Philly got its share of attention on my last post. Now it's time to focus on the other big deals that have been pulled off this summer. Not in any particular order, I just dug those out from some listing in the net.
Zach Parise was tagged for one more year in the Devils uniform. Seems like after last season he's pretty much through with the team and just wanted to give one more year out of common courtesy before jumping to a more modern team. He's a brilliant young talent and will likely thrive in a more attach oriented and balanced team. New Jersey may bounce back with the big guns blazing, but will fall short of anything spectacular. Solid season in the pipeline for Parise, but if the Devils don't improve, he'll see a decline in his production too.
Brent Burns signed for five years in sunny San Jose. He'll be the backbone of the Sharks team for the coming years. A all star level defenceman with great playmaking skills and proper toughness around the net is definitely a good building block to carry on. San Jose will be even more dangerous with Burns on the defence and may even pull the best effort of the franchise history if the offense keeps on producing like in the past.
Keith Yandle took pretty similar approach as Burns before, agreeing on a five year contract on the Coyotes. The desert dogs will not be cup contenders in the coming years, if ever. It's actually more likely that Yandle will end this contract on a franchise with another name, or location, or both. If someone sorts out the financials, the hockey in Arizona will come to its end in the coming years. Yandle was phenomenal last season on the offensive end and finished close to the top of production rankings for defencemen. His skills on the own end are not as good as e.g. Burns', but he'll keep on improving and being the defensive leader of the young Coyotes' team.
New York Rangers managed to keep their heart and soul in Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky. On top of that they reeled in the big fish in Brad Richards to spark up the finesse of team's offense. Callahan and Dubinsky keep on pounding gritty goals and frustrating the opposition's top lines. Richards was brought in to create some magic. Admittedly, it was a fantastic sales position for Richards, and Rangers are taking somewhat of a risk with a massive contract, but it will be thrilling to see what he can bring the Big Apple. Given the proper supporting cast, Brad Richars can pump the Rangers back to being a playoff team.
Steven Stamkos got basically anything he asked after last season's efforts. This guy has potential to overtake even Crosby and Ovechkin in raw and powerful productivity. If he can carry on playing with Marty St. Louis, the duo will keep on embarassing opposing goalies throughout the coming season. Stamkos may have ran out of gas a bit in the end of last season, but he's gained massive experience from it and will surely return even more dangerous. A must keep for Tampa for numerous reasons, the least not being success and fanbase.
St. Louis Blues took an interesting angle in acquiring graybeards Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner for one more year. These two have had some ups and downs on the latter part of their careers, depending on the roles they've been put in the teams they've played for. Both of the men have very good seasons on their resume and certainly have proven themselves as high caliber NHLers. It only remains to be seen where will they land in the youthful, but highly inconsistent Blues. Given the right role and embracing it might prove this move to be brilliant in letting the veterans pull off another solid season while rubbing some experienced calmness and rationality to the younger corps. If not, these guys will not hit the headlines too often, just like the rest of the team in St. Louis.
One of the most exiting trades this offseason was San Jose and Minnesota swapping Dany Heatley and Martin Havlat. It's a swap of two incredibly talented, but a bit unbalanced players. Heatley just hasn't been the same since the unfortunate car accident in the past and Havlat's inconsistency is it the top of the league. With different weapons in Heatley's deadly shot and Havlat's incredible speed and moves it is more than just a swap of jerseys on the backs of guys. As highly paid top line forwards, both demand attention and adjustment of the rest of the line and team to extract maximum value on the palyers' talents. If done properly I can already see this being a really good trade for both. San Jose has some younger snipers following Heatley's footsteps and ready to fill up the gap in shots on goal. The obvious question is how many breakaways will Joe Thornton set up for Mr. Havlat this season? My guess is in the three digits. If Havlat stays healthy, he could well return in the top of the scoring race like few years back. On the Minnesota end of the rink I can easily see Heatley's linemates, led by Mikko Koivu, digging in the offensive end corners to just ship the puck for a one-timer for Dany-boy and personal notch on the assists column. Minnesota top line will be a threat to anyone. The question remains, who else is there in the team?
Finally, the most interesting goalie move of the offseason. Thomas Vokoun was given the final chance to take a shot at being a Stanley Cup winner in the high expectation Washington Capitals. He just has to take a firm grip on the number one goalie spot on the team, show why his career stats are simply brilliant after playing for low end team, and keep up the pace in the unfamiliar territory of playoffs. Not the easiest task in a team that is expected to keep on winning, but doable with Vokoun's undeniable talent. In the worst case it's still going to be good for Washington to have a veteran goaltender putting some pressure on the young keepers and keeping them sharp.
Very interesting summer indeed. I'm anxious to see how the games start and what tracks these biggest movers and shakers take. A fresh new NHL season up ahead!
2011/08/12
Shuffle up in Philly
Trade market is a topic that may result in rather long posts. I'll start with something that comes to my mind right away.
It sure has been a busy summer on the trade market. Lots of big names have landed on new teams, some surprisingly, some likely expecting or even wanting to get traded. Anyhow, this really injects some needed surprise factor on the team's overall success rate in the beginning of the next season. Gray hairs for owners, good fun for fans and gamblers.
Let's focus on the Philadelphia Flyers. They drew the biggest attention to themselves with a major decision in letting go many of their top guns from the last few seasons. Let's take a closer look on the guys who left and the ones that came in to fill in the gaps.
Mike Richards, for starters, was the team captain, fan favourite and the poster boy for the whole franchise, if not sometimes for the whole NHL. His style of hard nosed but efficient play was feared and followed alike. Sometimes it seemed even that he had some free passes on the NHL disciplinary actions for not getting punished for very hard hits with disturbing results. Well, he was one of the guys to start the discussion that ended up in the current blind side hits rule. Whatever that means in practice.. Anyway, teams don't often let these caliber guys go away. There's not many who could fill up his role in the whole sport. Beats me, maybe he was too greedy, unhappy or didn't get along with the management. Anyway, LA is the massive winner in this trade. It's going to be awesome to see how soon he finds a line in LA to deliver the goods.
Jeff Carter got shipped to Columbus. Well, not exactly what a guy with high and growing rating in the league wants to see. No matter what he says. Playing for half empty arenas in a non-competitive team is just bad PR. On the positive side, he'll get to play just as much as he wants as the ultimate superstar in the team. Winner again, Columbus, hands down. Carter's true skills will now be seen with mediocre linemates. I wouldn't expect 40 goals this season..
Ville Leino has hit the high wave on his career just on the right spot and that led Buffalo Sabres to lock him in for a long term, high salary contract. It's good to see Ville with a new chance to prove himself as a first line NHL forward. As a fellow Finn I hope he succeeds. Not too many high profile forwards from Finland anymore in the league. However, it's a gamble for the Sabres, like most of their moves this summer. Flyers should have tried to keep Leino, but likely couldn't match the offer he got.
The newcomers then. Bryzgalov, with a foolish contract for the eternity, forces the Flyers to commit to one goalie for bettor or worse. He did fantastic job in Phoenix, so it's not at all unlikely that he'd be able to plug the goals against column for good. Voracek, Simmonds and Talbot are work horses for second to fourth lines. Nothing spectacular, but likely worth their salary when played in right roles. Lilja is a lower minute defenceman in Philly, not a difference maker. The rookies, including Brayden Schenn, are the unknown. Maybe there's a new star in the making, maybe these guys will never secure a spot in the starting lineup, who knows.
Last but definitely not least is the grand old maestro, Jaromir Jagr. Currently gray bearded, but still extremely dangerous in the offensive zone. It's absolutely thrilling to see him get adjusted in today's NHL. With proper linemates he might well pull off another stellar season. The wildest predictions put him in the fight for the scoring title. That's a bit though to believe, but I could well believe in a bit less than a point per game season. Jagr, in his prime, has been one of the best to play the game ever. He's a no brainer to the Hall of Fame after he retires no matter how he does this season. I had a chance to follow his play in the last year's world championships and he didn't fall short to any of the younger stars in Czech lineup. In the Flyers he might be able to take the role of the living legend, leading younger guns to great things with his example. Obviously, I've always liked his style of play. Massive skills in one of the strongest packages in the game, combined with a world class eye for the play. I sincerely hope he still has the gas in the tank to compete on the ultimate top of this sport. Good catch form the Flyers indeed, if for nothing else than getting a truckload of interest directed in their games.
All in all, Philly really shook up its roster. On the first look it got way worse, but looking a bit further down the line, this may provide some stability to the franchise that likely expected to take it all with the lineup from the past couple of years. They ended up falling just short, but definitely showing that the "Rangers approach", of gathering the cream of players without paying too much attention to paychecks, can succeed with the right coordination.
I'll continue with another rambling post on some other trades this offseason later.
It sure has been a busy summer on the trade market. Lots of big names have landed on new teams, some surprisingly, some likely expecting or even wanting to get traded. Anyhow, this really injects some needed surprise factor on the team's overall success rate in the beginning of the next season. Gray hairs for owners, good fun for fans and gamblers.
Let's focus on the Philadelphia Flyers. They drew the biggest attention to themselves with a major decision in letting go many of their top guns from the last few seasons. Let's take a closer look on the guys who left and the ones that came in to fill in the gaps.
Mike Richards, for starters, was the team captain, fan favourite and the poster boy for the whole franchise, if not sometimes for the whole NHL. His style of hard nosed but efficient play was feared and followed alike. Sometimes it seemed even that he had some free passes on the NHL disciplinary actions for not getting punished for very hard hits with disturbing results. Well, he was one of the guys to start the discussion that ended up in the current blind side hits rule. Whatever that means in practice.. Anyway, teams don't often let these caliber guys go away. There's not many who could fill up his role in the whole sport. Beats me, maybe he was too greedy, unhappy or didn't get along with the management. Anyway, LA is the massive winner in this trade. It's going to be awesome to see how soon he finds a line in LA to deliver the goods.
Jeff Carter got shipped to Columbus. Well, not exactly what a guy with high and growing rating in the league wants to see. No matter what he says. Playing for half empty arenas in a non-competitive team is just bad PR. On the positive side, he'll get to play just as much as he wants as the ultimate superstar in the team. Winner again, Columbus, hands down. Carter's true skills will now be seen with mediocre linemates. I wouldn't expect 40 goals this season..
Ville Leino has hit the high wave on his career just on the right spot and that led Buffalo Sabres to lock him in for a long term, high salary contract. It's good to see Ville with a new chance to prove himself as a first line NHL forward. As a fellow Finn I hope he succeeds. Not too many high profile forwards from Finland anymore in the league. However, it's a gamble for the Sabres, like most of their moves this summer. Flyers should have tried to keep Leino, but likely couldn't match the offer he got.
The newcomers then. Bryzgalov, with a foolish contract for the eternity, forces the Flyers to commit to one goalie for bettor or worse. He did fantastic job in Phoenix, so it's not at all unlikely that he'd be able to plug the goals against column for good. Voracek, Simmonds and Talbot are work horses for second to fourth lines. Nothing spectacular, but likely worth their salary when played in right roles. Lilja is a lower minute defenceman in Philly, not a difference maker. The rookies, including Brayden Schenn, are the unknown. Maybe there's a new star in the making, maybe these guys will never secure a spot in the starting lineup, who knows.
Last but definitely not least is the grand old maestro, Jaromir Jagr. Currently gray bearded, but still extremely dangerous in the offensive zone. It's absolutely thrilling to see him get adjusted in today's NHL. With proper linemates he might well pull off another stellar season. The wildest predictions put him in the fight for the scoring title. That's a bit though to believe, but I could well believe in a bit less than a point per game season. Jagr, in his prime, has been one of the best to play the game ever. He's a no brainer to the Hall of Fame after he retires no matter how he does this season. I had a chance to follow his play in the last year's world championships and he didn't fall short to any of the younger stars in Czech lineup. In the Flyers he might be able to take the role of the living legend, leading younger guns to great things with his example. Obviously, I've always liked his style of play. Massive skills in one of the strongest packages in the game, combined with a world class eye for the play. I sincerely hope he still has the gas in the tank to compete on the ultimate top of this sport. Good catch form the Flyers indeed, if for nothing else than getting a truckload of interest directed in their games.
All in all, Philly really shook up its roster. On the first look it got way worse, but looking a bit further down the line, this may provide some stability to the franchise that likely expected to take it all with the lineup from the past couple of years. They ended up falling just short, but definitely showing that the "Rangers approach", of gathering the cream of players without paying too much attention to paychecks, can succeed with the right coordination.
I'll continue with another rambling post on some other trades this offseason later.
2011/08/11
Cup retrospective and setting the sight for the future
Okay, Boston took the cup, Vancouver was ablaze on the riots after disappointed fans vented their frustration on the streets. This just says something about the emotion tied to this fantastic game. Not that the rioting wouldn't have been completely and utterly stupid and the worst pr for the sport, though..
Boston just had a little something more. Thomas outplayed Luongo, especially on the mental side. Media did its best in shaking Luongo's balance. Sedins came up short while Boston's big guys just responded as expected. It took all seven games but in the end Boston put a big exclamation mark on the board next to the convincing 4-0 victory. Canada just has to wait some more for the next cup. Vancouver has had some great runs and has built a very solid team, maybe they're up for the challenge in the coming years.
It's a bit early for predictions on the next season, but let's give it a playful go. Lots of key players have changed teams, which makes the dynamics of the coming season very interesting. Who'll be able to rise to superstardom in their new teams and who will be just waste of money? What about the teams that have been able to build a solid foundation in the past years, improving year by year with more experience?
Just following the first thoughts here, I'd list Vancouver, Chicago, Boston, San Jose and Washington definitely in the mix of claiming the cup in the end. Pittsburgh's success lies on the shoulders of Sidney Crosby. If he's been able to recover from the nagging concussion and avoids further issues next season, th Penguins will be in there for the fight. Philly, LA, Tampa, Anaheim and Detroit are ready for a surpsise run, even all the way to the end. Philly was shaken up on the roster a lot, LA has grown up, Tampa might pull it off with "just one line", Anaheim has tons of talent up front and Detroit, as a graybearded gentleman, might just find some magic out of sheer experience.
Some new challengers may also rise for the fight. It'll be great to see how Winnipeg Jets come back to the NHL. Their supporters will definitely be the legendary "sixth man" out there, pushing the rather light team forward with undonctional love. NY Rangers have again put some money on the table and expect Brad Richards to be the man carrying them over to the playoffs and further. If it all clicks together, the consistent underachiever might live to its potential. Also Nashville, against all odds, might carry on being the thorn on the sides of the more flashy teams. Just playing their blue collar, no nonsense, defence first style and grinding away the needed victories.
It's hard to see the bottom of the pack of last seasons producing any massive improvements this season either. Edmonton Oilers are still too young, like Colorado Avalanche. Calgary Flames just keep on falling, Columbus hasn't got enough talent on any level, Florida stays confused and NY Islanders just can't get out of the shadow of the big brother on the Manhattan island.
Out of the unmentioned, the black horse is New Jersey Devils. Constantly on the top of the pack for the last decade, falling miserably on the bottom last season. How will they respond lies still a lot on the shoulders of Kovalchuk and Brodeur.
All in all, it's a great season to wait for. Let's analyze some more when the leaves turn yellow and red.
Boston just had a little something more. Thomas outplayed Luongo, especially on the mental side. Media did its best in shaking Luongo's balance. Sedins came up short while Boston's big guys just responded as expected. It took all seven games but in the end Boston put a big exclamation mark on the board next to the convincing 4-0 victory. Canada just has to wait some more for the next cup. Vancouver has had some great runs and has built a very solid team, maybe they're up for the challenge in the coming years.
It's a bit early for predictions on the next season, but let's give it a playful go. Lots of key players have changed teams, which makes the dynamics of the coming season very interesting. Who'll be able to rise to superstardom in their new teams and who will be just waste of money? What about the teams that have been able to build a solid foundation in the past years, improving year by year with more experience?
Just following the first thoughts here, I'd list Vancouver, Chicago, Boston, San Jose and Washington definitely in the mix of claiming the cup in the end. Pittsburgh's success lies on the shoulders of Sidney Crosby. If he's been able to recover from the nagging concussion and avoids further issues next season, th Penguins will be in there for the fight. Philly, LA, Tampa, Anaheim and Detroit are ready for a surpsise run, even all the way to the end. Philly was shaken up on the roster a lot, LA has grown up, Tampa might pull it off with "just one line", Anaheim has tons of talent up front and Detroit, as a graybearded gentleman, might just find some magic out of sheer experience.
Some new challengers may also rise for the fight. It'll be great to see how Winnipeg Jets come back to the NHL. Their supporters will definitely be the legendary "sixth man" out there, pushing the rather light team forward with undonctional love. NY Rangers have again put some money on the table and expect Brad Richards to be the man carrying them over to the playoffs and further. If it all clicks together, the consistent underachiever might live to its potential. Also Nashville, against all odds, might carry on being the thorn on the sides of the more flashy teams. Just playing their blue collar, no nonsense, defence first style and grinding away the needed victories.
It's hard to see the bottom of the pack of last seasons producing any massive improvements this season either. Edmonton Oilers are still too young, like Colorado Avalanche. Calgary Flames just keep on falling, Columbus hasn't got enough talent on any level, Florida stays confused and NY Islanders just can't get out of the shadow of the big brother on the Manhattan island.
Out of the unmentioned, the black horse is New Jersey Devils. Constantly on the top of the pack for the last decade, falling miserably on the bottom last season. How will they respond lies still a lot on the shoulders of Kovalchuk and Brodeur.
All in all, it's a great season to wait for. Let's analyze some more when the leaves turn yellow and red.
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