The Official 2008-2009 NHL Thread...

[Themanofbat]

Well, the Red Wings showed their veteran experiance and schooled the younger Penguins...

Every playoff minute that all the Penguins played will be invaluable experience for those kids in the years that come...

If they can keep the payroll down and get guys like Crosby, Fleury, Staal, Malone & Dupuis to sign long-term deals that pays reasonably, they will be the dominant team in the East... I'd like to think they can do the same with Malkin & maybe Hossa, but the overseas players tend to go with the money, but I hope they prove me wrong... they could become as powerful as the Oilers of the 80's... and that's ^%$^ing scary...

Anyhoo, there will be things to discuss for the '08/'09 season... like who will coach the Sharks, Leafs & Lightning... draft picks coming up... free-agent market in July...

With last season just a few days ended, let's look onward and talk about the upcoming one.

Keep it clean...

Cheers...

 

[Themanofbat]

It's cool that Fletcher is chasing after Ron Wilson to coach the Leafs, but you'd think they'd let the new GM do that... because maybe the new GM might not like Ron Wilson (unless you buy the "get Wilson to get Burke" theory)...

Seems like a mistake to me...

 

[Immortalfire]

This year was one heck of a playoff series

Thrashers need a coach, some big ole d-men, and wise use of the #3 pick.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

God, I hope that all the rumors of The Mullet coming to coach the Lightning are ********.

There so many better, more experienced coaches out there to choose from...why settle for Melrose?
Hell, I'd love to see the Bolts make a run at trying to talk Bowman or Burns back into the game. Both live in the area (Scotty in Sarasota, Burns in St. Pete), so they wouldn't have to worry about moving their family or what not.
Not to mention both are leagues above Melrose in terms of coaching skill.

 

[Themanofbat]

God, I hope that all the rumors of The Mullet coming to coach the Lightning are ********.

There so many better, more experienced coaches out there to choose from...why settle for Melrose?
Hell, I'd love to see the Bolts make a run at trying to talk Bowman or Burns back into the game. Both live in the area (Scotty in Sarasota, Burns in St. Pete), so they wouldn't have to worry about moving their family or what not.
Not to mention both are leagues above Melrose in terms of coaching skill.

I'm having a hard time understanding why they got rid of Torts in the first place...



Sure, they had a poor year, but every team has one once in a while, and while they had the offensive power, they were weak on D as well as in the net... that should change this season with Mike Smith on board, as well as the potential #1 pick Stamkos playing...

Oh well....

 

[Themanofbat]

2008 All Free Agent Team

The following is TSN.ca's 23-man roster made up of the most intriguing players eligible this summer for unrestricted free agency. The market opens Tuesday, July 1 at Noon et/9am pt.

MARIAN HOSSA
2007-08 Team: Thrashers/Penguins
2007-08 Salary: $7 million
The Stats: 72 GP, 29 G, 66 PTS

Lowdown: After shaking his reputation as a bad playoff performer and helping lead the Penguins to the Cup final, Hossa will be commanding a huge pay raise.

MATS SUNDIN
2007-08 Team: Maple Leafs
2007-08 Salary: $5.5 million
The Stats: 74 GP, 32 G, 78 PTS

Lowdown: Sundin's future depends on where the Maple Leafs are headed and whether they'll bump up his salary from the $5.5 million he earned last season.

JAROMIR JAGR
2007-08 Team: Rangers
2007-08 Salary: $8.36 million
The Stats: 82 GP, 25 G, 71 PTS

Lowdown: Jagr has hinted at everything from retirement to playing in Russia, but a return to the NHL for another year will likely be with the Rangers.

KRISTIAN HUSELIUS
2007-08 Team: Flames
2007-08 Salary: $1.4 million
The Stats: 81 GP, 41 A, 66 PTS

Lowdown: With a lot of free agents to sign and limited cap space, Huselius could be the odd man out in Calgary. Teams would love him for secondary scoring.

DAYMOND LANGKOW
2007-08 Team: Flames
2007-08 Salary: $2.442 million
The Stats: 80 GP, 30 G, 65 PTS

Lowdown: Langkow has been a model of consistency and solid two-way play for the last two seasons. That being said, he's the top offseason priority in Calgary.

SEAN AVERY
2007-08 Team: Rangers
2007-08 Salary: $1.9 million
The Stats: 57 GP, 33 PTS, 154 PIM

Lowdown: Not only is the league's premier agitator, but he's also a great skater and a solid clutch scorer. He's a one-of-a-kind player in this year's market.

RYAN MALONE
2007-08 Team: Penguins
2007-08 Salary: $1.45 million
The Stats: 77 GP, 27 G, 6 GWG

Lowdown: A subject of trade rumours for a few seasons now, the ever-improving power forward elevated his stock significantly with Pittsburgh's Cup run.

VACLAV PROSPAL
2007-08 Team: Lightning/Flyers
2007-08 Salary: $1.9 million
The Stats: 80 GP, 33 G, 71 PTS

Lowdown: Prospal was one of the few bright spots with the Lightning this past season, and his consistency played a big part in Philly's playoff success.

MARKUS NASLUND
2007-08 Team: Canucks
2007-08 Salary: $6 million
The Stats: 82 GP, 30 A, 55 PTS

Lowdown: Naslund is clearly in the back-end of his career, but can still provide some offensive boost for less than the $6 million he earned this past season.

BRIAN ROLSTON
2007-08 Team: Wild
2007-08 Salary: $2.432 million
The Stats: 81 GP, 59 PTS, 8 GWG

Lowdown: Rolston has been the heart-and-soul of the Wild for three seasons, and the team is working hard to try to re-sign their on-ice leader.

PAVOL DEMITRA
2007-08 Team: Wild
2007-08 Salary: $4.5 million
The Stats: 68 GP, 39 A, 54 PTS

Lowdown: The sturggling Demitra was initially brought in to St. Paul as support for Marian Gaborik. If he goes, will Gaborik follow a year from now via free agency?

RADIM VRBATA
2007-08 Team: Coyotes
2007-08 Salary: $1.225 million
The Stats: 76 GP, 27 G, 56 PTS

Lowdown: After a career year in Phoenix, Vrbata can stay and grow with a young and exciting team, or go for a big pay day and play somewhere else.

MICHAEL RYDER
2007-08 Team: Canadiens
2007-08 Salary: $2.95 million
The Stats: 70 GP, 14 G, 31 PTS

Lowdown: Teams lining up for the Newfoundland native are betting he'll return to his 30-goal form from two seasons ago. The Habs won't likely be one of them.

BRIAN CAMPBELL
2007-08 Team: Sabres/Sharks
2007-08 Salary: $1.75 million
The Stats: 83 GP, 62 PTS, 33 PPP

Lowdown: Campbell's fluid skating, smart defensive game and power play expertise make him the top commodity on the blueline this summer.

WADE REDDEN
2007-08 Team: Senators
2007-08 Salary: $6.5 million
The Stats: 80 GP, 38 PTS, +11

Lowdown: The chances of Redden returning at an affordable price are slim - especially with the Big Three locked up and Meszaros and Vermette left to sign.

MARK STREIT
2007-08 Team: Canadiens
2007-08 Salary: $600,000
The Stats: 81 GP, 62 PTS, 34 PPP

Lowdown: He was a big reason why the Habs didn't miss Sheldon Souray on the power play, with lots of minutes logged on defence and at forward.

JOHN-MICHAEL LILES
2007-08 Team: Avalanche
2007-08 Salary: $1.4 million
The Stats: 81 GP, 32 PTS, 20 PPP

Lowdown: Liles hasn't put up very big numbers, but has great value for his solid puck movement and playing 'Top 4' minutes in every game.

MICHAL ROZSIVAL
2007-08 Team: Rangers
2007-08 Salary: $2.3 million
The Stats: 80 GP, 38 PTS, 2 SHG

Lowdown: With 18 power play points, Rozsival was the best of a Broadway defence corps that didn't provide a whole lot of offence from the point.

RON HAINSEY
2007-08 Team: Blue Jackets
2007-08 Salary: $900,000
The Stats: 78 GP, 32 PTS, 23 PPP

Lowdown: A former Montreal cast-off, Hainsey was a top defenceman who played more than 22 minutes a game for an underachieving Blue Jackets lineup.

BRAD STUART
2007-08 Team: Kings/Red Wings
2007-08 Salary: $3.5 million
The Stats: 72 GP, 23 PTS, -10

Lowdown: The Wings can't afford Stuart at $3.5 million for next season, but he has certainly made a case for staying with his impressive playoff outing.

CRISTOBAL HUET
2007-08 Team: Canadiens/Capitals
2007-08 Salary: $2.75 million
The Stats: 52 GP, 32 W, .920 SV%

Lowdown: After arriving from the Habs, the French netminder shone brightly for the Caps going 11-2 with a 1.63 GAA and .936 save percentage.

JOSE THEODORE
2007-08 Team: Avalanche
2007-08 Salary: $6 million
The Stats: 53 GP, 28 W, 2.44 GAA

Lowdown: Theodore showed shades of his glory days with Montreal, but it won't translate into anything close to the $16 million deal he got three years ago.

DAN ELLIS
2007-08 Team: Predators
2007-08 Salary: $500,000
The Stats: 44 GP, 23 W, .924 SV%

Lowdown: Chris Mason won Nashville's No. 1 job from Tomas Vokoun last year, and it was Ellis' turn this past season with a 2.34 GAA in just 44 games.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

I'm having a hard time understanding why they got rid of Torts in the first place...



Sure, they had a poor year, but every team has one once in a while, and while they had the offensive power, they were weak on D as well as in the net... that should change this season with Mike Smith on board, as well as the potential #1 pick Stamkos playing...

Oh well....

*knocks on wood*
God, I hope Smith is able to finally bring stability in the net for us. I've nearly forgotten what good goaltending looks like.

As for Torts, I guess with a new ownership group coming in, they wanted to go with their own guy.
Plus Torts did say after the season ended that maybe it was time for a new voice in the locker room. Course he did retract that statement quickly, it might have played a part in his firing.

Stamkos is definitely going to be our pick. Bolts are already starting to promote his coming.
I for one can't wait to see him in a Lightning sweater. Kid's got some serious skills.

[YT]T-xcuktoTiw[/YT]

 

[Stevens25]

Hossa has been quoted in the Pittsburgh post gazette that he would love to take less money to stay on a winning team. I really want to keep Malone. Though not as great as Kevin Stevens was,he still is the best power forward we've had since Kevin. Plus,he's a hometown kid. I'm assuming he'll wanna stay,but out of the two I'd try and keep Hossa. Sid needs that scoring winger on his line. If healthy,I do believe Sid will win another scoring title this coming year,especially if Hossa is on his line.

 

[Themanofbat]

Ron Wilson is enroute to Toronto and will meet with Leafs interim GM Cliff Fletcher Monday night in Toronto. It is expected Wilson will sign a contract and officially become the new coach of the Maple Leafs with an announcement expected Tuesday.

Wilson and Fletcher verbally agreed to terms on a four-year contract over the weekend.

Maple Leafs interim general manager Cliff Fletcher told TSN on Sunday morning while they had a verbal agreement, the deal wasn't signed.

"It is not on paper and won't be until at least Tuesday," said Fletcher on Sunday. "There is no contract until it is signed."

The deal is believed to be in the neighborhood of $6.5 million.

Wilson, 53, has spent the last two decades behind the bench, compiling a record of 518-446-127 over his 1,091 games with the San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. His career win totals rank third among active coaches, behind Bryan Murray and Mike Keenan. He was also an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks in 1991 and 1992 under head coach Pat Quinn.

He enjoyed a career season in 1997-98 as head coach of the U.S. National Team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, and also led the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Final against the Detroit Red Wings. In 1996, he coached the U.S. to victory at the inaugural World Cup of Hockey.

Wilson, who was fired last month after the Sharks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Dallas Stars, spent five years in San Jose as head coach, leading them to four straight postseason berths and the Western Conference Final in 2004. He holds club coaching records for wins (206), winning percentage (.535) and postseason games coached (52), and the Sharks put together a 206-134-45 record in the regular season and a 28-24 playoff record.

The Maple Leafs are still in search for a general manager to eventually replace Cliff Fletcher, with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Richard Peddie and lawyer Gordon Kirke continuing to work to that end.

Wilson's relationship with Anaheim Ducks' GM Brian Burke adds intrigue to the speculation that the team may wait for Burke in an effort to hire him as general manager next summer. The former college teammates in Providence worked together in Vancouver when Burke was the assistant GM, and Burke is the also the godfather of Wilson's daughter.

Earlier this week, sources told TSN that Wilson was offered the position after meeting with the team on Tuesday. He then returned home to contemplate the offer.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=240031&lid=sublink01&lpos=headlines_main

 

[Shifty]

Hossa has been quoted in the Pittsburgh post gazette that he would love to take less money to stay on a winning team. I really want to keep Malone. Though not as great as Kevin Stevens was,he still is the best power forward we've had since Kevin. Plus,he's a hometown kid. I'm assuming he'll wanna stay,but out of the two I'd try and keep Hossa. Sid needs that scoring winger on his line. If healthy,I do believe Sid will win another scoring title this coming year,especially if Hossa is on his line.

What about Malkin in the future. They can sign Hossa for less for one year and hope they win next year. Otherwise Malkin will have 20 teams bidding for him as a RFA.

CTV has bought The Hockey Theme! I thought they would, CBC deserves to lose it if they thought nobody would buy it. But the CBC will have their contest and I'm sure CTV will update the theme a bit. And the CBC Sports guy said its a commercial for CBC essentially. But only for so long.

Anyway its good to see the "NHL on TSN" theme end. That was lame Dun-a-dun-a-dun *blade noise* dun-a-dun-a-dun *blade noise.

 

[Peter_Porker]

What about Malkin in the future. They can sign Hossa for less for one year and hope they win next year. Otherwise Malkin will have 20 teams bidding for him as a RFA.

CTV has bought The Hockey Theme! I thought they would, CBC deserves to lose it if they thought nobody would buy it. But the CBC will have their contest and I'm sure CTV will update the theme a bit. And the CBC Sports guy said its a commercial for CBC essentially. But only for so long.

Anyway its good to see the "NHL on TSN" theme end. That was lame Dun-a-dun-a-dun *blade noise* dun-a-dun-a-dun *blade noise.

Pitts should focus on the younger, Malkin and make sure they can make long time plans for him.

What does everyone think my team, Calgary, needs to become more consistent in the upcoming season...besides some more consistent goaltending from Kipper?

 

[Themanofbat]

Crawford fired in LA (haha)... will probably end up in Ottawa (hahahaha)...

Wilson hired as Toronto's new coach... a bad move to hire the coach before the GM in my opinion, but when has Toronto's owners ever done anything right in the last 40 years...

 

[Alex The Great]

Toronto sucks big time....EVERYONE hates them...

 

[Kargo Warrior]

''Red Wings award Babcock with 3-year deal''

DETROIT (AP) — Mike Babcock is returning to the bench for the Detroit Red Wings. Babcock and the Stanley Cup-winning team agreed to a three-year contract, a person in the NHL told The Associated Press on Tuesday night.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the team planned an 11 a.m. Wednesday news conference to announce the deal. The Red Wings announced plans for a news conference, but didn't release details.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iM7sT07Mx301jBwS-oTI8qN1weiAD917IK600

Excellent news...expected,but nevertheless excellent.

 

[Kargo Warrior]

Lindstrom and Osgood on "The Tonight Show"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se67QpKOIxg

 

[Shifty]

Colbert licenses the HNIC Theme
[YT]TD-W5EIX0BM[/YT]

 

[Alex The Great]

 

[Immortalfire]

Sales of Lighting and Oilers go through http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_y...slug=ap-nhlboardofgovernors&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[Shifty]

1st round of the Entry Draft tomorrow night!

 

[Johnny Blaze]

W00t! Only a few more hours until Stamkos officially becomes a Bolt. t:

 

[Immortalfire]

John Anderson is Atlanta's new coach http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/s...ashers_0621.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

He's been one of AHL's top coaches for years. If he does with us what he did with the Wolves, we're good to go

 

[TLH]

Tanguay to Montreal
Cammelleri to Calgary

Awesome. We just added more offense (Cammerlli > Tanguay) and saved nearly $2 million against the cap.

 

[Themanofbat]

Tanguay to Montreal
Cammelleri to Calgary

Awesome. We just added more offense (Cammerlli > Tanguay) and saved nearly $2 million against the cap.

I like this deal much better than the potential Tanguay for Ryder deal that was being tossed around last February...

 

[Alex The Great]

Thank Shiva, Lord Of Destruction that we got rid of Emery....

 

[Johnny Blaze]

John Anderson is Atlanta's new coach http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/s...ashers_0621.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab

He's been one of AHL's top coaches for years. If he does with us what he did with the Wolves, we're good to go

It is a good pick up for you guys, but I was really hoping that Torts would've ended up in ATL.

Would've helped turn the Bolts/Thrashers games into more of a rivalry-type atmosphere. And that's something the SE division needs.