Who's in the Best/ Worse situations right now?

[Eazy_b97 1]

Just curious who you think are in the best/ worst positions?

Best: Tampa, I'm confident they can get Bulin back.

Worst: Phoenix. I can't see them spending alot above their $28 mill, and I don't think they've been able to do anything.

[ktang 34]

I have to agree with Phoenix being in trouble.

Other choices:

Bad: Penguins. Thin on the blueline, I haven't heard anything about an arena deal for them. The team philosophy allows the players to be more creative offensively at the expense of defense, but the talent doesn't match the philosophy.

Not so good: Red Wings. Older roster used to a left-wing lock system + new coach who uses the trap.

Not so good: Canadiens. Young offensive players in Ryder, younger Hossa (?), Ribeiro, but inexperienced. OK defense. Gainey is GM.

So-so: Leafs. Older roster, but knows how to win.

So-so: Panthers. Young roster getting experience.

Better: Thrashers. 2 bona-fide, young, offensive stars in Kovalchuk and Heatley + less obstruction.

Really Good: Bruins. Bergeron, Samsonov, and Thornton on offense. Gonchar on defense.

Really Good: Devils. Plug-and-play system.

[mickz 107]

NYR in my opinion are considered 'worse.' They're going to have to unload a few of their overpriced players. Also, it's very unlikely Pavel Bure will ever suit up again in the NHL so the Rangers are already starting to cut down

[Eazy_b97 1]

I don't believe anyone you mentioned on Boston is actually signed, and I've heard rumblings players are being told not to sign there. Montreal could be in trouble, depending on how much is spent on Koivu, Ribeiro, Thoedore, Ryder, who are all RFAs. Leafs aren't really old right now, not as much as before at least. Belfours aging, but nobody else really.

What's the deal with Martin St. Louis? I couldn't find him on a sheet I had of Tampa's (and everyones) signed players and qualifying offer sheets.

[Jason Harris 31]

I don't believe anyone you mentioned on Boston is actually signed, and I've heard rumblings players are being told not to sign there.

Bergeron, Thornton and Samsanov will all be RFA's, although it's possible Samsanov may be signed.

There may be rumblings about players being told not to sign with Boston, but I think some of those rumblings could be coming from the Boston media. They do a really good job trying to create controversy in that town. There is no doubt Jacobs is a cheap bugger, but I think a cap will hide his miserly ways better. And, deep down, Boston is still a great hockey town. There was a poll at ESPN today that showed Boston was third in popularity of the 38K people who voted. I admit it surprised me they placed so high, but that town loved hockey until people finally realized Jacobs would never spend enough for a winner. With a cap, that should change.

I suspect they'll have a lot of released players calling them since they have a lot of money to spend. However, that could just as easily prove to be a curse. If you have $30M to spend on 20 players and only two months to make your decisions, it could be easier to make bad decisions than if you only had to fill two holes over the summer with $3.5M.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

A team that is in good position IMO is Colombus : Zherdev-Nash-Vyborny-Spacek-Klesla, they have a bright future and hockey is good in Ohio.

[Sven 1]

A team that is in good position IMO is Colombus : Zherdev-Nash-Vyborny-Spacek-Klesla, they have a bright future and hockey is good in Ohio.

I second that.

Edit:

It feels SO great to discuss about the NHL again..

[freq019 0]

Pittsburgh isn't as bad off as you think. They have a bevy of young players and lots of rooster space to add cheap UFA's and money since they have very little committed to the players they have . The D actually looks pretty good if they can keep Tarnstrom. They have Jackman, Orpik, scuderi, whitney, and some youngins but there is still room for a seasoned vet. The problem areas lie in goal, do you sign a vet and let MAF play another year in the AHL? Also they need some scorers up front. But over all I think they end up coming out of this whole thing looking pretty good.

[wingsfan7777 0]

Don't forget Recchi in Pittsburgh too. I third that Columbus is the best team off. They will really benefit from these rule changes. I'm really pumped to go see a few 'jackets games this coming season. The Wings do need to dump a few players and cut a few saleries, but in the end the Wings should still be a playoff team. On letsgowings.com they report that the Wings are interested in Khabibulin. He would be a great addition to the wings but, that's a really tough deal to work out especially with Legace and Joseph in the way. What I would like to see in Detroit is, if by a miracle things dont work out good in Phily, the Wings pick up Roenick. Or there's rumors that the first on Dallas's list to get rid of is Bill Geurin. If the price is right he would be a great addition to the wings. Another thing, Espn.com says that when the season starts Manny Legace will overtake Joseph for the #1 goalie spot by economic default. What is economic default?

[chippa13 1844]

I don't believe anyone you mentioned on Boston is actually signed, and I've heard rumblings players are being told not to sign there.

Bergeron, Thornton and Samsanov will all be RFA's, although it's possible Samsanov may be signed.

There may be rumblings about players being told not to sign with Boston, but I think some of those rumblings could be coming from the Boston media. They do a really good job trying to create controversy in that town. There is no doubt Jacobs is a cheap bugger, but I think a cap will hide his miserly ways better. And, deep down, Boston is still a great hockey town. There was a poll at ESPN today that showed Boston was third in popularity of the 38K people who voted. I admit it surprised me they placed so high, but that town loved hockey until people finally realized Jacobs would never spend enough for a winner. With a cap, that should change.

I suspect they'll have a lot of released players calling them since they have a lot of money to spend. However, that could just as easily prove to be a curse. If you have $30M to spend on 20 players and only two months to make your decisions, it could be easier to make bad decisions than if you only had to fill two holes over the summer with $3.5M.

Bergeron actually is one of the 4 that the Bruins have under contract. In order to make a PR save, Thornton and Samsonov will be back in the fold quickly, probably at numbers not too far from what they would have received last season. Gonchar is a real question mark. He got a nice bump for the scrapped season and it will be interesting to see if the B's work to keep him. With Girard having an extra year to get healthy, he could be slotted in as the offensive defenseman.

The Bruins also believe they will be filling a lot of holes with prospects. Hilbert and Boyes are probably being slotted in for the second line. Jurcina will probably be up as well.

[chippa13 1844]

Don't forget Recchi in Pittsburgh too. I third that Columbus is the best team off. They will really benefit from these rule changes. I'm really pumped to go see a few 'jackets games this coming season. The Wings do need to dump a few players and cut a few saleries, but in the end the Wings should still be a playoff team. On letsgowings.com they report that the Wings are interested in Khabibulin. He would be a great addition to the wings but, that's a really tough deal to work out especially with Legace and Joseph in the way. What I would like to see in Detroit is, if by a miracle things dont work out good in Phily, the Wings pick up Roenick. Or there's rumors that the first on Dallas's list to get rid of is Bill Geurin. If the price is right he would be a great addition to the wings. Another thing, Espn.com says that when the season starts Manny Legace will overtake Joseph for the #1 goalie spot by economic default. What is economic default?

That means Joseph is no longer worth the money under the cap.

[lee92 2]

i've heard a lot of rumor stuff from tsn, but i think detroit is interested in 'bulin and dumping joseph, as well i heard vancouver might be interested in 'bulin as well. they also mentioned that it wouldn't surprising to see naslund end up in anaheim with brian burke. i don't know about a lot of you, but all this player movement that is going to be occurring within the next couple months is gonna be a pain. i simply hate it, as a lot of teams won't look like their former selves out there once the puck drops.

[Eazy_b97 1]

I thought Thornton had asked for a trade? I was hearing the the no-Boston rumblings were coming from the PA and not media.

[Chadd 916]

Actually, I see Tampa as a place with a lot of potential problems. Lecavalier, Richards, St Louis, etc.. will be hard to keep under a cap system, even if they max out.

Pittsburgh may be well under the cap but I wouldn't expect too much spending over the minimum. If they didn't have the income to justify it before, nothing has really changed to help them.

[Dangles 0]

Canucks are somewhat questionable. Who knows if Nazzy will be back and we all know about Bert. Who's left for them upfront? The Sedins can't be on a top line at all.

[Jason Harris 31]

I thought Thornton had asked for a trade? I was hearing the the no-Boston rumblings were coming from the PA and not media.

It could be, Eazy. But it could also just as easily have started in Boston.

I don't live there any longer -- Chippa can speak about it better than me -- but the sports culture in Boston is amazing. It's got to be one of the few cities in North America where sports talk radio out performs music stations. I talk to my buddy and he asks me if I listen to WEEI on the web. Actually, no, I prefer music.

The amazing thing is how one guy will call into the station and give his suggestion for a trade, and then a couple of guys agree with his idea. Yet, somehow, two days later it's in the Globe as rumor that the B's are talking to the Leafs about a trade.

Of course, it could well be that culture that Thornton COULD be trying to get away from. There was an interview with Pedro the other day and he said he missed his teammates, the fans and the city. But he said he didn't miss management, the media or WEEI. That's pretty funny when an All-Star athlete specifically mentions a radio station.

[chippa13 1844]

A lot of the Boston media rumblings you have to take with a grain of salt. These guys love to toss stuff out in the hopes that they'll be right about something. They're all trying to be the one that can say "I told you so".

If I were a betting man I would say that Thornton wants to stay. Boston is going to be a younger club and I think he wants to be part of that core of Samsonov, Boynton, and Raycroft that brings the B's back to the stature they used to enjoy in Boston.

It also doesn't hurt that he seems to really like his luxury apartment literally around the corner from the Garden.

[Chadd 916]

A lot of the Boston media rumblings you have to take with a grain of salt. These guys love to toss stuff out in the hopes that they'll be right about something. They're all trying to be the one that can say "I told you so".

Sounds like Philly and WIP

[freq019 0]

Actually, I see Tampa as a place with a lot of potential problems. Lecavalier, Richards, St Louis, etc.. will be hard to keep under a cap system, even if they max out.

Pittsburgh may be well under the cap but I wouldn't expect too much spending over the minimum. If they didn't have the income to justify it before, nothing has really changed to help them.

they didn't have the income because they were preparing for the showdown. I would expect a different tune out of Pittsbugh this offseason. The pressure is there to build a winner quickly for Mario and for the arena prospects.

[Chadd 916]

Actually, I see Tampa as a place with a lot of potential problems. Lecavalier, Richards, St Louis, etc.. will be hard to keep under a cap system, even if they max out.

Pittsburgh may be well under the cap but I wouldn't expect too much spending over the minimum. If they didn't have the income to justify it before, nothing has really changed to help them.

they didn't have the income because they were preparing for the showdown. I would expect a different tune out of Pittsbugh this offseason. The pressure is there to build a winner quickly for Mario and for the arena prospects.

What does preparing for the shutdown have to do with anything? They just broke even with a $22M payroll how will they now suddenly be able to pay more for salaries?

[chippa13 1844]

Either they finally get a new arena or Pittsburgh is splitsburgh.

[freq019 0]

Actually, I see Tampa as a place with a lot of potential problems. Lecavalier, Richards, St Louis, etc.. will be hard to keep under a cap system, even if they max out.

Pittsburgh may be well under the cap but I wouldn't expect too much spending over the minimum. If they didn't have the income to justify it before, nothing has really changed to help them.

they didn't have the income because they were preparing for the showdown. I would expect a different tune out of Pittsbugh this offseason. The pressure is there to build a winner quickly for Mario and for the arena prospects.

What does preparing for the shutdown have to do with anything? They just broke even with a $22M payroll how will they now suddenly be able to pay more for salaries?

They only have like 7mil on the books right now. THey will spend roughly 30mil maybe on the upcoming season. That gives them room to be buyers this FA period. We'll see though you may be right, but I think they are going to open up the purse more this offseason.

[Chadd 916]

Actually, I see Tampa as a place with a lot of potential problems. Lecavalier, Richards, St Louis, etc.. will be hard to keep under a cap system, even if they max out.

Pittsburgh may be well under the cap but I wouldn't expect too much spending over the minimum. If they didn't have the income to justify it before, nothing has really changed to help them.

they didn't have the income because they were preparing for the showdown. I would expect a different tune out of Pittsbugh this offseason. The pressure is there to build a winner quickly for Mario and for the arena prospects.

What does preparing for the shutdown have to do with anything? They just broke even with a $22M payroll how will they now suddenly be able to pay more for salaries?

They only have like 7mil on the books right now. THey will spend roughly 30mil maybe on the upcoming season. That gives them room to be buyers this FA period. We'll see though you may be right, but I think they are going to open up the purse more this offseason.

$30M? Are you on drugs or just crazy? ;) If it's over $25M, I'll be shocked.

[J-Shera 0]

I see detroit in a good situation if they can get bulin, they have alot of great talent in zetterberg, kornwall, datsyuk etc, not to mention there vetran line-up. Thats if datsyuk comes and plays for them.

[Chadd 916]

I see detroit in a good situation if they can get bulin, they have alot of great talent in zetterberg, kornwall, datsyuk etc, not to mention there vetran line-up. Thats if datsyuk comes and plays for them.

Assuming they can get everyone signed and under the cap.