The NHL Off-Season Thread Starts With a Bang

[Flubber]

I am not sure I understand the NYI and their goalie signings. Biron at 1.4 milion seems cheap at that Price since the stats I recall were something like .915 sv% which is very good

But now they have

Dipietro- their franchise 15 year goalie (who played less than 10 games last year
Rolosen- .915 sv % in 60+ games last year
Biron --.915 sv % in 50+ games last year

It almost looks like they have given up on Dipietro. Why else would you pick up TWO goalies that were/are #1s?

Definitely a crowded crease

[notyoueither]

I think they want to keep DePietro on the shelf for as long as it takes for him to fully recover. He tried to come back too early last year and there were unresolved problems with his knee. They took time and think they found the additional problem. His last surgury was in April. That's a summary of what I've heard here and there.

[rah]

Only the Blackhawks could spend millions on a free agent that needs surgery before he can play.
Of course they had to claim that they knew about it prior to the signing so they don't look totally foolish.
Any bets on this was the final straw that promted Tallon's replacement.

[Asher]

The best thing is he's a replacement for an injury-prone Havlat.

[Flubber]

I think they want to keep DePietro on the shelf for as long as it takes for him to fully recover. He tried to come back too early last year and there were unresolved problems with his knee. They took time and think they found the additional problem. His last surgury was in April. That's a summary of what I've heard here and there.

That all makes sense and I understood signing Rollie on that basis. Rollie would be "your guy' while Dipietro recovered etc etc. I would have thought maybe they could groom a young keeper as the backup. But Biron/Rollie is a crowded crease even without Dipietro around. maybe they hope they will push each other or something.

At 1.4 million its tough to criticize the signing-- Thats real cheap for a guy who had pretty good numbers--

[notyoueither]

Rollie is used to a platooned system and is a real pro when it comes to winning and losing the starters spot. Never a whimper when Garon was given the position. Rollie just practiced hard, worked out extra and waited for his chance to win it back (which he did). In the meantime he helped the coaches and encouraged Garon.

I would think Biron knows the situation going in. He's backup or 1A. When the franchise gets back, he's trade bait.

This is really good business for the Islanders. Snow is making a habit out of signing a UFA for a year and having good trading chips come the deadline.

[Flubber]

.

I would think Biron knows the situation going in. He's backup or 1A. When the franchise gets back, he's trade bait.

This is really good business for the Islanders. Snow is making a habit out of signing a UFA for a year and having good trading chips come the deadline.

Ya Rollie looks to be #1 going in-- his job to lose type of thing-- If Dipietro gets healthy though , couldn't it be Rollie that is trade bait too (Idon't recall if he ahs a no trade clause) or even both. Its not like the Isles are likely to be a threat for a playoff spot-- Being relatively loaded with keepers that could help playoff teams could be a boon at the deadline

[notyoueither]

Yeah, it could be Rolie that gets traded, but he has a two year deal so he's less of a rental.

[Flubber]

Yeah, it could be Rolie that gets traded, but he has a two year deal so he's less of a rental.

True But if by midseason Dipietro was back and in really good form and Rollie had played well up until then, they might get more for a rollie as compared to Biron. Its a situation where they could test the market for BOTH and see where the better offer comes. Its not like they are a contender or anything after all

[Asher]

Flames finally dump Primeau and his $1.5M salary:

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames completed a trade on Monday.

The Flames acquired forward Colin Stuart and defenceman Anton Stralman and the Leafs' 7th round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft for forward Wayne Primeau and the Flames' 2nd round pick in 2011.

Stuart, who was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers in the 5th round (135th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, has accumulated eight goals and five assists along with 24 penalty minutes in 51 career NHL games.

Stralman, who was originally drafted by the Maple Leafs in the 7th round (216th overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, has totaled four goals and 18 assists along with 38 penalty minutes in 88 career NHL games.

Primeau was drafted 17th overall in 1994 by the Buffalo Sabres. He's played 715 games in the NHL and has recorded 66 goals and 120 assists.

I've always hated Primeau and I like the potential upside in Stralman, while Stuart makes the farm team a bit better. Great trade.

[Kontiki]

Yep, Balsillie is winning lots of friends with his tactics.

From Thursday's Globe and Mail
Last updated on Thursday, Jul. 30, 2009 04:50AM EDT


The level of hostility from the NHL’s board of governors caught Jim Balsillie by surprise, but the rejection of his bid for the Phoenix Coyotes did not.

Even though the NHL announced yesterday that its governors unanimously rejected Mr. Balsillie as a potential owner and approved a bid for the Coyotes from Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the co-CEO of Research In Motion Ltd. vowed to press on.

Balsillie’s spokesman, Bill Walker, said a new version of his $212.5-million (all currency U.S.) offer for the team will be filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in a few days.

“We’re moving full steam ahead,” Walker said. “We don’t believe that Jim Balsillie’s qualification to be an NHL owner is an issue at all.”

The committee gave a welcome reception to a proposal by Ice Edge Holdings, a group made up of Canadian and American investors.

“We didn’t hear anything that would stop us,” said Daryl Jones, a partner in Ice Edge. “We’re still in the game.”

Like Reinsdorf, Ice Edge wants to keep the Coyotes in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, but it has not submitted its bid to the court – which will hold the first of two possible auctions for the team on Aug. 5 – because it has yet to line up all of its financing and arrange a new arena lease. The governors deferred a decision on the offer, and now the group says it plans to press ahead with a bid.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail message that Mr. Balsillie was rejected under bylaw 35 of the league’s constitution. That section says the league can reject potential owners if it does not believe they are of “good character and integrity,” as well as for financial reasons. Daly declined to comment when asked to be more specific.

Walker declined to comment on details of the meeting with the governors’ executive committee or on why the league rejected Balsillie.

A source familiar with the meeting said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman called Balsillie shortly after the gathering to tell him why the league was rejecting him as an owner. According to the source, Bettman cited the way Balsillie “had interacted with other member clubs.”

The meeting, held in a Chicago airport hotel, was tense. For more than an hour, members of the executive committee took turns verbally pounding Balsillie. According to sources familiar with the proceedings, Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold led the charge.

Gillett was embarrassed last November when Balsillie told a reporter the Canadiens were for sale. It was denied at the time but later proved to be true. Leipold was the owner of the Predators in 2007 when Balsillie’s bid for the team was first accepted and then rejected.

The source said Gillett claimed the fallout from Balsillie’s comments on the impending sale destroyed the Canadiens’ season.

“It was not gentle,” the source said.

However, the NHL’s rejection of Balsillie as an owner may not stand up in bankruptcy court.

During a hearing in June, Judge Redfield T. Baum told the NHL that because it approved him as an owner when he tried to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006, it could only reject Balsillie as an owner if there was a “material change” in PSE Sports & Entertainment, the company Balsillie formed to handle the Penguins and Coyotes bids.

“We do not think that Jim Balsillie’s qualification to be an NHL owner is an issue in this case, given his 2006 approval as an NHL owner,” Walker said.

“Presumably the onus will be on the NHL to demonstrate a material change in PSE’s circumstances, although no such change was raised with us,” he said. “Beyond that, we have confidence in, and respect for, Judge Baum and the legal process as this case unfolds.”

Daly responded by denying Balsillie had been approved as an owner in 2006 and refuting Walker's comments.

"Mr. Walker must have been at a different meeting than the rest of the Executive Committee," Daly said via email Wednesday night. "Beyond the fact that Mr. Balsillie was never approved by the Board of Governors in 2006, his entire interview today was spent answering questions on the things he has done since 2006 that call into question his bona fides to be an NHL owner. Obviously, the board was not comfortable with approving him as a business partner, as is their absolute perogative."

Sources say the Balsillie camp believes the NHL wanted to reject him as an owner in advance of the Aug. 5 auction sale of the Coyotes, which is restricted to bidders willing to keep the team in Glendale. If Judge Baum declines to accept the bid from Reinsdorf, who is the only person to file one so far, then an auction for bidders like Balsillie, who wants to move the Coyotes to Hamilton, will be held on Sept. 10.

Balsillie is hoping Judge Baum will accept his bid because it offers $64.5-million more than Reinsdorf’s bid. The Reinsdorf bid is for $148-million and is largely based on the assumption of debt. It is also conditional on working out a new lease and revenue concessions from the City of Glendale, plus concessions from the major creditors.

Walker said by almost any measure Balsillie’s offer is far better than Reinsdorf’s. For example, he said, Balsillie has arranged a 32-year lease for the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, whereas Reinsdorf has yet to reach agreement with Glendale for Jobing.com Arena.

The Ice Edge group has only submitted a letter of intent so far, offering up to $150-million, and it still has to pull together a final offer. The NHL committee spent most of the meeting asking the group, which wants to have the Coyotes play five regular-season games in Saskatoon, about its background and financial assumptions.

[notyoueither]

I'm really starting to wonder about Balsille. He can't seem to get along with anyone else.

I'll be a bit surprised if the bankruptcy judge can force the NHL to accept him given his behaviour in Nashville, dealings with Montreal and problems with securities watchdogs.

Anybody follow RIM's problems trying to buy assets from Nortel?

[Asher]

So Hossa's deal with Chicago is now under NHL investigation.

[-Jrabbit]

The league doesn't want Chicago to lose in the Finals?

[Flubber]

Flames finally dump Primeau and his $1.5M salary:



I've always hated Primeau and I like the potential upside in Stralman, while Stuart makes the farm team a bit better. Great trade.

I also didn't like Primeau but last year he had impressed me in the early going until he got injured . He was in far better shape and faster than the prior year an played with real energy.

That said, you probably cannot afford the luxury of an older 4th liner at 1.5 million. I actually don't mind a 4th line made up almost entirely of rookies-- tell them to go crazy and they will