probert died today at 45. He was boating on Lake St. Claire when he collapsed, and was rushed to a Windsor hospital with no vitals. RIP.

[Thoronas]

That fucking sucks about Probert. Dude was a beast, he died way too early.

[Selamis]

Proby?! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

I shall get piss drunk and in a fight, in his honor.

Fucking sucks.

[Selamis]

Also, it appears that Niemi filed for salary arbitration today.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nh...ory?id=5356409

CHICAGO -- Blackhawks Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Antti Niemi filed for salary arbitration on Monday, which was the league deadline to file.

Niemi's Chicago-based agent Bill Zito, who confirmed the filing, and Hawks general manager Stan Bowman continue to discuss various opportunities for long-term and short-term deals.
A date for the arbitration hearing for a one-year deal is expected to be established in the next few weeks.
If he signs a one-year contract, whether it's through arbitration or negotiation, Niemi becomes an unrestricted free agent next year because he'll be 27 years old.
Niemi made $827,000 last season.
Jesse Rogers covers the Blackhawks for ESPNChicago.com.

[Thoronas]

I am very curious to see how much money he will be entitled to. He was a decent goalie but if they decide his contract should be like 3-4 mil then I dunno....

[Brill Weave]

Given his stats and how he performed in the playoffs I would think he's going to get a bump up to about the 3 - 3.5 million range.

[Callisto]

It's kind of an odd situation because guys don't tend to not only win a Cup after not even having played a full season's worth of games, much less in their contract year. I'm surprised he filed for it instead of just taking what's on the table, for all anyone knows there's a pretty solid chance that he could have a huge sophomore slump, on top of him typically not enjoying being the center of attention.

[Penthesilea]

That and he didn't look great in the Finals, except against Carter.

[Brill Weave]

Wow. RIP Bob Probert.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puc...n=nhl%2c253783

Sad news in the hockey world Monday as former Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks enforcer Bob Probert has passed away at an Ontario hospital. He was 45.

According to CKLW AM 800, Probert was on his boat in Lake St. Clair on Monday afternoon when he collapsed. A call was made around 3 p.m., according to Probert's agent Pat Ducharme. Fire and EMS crews met the boat and began performing CPR on Probert. By the time they reached Windsor Regional Hospital, Probert was absent of vital signs.

In a brief statement, a family spokesman said that Probert was on the boat with his family, including his four children and in-laws, when he began experiencing serious chest pains.

More details below, and a tribute to what Probert did best.

An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death.

From the Windsor Star, more details on Probert's death:

Emergency crews performed CPR on the former Detroit Red Wings player on shore and transported the 45-year-old to Windsor Regional Hospital.

A witness on the scene, who asked not to be identified, said there were children and a woman on the boat with Probert.

"Something happened, a medical emergency," the witness said. "He was fixing the trim or something, stood up and then fell down."

His off-ice battles with alcohol and substance abuse were well known, but Probert's pugilistic abilities will be what hockey fans remember most. In 16 seasons in the NHL, Probert earned 3,300 penalty minutes in just 935 games and took part in 233 fights, according to HockeyFights.com. He and Joey Kocur formed the intimidating pair known as the "Bruise Brothers" during their time in Detroit.

As the hockey world says goodbye to Probert, let's pay tribute to the man by watching him do what he did best

[Deader2818]

Remember, just because he filled for it, doesn't mean it has to go to it. They still have up until the day of the hearing to work out a deal. All this does is if they can not work a deal out, is ensure he can't hold out.

[Deader2818]

I love how Kings fans think DL low-balled Kovie since they offered gim 6.5 mil a year but they fail to see he was offered 13 years at 84.5 million, much the same way the Hossa deal was worked.

Im sure he will make about 8mil+ the first 7-8 years of the contract.

[Thoronas]

I love how Kings fans think DL low-balled Kovie since they offered gim 6.5 mil a year but they fail to see he was offered 13 years at 84.5 million, much the same way the Hossa deal was worked.

Im sure he will make about 8mil+ the first 7-8 years of the contract.

If he had got him on that cap hit Lombardi would have been considered a fucking genius. That would have been an amazing cap hit for a guy of his talent and age.

[Alderaan]

RIP Bob Probert.

The one man you didn't mess with on the ice.