NHL Offseason: All 10 weeks of it

[notyoueither]

Rank them, first to last.

Jean Beliveau
Raymond Bourque
Bobby Clarke
Paul Coffey
Marcel Dionne
Phil Esposito
Ron Francis
Doug Gilmour
Wayne Gretsky
Dale Hawerchuk
Bobby Hull
Brett Hull
Gordie Howe
Jari Kurri
Guy Lafleur
Mario Lemieux
Stan Mikita
Mark Messier
Adam Oates
Bobby Orr
Maurice Richard
Darryl Sittler
Bryan Trottier
Steve Yzerman

Feel free to add names not mentioned. Please say why.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Bob McCown on the value of Pavel Kubina at $5 mil.

Maybe they should hope for a heart murmur, then they'd know he has one.

I take it that JFj's moves are not being met with universal joy in the centre of the universe.

Bob who?

The major media are praising the deal. About the only caveats is that all the players have to prove they're worth the money (which can be said of any deal) and that the Leafs are far from set for a cup run.

[notyoueither]

He's on that minor medium known as TV.

A radio show on TV.

Don't worry, he lives to say outrageous things.

[Asher]

that the Leafs are far from set for a cup run.

Indeed. Oddsmakers gave Toronto 40-1 odds of winning the cup next season.

[Asher]

Here's what Calgary's roster looks like for next year, pretty much set in stone:


I really do love the value with Phaneuf there. Crazy salary.

It's awesome because he's making ~$785K/yr and he's way better than Kubina/Gil/Kaberle/McCabe who are making many many times higher.

And the Kiprusoff deal...compare his salary to Luongo's. It's amazing the difference a competent GM makes.

[Kontiki]

Yeah, but that's hardly a sign of managerial brilliance. Once his current contract is up, he'll be making the big bucks. Ovechkin and Crosby are going to be making a whopping $984k and $850k, respectively.

Edit: And what do you suppose Kipper's salary is going to be next time he's up for renewal?

[Asher]

In 2 years? Probably a bit higher.

He signed for the $3.5M after the Flames run to the cup...probably could've gotten more.

This goes back to my original argument about valuing younger players. Not only will guys like Phaneuf, Crosby, Ovechkin increase in value over time...they're better than most veterans who command far higher salaries.

Toronto was obsessed with Kubina and Gil when they should've been trying hard to get Bouwmeester and Seabrook.

[Hot Mustard]

Raycroft to Toronto, J.R. to Phoenix

[Flubber]

Raycroft fills the immediate need in Toronto for a keeper and three years should be long enough to figure out if Justine Pogge is the next superstar goalie or not. He looked awesome in junior ( 1.72 GAA and .926%) but I know that sometimes it can take goalies a bit longer to come around.

[Flubber]

As for the Roloson signing -- even after losing Pronger, Edmonton will want to believe they remain a contender so they feel the need to keep as many of the pieces together that they can.

[Flubber]

ON Calgary

Ference and Phaneuf are both great deals-- There were nights when they were Calgary's top performers of the Dmen-- In fact, looking at that list,Hamrlik looks way overpriced

Of the forwards, Huselius COULD turn out to be the best deal. He had moments last year when he looked brilliant but then he would have long stretches of looking very ordinary.

While I would LOVE for Calgary to go spend 2-4 million for another forward that can score, you are likely right in that that will be the lineup.

Perhaps Brent Krahn will get his chance to be the backup. He played 57 games in the AHL last season with a 2.52 GAA and .912 %-- It may be better for Krahn's development not to be promoted but I can't see Sutter spending any bucks on a backup when he appears to like to have Kipper play 70 games in the regular season anyway

[Asher]

Ruutu to the Penguins.

[joncha]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

[cinch]

Freddy B's back in the league! (Atlanta, to be precise.)

[cinch]

And since everyone seems so keen to prove their worth as GMs:

Has anyone ever tried SI's Eastside Hockey Manager?

Linked Here

It's like those soccer Championship Manager games. No flashy graphics, just the GM decisions and stat tracking. But man oh man is it fun. It's also got every league known to man, from the NHL to the QMJHL to the Japanese League. It's almost too deep.

Still, it's worth a download, if you're interested, since it's *free* for six months (and then you have to pay if you want to keep it). Still, six months for free is a lot of addictively fun GM-ing.