NHL Offseason 2011

[10spro]

A couple of teams solved their short term problems but in the long run they will probably end up hemorrhaging more money. It doesn't make much sense but such is reality with the CBA where teams are encouraged to spend $$$ even if they are bleeding at the box office.

Again with some absurd long term contracts yesterday not to mention the money, I wonder 'Has anyone learned anything post lock out?'

[Naples39]

Between a weak free agent crop, an unexpectedly large increase in the cap, and teams like Florida spending like a drunken sailor in a whorehouse to reach the cap floor, mediocre players were making a killing this offseason.

$4.5x6 for Leino?
$3.5x4 for Upshall?
$4.75x2 for Connolly?
$4.5x4 for Fleischmann?
$5.5x6 for Wisniewski?

And then there's poor Vokoun signing one year $1.5. These guys should be counting themselves extremely lucky to be free agents at the right time. If someone like Leino were a free agent last year he would been lucky to sign 2 or 3 years at $3m.

[10spro]

A decade ago when Brian Burke was GM of the Vancouver Canucks he said:

"I have never been more embarrassed to work in the NHL as I was on July 1 and 2. I'm running my business like a business [but] I'm going head-to-head with people who are crazy as far as I'm concerned. We're going head-to-head with people who are nuts, absolutely out of their minds.”

I guess he lost his head too with Connolly who never scored more than 18 goals in a season and hopes that will be the perfect complement to P. Kessel. Too much money, too much risk for a player that's had his history of njuries and concussions. Or is the tremendous pressure to do well in Leaf land made BB blind too?

In addition to your list, another player I thought cashed well in the system (not his fault let me add) is Joel Ward who scored just 10 goals in the regular season, did rather well in the playoffs but gets a big 3 million per from 1?

[toonarmy]

A decade ago when Brian Burke was GM of the Vancouver Canucks he said:

"I have never been more embarrassed to work in the NHL as I was on July 1 and 2. I'm running my business like a business [but] I'm going head-to-head with people who are crazy as far as I'm concerned. We're going head-to-head with people who are nuts, absolutely out of their minds.”

I guess he lost his head too with Connolly who never scored more than 18 goals in a season and hopes that will be the perfect complement to P. Kessel. Too much money, too much risk for a player that's had his history of njuries and concussions. Or is the tremendous pressure to do well in Leaf land made BB blind too?

In addition to your list, another player I thought cashed well in the system (not his fault let me add) is Joel Ward who scored just 10 goals in the regular season, did rather well in the playoffs but gets a big 3 million per from 1?

Burke has not exactly done a stellar job with the Leafs over the past few years. Leaf fans might think he has been out of his mind, as you allude to. I think Ward actually was a good signing at $3 mil compared to other players who have been signed. Washington needed a high energy guy who can perform in the playoffs and is strong on the power play and penalty kill. His role is not as a scorer, but as a guy who is fundamentally very sound and is not afraid to get dirty. He also stays healthy despite his physical style.

Basically, this year has been a supply-demand phenomenon. Low supply of great players and large demand for teams to improve in whatever way they can. A lot of the teams (there are a few exceptions) who overpaid had a lot of cap room, so that added to the mix as well. Looking over the various team's contracts and cap space, it appears the next couple years will see a ton of good free agents since a lot of guys will not be able to be resigned due to cap limitations.

[Naples39]

The way things are headed, we may get to the point where above-average (but not great) free agents choose between getting big money and playing for crappy teams, or taking a smaller amount to play for a winner.

Also, regarding Burke's comments, in a cap world where teams are restricted from spending too much, if the other GMs are outright stupid or crazy it shouldn't be hard to outmaneuver them. It's not like before the salary cap where a team can keep piling up the payroll to bail out their previous mistakes.

[toonarmy]

The way things are headed, we may get to the point where above-average (but not great) free agents choose between getting big money and playing for crappy teams, or taking a smaller amount to play for a winner.

Also, regarding Burke's comments, in a cap world where teams are restricted from spending too much, if the other GMs are outright stupid or crazy it shouldn't be hard to outmaneuver them. It's not like before the salary cap where a team can keep piling up the payroll to bail out their previous mistakes.

We've entered an era where a GM is very crucial to team success. Like you say, teams cannot just keep throwing money around to make up for mistakes, so it's of vital importance to bring in the right players and stay under the cap. There is so much parity right now that in order to be successful and rise above the rest you really need to piece together the puzzle carefully.

[Feanor]

And then there's poor Vokoun signing one year $1.5. These guys should be counting themselves extremely lucky to be free agents at the right time. If someone like Leino were a free agent last year he would been lucky to sign 2 or 3 years at $3m.

Maybe the Flyers should have just grabbed Vokoun for a year or two at that price, and kept Richards.

[Naples39]

And then there's poor Vokoun signing one year $1.5. These guys should be counting themselves extremely lucky to be free agents at the right time. If someone like Leino were a free agent last year he would been lucky to sign 2 or 3 years at $3m.

Maybe the Flyers should have just grabbed Vokoun for a year or two at that price, and kept Richards.

If their choice was Bryzgalov for $5.6 or Vokoun at $1.5, it's easy to choose Vokoun, but it would've been impossible for the Flyers to go into the offseason expecting that.

Vokoun called the Caps himself after not getting a big money deal on July 1 because he wanted to play for a contender. Realistically the Flyers could've rolled the dice and hoped to sign him at $3.5 or 4, but $1.5 would've been unthinkable and not something they ever could've relied on.

For point of comparison, Mike Smith who split time with Dan Ellis and had a 899 save percentage last year, signed on July 1 for $2 million.

[10spro]

Before July 1st FLA offered way more money than the 1.5 million that Vokoun is getting with WAS. Yes, he gambled and lost. He wanted to play for a contending team, be the number #1 starter and other than Philly which other contending team really needed a solid keeper? Tomas won't be getting the $$$ he wanted but at least he'll be playing for a very good Caps team.

[pk500]

One man's subjective rankings of NHL broadcast teams:

http://www.sbnation.com/2011/7/8/225069 ... mmentators

I agree with many of these assessments, although I think this cat underrates Pat Foley and Eddie O and VASTLY overrates Pete Weber and Terry Crisp, who are nothing more than ordinary.

But thank God someone finally put Doc Emerick in his proper place -- in the lower half.

[toonarmy]

One man's subjective rankings of NHL broadcast teams:

http://www.sbnation.com/2011/7/8/225069 ... mmentators

I agree with many of these assessments, although I think this cat underrates Pat Foley and Eddie O and VASTLY overrates Pete Weber and Terry Crisp, who are nothing more than ordinary.

But thank God someone finally put Doc Emerick in his proper place -- in the lower half.

Interesting read even though I disagree with some of his ratings. I think the SJ duo is top of the line. Even non-SJ fans generally like them a lot. I completely agree about Doc -- he's f***in awful and grates on my nerves like few others. No announcer needs to scream "OHHHHH!!!" over every little thing. I'm glad to see the FLA and NASH crews get some love. Both of those crews are deserving of being given top-shelf status. FLA in particular is fun to listen to. One of the bigger market teams should lure those guys away. Final note -- listing BOS in the lowest of the low is silly. I've said it before, but I find Edwards to be highly entertaining and Brickley to be a great balancer. I can see how some may not like Edwards since he is so over the top, but I think he injects a lot of passion and excitement into the game, as well as humor. He's a self-admitted homer so I can live with that as opposed to announcers who try to come off as objective, but are clearly not. FLA has to have the most objective announcers in all of sports. In any case, all of this is ratings stuff boils down to personal taste, but I think it was a great article and a lot of though was put into it.

[Naples39]

I've always found the Rangers broadcast to be among the least obnoxious, at least when they still had John Davidson.

I am showing my bias, but Pittsburgh is pretty awful and Edwards is simply intolerable. It's impossible to listen to his broadcasts unless you are Bruins fan. For everyone else it is a joke, and simply saying "I am openly biased" doesn't excuse what I think feels plainly unprofessional.

I've learned to accept Buffalo, and I thought Tripp Tracy was pretty annoying in CAR when I lived in NC.

I don't get to hear the western announcers much.

[XXXIV]

I am showing my bias, but Pittsburgh is pretty awful and Edwards is simply intolerable. It's impossible to listen to his broadcasts unless you are Bruins fan. For everyone else it is a joke, and simply saying "I am openly biased" doesn't excuse what I think feels plainly unprofessional.

Exactly right. The worst. Only a Bruin fan could love this d*****bag..

[10spro]

A. Cogliano goes to Disneyland for a 2nd round pick in 2013.

[Feanor]

I am showing my bias, but Pittsburgh is pretty awful and Edwards is simply intolerable. It's impossible to listen to his broadcasts unless you are Bruins fan. For everyone else it is a joke, and simply saying "I am openly biased" doesn't excuse what I think feels plainly unprofessional.

Exactly right. The worst. Only a Bruin fan could love this d*****bag..

Jack Edwards, everybody.

[pk500]

A. Cogliano goes to Disneyland for a 2nd round pick in 2013.

I'm happy with the deal. Cogs is nothing more than an undersized grinder, and the Oil is stockpiling pretty talented depth at center.

[XXXIV]

I am showing my bias, but Pittsburgh is pretty awful and Edwards is simply intolerable. It's impossible to listen to his broadcasts unless you are Bruins fan. For everyone else it is a joke, and simply saying "I am openly biased" doesn't excuse what I think feels plainly unprofessional.

Exactly right. The worst. Only a Bruin fan could love this d*****bag..

Jack Edwards, everybody.

The beauty of it is that this is this asshole every f***in night. Seriously. Every night!

If there is a bigger piece of s*** out there than this worthless f*** ...Id love to see it. Just for kicks.

[Diablo25]

Just had to add that Edwards is an embarrassment.

I enjoy the Flyers crew of Jim Jackson, Bill Clement and Steve Coates. Coatesy is a character that I can see being annoying to some but I love him. Jackson is solid. He has also done a great job calling Phillies games on the radio the past few seasons. You guys all know what Clement brings to the table. The guy that drive me nuts is Al Morganti who is an in studio analyst for CSN.

[Naples39]

Just had to add that Edwards is an embarrassment.

I enjoy the Flyers crew of Jim Jackson, Bill Clement and Steve Coates. Coatesy is a character that I can see being annoying to some but I love him. Jackson is solid. He has also done a great job calling Phillies games on the radio the past few seasons. You guys all know what Clement brings to the table. The guy that drive me nuts is Al Morganti who is an in studio analyst for CSN.

At first I thought the Flyers crew would be ranked higher, but on hindsight maybe not.

Jackson is a solid PBP guy, but I don't care for Coatesy, and I don't think Jonesy is a very good color guy. He just never really offers any insightful analysis, just stating the obvious and being agreeable. I much prefer Clement when he steps in for Jonesy, and I feel he doesn't try to be a big personality when doing Flyers games, which I think he did a little bit on ESPN.

[10spro]

Forget the rumors of Stamkos going anywhere. He's inked a five year deal in TPA over $37 million. Good signing for Stevie Y.

[Naples39]

Forget the rumors of Stamkos going anywhere. He's inked a five year deal in TPA over $37 million. Good signing for Stevie Y.

Thank god the rumors can stop now.

[Diablo25]

Forget the rumors of Stamkos going anywhere. He's inked a five year deal in TPA over $37 million. Good signing for Stevie Y.

Definitely a good sign. 96 goals in 2 years.

[Feanor]

The guy that drive me nuts is Al Morganti who is an in studio analyst for CSN.

I remember when he was on ESPN and one of the other hockey hosts said he looked like Eddie Munster.

[toonarmy]

Good signing by TB. A little less than I thought Stamkos would bring, but it looks like he wanted to stay in TB. His deal ends when he should be entering his prime, so he should see an even bigger payday in 5 years.

[Naples39]

Good signing by TB. A little less than I thought Stamkos would bring, but it looks like he wanted to stay in TB. His deal ends when he should be entering his prime, so he should see an even bigger payday in 5 years.

As a totally academic point, statistically most NHL forwards hace their best seasons at ~24. Something I noted to myself to back up my theory that Carter would never hit 46 goals again.

I'm just relieved that I don't need to read daily rumors how the Flyers, who have basically no cap space, were going to sign him.