If anyone forgot, The puck drops tonight!

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:49 pm

With less that a week to go before the tradeline comes and goes, a lot of teams are still looking to upgrade their netminder position and while the M. Biron rumours have been swirling almost since the beginning of the season, the guy that BUF may actually move is M.Noronen. With the new salary cap, a lot of teams are being more carefull as to what they can get and for what draft pick or players.

For those of you that don't know or haven't heard of A. Ovechkin yet, here's an exciting video of what kind of a player he is. He's got my vote for poster boy on the next EA and 2K hockey titles.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... =alexander

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 5:59 pm

Wow..... some of those moves...... wow.

And THE GOAL is in there...........

He's something alright.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Sat Mar 04, 2006 7:22 pm

The Wild signed Manny Fernandez to a three-year contract extension.

With the team in a funk, their playoff chances are starting to look bleak. That could really open the market for Roloson since they might not mind trading him within the division.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 9:52 pm

Latest round of rumours have P. Quinn gone if they don't win tomorrow vs the Habs.

M. Recchi looks like he'll be going back to Philly and with only 3 days left before trading deadline, the reason it has been so quiet I think, is because the sellers are asking an arm and a leg literally for rental players and with the new CBA, teams look for a better investment.

Feanor · Post by **Feanor** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:15 am

I hope the Flyers don't give up much for Recchi. He's not going to make much of a difference to their awful penalty killing and generally bad defensive coverage. Basically, it's very unlikely the Flyers will get close to a Cup this year so I'd rather they didn't give away young talent.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 11:49 am

Watched My first NHL game since lockout. Habs and Flyers. Fun game.

I think I will get back into it. I know I will be watching the playoffs.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 12:00 pm

I know this is quite past tense, but did anyone see the goal Ales Hemsky scored late in the third period Friday night to give Edmonton the win over San Jose? Not quite Ovechkin scoring while laying on the ice or Spezza undressing Souray in OT earlier this year, but still one of the goals of the year. Breathtaking moves and skill.

Hemsky has skills he doesn't even know about yet. The kid will be a superstar in this league within three years. I hope the Oil can keep him.

Take care,
PK

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:07 pm

Agreed PK, if the kid learns to shoot more too, he'll be one coveted player in the future if not already. Saw that goal, his hero was #99 and you could tell that goal had a lot of the great one's move.

What a tough division is turning out to be.....

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Tue Mar 07, 2006 2:33 pm

malkin looked GREAT in the olympics.

and i heard recchi to carolina for a 3rd rounder and a player to be named.

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:39 pm

Edmonton just got screwed by the Wild. Roloson to the Oilers for a 1st round pick and potential 3rd rounder depending on if Roloson resigns in the offseason. That is a lot to give up for a 36 year old UFA...

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 3:46 pm

tjung0831 wrote:Edmonton just got screwed by the Wild. Roloson to the Oilers for a 1st round pick and potential 3rd rounder depending on if Roloson resigns in the offseason. That is a lot to give up for a 36 year old UFA...

i don't get that one..... he pretty much split time with fernandez... is he a #1? i don't think so.

i wonder if luongo will move?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:06 pm

tjung0831 wrote:Edmonton just got screwed by the Wild. Roloson to the Oilers for a 1st round pick and potential 3rd rounder depending on if Roloson resigns in the offseason. That is a lot to give up for a 36 year old UFA...

A bit of context is needed here.

First, the Oil has some pretty good prospects down on the farm, namely Devyn Dubnyk in goal, Dan Syvret at defense and Rob Schremp at forward. Plus all of the youngsters they have called up this season -- Syvret, Winchester, Stasny, Jacques, Greene -- have played well. The organization has a pretty good stockpile of young talent, so I'm not that worried about giving up a first-rounder.

Second, the Oil is DESPERATE for goaltending. Neither Morrison, Conklin or Markkanen are even close to being a No. 1 NHL goalie. Goaltending has been the albatross of the Oil all year. In fact, I'll go so far as saying the Oil would be leading the Northwest right now if it had a decent goalie.

No team in the Northwest has four lines as solid as Edmonton, and the defense is improved. With a stud goalie, this team could go a ways in the playoffs.

Is Roloson that stud? Nope. But he's better than what the Oil has.

I see Roloson as a one-and-done player, sort of the NHL's answer to David Cone. I doubt he'll be at Rexall next season, but if he can lead the Oil deep into the playoffs, it will be worth it. Dubnyk could be ready to take the No. 1 goalie spot next year in camp.

Is the Rollie deal risky? Sure. But doing nothing would be even riskier.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:10 pm

As an aside, I think it was pretty rash to waive Morrison. OK, he stopped no shots in the shootout against Dallas last night, but he was 5-1 in shootouts before last night's game. He also had the best numbers of any Oilers' goalie and was very popular in the dressing room.

I would have waived Conklin, which would have freed up salary room. Conklin has been dreadful this year.

Take care,
PK

tjung0831 · Post by **tjung0831** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 5:52 pm

pk500 wrote:
tjung0831 wrote:Edmonton just got screwed by the Wild. Roloson to the Oilers for a 1st round pick and potential 3rd rounder depending on if Roloson resigns in the offseason. That is a lot to give up for a 36 year old UFA...

Second, the Oil is DESPERATE for goaltending.

Take care,
PK

Yeah, that was apparent with that move today!

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 6:00 pm

Yes, I'm a little miffed at a 1st rounder for Roloson too.... maybe a 2nd and a 3rd, but not a first!

I'm going to bite my tongue and see how he performs before I decide if i'm going for Lowe's head or not.......

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 6:19 pm

As a Wild fan, it is sad to see Roloson go. He's did a great job of reviving his career and seemed to be a stand-up guy off the ice. During the Wild's playoff run a few years ago, he stood up well to the pressure.

I'll be cheering on the Oilers during the playoffs because of him.

First round pick isn't bad. I wonder if the team tanked some of his value by signing Fernandez when they did.

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 6:41 pm

This explains the slow trading deadline thus far. A 1st rounder is a lot to give up especially if you don"t know if the guy will re-sign with you. Sellers are asking a lot for their property and a lot of teams are just being conservative. For now....

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 8:09 pm

A washed up L. Richardson is back in TO for 2 round picks, LA Kings got L. Parrish and B. Sopel and maybe the domino effect is just starting. BOS also picks Czerkawski from the Leafs.

Toronto's situation is interesting: While I think that they won't make the playoffs this year, they got Richarsdon to add to their weak D, while I expected them to be a seller team while you can get great value for the likes of E. Belfour.

Everyone is expecting a blockbuster deal which includes the likes of Bertuzzi and Luongo. I still expect the Panthers and Coyotes to be selling soon.

BTW, another duel between Ovechkin and Crosby is underway.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:08 pm

This is also the first trading deadline of the salary cap era. A lot of typical buyers (could you imagine what the Rangers might try to pull off?) are too tight against the cap to take on a good player without giving one up. I really don't remember too many in-season trades in the NHL that involved draft picks, but my memory stinks.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 10:57 pm

Another big one.....

Jose Theodore for David Abescheir.......

Things are going to be interesting in the Western Conference....

And after watching TSN, I feel a bit better about the Roloson trade. Apparently Cujo was taken off the market, so that left Mika Nornen or Eddie as the only goalies on the market aside from Roloson.

And Pierre Mcguire kept lauding his "rebound control"...... even though I think Pierre is a dink.....

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Wed Mar 08, 2006 11:08 pm

A risky move by GM P. Lacroix is you ask me. Theodore is far, and I mean far from the guy who won the Hart trophy 4 years ago or so, and obviously COL thinks that a change of scenery is what this guy needs, same with the P. Roy story a few seasons back. However Theodore is injured and won't be back until the 1st week of the playoffs or so, therefore the risk.

Gangrel · Post by **Gangrel** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:02 am

But it also means Colorado isn't on the hook for his salary while he's injured. They said on TSN that his salary is 5 mill, and the Avs only have 3 mil under the cap. However, they also said the NHL approves all trades, so I guess the math works out somehow for them....

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:30 am

Interesting facts about Roloson's numbers this season and a good point from Kevin Lowe in a CP report:

>>>Roloson, earning $1.67 million this season, is 6-17-0 this season with a 3.00 goals-against average and .910 save percentage in 24 games. The eight-year NHL veteran has a career 2.50 GAA and .911 save percentage and was spectacular in 2003-04 when he went 19-18-11 for the Wild with a 1.88 GAA and an NHL-best .933 save percentage.

“We like Roloson, we like his style, we like his pedigree, and his save percentage speaks for itself,” Lowe said. “And based on how our team has played this year defensively, we give up the second-fewest shots in the league, so we really thought that his style was conducive to what we have.”<<<

Roloson's .910 save percentage is much better than any of the Three Stooges the Oil has put in net this year. Morrison is tops at .884, while Markkanen and Conklin are tied at a stellar .880.

So Lowe might be right. If the Oil continues to allow a paltry amount of shots, Roloson could be an upgrade due to his strong save percentage. Just sounds like he wasn't getting much goal support or seeing too much rubber in Minnesota.

Dave, care to shed some light on that?

Take care,
PK

Sudz · Post by **Sudz** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 11:44 am

will theodore get back into form?

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 12:36 pm

PK,

I give Roli the benefit of the doubt on his record because his goal support was atrocious. But he saw plenty of shots (over 31 on average)--there was one game against Columbus where he gave up 1 goal on 50-some shots, which came in the waning minutes of the game to send it to OT (Wild lost in the shootout). There were plenty of nights where it seemed other teams were camped in the Wild's zone taking shot after shot for a couple shifts.

He's not going to make a ton of spectacular saves but he usually gets himself in position so he doesn't have to. He failed to post a better-than-88% save percentage in only 6 of 24 games.