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[sefskillz]

Ovechkin signing 15k autographs. Ovechkin is king.

 

[Jason]

Did I just hear the Dallas theme song? :lol

 

[Karakand]

And I've lived in Los Angeles for several years, along with Calgary and Edmonton. Calgary and Edmonton are NOT small cities. Both have a population (surrounding metro) of in excess of 1 million.

:lol

Wow, a million people!

 

[bishoptl]

Ovechkin is the ****ing man and don't you *ever* forget it.

Full props to the crowd for booing the shit out of Ferguson when he went up for the Leafs. Never have I been so proud of being a Vancouverite until today.

Nice trade for Calgary, picking up Tanguay. Too bad they didn't do anything about providing Iginla some firepower support until after Vancouver bricked up the net with Luongo. Better late then never, eh Iggy? Follow our lead, follow our lead...

As far as our first round pick goes...

Has excellent acceleration, is good at getting to holes and loose pucks.... At full speed in three strides ge is one of the fastest players in this year's draft who can beat defencemen wide to the outside on a regular basis... Has very good balance and mobility in all directions and possesses very quick hands with a creative scoring touch... Handling the puck with flair he can give and receive passes on both forehand and backhand... Used on special teams, is a smart player with excellent anticipation and good hockey sense... A very highly skilled player, he will excel at a higher sill level of play... Plays with hustle both at home and on the road, he is not overly aggressive but will bump and finish checks... He competes for loose pucks and challenges defensemen to try and stop him with a willingness to drive to the net on a consistent basis... Hustles regardless of score and pays attention to the defensive side of the game... Had limited ice time in the first half of the season but exploded in the second half at almost a goal-a-game pace.

Isnt he lovely
Isnt he wonderfull
Isnt he precious
The pick's less than one minute old

 

[ForzaItalia]

JFJ on Raycroft:

'He's a proven No. 1 goaltender, former rookie of the year, he's going to look great in our uniform,'' Leafs GM John Ferguson told TSN.

"Apparently the Leafs are ready to buy out Tie Domi but D'Angelo's Apple Juice has stepped up to voice how important he is to the Toronto area."

 

[R_GILL]

Raycroft better get his shit together and not suck next year or he is going to be crucified by the Toronto fans.

 

[ForzaItalia]

OR

JFJ better get his shit together and not suck this year or he is going to be crucified by the Toronto fans.

 

[Mike Works]

Just got home...

The Leafs gave up RASK for Raycroft????

hahahahahahahaha

I know they've got Pogge in the system and all, but Jesus Christ

 

[bishoptl]

Tuukka Rask was the name of my character in KOTOR.

 

[negitoro7]

Damn I missed the draft, really would've loved to see Ovechkin take the stage amidst cheers and *gasp* a standing ovation even. :lol

 

[sefskillz]

Props to the Preds for drafting Nashville native Blake Geoffrion, really thought the Habs would nab him with one of their 2nd round picks.

 

[Drensch]

Man did Fla get hosed on the Luongo deal.

But WTF is colorado thinking!!!!!!!???????!!!!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[R_GILL]

I see the Leafs were very Euro centric this draft. Can't wait for HNIC to hear Cherry complain that all the Leafs do is pick soft Europeans, should be very entertaining.

 

[RaySpencer]

where can i get a full list of all the trades that have happend?

 

[calder]

Dave Reid on NHL Network said something I hadn't realized - Tanguay was a natural center all through junior and only played LW because the Avs wanted him on Sakic's line. Hmm, if he wants to play center on the first line he's already clicked with Iggy in international tournaments, then Langkow can be the #2 center with Huselius... it doesn't magically cure the offensive woes but if the young forwards improve at all over last year then it could go a long way to doing it.

Props to the Flames for drafting the goofiest looking ****er in the first round, at least we know Darryl isn't shallow! He could be a valuable asset in a couple of years, assuming the Flames don't need him in 5-7 years to be a #1.

 

[ForzaItalia]

I have a feeling McCabe is done here in Toronto. Let's see JFJ sell the farm for Pronger now...


Found this quite interesting:

Luongo said he had three conditions for staying in Florida, starting with the team making a public statement that he wouldn't be traded since he is too young to receive a no-trade clause in his contract.

Luongo also wanted the team to hire his former goalie coach, Francois Allaire, once his contract expired in Anaheim, and he also wanted Jamie McLennan retained as the Panthers' No. 2 goalie.

Instead of meeting those condition, GM Mike Keenan traded him. But from a Canuck perspective, it at least indicates he may be open to the notion of a multi-year contract.

http://thestar.blogs.com/thespin/

 

[Wolf]

Man did Fla get hosed on the Luongo deal.

But WTF is colorado thinking!!!!!!!???????!!!!!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Had to be a salary cap issue, no doubt about it.

This is the end result of obtaining Theodore.

damn I missed the draft, really would've loved to see Ovechkin take the stage amidst cheers and *gasp* a standing ovation even.

At this point I think the NHL should do their best to focus their image on AO. I mean, look around, he's cleary a fan favourite, throughout the league. The fact that he actually has a loveable personality is just bonus. Why not even throw together a series of 10-15 mins. episodes of a " day in the life of AO", giving an inside look at whats's it like being on a team in the NHL, through the eyes of a superstar. I thought ESPN pulled this concept off perectly when they did that program of follwing around the Avalanche that year.

Anyways, bottom line, you can do alot to grow the sport with Ovechkin, Bettman. Don't blow it.

 

[sefskillz]

where can i get a full list of all the trades that have happend?

-- Minnesota acquired F Pavol Demitra from Los Angeles for F Patrick O'Sullivan and No. 17 pick (F Trevor Lewis)

-- Calgary acquired F Alex Tanguay from Colorado for D Jordan Leopold, a second-round draft pick and a conditional second-round draft pick in 2007 or 2008.

-- Toronto acquired G Andrew Raycroft from Boston for G Tuukka Rask.

-- Dallas acquired F Patrick Stefan and D Jaroslav Modry from the Atlanta for F Niko Kapanen and a seventh-round pick.

-- San Sharks Jose acquired No. 16 pick (D Ty Wishart) from Montreal for the No. 20 (D David Fischer) and 53rd overall picks.

-- St. Louis acquired the No. 25 pick (F Patrik Berglund) from New Jersey for the 30th pick (D Matthew Corrente).

-- Phoenix acquired the No. 29 pick (D Chris Summers) and the 152nd overall pick from Detroit for Nos. 41 and 47 picks.

 

[DopeyFish]

according to sportsnet, the leafs offered kaberle and stajan for chris pronger and the oilers are seriously thinking about it

i would like to say that the leafs are ****ing stupid. Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger. And trading away our next Alyn McCauley in ADDITION to Kaberle would be stupid.

 

[fallout]

Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger. And trading away our next Alyn McCauley in ADDITION to Kaberle would be stupid.

Please, please do whatever you can to convince them of this.

 

[ForzaItalia]

Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger. And trading away our next Alyn McCauley in ADDITION to Kaberle would be stupid.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[dem]

according to sportsnet, the leafs offered kaberle and stajan for chris pronger and the oilers are seriously thinking about it

i would like to say that the leafs are ****ing stupid. Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger. And trading away our next Alyn McCauley in ADDITION to Kaberle would be stupid.

What?

What?

What?

I would puke if the Oilers picked up that trash for Chris Fn Pronger.

 

[Wolf]

i would like to say that the leafs are ****ing stupid. Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger.

Dopey you need to see a psychiatrist. You've got some deep, troubling, disturbing issues that you need to work on.

 

[calder]

Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

What?

What?

What?

I would puke if the Oilers picked up that trash for Chris Fn Pronger.

have you actually seen Kaberle play? he is way better than anything else you guys will be offered for Pronger.

 

[dem]

have you actually seen Kaberle play? he is way better than anything else you guys will be offered for Pronger.

No I've never seen Kaberle play. I've been watching HNIC for a billion years but I've not once watched the leafs game on saturday night. Get the f out of here.

Klowe is going to rape someone for Pronger... count on it. The guy has a 4 fn year deal at a good price.


Everyone knows he's available.. and the Oiler are apparently getting TONS of calls. This isnt the Thornton situation.. and this isnt the same as when Pronger got traded last time.

 

[ForzaItalia]

have you actually seen Kaberle play? he is way better than anything else you guys will be offered for Pronger.

I disagree. Great passer and great outlets from the zone but way too soft IMO when the games get more meaningful in the playoffs. Pronger can shut down opposing players. Kaberle simply can't. I think people overrate him here in Toronto.

Pronger is a true #1 d-man. Can you honestly say the same for Kaberle?

 

[dem]

JORDAN FN LEOPOLD GOT ALEX TANGUAY.

Now think about what Pronger is going to fetch.
Kaberle and stajan.. f off

Stajan isnt even good. We have Stajans twin.. except hes much better. His name is Jarret Stoll.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

I disagree. Great passer and great outlets from the zone but way too soft IMO when the games get more meaningful in the playoffs. Pronger can shut down opposing players. Kaberle simply can't. I think people overrate him here in Toronto.

Pronger is a true #1 d-man. Can you honestly say the same for Kaberle?

you misunderstood. I didnt say Kaberle is better than Pronger....but he is somone who can take control of your offense and give it a sense of direction. Oilers would be happy to him and Stajan for Pronger IMO.

He isnt a liability on Defense either. Ofcourse i dont see him being as tough as Pronger tho.

also Kaberle>>>>Mcabe

 

[NinSoX]

Wow that would be a great trade (for Leafs of course). I kind of wanted a Pronger + Kaberle line though. I think the leafs should have traded for Giguere and Pronger and start the rest from scratch.

 

[ForzaItalia]

you misunderstood. I didnt say Kaberle is better than Pronger....but he is somone who can take control of your offense and give it a sense of direction. Oilers would be happy to him and Stajan for Pronger IMO.

He isnt a liability on Defense either. Ofcourse i dont see him being as tough as Pronger tho.

also Kaberle>>>>Mcabe

I understood what you said Kabuki but I just added in my views on Kaberle. I think Lowe is a genius and will get a good return on Pronger. To suggest Stajan as valuable as Dopey claims he is, is, well, ------>:lol

 

[Kabuki Waq]

I understood what you said Kabuki but I just added in my views on Kaberle. I think Lowe is a genius and will get a good return on Pronger. To suggest Stajan as valuable as Dopey claims he is, is, well, ------>:lol

**** you man Stajan has a chance of becoming the next Darby Hendrickson or even .........God willing LONNY "PLAYOFF TIME" BOHONOS!


also Mike Foligno's kid got Drafted?! i wonder if he has been handed down the "FOLIGNO JUMP" or whatever the **** that retarded leap was called whenever he scored a goal:lol

 

[ForzaItalia]

also Mike Foligno's kid got Drafted?! i wonder if he has been handed down the "FOLIGNO JUMP" or whatever the **** that retarded leap was called whenever he scored a goal:lol

I saw the name and thought of Mike Foligno but never knew it was his son....:lol That jump was classic and what about the helmet too?....:lol

 

[RaySpencer]

-- Minnesota acquired F Pavol Demitra from Los Angeles for F Patrick O'Sullivan and No. 17 pick (F Trevor Lewis)

-- Calgary acquired F Alex Tanguay from Colorado for D Jordan Leopold, a second-round draft pick and a conditional second-round draft pick in 2007 or 2008.

-- Toronto acquired G Andrew Raycroft from Boston for G Tuukka Rask.

-- Dallas acquired F Patrick Stefan and D Jaroslav Modry from the Atlanta for F Niko Kapanen and a seventh-round pick.

-- San Sharks Jose acquired No. 16 pick (D Ty Wishart) from Montreal for the No. 20 (D David Fischer) and 53rd overall picks.

-- St. Louis acquired the No. 25 pick (F Patrik Berglund) from New Jersey for the 30th pick (D Matthew Corrente).

-- Phoenix acquired the No. 29 pick (D Chris Summers) and the 152nd overall pick from Detroit for Nos. 41 and 47 picks.

Thanks man ...so not to much yet, but a couple big ones for teams i like.


is there a website that tracks all this stuff into a nice list like this? a month from now, id like to see what all has gone down, can only keep up with so much stuff

 

[Mike Works]

JORDAN FN LEOPOLD GOT ALEX TANGUAY.

Now think about what Pronger is going to fetch.

1) Jordan Leopold and a 2nd round draft pick

2) Jordan Leopold wasn't demanding a trade out of Alberta, thus there was no leverage against the Albertan team

3) The Flames got Tanguay because of the salary cap, not because Jordan Leopold was a great player.

Man, I can't wait to see your reaction when the Oilers do trade away Pronger.

 

[Socreges]

Kaberle is, imo, a better player than Pronger.

You really think so?

 

[R_GILL]

Kaberle is a guy who usually is overrated by Leaf fans but still he is being underrated here, he is a pretty awesome powerplay qb and he is the reason our pp was so good last year not McCabe. Defensively he is not overpowering but he doesn't make mistakes and plays pretty well and I've seen him clean up some of McCabes bonehead mistakes. Stajan is a guy who is overrated by Leaf fans, I wouldn't compare him to McCauley as really McCauley was the better prospect but never lived up to what is potential was on the offensive side due to injuries. Stajan is a third liner with some offensive upside who kills penalties well. And I heard Edmonton wanted Kaberle and Steen, then the Leafs counteroffered with Stajan and than Edmonton balked on the deal. Either way why would Toronto trade for Pronger, whos to say he would want to play here. Its not like Toronto is that much warmer than Edmonton.

Anyway I am sure Edmonton could get more, I hope the Leafs stop right there at kaberle + Stajan as we really don't have the resources to acquire Pronger. Good to see Foligno's kid get drafted pretty damn high, I was hoping that he would fall to our second pick, oh well.

 

[dem]

Apparently the Oilers asked Florida for Bouwmeester/Horton/10th overall yesterday.

Which is about 100x better than Kaberle/Steen...


If the Oilers can pry bouwmeester from Florida I will be thrilled. Bouwmeester/Olesz would be enough for me.

 

[R_GILL]

That is alot for Pronger but of course its Mike Keenan so really who knows what he is going to do.

 

[Kabuki Waq]

Actually i bet Mike Keenan is the reason for pronger wanting out of edmonton. Keenan has had a hard-on for pronger ever since the st louis days.

 

[R_GILL]

Montreal re-signs Huet

The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed goaltender Cristobal Huet to a two-year contract. As per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=169772&hubname=nhl

 

[Fifty]

Another one of those boring club policies. I would have been interested to see how much he signed for.

 

[dem]

Our own Yoko?
Nothing personal but ...
By ROBERT TYCHKOWSKI, EDMONTON SUN

Chris Pronger has a message for Edmonton: It's not you, it's me.

The soon-to-be ex-Oiler, through his agent Patrick Morris, wants the city and its hockey fans to know that he doesn't hate them.

He still wants out, but he doesn't hate you.

"He's a great player and the Oilers wanted this to last a long, long time, as Chris did,'' said Morris, who made Pronger's trade request public last Friday. "But at the same time I think they understand that people come before business and things have happened - not necessarily to change Chris's mind, but to change his ability to stay there.''

See, it's not you, it's him.

Now, that's not exactly a unique breakup line - jilted ex-lovers whose partners tried to let them down easy have been hearing that excuse for centuries - but in this case, Morris swears it's true.

"Chris has nothing against the City of Edmonton. He enjoyed his time there and he's got nothing against the organization. He's very impressed with Kevin Lowe and Scott Howson and Kevin Prendergast. He was very impressed with Craig MacTavish and the coaching staff. He really liked his teammates and, more than anything, how can you not be embraced by the fans?

"If he could stay he would stay. And he would stay for the full five years.''

(Pause for a dramatic "BUT.'')

"But he can't.''

FILED DIVORCE PAPERS

The reasons this seemingly perfect marriage between superstar defenceman and Stanley Cup finalist is headed for divorce are as vague as they were before the Mike Comrie saga (Comrie is probably the only one who's happy about all this because he moves to No. 2 on Edmonton's Most Hated depth chart).

Personal reasons. Can't get into it. Maybe it'll all come out later. Stop us if you've heard it before.

"Nobody is expecting every single person to understand,'' said Morris. "But if they were able to analyze the reasons with personal knowledge, maybe they would understand. These are personal issues that exist in a couple's circumstances.''

When the principles won't talk, it's incumbent on us to speculate, and the speculation here is pretty simple:

If Pronger says he likes Edmonton, but has to leave for personal reasons, then the reasons aren't his. In which case, the spotlight falls on his wife, Lauren, or Yoko, as she's known in E-Town.

"To get into his reasons in detail would be unfair to the private nature of them,'' said Morris, who knows it's going to take a lot more than that to settle the angry masses. "It's hard. I can't be specific. But at the same time, in being generic, I know I'm leaving Chris open to commentary that isn't positive.''

LOVE TO STAY ...

Morris says Pronger, vacationing in Mexico and none too eager to talk, is well aware of the venom.

"It's certainly an issue that was reviewed with him,'' he said.

"He can't control fans' emotions because, really, what they are is emotional reaction. All they sense is the guy doesn't like Edmonton. And that's not true.''

It's not you, it's him.

"If people would just see that he chose to come there. He chose there for a reason. And he's choosing to leave not for a reason that has anything to do with his lack of passion for the city or his obligation to the team.

"Trust me, if it could continue it would and he would be the happier for it. But it can't. I know I'm being too vague in creating solutions that might let him off the hook a little, but from my knowledge, which is intimate, he has nothing against the city or the organization or the coaching staff or the fans in that building. He enjoyed himself there.''

So now they wait, while GM Kevin Lowe tries to parlay the best defenceman in hockey into something that can keep Edmonton a contender. The Oilers sent out a text to the rest of the NHL Friday night announcing he was up for grabs.

"That created an avalanche of interest, but with absolutely no level of seriousness yet, from my understanding,'' said Morris. "The Oilers, arguably, want a very hefty price.''

And won't make a move till it's met.

"Chris wants the Oilers to get fair value for him, but at the same time he would prefer, for everybody's sake, that this is over with sooner or later,'' said Morris. "But the Oilers control this and he understands that.''

Obviously Chris got someone pregnant :lol

 

[R_GILL]

Another one of those boring club policies. I would have been interested to see how much he signed for.

I hear 3 mil a year. We will find out soon enough anyway.

 

[Fifty]

So is Lauren Pronger going to be able to veto trade destinations? They should send his ass to boring old Minnesota.. Still my jokes can only be half hearted since we don't know the real story. Ideally it's because she's just such a drama queen and wants to live in a bigger city, but things are usually complicated.

 

[fallout]

Still my jokes can only be half hearted since we don't know the real story. Ideally it's because she's just such a drama queen and wants to live in a bigger city, but things are usually complicated.

I fully agree.

 

[Malakhov]

Huet signed for 5.75 millions.
3 millions next season then 2.75 millions the season after.

Also, wtf, the Canucks just assraped Florida and stole the best goaltender in the NHL.

 

[Malakhov]

Looks like Aebischer is going to be traded in the next 10 days, destination? Who knows, there will be a lot of goaltender movement in the next few weeks.

 

[Mike Works]

like the avatar malakhov :lol

in NHL related news, the canucks opened talks with Luongo (and his agent) today. his agent said dealing with nonis and the team was a very pleasant experience, especially compared to florida.

 

[Wolf]

"The organization is great. I know what to expect and the team is good and getting better every year. That was important for me in re-signing with Montreal. I saw no reason to look anywhere else."

Great news. I'm happy with the contract, as it's not stiffing him, its not extremley overpaying him. That contract is probably only 750 k over what he should be getting, witch is not bad at all, and personally he deserves it for cleaning up the mess Theodore left last season and making the last half great.

If Aebischer goes, then hopefully Gainey can obtain some sort of offensive upgrade for him. Considering the hab offense as it stands now, that shouldn't be that difficult.