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So yesterday was the official end of the 2014-2015 season. So we need a new thread.

Free Agency opened up today. Lot of big moves. Detroit made their splash signing Mike Green to a 3 year contract.

Blues signed Lehtera to a 3yr deal.

Waiting on when Taransenko will be signed.

Also, Blackhawks traded Saad to CBJ. Duuuude!?

Chicago had a lot of weight to shed. I think we're going to see some drastically different playing fields this year.

Preditions. Carolina and Edmonton are the the basement dwellers for their conferences.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
There is also word that Detroit is hammering out a deal with Brad Richards.

This is leading to the speculation that we'll be seeing a large trade taking place in the near future, since we are already full up on Centers and Defensemen, before the signings today.

Leafs have shipped Fill Kessel off to the Penguins, (along with Biggs and another player + a 2nd round 2016 pick), for a couple young prospects including Pit's 1st rounder from last year's draft + a 3rd round 2016 pick and a conditional 1st round pick...
Toronto is also eating up 15% of his salary as well, so they end up clearing roughly 6 mil in cap space for themselves all told.

Enjoy the Pillsberry Doughboy Penguin fans!

And Brad Richards is now a Red Wing. More free cap space for Chicago.

The Saad deal made sense, he wanted 6.5 per year for 5 years, the hawks had 7 mil in cap space. It made no sense, while saad is a good potentially great player he wasn't worth putting the hawks further into cap hell. Plus the players they got back filled needs especially 2nd line center and shooting wing.

Saad was not worth 6.5, his agent did him a disservice.

Yeah it sounds like there was little communication between him and his agent. The agent went hard for the money and while I can't blame him for that, getting your money, leaving a team with the potential for another few cups in the next 7 years or so? Especially when all he had to do was sign a bridge deal and he was going to get paid later.

I can actually say that Sweeney made some INCREDIBLE moves so far this off season for the Bruins. Trading Hamilton, Soderberg, Smith and Lucic away was a ballsy move but it looks like it may pay off. Right now the Bruins lack a good top 4 defenseman or two but otherwise the team is shaping up well.

And here's the lineup shakeup for the Blues.

Traded TJ Oshie to the Capital for Troy Brouwer, goaltender Phoenix Copley and a third-round pick in 2016. Pretty good haul for the Blues.

But, man... Oshie with Backstrom and Ovie!

Imma going to watch some east coast games next year.

Washington was already a threat, now its a legitimate contender. so long as holtby has a good season that is.

 whembly wrote:

Traded TJ Oshie to the Capital for Troy Brouwer, goaltender Phoenix Copley and a third-round pick in 2016. Pretty good haul for the Blues.

So the Blues are sticking with the "Skate fast, hit hard, and maybe score." mantra?

Oshie didn't fit in that concept, but Brouwer won't fix it either.

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:

Traded TJ Oshie to the Capital for Troy Brouwer, goaltender Phoenix Copley and a third-round pick in 2016. Pretty good haul for the Blues.

So the Blues are sticking with the "Skate fast, hit hard, and maybe score." mantra?

Oshie didn't fit in that concept, but Brouwer won't fix it either.

Brouwer isn't meant to replace Oshie...

It's meant to get Stastny some more top-line minutes.

The lines could be:
Steen-Lehtera-Tarasenko
Schwartz-Stastny-Fabbri
Jaskin-Backes-Brouwer
Berglund-Ott-Reeves

Experiment 626 wrote:
Leafs have shipped Fill Kessel off to the Penguins, (along with Biggs and another player + a 2nd round 2016 pick), for a couple young prospects including Pit's 1st rounder from last year's draft + a 3rd round 2016 pick and a conditional 1st round pick...
Toronto is also eating up 15% of his salary as well, so they end up clearing roughly 6 mil in cap space for themselves all told.

Enjoy the Pillsberry Doughboy Penguin fans!

From the Pens' perspective, they got the best player in the trade -- a winger who might score 40 goals on Crosby's line -- at a salary discount, while giving up a forward who might not ever be better than a 3rd line player, and NOT giving up either of their top 2 young defensemen. The 1st rounder hurts, but it's lottery protected, IIRC. Seems like it's mostly a salary dump on Toronto's part, because what they got in return doesn't exactly look like a bounty.

 gorgon wrote:

Experiment 626 wrote:
Leafs have shipped Fill Kessel off to the Penguins, (along with Biggs and another player + a 2nd round 2016 pick), for a couple young prospects including Pit's 1st rounder from last year's draft + a 3rd round 2016 pick and a conditional 1st round pick...
Toronto is also eating up 15% of his salary as well, so they end up clearing roughly 6 mil in cap space for themselves all told.

Enjoy the Pillsberry Doughboy Penguin fans!

From the Pens' perspective, they got the best player in the trade -- a winger who might score 40 goals on Crosby's line -- at a salary discount, while giving up a forward who might not ever be better than a 3rd line player, and NOT giving up either of their top 2 young defensemen. The 1st rounder hurts, but it's lottery protected, IIRC. Seems like it's mostly a salary dump on Toronto's part, because what they got in return doesn't exactly look like a bounty.

True, but the real make-or-break part of this deal is how the Pens can deal with a guy who's turned out to be incredibly toxic to his teammates... Fill's admitted he skated only 8 times last off-season - and it showed big time throughout the season.
He's been routinely lackadaisical and disinterested when doing absolutely ANYTHING beyond his trademark, 'fly down the wing, shoot for the corners' play. And he can't handle any kind of even remote scrutiny without turning into a pouting 4 year old throwing a tantrum...

Kessel really has shown himself to be a lazy, spoiled superstar who relies entirely on raw talent instead of working hard for success. (hence why Leafs Nation for the most part is overjoyed to see his over-priced, fat arse bounced from the franchise).

I just think the Pens have taken in a huge risk. Sure he *likely* won't face the same scrutiny with the Pens, but then, *if* he plays on Sid's line, he's likely to be in almost as big a spotlight to produce 30-40+ goals. (and we know how well Kessel just looooooooves dealing the media )

The best thing Kessel ever did was get the Bruins Seguin.....and we Fethed that one up pretty good. Granted he is kind of a light weight and didn't fit the Bruins mold...at all.

 whembly wrote:

Brouwer isn't meant to replace Oshie...

I didn't say otherwise. I implied that the Blues' team concept is a problem which needs to be fixed.

 whembly wrote:

It's meant to get Stastny some more top-line minutes.

How does the addition of a right winger give a center more top-line minutes?

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:

Brouwer isn't meant to replace Oshie...

I didn't say otherwise. I implied that the Blues' team concept is a problem which needs to be fixed.

I see...

 whembly wrote:

It's meant to get Stastny some more top-line minutes.

How does the addition of a right winger give a center more top-line minutes?

Backes can play wing.

 whembly wrote:

Backes can play wing.

Then who takes his place at center?

 Ghazkuul wrote:
The best thing Kessel ever did was get the Bruins Seguin.....and we Fethed that one up pretty good. Granted he is kind of a light weight and didn't fit the Bruins mold...at all.

He also got them Dougie Hamilton too

Note: now that's not to say that Toronto would have even drafted one or both of those guys had they not given up the picks for Kessel, but still, right from day 1 of that trade, I'd said that it was a going to turn into one of the worst trades in franchise history... (which is saying something, considering all the stupid crap 'ol Harold Ballard did!)

Experiment 626 wrote:Leafs have shipped Fill Kessel off to the Penguins, (along with Biggs and another player + a 2nd round 2016 pick), for a couple young prospects including Pit's 1st rounder from last year's draft + a 3rd round 2016 pick and a conditional 1st round pick...
Toronto is also eating up 15% of his salary as well, so they end up clearing roughly 6 mil in cap space for themselves all told.

Enjoy the Pillsberry Doughboy Penguin fans!

Pittsburgh now have ~60% of their Cap tied up for 6 players
Kessel @ ~$6.8m til 2022
Malkin @ $9 5m til 2022
Crosby @ $8.7m til 2025
Letang @ $7.25m til 2022
Fleury @ $5.75m til 2019
Hornquist @ $4.25m til 2018

Ustrello wrote:The Saad deal made sense, he wanted 6.5 per year for 5 years, the hawks had 7 mil in cap space. It made no sense, while saad is a good potentially great player he wasn't worth putting the hawks further into cap hell. Plus the players they got back filled needs especially 2nd line center and shooting wing.

Anisimov should be the 2nd Centre and Dano could great in the future. Plus Panarin and Tikhonov on the team Anisimov can really help them settle in. While losing Saad hurts we manged to get a better return than what we hace got via offer sheets

djones520 wrote:Chicago had a lot of weight to shed. I think we're going to see some drastically different playing fields this year.

There is also word that Detroit is hammering out a deal with Brad Richards.

1 Year $3m is what I heard
Vermette also went back to the Yotes for $7.5m over 2 years

Also Wembley, just because you can play Backes at wing doesnt mean you should

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:

Backes can play wing.

Then who takes his place at center?

Stastny!

Backes can tilt the ice playing wing.

 whembly wrote:

Stastny!

So the Blues are relying on Berglund and Ott to center the bottom two lines?

 whembly wrote:

Backes can tilt the ice playing wing.

Skate fast, hit hard, maybe score. That mantra saw the Blues lose in the first round 3 years in a row.

 dogma wrote:

 whembly wrote:

Stastny!

So the Blues are relying on Berglund and Ott to center the bottom two lines?

Looks like it.

 whembly wrote:

Backes can tilt the ice playing wing.

Skate fast, hit hard, maybe score. That mantra saw the Blues lose in the first round 3 years in a row.

We'll see if that truly manifests.

Well Taresenko just got his stupid high payout. Time for him to enter coast mode.

 djones520 wrote:
Well Taresenko just got his stupid high payout. Time for him to enter coast mode.

He was going to get paid and I don't think he'll coast. The one thing this kid has is an absolute drive to be the best... he just loves to play hockey.

That salary schedule is interesting: Eight yr deal....breakdown as follows $8, $8, $7, $7, $9.5, $5.5, $9.5 $5

That 6th / 8th year seems to be hedging whether or not there'll be a lockout.

Patrick Kane is currently being investigated for raping a women in New York.

Could have some very serious implications for the Blackhawks this year.

The woman is claiming that she had/has physical assault wounds. Wouldn't wounds like that though give the police enough reason to bring him in? Since that hasn't happened I am thinking she might be crying wolf.

Ustrello wrote:The woman is claiming that she had/has physical assault wounds. Wouldn't wounds like that though give the police enough reason to bring him in? Since that hasn't happened I am thinking she might be crying wolf.

All we have right now is here say from a couple of reporters, I'm not taking anything unless it comes from an official Police source right now

djones520 wrote:Patrick Kane is currently being investigated for raping a women in New York.

Could have some very serious implications for the Blackhawks this year.

Does anyone know what the procedure is if a player is jailed in regards to their contract against the salary cap? (assuming they aren't cut)

There is a moral clause in his contract I believe, it would be voided I think. If that does happen that saad trade will be devastating