Archive for the ‘Hockey Trade Rumours’ Category
Tavares In Toronto? Don’t See It Happening.
I’m a fan of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke. Sure, he can be blustery, blunt, even bullying at times, but there’s no denying his success as an NHL general manager.
He played?a major role in reviving the Vancouver Canucks during his tenure there and played a large part in rebuilding the Anaheim Ducks into a Stanley Cup champion.
It remains to be seen how well he’ll do as GM of the Maple Leafs, a team that’s been in the wilderness for some time now, but if anyone can survive the hothouse atmosphere there and actually improve the Leafs, it’s Burke.
He also knows how to garner headlines and he certainly did last Tuesday following the NHL Draft Lottery.
The Islanders won the first overall pick in this year’s June entry draft, but all everyone was talking about was Burke’s statements he would try everything within his power to move up in the draft and land coveted prospect John Tavares.
It wouldn’t be the first time Burke made bold moves during the entry draft, with his most notable being his dealings during the June 1999 entry draft with the Chicago Blackhawks that made it possible to draft the Sedin twins with the second and third overall picks.
Sure, if anyone could do it Burke could, but this time around I don’t believe he’s dealing from a position of strength here.
He’s got the seventh overall pick, which isn’t going to interest anyone with the top three overall picks.
Burke could try to trade directly with the Islanders for first overall by bundling his seventh overall pick with a top prospect and perhaps a top player or two, but even then he doesn’t have much to offer other than perhaps Tomas Kaberle and maybe Luke Schenn, and I don’t see Burke parting with the latter in any potential trade scenario at the draft.
He could try to move up in increments, possibly in hopes of landing some additional bait from other teams, but even then that seems a distinct long shot.
Islanders GM Garth Snow has said he’s inclined to retain the first overall pick, and if he doesn’t use it to select Tavares that would mean Burke would have to target the Tampa Bay Lightning, who sit second overall.
I’ve heard it suggested Burke might have better luck with the Lightning, who are in dire need of defensive depth, but even the much-maligned Bolts front office probably wouldn’t be interested in any offer from the Leafs unless Schenn was part of the package.
Anything’s possible, of course, and hockey fans love to speculate on possible mega-trades involving the top pick on the opening day of the NHL draft.
Consider though that in recent years the first round pick almost never moves, and when it does it inevitably goes to the teams with either the second or third overall picks. Not the team holding the seventh.
If Burke could somehow pull it off whereby he gets the first or second overall pick and lands the highly touted Tavares it’ll be one of the greatest management moves ever made during the NHL entry draft.
As talented as Burke is however I think the odds are stacked too high against him.
Expect More â??Front-Loadedâ?? NHL Contracts.
The Detroit Red Wings recent re-signing of winger Johan Franzen to an 11-year, $43.5 million contract certainly raised some eyebrows and generated discussion amongst some fans, pundits and bloggers.
Whatâ??s significant about this deal is both the length of the deal and the salary structure. The Wings have ensured theyâ??ve retained?Franzen for an affordable cap hit ($3.955 million) per season than it wouldâ??ve cost had they re-signed him to a deal of considerably shorter length.
Franzenâ??s new contract also comes â??front-loadedâ??, meaning most of his salary will be paid to him in the earlier years of his contract.
In the first seven years Franzen, 29, will receive over $5 million per season ($5.5 million in the first season, $5.25 million in seasons three and four, $5 million in seasons two, and $5 million in seasons two, five, six and seven (which would be 2015-16).
After season seven his salary drops to $3.5 million for season eight, $2 million for season nine, and $1 million each for the final two seasons of the deal, which expires at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Some folks have suggested the Red Wings â??circumventedâ?? the salary cap or â??found a loopholeâ?? in the CBA to do this. What GM Ken Holland did was not circumvention since the CBA allows for salaries to be structured so that theyâ??re of?fluctuating?amounts over the term of a contract, allowing for the average salary to count against the salary cap.
Front-loaded contracts are nothing new under this CBA. The Red Wings last summer? re-signed Henrik Zetterberg to a lengthy, front-loaded contract, as did the Tampa Bay Lightning with Vincent Lecavalier. The Philadelphia Flyers re-signed?Mike Richards and the Ottawa Senators?re-upped Jason Spezza using a similar formula.
It was probably the fact that a second-tier, late-blooming star like Franzen got one that raised the eyebrows in the first place.
Itâ??s also given rise to speculation that teams could now use the Franzen contract as justification to sign players to ridiculously long contracts in order to land them for a more affordable cap hit.
The Edmonton Journalâ??s David Staples raised that issue in a recent blog suggesting the possibility of a team like the Oilers with limited cap space signing a big name UFA like Jay Bouwmeester to a 25-year, $100 million contract.
Staples subsequently spoke with a player agent who pointed out that would be circumvention, since thereâ??s no way the 25-year-old Bouwmeester would be able to complete the final ten years of that contract, and it would be unlikely they could land him for a 20-year deal as the Oilers have no history of a player continuing his career up to age 45.
The agent suggested to Staples it might be possible for the Oilers to sign Bouwmeester to a 15-17 year contract, presuming heâ??d want to play for a team (Oilers) that hasnâ??t held home ice advantage in the playoffs in 20 years.
In other words, under the current NHL CBA the length of a contract is determined on a case-by-case basis, dependent upon both the playerâ??s age and to an extent if the team has a history of players still performing well into their late-30s/early 40sâ??.
Given how many teams (roughly half) are carrying considerable salary heading into next season with the salary cap expected to flat-line?and perhaps?decline as low as $50 million for 2010-11 we could see more free agents â?? particularly those in their twenties â?? getting lengthy, front-loaded contracts.
Even clubs?heading into?this summer with plenty of available cap space and a willingness to spend could employ this method to not only pursue unrestricted free agents but also to retain key players.
For example, 27-year-old Montreal Canadiens defenseman Mike Komisarek is eligible for unrestricted free agency in July. Itâ??s believed he wants to remain with the Habs and they wish to retain him but thereâ??s speculation he could seek $5-$6 million per season on his next contract.
That might seem unreasonably high but if?Komisarek hits this summerâ??s UFA market an NHL general manager somewhere will happily pony up that money to land him regardless of the concerns over the fluctuations of the salary cap in the near future.
The Canadiens can afford to pay Komisarek that much as they have considerable cap space but over the long term they might not be comfortable with?having $5-$6 million?per season for him counted against their cap.
They could instead sign him to a ten-twelve year front-loaded contract which would make that cap hit much more affordable, perhaps in the neighborhood of $4 million per season.
Conversely if the Canadiens are unable or unwilling to re-sign Komisarek a rival club could also go the front-loaded route to re-sign him.
The Boston Bruins meanwhile are a team which has over $47 million committed to next seasonâ??s payroll but have two quality forwards in Phil Kessel and David Krejci set to become restricted free agents.
If both seek raises over $4 million per season â?? and given their performances this season it would be reasonable to expect they willâ?? retaining?Kessel and Krejci?could put a serious squeeze on the Bruins remaining cap space next season.
The front-loaded contract would address that problem. The Bruins could re-sign these two to affordable salaries, lock up both well beyond their eligibility age for unrestricted free agency and provide the Bruins with a more affordable cap hit next season. ?
Of course?lengthy deals do come with risk. The player might no longer be an effective performer by the tail end of the deal, or certainly not one worth the cap space heâ??ll be eating up by that time.
Trading the player wonâ??t be an attractive option for rival clubs because despite the lesser dollars being paid in those final seasons the average cap hit is still applied even if heâ??s trade to another team.
Teams however do have other options. With the contract heavily weighted at the front end a buyout (following the formula provided by NHLSCAP) to buy out the final years of the deal at two-thirds the remaining value spread over twice the remaining tenure.
If the playerâ??s contract took effect prior to his 35th birthday he could retire in the final years of the contract?without the dollars counting against the cap.
The player could also be demoted to the minors (provided he lacks a â??no-movementâ?? clause) or loaned out to Europe in order to gain cap relief.
It remains to be seen of course how many players this summer end up signing these type of contracts but the cap?flexibility?front-loaded contracts?provide teams in the short term could prove an attractive option.
Dream of Lecavalier As a Canadien Is Over.
Ever since Vincent Lecavalier rose to superstardom helping the Tampa Bay Lightning win the 2004 Stanley Cup fans of the Montreal Canadiens – and a few pundits and bloggers – have dreamed of the possibility of his one day suiting up for the Habs.
The speculation never died, even when Lecavalier, a native?of?the Montreal borough of Ile Bizard,?last summer signed a monstrous 11-year, $80 million-plus contract extension with the Lightning, seemingly ensuring he would finish his career in Tampa Bay.
But the Lightning’s new ownership are rumored struggling financially and speculation has flown for months they’d consider moving Lecavalier before his contract, with it’s “no movement” clause, kicks in on July 1st.
The rumors of Lecavalier coming to Montreal reached a fever pitch this past January when it was reported the Canadiens and Lightning were in talks over a potential trade with Lecavalier as the centerpiece.
Those talks eventually fell through with Canadiens GM Bob Gainey later having some harsh words for Lightning GM Brian Lawton, accusing him of publicly publishing a list of Canadiens players – which included Chris Higgins, Tomas Plekanec and Jose Gorges – the Lighting were apparently interested in.
Lawton both denied Gainey’s accusations as well as the reports Lecavalier was on the block.
Speculation has persisted however since the Lightning were eliminated from playoff contention seveal weeks ago they could still consider shopping Lecavalier, with the Canadiens, LA Kings and NY Rangers cited as potential destinations.
Any thoughts however that Lecavalier might be dealt to the Habs this summer were seemingly crushed this past week during Gainey’s conference with the Montreal media a day after his Canadiens were swept from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins.
When asked for the reasons why the Canadiens centennial season ended so badly among the reason Gainey gave was the distraction created by the Lecavalier trade rumors and once again voiced his displeasure with Lawton for leaking the names of Higgins, Plekanec and Gorges.
Lawton again vigorously denied Gainey’s accusation, but it seems painfully obvious that any dream of Lecavalier being dealt to Montreal were killed once and for all by Gainey’s harsh words.
Evidently there’s bad blood between Gainey and Lawton, and it’s only common sense to believe that as long as Gainey remains the Habs general manager he won’t be having any dealings with Lawton and the? Lightning.
That could change if as some believe Gainey could be relieved of his duties but judging by his statements during his season-ending press conference that doesn’t seem likely.
Now a few folks in the media and blogosphere still believe a?”Lecavalier-to-Montreal” trade could still happen. Some point to recent comments made by Canadiens GM Pierre Boivon that the club lacks a French-Canadien superstar as justification that the club could still pursue Lecavalier regardless of the brewing feud between Gainey and Lawton.
Lecavalier could insist on only going to Montreal,?the?Lightning owners could bypass their GM to talk to Gainey directly, Gainey and/or Lawton could be replaced, blah blah blah.
Let’s put it this way: something is going to have to radically change in order to bring about a Lecavalier trade.
Anything is possible but based on Gainey’s recent comments it seems clear to me the dream of Vincent Lecavalier suiting up for the Montreal Canadiens is dead.
Ovechkin: The NHL’s Best Player.
With all due respect to Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, whom I both admire for their skills and talent, the best player in the National Hockey League right now has to be Alexander Ovechkin.
He’s won the Richard Trophy for the second consecutive season as the league’s top goalscorer and should once again be nominated for the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player to his team.
Granted, Malkin – who’s also likely to be a Hart nominee – has had a tremendous season, winning the Art Ross as the league’s top point-getter and has emerged as arguably the Penguins most valuable player.
But what hurts Malkin in this regard is having the talented Sidney Crosby as a teammate.?
Injuries have hampered Crosby’s performance over the past two seasons and the league brain trust probably prefers the clean cut “Sid the Kid” as their poster boy over the rough around the edges Ovechkin.
Malkin and Crosby are outstanding players, and the latter has already won a Hart Trophy, whilst Malkin could win the award this season.
Still, if there’s a player in the NHL more valuable to his team ?this season than Ovechkin, if there’s one more talented and more exciting, I’ve yet to see him play.
Ovechkin is the Capitals. He’s the straw that stirs the drink. Casual hockey fans or those who don’t follow the Capitals would be hard-pressed to think of another member of that roster.
That’s not a knock against guys like Mike Green, Alexander Semin or Nicklas Backstrom, but let’s face fact, if the Capitals lost Ovechkin to a season-ending injury, this team would be hurting big time.?
What’s put Ovechkin a cut above in my opinion is his goal-scoring ability. He drives to the net with a bulldog tenacity not seen in a goalscorer since the great Maurice Richard. He simply will not be denied. From the blueline in there’s nobody better in the NHL right now.
Ovechkin also handles the heavy physical play, as capable of dishing out punishment as he is in absorbing it.
His offensive wizardry puts me in mind of another Rocket, the Russian one named Pavel Bure.?Unlike the Russian Rocket however Ovechkin seems better able to withstand the heavy going.
Speed, skill and toughness combined in one package is enough, but nobody puts it all together with the ebullience for scoring like Ovechkin. ?As more than one commentator has noted, the kid loves to score goals, and his enthusiasm has been infectuous amongst his teammates.
The best example of how exciting Ovechkin is can be summed up in the goal he scored against the NY Rangers during Game Five of the Capitals-Rangers series.
If you can’t appreciate the skill that went into scoring that goal and how exciting it was to watch it ?then you’re not a hockey fan.
In that one goal we see everything that makes Ovechkin the NHL’s brightest star.
If someone else wins the Hart this season in my opinion Ovechkin remains the NHL’s best player.
