NHL Off-Season Thread...

[the max 0]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=91124

 

Boston is in some shit right now, as Gonchar has filed for arbitration. Sammy has indictated that he'll sign on for the 5 or so million that the B&G have offered him.

 

Thornton is the big question mark, as the Bruins have tendered the qualifying offer, but sources have said that Joe is looking for a way out of Boston.

 

Also, in a sidenote, Mrs. Gill has filed for arbitration, but both sides think they'll meet before the arbitration date.

 

 

 

 

http://tsn.ca/news_story.asp?ID=91120

 

Sean Hill signs with the Panthers. I REALLY like this signing, and as much as I fucking hate Keenan, this is something that Florida needed. Their defensemen were solid enough for them, but Mathieu Baron isn't a good enough physical presence to shore it up. Hill is a nasty defenseman who isn't afraid of hitting anyone. Pair him with Bouwmeester and it's like another Stevens/Niedermayer combo. They also inked Alexander Karpovtsev yesterday. Both Hill and Karpovtsev are older players (only 34 though), but give the Panthers D a bit of age, which is good. Now, if the Panthers can get some size up front, they'll be in good shape for next season.

 

 

 

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=91046

 

Habs resigned Marcel "the other" Hossa, Niklas Sundstrom, and Steve Begin. They also signed Mike Ribeiro, who celebrated by having a fake seizure.

[starvenger 0]

Also, in a sidenote, Mrs. Gill has filed for arbitration, but both sides think they'll meet before the arbitration date.

That's likely. I think that filing for arbitration in this case is merely a formality, as it is for probably 75-85% of the cases.

 

Question: If Gonchar goes to arbitration, and wins, will the Bruins walk away?

[nl5xsk1 0]

The B's re-signing Samsonov would be huge, but would lose some of the luster if Nylander isn't resigned. The two of them really did gel together, and it would suck to see one come back but not the other. I'd actually heard that Sammy was coming back, his brother works at a bar that I frequent, and I overheard him talking to the bartender about it. He wouldn't say definitely but gave every indication that Sergei was coming back.

 

Defensively, I'd let Gill go to arbitration and then just refuse to sign him (a la Dmitri Khristich a few years back) and then use that money to go towards re-signing Gonchar. Gill hasn't ever impressed me, and really isn't anything more than a 3 or 4 defenseman.

 

Lastly, what the fuck has Big Joe so upset?!? Other than Dupont's slamming him in the Globe, and the alleged agreement from Boynton, Thornton has been treated very well by the press & fans of the team. Very few people got on his case even though he yet again no-showed in the postseason. Truthfully, if he wants out of town that bad the team should trade him. Send him out West, maybe a team like SJ or Colorado would give up a few good players for him.

 

Question: If Gonchar goes to arbitration, and wins, will the Bruins walk away?

I really doubt it ... they gave up too much for Gonchar just to let him walk away post-arbitration. Of course, this team isn't really known for making the best decisions.

[the max 0]

That's why I'm starting to hate Joe Thornton. He's fine until someone questions him in any way. I think B's fans have been pretty fucking patient with him, yet we've only really seen flashes of brilliance from him, like the 2002-03 season, when he had 101 points (a full 30 points above his previous season high). Yet everytime someone so much as questions his motivation, or whether or not he should be the captain, he acts like a petulant asshole. I question whether or not he's the franchise player that everyone thought he'd end up being. FFS, Sergei Samsonov, besides his numerous injuries, has been a consistant player for his career (75-80 points a season, but with a capable line-mate like Nylander? Good God, they'd be almost unstoppable.)

 

As far as I'm concerned, Thornton can be dealt. Like you said, nl5, I'm sure teams would take him and offer something good in return. His attitude, combined with never coming through when it truly matters is getting to the point of ridiculous and making me think of another Boston athlete who had a poor attitude, only had big games when it mattered least, and never came through in the clutch. Roger Clemens, anyone?

 

 

 

As far as Mrs. Gill goes, I again agree with you. Gonchar is #1 priority on D. They haven't had a stand-out defenseman since Bourque left, and they have the opportunity to have one right now. Gill has never gotten it down, so let him walk.

 

Priorities:

 

#1- Gonchar

#2- Samsonov and Nylander

#3- Trading Thornton

[nl5xsk1 0]

Max, if the B's really do need to move Thornton, where and for who can you see him going?

 

I referenced San Jose & Colorado in my post because they really were the first two teams that I thought of. SJ has a ton of young players, maybe they'd send Marleau and someone for Joe and someone (with the 'someone' coming to Boston being better than the 'someone' going to SJ). Colorado wouldn't make a trade unless Forsberg really does go back to Sweden; they'd be desperate for a good #2 center and could maybe send one of their young guys, plus a D-man, for Thornton.

 

Another potential deal would be a trade with Dallas, with the Stars sending Guerin back to Boston; they'd have to eat some of his salary, but it'd be a good move for both teams, as Dallas would add another good center to the mix, and Boston could put Guerin on the top line with Sergei & Nylander.

[the max 0]

My #1 choice would be Colorado, but it all relies on Forsberg going back to Sweden for MoDough.

 

Bruins get:

 

Alex Tanguay, Dan Hinote, and the rights to Tomas Slovak

 

Avs get:

 

Joe Thornton, P.J. Axelsson, and either the rights to Dmitri Utkin or picks.

 

This way, it's basically a swap of centers, with the B&G getting Tanguay, he's able to step in with Sammy and Nylander, Hinote replacing P.J. (just as good and younger), and the rights to a very good offensive defenseman in case it doesn't work out with Gonchar.

 

The Avs get a potential franchise player to replace Sakic when he retires, a player simular in style and with a better goal-scoring touch than Hinote in PJ, and the rights to a very good LW prospect.

 

 

That's the best I can come up with. Do I want Marleau? Eh, I wouldn't radically oppose the deal, but it seems that he only shows flashes of brilliance as well. Guerin back? Meh. Again, I wouldn't oppose it, but what else can Dallas offer? I'd like them to replace Thornton, get fresh faces on the grind lines, and pick up a decent prospect. Dallas can't really offer that fresh face on the grind line, as most of their talent are all veterans. All Dallas can really offer up that would interest me would be their two overpaid guys in Guerin and Arnott.

[The Czech Republic 0]

The Avs get a potential franchise player to replace Sakic when he retires, a player simular in style and with a better goal-scoring touch than Hinote in PJ, and the rights to a very good LW prospect.

Sakic's got like four years left in him, right? I hope...he's one of my favorite players.

[the max 0]

Oh, I don't mean that he's going to retire after this season. He's only 35, but Thornton is 10 years younger.

[Guest Rrrsh]

As a Canuck fan, I will give you the Sedins, Sopel and Artem Chubarov for Thorton.

[the max 0]

Since you can't spell his name right...no.

[nl5xsk1 0]

Max, I like your trade with the Avs ... I'm a fan of both Hinote & Tanguay, and think that both would immediately help the B's. Plus, I'm a pretty outspoken PJ-hater (the guy is like an offensive black-hole, that actually sucks offense away from other Bruins when he's on the ice) so if we could move him it'd be great.

 

I agree that my Sharks & Stars trades were pretty mediocre; I'm having a hard time finding a good team & trade. I'm trying to limit it to a Western Conference team, just because I'd hate to have Thornton stay in the East and actually show up in the playoffs some year and beat us. Truthfully, while the 'nucks would never make that deal, I'd probably take the deal that Rrrsh offered. Three half-way decent forwards and a not-bad defenseman for a player that doesn't want to be here? Good enough for me.

[the max 0]

But getting three half-way decent forwards doesn't give the B&G the #1 center that they're giving up to get them.

 

While the Sedins and Chubarov are good, Daniel doesn't have a physical presence at all, and Chubarov doesn't have the offense to be on the line with Sammy and Nylander. Only Henrik Sedin and Sopel make that deal worth it, and that's kind of stretching it.

 

I'd rather take the Colorado trade, as they give up their #1 center in exchange for someone who can play #1 center (and who will only get better), it's a very good swap of grinders Hinote for Axelsson, and the prospects help both teams.

[nl5xsk1 0]

I should have prefaced my statements with the acknowledgement that my top choice would be to keep Joe in Black & Gold. While he's not yet the dominant player that he could be, I really do think that he's one of the few franchise players in the league right now, and would rather him stay a Bruin his entire career. Having said that, though, if he really doesn't want to be here, he'll be a distraction and a hindrance and that'd be no good.

 

The Colorado trade would produce better players for Thornton, but the team would still be lacking depth. Even with Tanguay, Hinote, Sammy & Nylander, they'd be struggling to produce two good lines. At least the Vancouver trade would enable the B's to have more depth; they wouldn't contend for the #1 seed, but they'd have a legitimate chance of making the playoffs.

[the max 0]

That may be true too, but there are still players to be had for a decent price.

 

I'd just really like to see them get a dominant player like Tanguay can be, rather than just getting three pieces of a dominant player in Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Say that they deal Joe to Vancouver for Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Who's the dominant player? They probably aren't going to resign Muzz, so that means that most of the pressure falls on Sammy/Nylander meshing with Henrik, Bergeron and Daniel wrecking havoc on another line, and counting on another average player in Chubarov to have a career season like Knuble did. I'm not comfortable with that at all. Sammy and Nylander are smallish players. Putting them with Henrik doesn't exactly make them a force to be reckon with. Plus, they still have Axelsson.

[nl5xsk1 0]

The most depressing thing about this whole conversation, Max, is how close the B's were to having a very good team only to have it all fall apart. They had a very good top line, a very good second line (for the first time in a long time), above average defensmen, and a very good goalie (which they've been without even longer than a real 2nd line).

 

If they could have re-signed most of their FA's and built off of last year, the Bruins were a legitimate contender in the East. Instead, they'll be lucky to be a playoff team ... of course, there's a legitimate chance that there won't even BE a playoffs next year.

[the max 0]

It's depressing always whenever your favorite team decides to not do things conducive to winning. Letting Knuble, Rolston, and essentially Muzz walk away without even trying to resign them is depressing. Sadly enough, I've gotten used to it as a Bruins fan. A player will have a great season, get over with the fans, show signs of becoming a superstar no doubt, but with ownership, money is evil. They'd rather stock the team with players who will show promise, but never lead them on. The proven players are let go constantly. It's depressing to think of what could have happened last year had they had a competant captain and coach. Not to discount Sully in some ways, but he has a problem with motivating the team. FFS, they had a 3-1 series lead that they pissed away. The team drives me crazy.

[CanadianChris 0]

For those wondering why Dany Heatley got off scot-free...he didn't:

 

ATLANTA -- Atlanta Thrashers star Dany Heatley was indicted Friday on vehicular homicide and five other charges in the 2003 wreck that claimed the life of a teammate.

 

Police estimated that Heatley was driving his black Ferrari convertible between 60 and 90 mph on a curved road in a residential area when it ran into a brick pillar and iron fence on Sept. 29, 2003.

 

Dan Snyder, 25, died after several days in a coma, and Heatley broke his jaw and tore two ligaments in his knee. The Canadian citizen returned to play with the team in January.

 

"All of us have driven too fast at one time or another, but this case involves extreme speed," county prosecutor Paul Howard said Friday in announcing the indictment.

 

Heatley's attorney, Ed Garland, said the case does not justify a homicide charge.

 

"We don't want any sentence that would put him in jail, destroy his career, or have him deported from the United States," he said.

 

Garland said the defense wants a chance to determine if the car Heatley drove had any mechanical defects.

 

Heatley, the MVP of the 2003 NHL All-Star game, was in Canada on Friday preparing for the upcoming season, the team said. He was not immediately available for comment.

 

Authorities said Heatley had consumed some alcohol but was not intoxicated at the time of the wreck.

 

The Snyder family released a statement through the Thrashers saying they continue to support Heatley.

 

"Our feelings have never changed and we continue to support Dany and the entire Heatley family," the statement read.

 

Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said he expects Heatley to join the team in training camp in September.

 

"Throughout the process, we felt that, and continue to feel that, the end result will show that this was truly an accident, and Dany will be ready to play," Waddell said.

 

There is no mandatory prison sentence for the crimes, giving the judge considerable discretion, Howard said. A probation sentence is one option, he added.

 

Howard said he would not seek to have Heatley taken into custody before a trial.

 

Source: ESPN.com

[Guest Rrrsh]

That may be true too, but there are still players to be had for a decent price.

 

I'd just really like to see them get a dominant player like Tanguay can be, rather than just getting three pieces of a dominant player in Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Say that they deal Joe to Vancouver for Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Who's the dominant player? They probably aren't going to resign Muzz, so that means that most of the pressure falls on Sammy/Nylander meshing with Henrik, Bergeron and Daniel wrecking havoc on another line, and counting on another average player in Chubarov to have a career season like Knuble did. I'm not comfortable with that at all. Sammy and Nylander are smallish players. Putting them with Henrik doesn't exactly make them a force to be reckon with. Plus, they still have Axelsson.

Sopel has potential to be a great offensive Defenceman

 

 

We just have too much of that kind of Defenceman

[LaParkaMarka 0]

That may be true too, but there are still players to be had for a decent price.

 

I'd just really like to see them get a dominant player like Tanguay can be, rather than just getting three pieces of a dominant player in Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Say that they deal Joe to Vancouver for Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Who's the dominant player? They probably aren't going to resign Muzz, so that means that most of the pressure falls on Sammy/Nylander meshing with Henrik, Bergeron and Daniel wrecking havoc on another line, and counting on another average player in Chubarov to have a career season like Knuble did. I'm not comfortable with that at all. Sammy and Nylander are smallish players. Putting them with Henrik doesn't exactly make them a force to be reckon with. Plus, they still have Axelsson.

Sopel has potential to be a great offensive Defenceman

 

 

We just have too much of that kind of Defenceman

I wouldn't trade Sopel. The guy has more of an offensive touch than most of the other guys on our D. Plus, who would replace him?

 

I wouldn't trade all that for Thornton. If Bert can ever play again, that gives us:

 

Naslund/Thornton/Bert (insane)

Cooke/Morrison/??

 

And then the other guys like Ruutu and Linden. It's a scary top line, but ditching the Sedins kills our depth. Plus, they seem to be improving. I mean, if the Canucks decide to eat another huge salary and sign a quality scorer for the 2nd line (Kariya?) it could work. But we all know the Canucks aren't taking on huge salaries. Also, the team still has garbage in net and an iffy D.

[the max 0]

Add in Marc-Andre Bernier, Fedor Fedorov, and Francois Pierre-Guenette as depth players, with all three having excellent offensive skills.

 

Not to mention, Bertuzzi will never be the same player that he was before this thing happened with Steve Moore. He's going to be more cautious, he's going to have the league watching him carefully, and I don't think he'll ever be the same mentally. They need someone who can give them that physical presense on the top line.

 

Say they moved Bertuzzi down to the second line and brought Rucinsky and Cooke to be his linemates. This leaves them with Naslund-Morrison-Thornton as a top line, which isn't horrible either. They have depth at forward in the minors.

 

Losing Sopel wouldn't kill them either, they're pretty deep as far as defensemen go with Ohland, Salo, Allen, Jovo, and Malik. They also have some good defensive prospects in the system.

[Guest Rrrsh]

That may be true too, but there are still players to be had for a decent price.

 

I'd just really like to see them get a dominant player like Tanguay can be, rather than just getting three pieces of a dominant player in Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Say that they deal Joe to Vancouver for Sedin Squared and Chubarov. Who's the dominant player? They probably aren't going to resign Muzz, so that means that most of the pressure falls on Sammy/Nylander meshing with Henrik, Bergeron and Daniel wrecking havoc on another line, and counting on another average player in Chubarov to have a career season like Knuble did. I'm not comfortable with that at all. Sammy and Nylander are smallish players. Putting them with Henrik doesn't exactly make them a force to be reckon with. Plus, they still have Axelsson.

Sopel has potential to be a great offensive Defenceman

 

 

We just have too much of that kind of Defenceman

I wouldn't trade Sopel. The guy has more of an offensive touch than most of the other guys on our D. Plus, who would replace him?

 

I wouldn't trade all that for Thornton. If Bert can ever play again, that gives us:

 

Naslund/Thornton/Bert (insane)

Cooke/Morrison/??

 

And then the other guys like Ruutu and Linden. It's a scary top line, but ditching the Sedins kills our depth. Plus, they seem to be improving. I mean, if the Canucks decide to eat another huge salary and sign a quality scorer for the 2nd line (Kariya?) it could work. But we all know the Canucks aren't taking on huge salaries. Also, the team still has garbage in net and an iffy D.

We already have three or 4 D men who can put the puck in the net. But we do have a bunch of pussies as well. So I would sign a Gritty D man (and a Gritty 4th line center) to add to our depth problem.

 

So we have a top six of Mo, Bert, Nazzy, Thornton, Cooke and King. Bottom six of Linden, May, Ruttu a 4th line center Kesler and our enforcer/young guy.

[the max 0]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=91483

 

The Canucks are trying to decide what they're going to do when it comes to arbitration, as Brendan Morrison and Dan "Collapse" Cloutier are both up.

 

I'd let Cloutier go and take my chances with Alex Auld, as he was better than Cloutier in the playoffs.

[nl5xsk1 0]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=91390

 

WHA free-agent draft results ... picking Gagne first overall made sense, especially since it was done by Quebec (I have to admit that I hate the "Nordiks" name). But picking Travis Green second? Any rhyme or reason to a pick like that?!?

 

And no surprise, Crosby went first overall in the actual draft. It'd be interesting for him to follow Gretzky's career path and play a year in the WHA before going to the NHL.

[the max 0]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=91607

 

Looming lockout stalls free agency

 

Nearly three weeks into NHL free agency and the biggest names remain unsigned.

 

The reason is simple. With a lockout looming, few clubs want to add big contracts to payrolls that will be affected either by a possible salary cap or luxury tax under the new collective bargaining agreement.

 

So the big names continue to wait, their agents hearing a lot of: ``We're interested, but we want to see what happens this summer.''

 

A look at the top unrestricted free agents still on the market (with position, age and last season's base salary):

 

 

 

Alexei Kovalev, F, 31, $6.6 million US: Some regarded him as the best player in the game two years ago. After some early struggles in Montreal last March, he had a terrific playoff (10 points in 11 games) and was the No. 1 reason for the Habs' upset over Boston.

 

But he's not close to signing with anyone right now.

 

``There's just window shopping going on,'' Kovalev's agent Scott Greenspun said Monday from New York.

 

There have been several reports linking Kovalev to a return to Pittsburgh, but Greenspun said it was premature to count out a return to Montreal.

 

``Is Pittsburgh a place that he would play again? Yes,'' Greenspun said. ``But he also has an interest in playing in Montreal and there are some other cities and clubs that he would be interested in playing for if he had a wish list.

 

``So it's not as though he's targeted Pittsburgh as the only place he wanted to play.''

 

Pavol Demitra, F, 29, $6.5 million: The Slovak star has 349 points in 343 games over the last five seasons with St. Louis, as consistent an offensive performer as there is. But he's also been dogged by injuries, playing a full season only once over the last five years. Still, at 29, he's a safer long-term investment than most UFAs.

 

Ziggy Palffy, F, 32, $7 million: Another Slovak sniper, he's put up 340 points in 311 games over the last five seasons with Los Angeles, but was limited to 41 points over 35 games last year after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

 

``We're waiting,'' Palffy's agent Paul Kraus said Monday from Edmonton. ``We've had tire-kicking, I guess we have to wait for the market to develop.''

 

A return to the Kings seems out of the question.

 

``L.A. made their position pretty clear,'' Kraus said, adding that he hasn't heard from the Kings this month.

 

Palffy may wait a while before signing a deal.

 

``Put it this way, when do the general managers need Ziggy on the ice? Could be a long time,'' Kraus said, referring to the probable lockout.

 

Glen Murray, F, 31, $3.85 million: Has scored over 30 goals in three consecutive seasons with Boston, one of the league's top power forwards. Again, lots of exploratory phone calls from GMs but nothing concrete.

 

``There's certainly nothing imminent,'' Murray's agent Anton Thun said Monday from Mississauga, Ont. ``Teams are communicating on a constant basis, but sometimes it's just to stay in touch.

 

``What ends up happening is that you'll get an informal conversation with a GM where they throw out numbers that they know you're not looking at anyway - it's sort of like: `Let me see if I can low-ball them, to see if I can hook this player and get him interested.' But there's been no real formal offer.''

 

Mathieu Schneider, D, 35, $3.75 million: This guy doesn't get enough credit for the kind of season he had with Detroit last year: 46 points (14-32) and a plus-22 rating in 78 games, stepping up big time when Derian Hatcher went down. He's likely out of Detroit.

 

Alexei Zhamnov, F, 33, $4.5 million: Played well after joining Philadelphia for the stretch last season, putting up 18 points (5-13) in 20 games. Flyers GM Bob Clarke has made a multi-year offer to bring him back but so far agent Jay Grossman is looking for more.

 

Jason Allison, F, 29, $8 million: Missed all of last season with a serious whiplash injury that produced concussion-like symptoms. Still, this is the same player that was second in NHL scoring with 95 points just four seasons ago. There's been significant interest but Allison doesn't want to commit to a team until he feels fit.

 

``He fully intends to come back and play but he wants to do it at 100 per cent and he's not going to do it unless he can dominate the way he did,'' Allison's agent Bryant McBride said Monday from Boston.

 

``He's been symptom-free since March and has begun light workouts under doctor's supervision and hasn't had contact yet.''

 

Either way, Allison knows he's headed for pay cut and a deal that will include a games played provision.

 

``It'll be a lower base then what he had, and as his performance goes, so will his compensation,'' said McBride. ``The club will take some risk and he will take some risk. He knows he has to prove himself again.''

 

Michael Nylander, F, 31, $2.675 million: One of the league's most underrated players, he's averaged 0.75 point a game over the last five seasons.

 

``A well-liked player with a lot of interest,'' his agent Paul Theofanous said Monday from New York.

 

Even the Boston Bruins, who have let go most of their unrestricted free agents, are trying to reel him back in.

 

``They've made an effort, and he really liked his time there,'' Theofanous said.

 

Paul Kariya, F, 29, $1.2 million: Coming off a career-low 36 points in 51 games with Colorado last season, and getting snubbed by Team Canada for the World Cup, the silky-smooth skater needs a team to believe he can bounce back.

 

Petr Nedved, F, 32, $4.75 million: After floundering with the Rangers last season, Nedved stepped it up a notch with Edmonton, putting up 15 points (5-10) in 16 games and looking dangerous on the fast-skating Oilers. He's a good fit in the Alberta capital but can the Oilers afford him?

 

Alexei Zhitnik, D, 31, $3.75 million: Hard-hitting two-way defenceman can step in and play on top pair for any team in the league. But he won't come cheaply.

 

``There's a few teams who can and should use Alexei Zhitnik,'' agent Mark Gandler said Monday from New York. ``I think in his price range, I would say there's five or six teams who are willing to pay for that kind of player.''

 

Having said that, Gandler says Buffalo remains in the mix to re-sign him.

 

Kevin Weekes, G, 29, $2.35 million: Posted a career-best 2.33 GAA in 66 games last season for struggling Carolina, proving he's capable of being a dependable No. 1 netminder.

 

``We're considering offers from three different teams,'' Theofanous, also his agent, said Monday. ``We're just trying to get the chance for Kevin to show again who he is.''

 

Vladimir Malakhov, D, 35, $3.5 million: Another player who had a big impact after changing teams last season, Clarke calling him the Flyers' top defenceman in the playoffs.

 

``We've got offers, and they're not going anywhere,'' said Theofanous, also Malakhov's agent. ``We're just going to pick our spot. He's a family guy and I think he'd rather stay in the Eastern Conference.''

 

Eric Lindros, F, 31, $3.3 million: The oft-injured Lindros remains a tantalizing player. Truth be told, he was the best player on the Rangers last season before suffering his eighth career concussion Jan. 28 and missing the rest of the season. That link to Toronto just won't go away ...

 

Brendan Shanahan, F, 35, $6.5 million: Veteran power winger is close to re-signing with Detroit.

 

Brett Hull, F, 39, $5 million: He won't be back with Detroit but definitely wants to keep playing, his 741 career goals placing him 60 behind Gordie Howe for second all-time.

 

Peter Bondra, F, 36, $4.5 million: Veteran scorer had 14 points (5-9) in 23 regular-season games after joining Ottawa but didn't record a point in seven playoff games.

 

``We continue to have conversations with teams but, like everyone, things are pretty slow right now,'' agent Ritch Winter said Monday from Edmonton.

 

Anson Carter, F, 30, $2.8 million: Canada's world championship hero from 2003 had a season to forget, collecting a career-low 28 points in 77 games with Washington, N.Y. Rangers and Los Angeles.

 

Adam Deadmarsh, F, 29, $3 million: Missed all of last season with post-concussion syndrome.

 

Jozef Stumpel, F, 32, $2.85 million: Limited to 37 points (8-29) in 64 games with Los Angeles last season.

 

Not included in this list is 39-year-old Steve Yzerman. The future Hall of Famer isn't sure if he'll come back for another season, but if he does, it'll be in Detroit.

[Guest Rrrsh]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=91483

 

The Canucks are trying to decide what they're going to do when it comes to arbitration, as Brendan Morrison and Dan "Collapse" Cloutier are both up.

 

I'd let Cloutier go and take my chances with Alex Auld, as he was better than Cloutier in the playoffs.

Auld did Goog/Decent, but wasnt great and gave up "inexpericned goals" when it counted. Cloutier and Broduer are teh only Goalies to win 30 games the last 3 straight years. He is good enough to give him a chance next year when he is healthy.

[the max 0]

But he folds under pressure consistantly.

 

Seriously, does he have pictures of someone high up in the organization? I can't think of many other players given the chances he's gotten to really make himself an impact player in the league, and he consistantly fails to do so.

[Guest Rrrsh]

Other than the Cenetr Ice goal, ur arguement is a legaue wide myth. In 2003, our team defence and coverage blew the games in the playoffs. We had (and still have) a soft Defence and Offencive players who chase the puck like Pee Wee players. And this year he played great in the Playoffs before hurting himself on shitty Ice.

[LaParkaMarka 0]

He actually did play pretty well until the injury. I still think Cloutier is the weak link on the team, though...a goalie like Luongo in net and the Canucks would have won the cup. Cloutier plays well, but he is always good for one soft goal, and he rarely steals a game for Vancouver. Plus, those 30 wins were more due to the Canucks offense than because of excellent goaltending. Adequate isn't good enough for a Cup run, and unfortunately Clouts falls in the adequate/good-enough range of goalies.

[Guest Olympic Slam]

Other than the Cenetr Ice goal, ur arguement is a legaue wide myth. In 2003, our team defence and coverage blew the games in the playoffs. We had (and still have) a soft Defence and Offencive players who chase the puck like Pee Wee players. And this year he played great in the Playoffs before hurting himself on shitty Ice.

After years of research, I have come to the conclusion that both Dan Cloutier and Chris Osgood will never get the respect they deserve for one simple reason: The old fashioned wire goalie masks they choose to wear.

 

Fans, pundits and commentators always jump all over those two guys because they don't wear a fancy mask or wear fancy equipment that says "look at me, I'm great." This is all purely psychological my friends. If Cloutier dumped the Glenn Healy look and instead got a shiny looking mask with a killer whale or something scary on it, he'd suddenly become a Vezina candidate in the eyes of many. When did John Vanbiesbrouk and Mike Richter become legit starts in the eyes of many? When they dumped their wire Cooper masks and replaced them with the Statue of Liberty and a scary ass panther.

 

There is a definite stigma attached to this wire style mask. Not too long ago, a goalie who wore just a blank mask or Cloutier's wire Cooper mask was one thing in the eyes of players and fans: fresh meat! That look was the look of someone who was either just called up from the minors or was destined to stay in the minors. Back then, only regular NHL goalies or on some teams, only the #1 goalie wore a fancy painted mask. Today though, just about every goalie in every pro-leauge and college has a custom mask. Heck, there are guys in my in-line hockey leauge that have masks that would have blown away the NHL designs about 12 years ago. The days of calling up the third-string goalie with the blank mask are long gone. Most guys in the minors already have an NHL mask made ready when they get called up. Fans and pundits today see Osgood and Cloutier as "damaged goods" because they carry around the stigma of not looking like stars.

 

Osgood and Cloutier don't have interesting enough styles in their play to set them apart from the flashier owners of strange masks in Hasek and Irbe. As a result, they get picked on for even the slightest screw ups. Chris and Dan need image makeovers so they can get the respect they deserve. Maybe Kelly Hrudey can help them out?

[the max 0]

Or Dominik Hasek.