NHL Offseason: All 10 weeks of it

[Asher]

Calgary signs McLennan as a backup...again. :/

[Kontiki]

I'm not quite understanding the goalie situation this off season. Apparently there was lots of interest in Gerber, and Tampa traded a 31 goal scorer to get Denis. Meanwhile, Cloutier (who admittedly hasn't proven himself as a playoff performer, but when have Gerber or Denis?) gets dealt for nothing because that's all anybody would give, and now Legace, who finished 5th in Vezina voting and won 37 games with a 2.19 GAA, .915 save percentage and 7 shutouts, hasn't even been given a sniff by anyone. Detroit, apparently, is looking at Belfour and/or Hasek, according to TSN. WTF?

[Asher]

Legace sucked when it mattered most.

[Kontiki]

Maybe, but Gerber sucked even harder, yet there was lots of interest in him. Denis has never been within a prayer of the playoffs, and Hasek and Belfour are so brittle, they may as well be made of glass.

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Asher
Legace sucked when it mattered most.

It wasn't all his fault, as the Wings didn't play all that well in fron of him, turning the puck over in their own zone and having it wind up in the back of the net. Also there were a number of deflection goals.

I think it was his demeanor that was the biggest factor - when scored upon, his body language wasn't good, so it didn't look like he could handle the pressure of being a playoff goalie.

The Wings figure prospect Jimmy Howard is a year away, so that's why they're looking at Belfour. He can take the pressure of the playoffs, and because he's coming off an injury, he'll be cheap.

[Asher]

He's also very likely to get injured again.

[Lord Avalon]

Well, that's why Osgood is still there.

[Edit 9 July] Shanahan signed with Rangers for 1yr $4M. A farily big loss, he has size and scored goals (at least in the regular season).

[cinch]

Shanahan to the Rangers.

Can't say I see this as much of a fit. I guess if they want to rekindle some of that Shanahan/Jagr magic... ?

Plus, he took less money to sign there than in Montreal or *Detroit*! A strange one, indeed.

[Hot Mustard]

Perhaps he wanted something new (no to Detroit). As for Montreal, I think he knows he wouldn't be able to handle playing for a Canadian team.

[Asher]

TSN.ca poll:

Which Canadian team looks in best shape thus far?

Calgary (Tanguay, Zyuzin, Friesen): 46%
Edmonton (Pronger Trade): 6%
Ottawa (Gerber, Corvo): 7%
Montreal (Re-signed Huet, Bouillon): 4%
Toronto (Kubina, Gill): 11%
Vancouver (Luongo Trade): 27%

I'm going to assume Montreal's is lowest if only because TSN.ca is pretty anglophone-centric, so those numbers aren't very useful.

The Toronto and Edmonton numbers are hilarious though, I do not see how anyone could possibly reason they're the best off of all the teams in Canada...

[Asher]

Chris Simon signs with the Islanders.

[notyoueither]

Rumour is Sutter steps down as coach of the Flames.

[notyoueither]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20060712_001152_200

Sutter steps down as coach
July 11, 2006

CALGARY (CP) -- Darryl Sutter is stepping down as head coach of the Calgary Flames and will be replaced by assistant Jim Playfair, a source told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

The Flames have called a Wednesday morning news conference where they're expected to make the announcement.

Sutter, who became coach of the Flames in 2002 and added the general manager's title in 2003, will retain the GM's role. No reason was given for his decision to step down as head coach.

Sutter, 47, led the Flames to a Stanley Cup berth in 2004, where they fell in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Calgary posted a 46-25-11 record this year -- good for third in the Western Conference -- but lost to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

Sutter compiled a 107-73-26 record in two-plus seasons behind the Calgary bench, joining the Flames after head coaching stints in Chicago and San Jose.

Playfair, 42, has spent the past three seasons as a Flames assistant after two-plus seasons as head coach of the Flames' AHL affiliate in Saint John. N.B. Playfair led the AHL's Flames to the Calder Cup title in 2001.

Wayne Fleming was named as Playfair's replacement. Fleming formerly served stints as assistant coach with the New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes and Philadelphia Flyers.

[Asher]

Not too surprising, given the hints Sutter has been leaving.

Playfair's a great guy, too.

[Asher]

On a similar note, regarding how "bad" a coach Sutter is...The Great One doesn't seem to think so.

Great One likes Alberta coaches
July 11, 2006

Sportsnet.ca -- Wayne Gretzky says the two best Canadian hockey coaches today are found in Alberta and should be the early favourites to lead Team Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

According to a report in the The Globe and Mail, Gretzky said Edmonton Oilers bench boss Craig MacTavish and Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter should receive serious consideration for the job that is now 43 months away.

"There are lots of good Canadian coaches," Gretzky told the paper. "But when you look at what Craig and Darryl have accomplished with their teams the last few years, they absolutely should be the favourites. They coached their teams to the Stanley Cup finals and they coach in Canada, and right now they are the best Canadian coaches in the game."

Gretzky added that it will be two years before he makes a decision on whether he will return as the Canadian Olympic men's team executive director.

The possibility also exists that he himself could be behind the Canadian bench in 2010.

He was asked whether he could see himself behind the bench at the Vancouver Games or a future Olympics.

"Absolutely," he said. "But the one thing I have learned over the years is that you earn your stripes, and the only way I would coach the team is if I earned my way."

The Great One will have plenty of opportunity to do just that having recently signed a five-year extension to coach the Phoenix Coyotes.