< NHL Discussion Thread >

[njx9]

total subscription failure on the thread, but it doesn't look like the wings have done much (2 signings, right?)... white's gotta be better than brad 'turn the puck over in the zone every time njx watches a game' stuart, right?

[Xiomera]

Originally Posted by Borat

He's nothing special on D, but he's an outstanding puckmover and is very good on the PP. I wish the Sharks had the cap room to keep him. You'll love him in Detroit.

Basically the type of player Rafalski was, which I guess is good.

The Red Wings return almost the exact team they had last year. But I expect them to make one more significant move before the season. They'll also have salary cap space to take on a large salary at the trade deadline if they want to, which will be an advantage over the past 2-3 years.

[Jensen]

Originally Posted by Xiomera

Absolutely love it. 2 years, 2.875 per seems totally out of place in this market.

Jensen, anything I ought to know about him?

He's a decent sign for a $2.875 mil pricetag. Not physical at all, but he moves the puck well and can run a PP pretty effectively. He has a sneaky good wrist shot that he gets on net a lot. I don't think he uses his slapper that much though. Average wheels. Not that great defensively, but gets the job done very quietly. I wouldn't expect him to 'wow' you with anything, just a solid d-man across the board except a little better offensively.

[SuperMcGee]

Franson and Lombardi for Lebda and Slaney?

What. The. ****?

[Xiomera]

Originally Posted by SuperMcgee

Franson and Lombardi for Lebda and Slaney?

What. The. ****?

I was wondering that too ... surely they're familiar with Lebda's awfulness given that he was with the Wings for years.

[SuperMcGee]

Prediction: Burrows goes down, Mancari takes his place and puts up 60+ points on a minimum contract. (aka the PA Parenteau effect x5)

I thought he could've ended up in Florida. Dineen coaching and a total lack of talent might've given him a shot at a decent spot in the lineup. But I guess having 36 career games is one of the few ways to not get a 3M annual contract from the cats. A one-way deal with Vancouver is pretty nice, anyway.

[djp]

Heatley for Havlat. Done deal. Wow.

[Xiomera]

What's the meaning of this?

[SuperMcGee]

Heatley probably saw how awesome Coyle was in camp and knew he needed to stick with that. Could probably unite with Seto, and we all know the dream is to play with Mikko.

[Xiomera]

This appears at first glance to be the Wild needing to take on salary and the Sharks wanting to clear some. They're basically the same caliber player, only one is 2.5 mil more per season. Both signed longterm.

[Borat]

**** yeah! Later Heater. Your playoff performances were dreadful.

[Xiomera]

I can't say that I understand Minnesota's motivation here.

[SuperMcGee]

Well, they're not really the same player. Hate him and make fun of his playoff performances (I encourage it), but Heatley has averaged over 40 goals the past six years. Minnesota was bottom-5 in scoring last season and had one player score 20+ goals (Havlat's 22).

[Vikes99ej]

Well, looks like my Havlat Wild shirt is irrelevant now. I have no idea why the Wild did this.

[Borat]

Originally Posted by SuperMcgee

Well, they're not really the same player. Hate him and make fun of his playoff performances (I encourage it), but Heatley has averaged over 40 goals the past six years. Minnesota was bottom-5 in scoring last season and had one player score 20+ goals (Havlat's 22).

Kind of unfair to compare one players average over a six year span against just the past year of the other player. To be fair, Heatley only had 26 goals to Havlat's 22 last year. If this trade happened 4 years ago, then obviously, Heatley would be the more highly regarded player. But he's regressing badly. And Heatley costs $2.5 mil more.

[Jensen]

HELL ******* YES! Sharks add some much needed speed to the top 6 along with some dangle ability and two-way play. Heatley's contract is an albatross and the guy simply lost his game here. I am so ******* pumped right now.

[nepg]

So glad the B's aren't involved in the off-season. Teams are being stupid.

[yo123]

Man I hear we got Dany Heatley and I come in here to read about the awesome deal we made and then I see that it wasn't that great after all.

Sadface.

[SuperMcGee]

Originally Posted by Borat

Kind of unfair to compare one players average over a six year span against just the past year of the other player. To be fair, Heatley only had 26 goals to Havlat's 22 last year. If this trade happened 4 years ago, then obviously, Heatley would be the more highly regarded player. But he's regressing badly. And Heatley costs $2.5 mil more.

But I also don't think it's entirely fair to just compare last season when it's the only one where he has put up less than 39. The guy has been a premier scorer in the league. Havlat's number from last year wasnt so much about him, but about how Minnesota does not have goal scorers. The point is about team need. Heatley is not washed up.

[Vikes99ej]

So many people writing off Heatley, I guess I could have expected that with his name and all. Havlat wasn't exactly Pavel Bure here in Minny. Three dangles towards the net then he'd lose the puck. Damn he was smooth, though. I'll miss seeing him when I catch Wild games.

[Jensen]

I'm not writing off Heatley, but his play sucked here especially last year. Definitely nowhere near the over $7 mil he's making a season. If he can't pot goals playing with the likes of Thornton, Marleau, Couture, and Pavelski, I doubt he's going to suddenly resurrect his career playing with only Koivu.

[Borat]

Originally Posted by SuperMcgee

But I also don't think it's entirely fair to just compare last season when it's the only one where he has put up less than 39. The guy has been a premier scorer in the league. Havlat's number from last year wasnt so much about him, but about how Minnesota does not have goal scorers. The point is about team need. Heatley is not washed up.

Sure. I agree with your conclusion, just not the path you took to get there. It was just misleading to use a 6-year sample when the prior 5 years greatly outweigh last year. Player for player, Heatley is probably better. Havlat's speed, lower cap figure, and better 2-way game is a much better fit for SJ though. I'd worry about Heatley playing in Minny's system though. Are they staying with that defensive scheme?

[Verloren]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puc...urn=nhl-wp8508

Anybody gonna try to get this card?

[djp]

Originally Posted by Borat

Sure. I agree with your conclusion, just not the path you took to get there. It was just misleading to use a 6-year sample when the prior 5 years greatly outweigh last year. Player for player, Heatley is probably better. Havlat's speed, lower cap figure, and better 2-way game is a much better fit for SJ though. I'd worry about Heatley playing in Minny's system though. Are they staying with that defensive scheme?

Staying with what defensive scheme...? Obviously have not seen the Wild play.

Anyways, the lower cap number benefits the Sharks in the short term, but the shorter amount of term left helps the Wild. We have the wiggle room right now to pick up an extra $2.5M. Havlat's game is based on his speed, when that goes, so does he, and you will be stuck with him. His point totals seem to hover around the same area, but the way he coasted around for 75% of the season was just ridiculous. It's been written by the Wild's beat writer that Havlat needed extra motivation from basically every angle at all times, from the coach to the locker room. These posts I'm reading from Sharks fans on different forums act like Havlat is a gift from the heavens that's going to play all the time and give them 100% effort. Not to mention his durability has always been a legitimate concern.

That said, he's a phenomenal playmaker with silky hands and wheels when he's playing. He's like the friend you have that never wants to go out unless everything is already set. You've got the cab, the booze, the reservation, and the women. "Oh, we're down 2-0 in the 3rd? Better actually skate now. Here's a nasty saucer pass over two guys' sticks." "It's the first period of a game in November..? **** that. I'm coasting." Now, the Sharks may have a little better booze and prettier women, but the issues still remain.

The idea that the Wild somehow lost this trade is just funny to me. The really only negative for the Wild is the extra $2.5M per season, but for a team that needed goal scorers and had some wiggle room, it's hard to argue with this trade at all unless you really feel Dany Heatley is done as a 30 goal scorer, and well, I just don't think that's the case at all.

I really hope it works out, I'm not rooting against Havlat by any means, the guy can absolutely make the game look entirely too easy. I just think Sharks fans need to stop acting like they just robbed the Wild and we picked up some bum with a $7.5M contract like suckers.

[djp]

I love Facebook.

"WTF we traded Havlat for Heatley, Heatley's way too old man!!!!"

me: "Yeah, he's way too old at 30, so much older than the 30 year old we gave away for him"