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NHL Off-Season thread:Down goes Kane! (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter tom22406
- Start date
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
chet
Footballguy
this guy hasn't played since January 2010. just because they traded his contract to the Panthers doesn't mean he has to move to Miami.
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
How's his absence going to hurt the Panthers if he doesn't live there?
Statcruncher
Footballguy
Talk about living the dream. Get pulled off a cellar dweller, lock up the house and rent a townhouse in Chicago for 5 months, get your name etched on the Cup, then head back to your waiting home and teammates with a new contract.Aaron Rudnicki said:
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tom22406
Footballguy
One last kick in the ### for Kessel from the Toronto media
Leafs were sick and tired of Phil Kessel
By Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun
The hot dog vendor who parks daily at Front and John Sts. just lost his most reliable customer.
Almost every afternoon at 2:30 p.m., often wearing a toque, Phil Kessel would wander from his neighbourhood condominium to consume his daily snack.
And now he’s gone. Just like that. The Maple Leafs could no longer stomach having Kessel around, the first player to be both punished and rewarded for the saddest Leafs season in history. The Leafs held their breath, plugged their noses, and ostensibly gave Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins because they couldn’t stand having him around anymore.
Really, this was as much about illness and insomnia as anything else: The Leafs were sick and tired of Kessel.
Sick of his act. Tired of his lack of responsibility. Unwilling to begin any reset or rebuild with their highest-paid, most talented, least-dedicated player. He didn’t eat right, train right, play right. This had to happen for Brendan Shanahan to begin his rebuilding of the Leafs. Separation between the Leafs and Kessel became necessary when it grew more and more apparent with time that everything Shanahan values was upended by Kessel’s singular, laissez-faire, flippant, mostly uncoachable ways.
It doesn’t matter that the Leafs didn’t get much for Kessel. It doesn’t matter that the players they received for Kessel are probably named “if” and “but,” and the draft picks won’t translate into anything before 2019. None of that matters as coach Mike Babcock begins his new era of hope in September.
What matters is that Kessel is gone. That who he is, what he represents, what he isn’t, had to be removed from the ice, from the dressing room, from the road, from the restaurants — from everywhere. They couldn’t have him around anymore and be honest about the direction they intend to pursue. Everything they believe in for the future is almost everything Kessel has proven to be lacking in.
A Leafs front-office voice recently spoke about the two largest influences on any player. One comes from the coach. The other comes from the player who sits beside you on the bench. Those are the voices you hear most often.
For Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk, that voice belonged to Kessel.
If the voice is negative, critical, disruptive, condescending of players, critical of coaches, critical of fans, then that impacts more than just the player doing the talking. It poisons the environment. It brings players down. It cuts into their effectiveness. It establishes the kind of mood no team wants.
The right kind of leadership can make a team greater.
The wrong kind can destroy it.
The second-half Leafs were the most destroyed team in Toronto history. The flag carrier of despair was Kessel. He played like he didn’t care, insulted the jersey, the paying public, the people watching at home, the interim coaching staff. He wasn’t alone.
But he was the only one making $8 million a year. He was the only one truly entrusted to make an offensive difference. He was the only one who seemed to take people down with him.
When Dave Nonis was fired, when the Leafs scouting staff was fired, when the coaches were fired, it finally turned to the players. Kessel was the first to go. He won’t be the last. But sending him packing first was necessary. The message was necessary. The tone was necessary. This won’t be tolerated any longer.
Even if this is a Vince Carter-type of trade — the kind that may bring next to nothing in return. Carter quit on the Raptors. In a different kind of way, Kessel quit on the Leafs before they quit on him.
Kasperi Kapanen is a Leaf now. His stock has been dropping since Pittsburgh used a first-round pick to select him. Some people consider him a future third-liner, if he has a future in the NHL at all.
Scott Harrington is a Leaf now. He played four years for Mark Hunter’s London Knights. When they couldn’t come away with one of the Penguins’ better defensive prospects, they settled on the competitive Harrington. He is an AHL skater, scouts tell me. Maybe he’ll play in the NHL. Maybe not.
The best part of the deal is the lottery-protected first-round pick for next June’s draft. It’s nice to have that kind of pick going forward. But expect a choice between 20 and 30. That’s a long shot. Maybe three years away. Maybe more.
And you have to figure Kessel is good to score 40 goals or more playing alongside either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. And, still, this is a deal the Leafs had to make. A deal that was necessary.
They had to move Kessel out. They had to have him off the roster by the time Babcock begins training camp in September. You can’t have him half-assing skating drills with a team trying to learn how to work. You can’t have him being first off the ice with a team pushing to reach Babcock’s lofty goals. When you have an illness, you must get rid of the poison.
The Leafs did that on Wednesday. They treated their own infection — the Penguins playing the part of antibiotic. It doesn’t matter what they got for Kessel. What matters is he’s gone.
http://www.torontosun.com/2015/07/01/leafs-were-sick-and-tired-of-kessel
pretty weird math since they traded away 4 players, not 3Dickie Dunn said:
Northern Voice
Footballguy
His biggest flaws were bad posture, being a bad interview and being the best player on a bad team, so it's pretty appropriate. Sure he was a disaster defensively, but what he contributed offensively outweighed that by far. This trade, and Toronto taking a bath on it were inevitable but it has little to do with him as a hockey player. I hate Leafs fans so much, I care less and less about this team. I've always gravitated more to junior hockey and that will just continue with this move.
Northern Voice
Footballguy
This article written by Rich Clune for the Players Tribune is excellent. Goes even deeper than the ESPN one he did a couple years back.
The_Man
Footballguy
Very, very happy about the Williams signing, though I agree it means the end of Ward in Washington. I appreciate the hell out of how he played and I think he brought some real professionalism to the team.tom22406 said:
Hockey Stats Guys are super excited about Williams' ability to possess the puck, and how that might benefit MoJo and Kuznetsov if he joins the 2nd line as RW.
I'm excited about the low price tag. Should be able to do Holtby and a couple other restricted free agents and still have $3M or so left over.
Northern Voice
Footballguy
Savard has lived here in Peterborough for the past several years.Aaron Rudnicki said:
this guy hasn't played since January 2010. just because they traded his contract to the Panthers doesn't mean he has to move to Miami.
Franknbeans
Footballguy
does this mean that he thinks Peterborough is the greatest sporting city in the world?Savard has lived here in Peterborough for the past several years.Aaron Rudnicki said:
this guy hasn't played since January 2010. just because they traded his contract to the Panthers doesn't mean he has to move to Miami.
well, he tied Duncan Keith and Shea Weber in points this year.chet said:So is he not a 3rd pairing D?Aaron Rudnicki said:2-time runner up for the Norris.chet said:
you can shelter him as a 3rd pairing guy during 5v5 play with easier matchups and give him more offensive zone faceoffs, but I think teams are willing to pay extra for his work on the power play. he'll probably do ok in Detroit on the 2nd pairing with DeKeyser.
I wouldn't give him that money, but I think he's a more useful player than a typical #5/#6 dman.
chet
Footballguy
I agree which is why I was surprised to hear Sportsnet continually refer to him as 5/6 yesterday.well, he tied Duncan Keith and Shea Weber in points this year.chet said:So is he not a 3rd pairing D?Aaron Rudnicki said:2-time runner up for the Norris.chet said:
you can shelter him as a 3rd pairing guy during 5v5 play with easier matchups and give him more offensive zone faceoffs, but I think teams are willing to pay extra for his work on the power play. he'll probably do ok in Detroit on the 2nd pairing with DeKeyser.
I wouldn't give him that money, but I think he's a more useful player than a typical #5/#6 dman.
tom22406
Footballguy
It was only last season that he ever was asked to play that role for the Caps and I agree with Rud here in keeping Green away from the top competition is where he needs to be and 2nd pairing should be just fine.What he delivers in offense and the PP is why he got paid.I agree which is why I was surprised to hear Sportsnet continually refer to him as 5/6 yesterday.well, he tied Duncan Keith and Shea Weber in points this year.chet said:So is he not a 3rd pairing D?Aaron Rudnicki said:2-time runner up for the Norris.chet said:
you can shelter him as a 3rd pairing guy during 5v5 play with easier matchups and give him more offensive zone faceoffs, but I think teams are willing to pay extra for his work on the power play. he'll probably do ok in Detroit on the 2nd pairing with DeKeyser.
I wouldn't give him that money, but I think he's a more useful player than a typical #5/#6 dman.
If he can stay healthy he will put up really nice numbers given the talent the Wings have.
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
Marty St Louis retiring. Should get into the HOF without too much trouble.
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
That's two teams and two cities now where essentially the same things have been said and written about Kessel. At some point do you point the finger at the player instead of everyone else?
But hey, he'll score at least 93 goals next season playing with Sid.
Oshie for Brouwer? Wow
Brouwer has 1 year left on his deal with a $3.67MM cap hit.
Oshie has 2 years left on his deal with a $4.175MM cap hit.
not a ton of savings for this year. and an AHL goalie and 3rd round pick doesn't seem all that great either for the long-term return unless they plan to re-sign Brouwer (which I assume they will try to do).
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chet
Footballguy
Seems like a great deal for Washington but everyone knows St Louis has (had) too many top 6 forwards.
chet
Footballguy
chet
Footballguy
Detroit: both
Winnipeg: both
SJ: both
St Louis: both
probably a 50/30 split at best for most of these teams. all seem like a toss up to me as to who will wind up with more starts.
chet
Footballguy
Mark Lazerus @MarkLazerus 6m
6 minutes ago
For a guy with 46 goals over the past two seasons, people sure are dismissing Troy Brouwer in this T.J. Oshie deal.
maybe this guy is the key to the deal?
Looks like he had a great year with Hershey.
17-4-3, 2.17, .925
Looks like he had a great year with Hershey.
17-4-3, 2.17, .925
Sabres scooped up another AHL Utica guy in Bobby Sanguinetti.
Billy Bats
Footballguy
Ahh that guy the Flyers badly wanted but the Rangers sniped in the '06 draft, leaving us with Claude Giroux. Yikes, thanks NY.
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Brady Marino
Footballguy
I know the Blues think Jordan Binnington (next in line at G) isn't NHL ready yet and wanted to shore up their goalie depth. Like what I read about Conley.Like Brouwer's game a lot. More importantly, he has a good rep as a teammate. Many think Oshie got a big head after the Olympics and was a bit broody in the locker room (he threw Hitchcock under the bus after the playoffs).
Oshie's time in STL was done. Hope he does well in Washington...red, white, and blue seems to suit him well.
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
No matter which goalie, or which team, it will be Elliott's or Allen's fault.Detroit: both
Winnipeg: both
SJ: both
St Louis: both
probably a 50/30 split at best for most of these teams. all seem like a toss up to me as to who will wind up with more starts.
Dickie Dunn
Footballguy
Anyone else get this email today? Essentially, the NHL is being ordered to open up GameCenter to individual team packages rather than just one single bulk package.
Will be interesting to see how this affects the NFL Sunday Ticket and DirecTV monopoly.
Will be interesting to see how this affects the NFL Sunday Ticket and DirecTV monopoly.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Chet is to hockey knowledge what Woz is to legal advice.
Doctor Detroit
Please remove your headgear
Burakowski down?Spelling wrong. I'm drunk.
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Hawks64
Footballguy
tom22406
Footballguy
Burakovsky also gives them the ability to shift things around so yes he is in the mix but having Williams and Oshie around now also gives him more time to learn the game.
I will assume Oshie gets top line duties first and see how that clicks,if it doesn't Trotz still has either Williams or Burakovsky to plug in.
tom22406
Footballguy
Hawks64
Footballguy
Maybe Oshie will save America.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Northern Voice
Footballguy
Also drink but do not make this guy play defence.
