Official NHL 2012 Off-Season & Lockout Thread

[philou21]

Wasn't expecting that. Good deal except for Van Riemsdyk who is stuck with the Leafs now.

[bruins72]

Malcom Subban to Boston! hahah Wasn't expecting this one at all. It seems that Rask isn't Boston starting goalie for a long time.

If Boston lets him develop properly he won't start a game for them for at least 5 years. One to two more years at Belleville and at least two years in the AHL. Tuuka Rask is a 2005 draft pick and although he played 45 games in 2009-10 he hasn't taken on the role as a full time starter yet. Obviously he will this year with Thomas taking the season off, but you get my point.

That's exactly right, Tim. Thomas has played his last game in a Boston uniform and the Bruins are just restocking their system. Tukka will be their starter moving forward and even if Subban is ready in 3 or 4 years, we've already seen that having 2 top notch goalies on a team isn't a bad thing. Tukka and Timmy seemed to make it work.

[batdad]

Penguins were amazing. To move Staal to Carolina so quickly and get exactly what they wanted and needed back for him ...outstanding.

Steal of the draft may be the Montreal Canadians getting Dalton Thrower in the 2nd round. This kid is one hell of a hockey player. And will only get better and better.

Seeing former Bantam Hollyburn teammates Griffin Reinhart and Morgan Reilly go back to back...totally awesome.

Alex Kerfoot also played a ton of hockey with those two at HOllyburn. Great pick by New Jersey. Kid is offensively talented and when he grows a bit more going to be a heck of a player.

And the New York ISlanders drafted 7 defensemen. So interesting that team. And this makes it even more interesting. They were basically willing to trade all 7 of those guys including Reinhart for ONE dman. I had no idea Ryan Murray was that good.

and Buffalo...GREAT JOB at the draft. Two big C men in the first round. Well done. And to have Calgary pick that kid totally off the charts. Wonder if the Flames scouts are really that good.

Subban in Boston is awesome.

Tom WIlson--great pick by Washington. He and Filip Forsberg. Great stuff. Wilson could easily be the next coming of LOOCH. I love that kid as a player.

Brandon GAunce--also going to be a decent 3rd line (maybe 2nd line) Power forward.

And Chicago drafts the Finnish Patty Kane....hopefully he drinks less than the American Patty Kane, and the Finnish Tasku.

All in all a decent draft for many of the teams and what they need.

The JVR trade is just the beginning for Toronto. In many ways...JVR in Philly was in the same boat as Staal in Pitt....just not able to get the ice time he deserves and needs. And in Toronto he will get it, and will prove to be a real good 2nd line guy.

I hate that the Laffs got better. Morgan Reilly is a great great skater and playmaker. Kid is going to make that PP in Toronto outstanding in a couple years. Hate that. Great shot too. Also hate it because i love Morgan Reilly as a player...and Toronto always screws up their picks. Ahem....Luke Schenn.

[philou21]

Steal of the draft may be the Montreal Canadians getting Dalton Thrower in the 2nd round. This kid is one hell of a hockey player. And will only get better and better.

Barely hear about this guy, good for MTL but they can destroy is development too!

And the New York ISlanders drafted 7 defensemen. So interesting that team. And this makes it even more interesting. They were basically willing to trade all 7 of those guys including Reinhart for ONE dman. I had no idea Ryan Murray was that good.

Wow.....That's got to be the joke of the year, what a bunch of losers this team is, both on the ice and upstairs.

[bruins72]

Steal of the draft may be the Montreal Canadians getting Dalton Thrower in the 2nd round. This kid is one hell of a hockey player. And will only get better and better.

Pre-draft, I was reading the Bruins board at HF and there were some people who thought highly of him there. Some expected them to take him with their first round pick. Others thought that may have been a reach.

[Loosie]

The JVR trade is just the beginning for Toronto. In many ways...JVR in Philly was in the same boat as Staal in Pitt....just not able to get the ice time he deserves and needs. And in Toronto he will get it, and will prove to be a real good 2nd line guy.

I hate that the Laffs got better. Morgan Reilly is a great great skater and playmaker. Kid is going to make that PP in Toronto outstanding in a couple years. Hate that. Great shot too. Also hate it because i love Morgan Reilly as a player...and Toronto always screws up their picks. Ahem....Luke Schenn.

This excites me. I don't think we're going to miss Schenn, Holzer has pretty much been described as 'NHL-Ready' all season long last year, and also if the Leafs do sign Gardiner's buddy Justin Schultz, that means that Reilly would have to blow away everyone in order to make the team. I see the Leafs signing Reily to an ELC but sending him back to Moose Jaw for a hopfully complete and injury free season.

I can't wait to see what JVR can do, some people are asking for the Leafs to move him back to centre and have a 1st line of Lupul-JVR-Kessel, but I think they need to keep him as a winger and slot him into the 2nd line.

Still some areas the Leafs need to work on, goaltending and no 1 centre, but they made some good moves and had a good draft too. I'm surprised that Bruke was actually abel to unload Gustavsson for a 7th (albeit conditional) with him being a UFA in a week. It's not like he's a hot property goalie, but I guess with the threat of Pavelic runnign the KHL the Jets wanted some insurance.

[batdad]

Steal of the draft may be the Montreal Canadians getting Dalton Thrower in the 2nd round. This kid is one hell of a hockey player. And will only get better and better.

Pre-draft, I was reading the Bruins board at HF and there were some people who thought highly of him there. Some expected them to take him with their first round pick. Others thought that may have been a reach.

Yes...that is the deal with Dalton...he is either a boom or bust. Size is just average, good but not great skater, good with puck. He has been in and out in his career with the Blades. But he has a massive heart, and this kid will work to get better, better and better. He could be a real dynamic player....physically and offensively...or he could turn out to be a career AHL guy. To me, there is no in between for him. He is a stud or a dud. He is one aggressive dude too. Will take on all comers...could care less if they were 5'3 120 or 6'10 290.

[philou21]

Pavelec signed a five years deal. If Gustavsson can be good they will have a great duo!

[Manimal]

Pavelec signed a five years deal. If Gustavsson can be good they will have a great duo!

IF they sign Gustavsson. He'll be an UFA on July the 1st

[Loosie]

Sakic, Oates, Bure and Sundin are the HHOF inductees this year.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=399298

Sundin and Sakic are in on thier first try, for Bure and Oates its something like 7th and 6th try.

[bruins72]

And Oates was also named head coach of the Washington Caps today. I always liked Oates.

[timmy_t]

And Oates was also named head coach of the Washington Caps today. I always liked Oates.

[philou21]

Oates as the head-coach might be a good choice, we'll see about that. Ovy was happy to have an offensive coach back. As for Sakic, I'm so happy for him, he fully deserves to enter at his first year!

[Manimal]

The salary cap goes up next year to $70.2 million and the floor will be at 54.2 million.

When they introduced the cap it was at 39 million, IIRC.

Some teams are gonna have big difficulties with getting up to the floor and this is a big question in the CBA talks

[archibalduk]

Urgh we don't need a third lock-out. Is there any news on the likelihood of a smooth renewal of the CBA this September?

[philou21]

Ahhh my god this is so stupid. I almost wish a lock-out that could mean the end of Buttman and start from new. Not gonna happen though....

[Primis]

RE: the draft. Red Wings fans like myself don't really even pay attention anymore. We know the guys who we'll eventually see will be 3 or 4 years down the road, and mid-to-late rounders usually. And DET usually trades their Firsts away anyways.

As far as the teams getting up to the floor.. boo-hoo cry me a river. It's pro sports and a multi-billion-dollar business, it's not the Special Olympics or something. I'm so sick of 25 of the 30 NHL teams crying "POOR!" even though they sell out 41 games a year and they go out and sign Dennis Wideman to a $5m/yr cap hit. Yes, I'm *SURE* the Blackhawks are losing money hand over fist like they report (if they really are, Chicago would have to have the worst fans in the sports universe).

[philou21]

Quick sign a 10 years deal worth 50 millions and Crosby signed a 12 years deal worth something like 104 millions.

[batdad]

The new Salary cap and floor are only in place for the off Season. When the new CBA is negotiated it is likely to change, and may in fact decrease for cap and floor. At least this is what the owners want. This cap is based on 57% of revenues going to players. NHL wants that to drop to anywhere between 45-50%, like NBA and NFL. This is the reason there may be labour problems, as NHLPA will not accept that big a drop in their piece of the pie.

I am betting they settle around 53-54% once all is said and done.

And even that will result in the cap that is set right now (and the floor) changing when the new CBA comes into play.

So...teams can spend to the 70.2 and even 10% over that right now, but come time to get back on the ice....they could be facing serious problems should their not be some kind of "out clause" for the teams to buy a player or two out at no penalty (like their was last time). My understanding here....is that the NHLPA wants no out clause (amnesty) obviously...and even some owners do not want to see an amnesty ...to punish some of their more free spending partners.

The cap and floor are set based on the 57% revenue mark, and it will go down. To top that....the way "REVENUES" are calculated--ie what is part of a club's revenue and what is not....will be negotiated as well...so even if it stays at 57%...the 100% (What counts as revenue) could change. IE...some want to see parking included, some do not....etc etc

[Loosie]

Urgh we don't need a third lock-out. Is there any news on the likelihood of a smooth renewal of the CBA this September?

Not really 'smooth renewal' news, but Fehr did state that the players are willing to play through the negtiations if there is not a new CBA in place.

[batdad]

Of course the players are "willing to play through". They won't get paid if they don't. Very nice of them to do that for the league. I am so shocked, and so thankful they are willing to do the owners and league such a big favor, not to mention the fans. . Sorry...but that comment does not put me anywhere near being on the players side of this.

And especially since the playing through would be under the old contract...the one with them getting more of the revenues than is likely to be set in the new deal.

I am not anti player in this...but that comment from Fehr is just union garbage. Just like the stuff that Bettman will say is owner garbage.

However...there are 30 teams, and 10 of them cannot keep up with the big boys, and 10 make decisions to keep costs down so they can make a profit. Teams like Florida, Phoenix, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Anaheim, Columbus,,NY Islanders, Winterpeg, Buffalo will not financially be able to keep up at the rate salaries are going without MEANINGFUL REVENUE SHARING...like by that I mean all team reveunes go into a big pot and are split evenly between the 30 member clubs.

then there are 11 teams like St Louis, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Nashville, Dallas, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Minnesota,--have to be careful with their $, or choose to be careful. Pens are on top now...but they could easily slide again once Sid and Malkin are gone.

Then you have the big $ teams 9 that will do whatever they want--Vancouver, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, Chicago, Toronto, Detoilet, and to a lesser extent Boston, and Washington that will just SPEND SPEND SPEND to win because they have $$$ coming out of their ears. Of these top 9...Washington and Detoilet have fan bases that could drop off just like that if not success...same for the Hawks (and Canucks).

So....there is no way in hell this league can survive at this huge cap and floor long term without ABSOLUTE REVENUE SHARING. But no way in hell...do the top level teams agree to do it. So...we have a problem that Buttman must fix....we have to make sure that these weaker sister teams get some help...the only way to do that is to try and decrease the amount of revenues..which means have to

1. Decrease the percentage players get.
2. Decrease the size of the pie--IE get rid of some of the things that count as revenues, making the pie smaller.

[philou21]

Schneider liekly signed a contract with VCR. Gillis said there's more news to come....Luongo out maybe? With the news of the raise of the space cap, some team will likely gain interest in him maybe.

[timmy_t]

Of course the players are "willing to play through". They won't get paid if they don't. Very nice of them to do that for the league. I am so shocked, and so thankful they are willing to do the owners and league such a big favor, not to mention the fans. . Sorry...but that comment does not put me anywhere near being on the players side of this.

And especially since the playing through would be under the old contract...the one with them getting more of the revenues than is likely to be set in the new deal.

I am not anti player in this...but that comment from Fehr is just union garbage. Just like the stuff that Bettman will say is owner garbage.

However...there are 30 teams, and 10 of them cannot keep up with the big boys, and 10 make decisions to keep costs down so they can make a profit. Teams like Florida, Phoenix, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Anaheim, Columbus,,NY Islanders, Winterpeg, Buffalo will not financially be able to keep up at the rate salaries are going without MEANINGFUL REVENUE SHARING...like by that I mean all team reveunes go into a big pot and are split evenly between the 30 member clubs.

then there are 11 teams like St Louis, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Ottawa, Nashville, Dallas, Colorado, Pittsburgh, Minnesota,--have to be careful with their $, or choose to be careful. Pens are on top now...but they could easily slide again once Sid and Malkin are gone.

Then you have the big $ teams 9 that will do whatever they want--Vancouver, Philadelphia, NY Rangers, Chicago, Toronto, Detoilet, and to a lesser extent Boston, and Washington that will just SPEND SPEND SPEND to win because they have $$$ coming out of their ears. Of these top 9...Washington and Detoilet have fan bases that could drop off just like that if not success...same for the Hawks (and Canucks).

So....there is no way in hell this league can survive at this huge cap and floor long term without ABSOLUTE REVENUE SHARING. But no way in hell...do the top level teams agree to do it. So...we have a problem that Buttman must fix....we have to make sure that these weaker sister teams get some help...the only way to do that is to try and decrease the amount of revenues..which means have to

1. Decrease the percentage players get.
2. Decrease the size of the pie--IE get rid of some of the things that count as revenues, making the pie smaller.

Good points Batdad. I totally agree with you about revenue sharing, and that the big dollar teams won't want to share with anyone else. It's not like European Football where they seem to have endless money coming in. This is the 4th most popular sport for the 23 U.S. based teams, and the fan's dollars are getting stretched thinner and thinner every year (with all of the sports in their respective towns). Now I understand that some of the teams/towns are great hockey towns and have great fans. But most cities are multi-sport, ie football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Some even have soccer now. How does a lowly fan spend that money? On the team(s) that are winning. And, if my hockey team is losing because the owner can't/won't spend money on the team to make it competitive, I'll just go to a football or basketball game.

Revenue sharing would be a great solution to the problem, but it would probably get watered down and the big dollar teams would only have to contribute a set dollar amount. Or they could lie about how much money they make (like your second point at the end there)

Also, just because the players would play doesn't mean that the owners can't lock them out again. And they may do just that...

[Loosie]

So have you ever imagined ACTUALLY seeing Brodeur in a NHL jersey other then the Devils? It might happen: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=399513

[philou21]

I was surprised too but I think it would be a stupid idea by him. He better finish his career with the Devils instead of just going 1 season with another team and haf the worst season of his career. Because I'm sure that's what gonna happen to him, he don't need to make a Kolzig of himself.