OK, here we go with the next part of the story:
We just drafted and we were getting ready for the free agency and planning next season.
With Joe Thornton going to Calgary (he signed a 2 year 6,25 Million $/year contract....thing who made me a bit mad, because I offered him 3 years for 6,75 Mill.$ /year....grrrr!!!....anyway, It was time to move on without JumboJoe!!!
My goals were to establish ourselves at the top of the Eastern Conference, so I wanted to reinforce my defence and I had to sign a good Center and some more core players on the wing.
I waived Jere Lehtinen because he wasnt playing the way I wanted to and he was claimed by the NY Islanders.
Then I had to sign the prospects from the 06 draft who were worth it. I signed LW Vladislav Kostyukhin, LW Matt Beleskey, RW/C Anton Skorykh, C John Hughes, D Tysen Dowzak and D Paul Kurceba. I also signed LW Petr Kalus (who was drafted before I arrived) and LW Kael Mouillierat, a very promising player who was drafted in the second round by the Flyers in the 06 draft, but they didnt wanted to sign him and dropped him to free agency....and right into my arms, LOL!!!
Then I looked for some good and established players in the free agency and signed the following:
C: Chris Drury (he was the natural replacement for Joe.....)
LW: Ryan Malone
C/RW: Mike Fisher (ex-Senators)
C: Shawn Horcoff
RW: Brian Gionta
Then I realised that I had "overbooking" at LW and I still was looking for some depth at D and the goal, so I made a trade with the Sabres:
Boston gave up: LW: Marco Sturm
Buffalo gave up: RW Chris Thorburn, G: Jim Watt and D: AJ Thelen
I was very excited with my new team. I thought I had found a good mix between young and veteran players and the lines at the beginning of the season were looking like this:
CHISTOV - DRURY - BERGERON
MALONE - LEGWAND - BOCHENSKI
KOSTYUKHIN - SCHREMP - FISHER
VERMETTE - BOYES - GIONTA
KUBA - BOYNTON
ALBERTS - YORK
STUART - SUCHY
RAYCROFT - TOIVONEN
Preseason was next and I played mostly with my prospects. We won all games and the prospects were really looking excellent. Special mention for Kostyukhin who scored 7 goals and had 9 assists in 8 games.
Anyway, I sent C John Hughes and RW Anton Skorykh to Victoria in the ECHL and C Wacey Rabbit and LW Petr Kalus to Columbia, also in the ECHL. The rest remained with the Providence Bruins in the AHL. LW Kostyukhin remained with the Bruins in the NHL.
The regular season began and the first losses came quick!!! For the first time in my career we started the season with more losses than wins and after 20 games I started to get nervous!!!
As I mentioned in another post, Chris Drury was absolutely awful...with only 4 assists in the firsts 18 games, so I tried to trade him away, but nobody wanted him!!! Not even for a seventh round draft pick!!!
RW Brian Gionta was also playing not good at all and he became the first trade:
Boston shipped out RW: Brian Gionta
Chicago gave up the fourth round draft pick in the next draft
Chris Drury finally was placed in waivers....and San Jose, who also were struggling, claimed him.
....and talking about waivers: by this point Calgary put D: Dion Phaneuf and the NYRangers put RW: Hugh Jessiman (Jessiman won the offensive player of the month award just two days earlier!!!!) on waivers!!!! I claimed for both, but finally Phaneuf went to San Jose and Jessiman to the Maple Leafs.
Anyway....I was happy that I spared some caproom for my mayor plan: C: Jason Spezza!!!
He was still available in the free agency one month after the beginning of the season....so I made him an offer and he signed with me....2 years for 3,2 Millions/year with a Team Option Clause.
Finally I had a real replacement for Joe Thornton.
The end of the year was coming and we were probably the most unlucky team in the NHL....we still were above 50% in wins, but we were first in the league in overtime losses and we also were on top in games losing by one goal!!! Despite all of that we still were aiming for a playoff spot....but I felt we had to do something!!
Spezza was playing well, averaging one point per game, but the biggest surprise was LW Vladislav Kostyukhin, who was the leading scorer of my team, and by far the best rookie of the NHL!!! He played now in the second line, placing the dissapointed game of Ryan Malone to the third...or even fourth line.
With Gionta gone and RW Colby Armstrong not playing the way he did the season before I needes more depth in the Right Wing so following trade was ahead:
Boston sent: C: Vladimir Sobotka (a formerly signed prospect) to
Toronto for RW: Roman Kukumberg
Ryan Malone continued his poor performance, but he got a big trade value, so I decided to trade him.
Boston sent away: LW: Ryan Malone to
Anaheim LW: Travis Moen (a young prospect) and their second round draft pick.
We still struggled more or less and I still was looking for more depth in defense. Since he got claimed by the Sharks, I tried to trade for D: Dion Phaneuf, but the Sharks were asking too much for him....but then, at the beginning of the year the Tampa Bay Lightning made me an inquiry for D: Radoslav Suchy.
Boston: Radoslav Suchy to
Tampa Bay in return: their first round draft pick.
Now I could made an offer to the Sharks that they couldnt reject:
Boston would ship out: D: Filip Kuba and a first round draft pick (TB), for
San Jose D: Dion Phaneuf
So I finally got Phaneuf in my team!!!
With the trades I also saved a lot of caproom....so I could do my next move: sign the other starplayer still available in free agency.....Dany Heatley!!!!
He agreed to sign with me for 6,4 millions for the next two years and a Team Option clause.
...and also my defense was set up with Phaneuf and AJ Thelen and Tysen Dowzak did an excellent job when I decided to play them with the Bruins: Thelen was a part of the core since the beginning. Dowzak played since the Suchy trade.
My team was set up for the playoff push:
CHISTOV - SPEZZA - BERGERON
KOSTYUKHIN - LEGWAND - BOCHENSKI
HEATLEY - SCHREMP - KUKUMBERG
VERMETTE - FISHER - ARMSTRONG
also receiving playing time: C: Brad Boyes, C/LW: Shawn Horcoff and RW: Jason Pominville (I obtained him from the Sabres, sending RW Chris Thornburn in return)
PHANEUF - BOYNTON
THELEN - DOWZAK
STUART - YORK
also playing: D: Andrew Alberts
RAYCROFT - TOIVONEN
With this team I was hoping to climb for a playoff spot. Lucky everything was very close togheter and all the teams were close in points.
...................
If I have reached it....in the next episode
](./images/smilies/wallbash.gif "Brick wall"){kind=small}
because there was a swiss prospect, his name is Julien Andermatten, who is from the same little town where I lived all my life, until moving to Spain: Effretikon.
