NHL off-season thread

[n7]

Needed this a while ago.

How are you feeling with your teams signings, trades, picks?

Today's big news:

Bruins sign Ra$k to an EIGHT year, 56 million deal!
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=677586
I really dislike extremely longterm goalie contracts...there are many examples of why this is not wise, but only time will tell.


Oilers trade MPS and 2014 second round pick to the Blues for Perron.
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=677573

Many people here are disappointed to see MPS go, but for now, Perron is the better player that should help the Oilers out.
This frees up some cap space for the Blues while still getting back a solid 3rd line winger who can jump up to the 2nd line when needed.



Regarding the Oilers moves, i'm okay with us taking Nurse in the draft, though it's going to be quite a while before he's ready to jump into the line-up.
Kinda woulda preferred if we'd drafted someone with more immediate trade value, but clearly that was not MacT's plan.

Horcoff to Dallas is fine with me, though he really wasn't as bad as Oilers fans made him out to be, and we'll miss his scoring and leadership.
Larsen doesn't look like he's going to be fitting into our line-up right away, but who knows.

Boyd Gordon looks like a solid center signing (essentially Horcoff replacement). I suppose he's going to be 3rd line center though, which means we have concerns for 4th line center...

Andrew Ference should be a good signing, though i worry we might have slightly overpaid, especially with his age.
Any improvement on our terrible D is a good thing though, and he should help.


Overall, i'm satisfied with what MacT has done since becoming GM, but i feel we really still need a solid #1/2 D-man (something we do not have), and a bigger, stronger 2nd line center.

Hemsky should be traded at some point, just not sure how that would work.
If moving Gagner allows us to get a stronger center i'm fine with that.

I think MacT still has a move or two left, and i hope we can somehow fill those spots at least somewhat.

 

[Wordplay]

Lawl Kovy

 

[uclaLabrat]

I can't believe we gave up scuderi.

 

[mugs]

Back in January when Kovy said he wanted to stay in the KHL for the rest of the year, and then changed his mind and only wanted to stay for the KHL all star game, Devils fans brushed it off as no big deal. I was worried.

Then the KHL president said he was coming to the US in February to talk to Jeff Vanderbeek about buying out Kovy's contract. Devils fans brushed it off as hot air, but I was worried. A lot of Devils fans have their head buried in the sand and ignore the Devils' financial issues because the New York Post (a piece of trash) is always the first to report on it. But I look at the numbers and it doesn't add up, the Devils lose money and have a ton of debt. I honestly thought there was a possibility that Jeff Vanderbeek would sell Kovy to the KHL.

After the buyout window ended I stopped worrying, because Kovy couldn't be bought out anymore. And as long as he has an NHL contract he can't play in the KHL. Then he announces his retirement, and I guess it makes sense. The Devils void his contract so he can play in the KHL next year.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jeff Vanderbeek sold Kovy to the KHL.


Edit: it's entirely possible the Devils willingly gave him up for free to avoid the recapture penalty in the future without having to pay a ton to buy him out. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Devils are getting some money out of this.

 

[Slew Foot]

Devils should be glad they got rid of that contract

 

[jman19]

Devils should be glad they got rid of that contract

In the long term yes. But this hurts the Devils for the upcoming season. They had trouble generating offense without him.

 

[I Saw OJ]

Whens the next lockout start?

 

[Fingolfin269]

Ever since the season ended I knew the Preds would be so much better next year. The final result was due to injuries and we ended up scoring a top shelf prospect (Seth Jones) because of it. I really can't wait for the season to start. Do I see a cup in the near future? No. But I do see a team that should make the playoffs again next season and potentially cause some damage there.

 

[n7]

Kovalchuk retires...

Definitely sounds like NJ was fine with this for financial reasons; no doubt there is a lot of stuff we do not know about what exactly transpired.

Crazy stuff though, wow.

 

[Blackjack200]

Back in January when Kovy said he wanted to stay in the KHL for the rest of the year, and then changed his mind and only wanted to stay for the KHL all star game, Devils fans brushed it off as no big deal. I was worried.

Then the KHL president said he was coming to the US in February to talk to Jeff Vanderbeek about buying out Kovy's contract. Devils fans brushed it off as hot air, but I was worried. A lot of Devils fans have their head buried in the sand and ignore the Devils' financial issues because the New York Post (a piece of trash) is always the first to report on it. But I look at the numbers and it doesn't add up, the Devils lose money and have a ton of debt. I honestly thought there was a possibility that Jeff Vanderbeek would sell Kovy to the KHL.

After the buyout window ended I stopped worrying, because Kovy couldn't be bought out anymore. And as long as he has an NHL contract he can't play in the KHL. Then he announces his retirement, and I guess it makes sense. The Devils void his contract so he can play in the KHL next year.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Jeff Vanderbeek sold Kovy to the KHL.


Edit: it's entirely possible the Devils willingly gave him up for free to avoid the recapture penalty in the future without having to pay a ton to buy him out. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Devils are getting some money out of this.

I don't understand why the KHL would pay the Devils any money when it was Kovy that controlled the situation. Once he retired from the NHL he was free to sign in Russia, there are no reciprocal agreements like soccer has.

I know a lot of Devils fans are really pissed, but I'm actually not too upset. He's 30 and gradually declining, I think his best seasons were behind him. I was psyched when the Devils got him because he's a rare talent, and you know what, I got out to the Rock and watched him play. It's something I'll always remember. His contract was an absolute albatross, I'm kind of amazed it didn't destroy the franchise.

You could pull together a hall of fame team with the players the Devils have lost in the last 10 years.

 

[sjwaste]

I don't understand why the KHL would pay the Devils any money when it was Kovy that controlled the situation. Once he retired from the NHL he was free to sign in Russia, there are no reciprocal agreements like soccer has.

I know a lot of Devils fans are really pissed, but I'm actually not too upset. He's 30 and gradually declining, I think his best seasons were behind him. I was psyched when the Devils got him because he's a rare talent, and you know what, I got out to the Rock and watched him play. It's something I'll always remember. His contract was an absolute albatross, I'm kind of amazed it didn't destroy the franchise.

You could pull together a hall of fame team with the players the Devils have lost in the last 10 years.

Kovalfucked.

Here's the deal - the Devils need the cash, Kovy wanted to go back to the K-hole anyway, and he's going to make at least what the remainder of this contract paid him over there anyway and probably in a shorter time span. So they pull a retirement, which is mutually agreeable. This is just the Devils taking the opportunity to get out of a contract where the player preferred to go to another league anyway. He'll make $15M a year and get the money he "left on the table" back in about 5 seasons.

The league should be pissed about this. This is pretty severe abuse of the retirement provisions in the CBA. However, it does make it a lot easier to sell the Devils now, so in reality the rest of the league is probably going to be OK with it if that's the reason behind it. So the remaining question is, are the 2013-14 NJ Devils your 2014-15 Quebec Nordiques?

 

[sjwaste]

If you're a Devils fan, how are you not pissed? This guy isn't just your best player, he's one of the league's top scorers over the past decade and is essentially leaving in his prime. Don't give me the "declining" bullshit. He's 30, so you have 5 more years before you can pull that card.

This, to me, would be a kick in the nuts on par with when we realized as Flyers fans that Lindros would never be himself again and was traded to the Rangers.

 

[Blackjack200]

If you're a Devils fan, how are you not pissed?

Because I'm zen like that.

 

[mugs]

I don't understand why the KHL would pay the Devils any money when it was Kovy that controlled the situation. Once he retired from the NHL he was free to sign in Russia, there are no reciprocal agreements like soccer has.

I know a lot of Devils fans are really pissed, but I'm actually not too upset. He's 30 and gradually declining, I think his best seasons were behind him. I was psyched when the Devils got him because he's a rare talent, and you know what, I got out to the Rock and watched him play. It's something I'll always remember. His contract was an absolute albatross, I'm kind of amazed it didn't destroy the franchise.

You could pull together a hall of fame team with the players the Devils have lost in the last 10 years.

The NHL and KHL do have an agreement: http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/pu...he-new-nhlkhl-player-agreement?urn=nhl,wp8892

The only reason Kovy is allowed to play in the KHL is because the Devils voided his contract as soon as he retired instead of suspending him. The problem from the Devils perspective is that suspending him and tolling the contract means it'd be pushed back until (and if) he unretires, and he'd spend more of those low salary years not playing, which hurts the Devils a lot.

So ultimately we had to let him go, but between Medvedev's prior comments about buying out his contract (see tweet from January: https://twitter.com/IgorEronko/statuses/290452707649671170 ) and the fact that we voided his contract the day he signed his retirement papers, I wouldn't be surprised if Vanderbeek got some money in the deal.

In the long run this is beneficial to the team, but it really sucks in the short term.

 

[mugs]

The league should be pissed about this. This is pretty severe abuse of the retirement provisions in the CBA.

It's not an abuse of anything. You can put any player on unconditional waivers and mutually agree to void the remainder of his contract. Kovalchuk has a no-move clause, so he can choose to skip the waivers. That's not what happened, but it's the team-initiated action with an identical result. Retiring is the player-initiated version. I forget who tweeted it, but someone mentioned today that Luoungo could do this if he wanted to give up the money he's owed and sign another contract. (Either way it requires the consent of both parties to void the contract)

However, it does make it a lot easier to sell the Devils now, so in reality the rest of the league is probably going to be OK with it if that's the reason behind it. So the remaining question is, are the 2013-14 NJ Devils your 2014-15 Quebec Nordiques?

Oh shut up.

 

[Blackjack200]

between Medvedev's prior comments about buying out his contract and the fact that we voided his contract the day he signed his retirement papers, I wouldn't be surprised if Vanderbeek got some money in the deal.

I would be, but then again, I didn't see this coming, so what surprises me is probably not any kind of great measure.

 

[iRONic]

With Rask, Bergeron, and Chara locked up and a solid core I think Boston has a two to three year possible Cup winning window.

 

[iRONic]

While I'm among those who didn't see the Kovi bail out coming I can understand the teeth-gashing over a possible CBA circumvention by some butt hurt GMs or the league. *shrug*

 

[AMDZen]

Can't wait to have my Avs season start.

So much change. We won the lottery. Get Nate MacKinnon.

Roy, Sakic.

We have Ice Girls finally for some eye candy starting this season.

And to top it all off, we got the world's largest jumbotron now at the Pepsi center.

Obviously a shopped image but, some details:

27x48
21x25
8.5 million pixels
Blue line to blue line.

http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=677253&navid=DL|COL|home

 

[swanysto]

I am happy with our moves so far. We signed Bickell, and we are talking to Kruger, who was a big part of our fourth line penalty kill. I am not dissapointed to see Frolik or Stahlberg gone. Boland, a little bit, but I will get over it.

We are stacked in the farm system, and we have roughly 13 million to play with right now. Not bad, considering last time, we lost some big time guys. Our core is locked up for the next couple years, so we should be top 3 in the West at least for those years.

 

[sjwaste]

Oh shut up.

I'm just trying to rile you up. But if you're not a STH, wouldn't you be a little bit ok with the team moving to Quebec, selling out every night and being able to spend every penny of the cap? They'd still be your team.

 

[sjwaste]

While I'm among those who didn't see the Kovi bail out coming I can understand the teeth-gashing over a possible CBA circumvention by some butt hurt GMs or the league. *shrug*

Honestly, though, the more I think about it the more one-sided it was. If this were really a bail out, it would have happened in time for the Devils to sign a guy that can pick up some of the production. As it stands, they gave up a lot to keep Kovalchuk in town, now he bails in July 3 years later, and the team has no scoring depth, no 1st rd pick coming next year, and a franchise goalie one year from retirement. The more I've thought about it, the more I've backed off the circumvention issue - this really doesn't benefit NJD at all unless the team is for sale.

 

[Blackjack200]

Honestly, though, the more I think about it the more one-sided it was. If this were really a bail out, it would have happened in time for the Devils to sign a guy that can pick up some of the production. As it stands, they gave up a lot to keep Kovalchuk in town, now he bails in July 3 years later, and the team has no scoring depth, no 1st rd pick coming next year, and a franchise goalie one year from retirement. The more I've thought about it, the more I've backed off the circumvention issue - this really doesn't benefit NJD at all unless the team is for sale.

Our scoring depth is actually pretty decent: Elias, Zajac, Henrique, Clowe, and Ryder are all easily top six forwards, we just lack an elite scorer now, although Elias comes close. You're a Flyers fan, you remember Elias, right?

We also picked up another franchise goaltender, which gives us two more than the Flyers have had for the last 20 years. :biggrin:

 

[Fingolfin269]

Starting to think that anyone who drafts a Russian prospect (See Nichushkin) is running a huge gamble. The amount those guys can make from the start is crazy. Seems like the NHL is just lucky that no one (for the most part) from the US/Canada/Europe wants to play in Russia.

 

[Blackjack200]

Starting to think that anyone who drafts a Russian prospect (See Nichushkin) is running a huge gamble. The amount those guys can make from the start is crazy. Seems like the NHL is just lucky that no one (for the most part) from the US/Canada/Europe wants to play in Russia.

Russian billionaires have nothing else to spend money on.