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[R_GILL]

Your 2008/2009 Stanley Cup Champions:

Your Conn Smythe Winner:

Now with that out of the way, here comes the more important stuff. The NHL Draft will take place in Montreal on June 26th as part of the CentenniaLOL.

2009 NHL Entry Draft:

Final Central Scouting Rankings

North American Skaters

European Skaters

North American Goalies

European Goalies

Full Rankings:
http://www.nhl.com/ice/draftprospectbrowse.htm

International Scouting Services

Full ISS Rankings:
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/feature/?id=11679

NHL free agency begins on July 1st.

Notable UFAs:

Centers: Henrik Sedin, Mike Cammalleri, Steve Sullivan, Nik Antropov, Rob Niedermeyer, Sammy Pahlsson, Saku Koivu, Robert Lang, Mike Comrie, Viktor Kozlov, Steven Reinprecht

Might retire: Mats Sundin, Joe Sakic, Sergei Fedorov

Right Wingers: Marian Hossa, Marian Gaborik, Martin Havlat, Bill Guerin, Brian Gionta

Left Wingers: Alex Tanguay, Daniel Sedin, Keith Tkazcuk, Jere Lehtinen, Erik Cole

Defensemen: Jay Bouwmeester, Scott Neidermeyer, Mathieu Schneider, Sergei Zubov, Rob Blake, Adrian Aucoin, Mattias Ohlund, Derek Morris

Goalies: Nikolai Khabibulin, Manny Fernandez, Martin Biron, Martin Gerber, Olaf Kolzig, Dwayne Roloson

Notable RFAs:
Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Kari Lehtonen, Cam Barker, Andrej Sekera, Blake Comeau, Travis Zajac, Chris Higgins, Josh Harding, Jack Johnson, David Booth, Kris Versteeg, Anton Babchuk, Drew Stafford

 

[Marvie_3]

Poor Panthers.... Great season, 93 points, and still miss the playoffs.....

 

[R_GILL]

Poor Panthers.... Great season, 93 points, and still miss the playoffs.....

Plus they are going to probably lose Bouwmeester and they owe every fan who bought playoff tickets 4 regular season tickets since they promised they would make the playoffs.

 

[Marvie_3]

Plus they are going to probably lose Bouwmeester and they owe every fan who bought playoff tickets 4 regular season tickets since they promised they would make the playoffs.

Ouch..... Fuckin Rangers making it in....:lol

 

[Buba Big Guns]

Plus they are going to probably lose Bouwmeester and they owe every fan who bought playoff tickets 4 regular season tickets since they promised they would make the playoffs.

Wow that sucks :lol Seriously, this is the best they've been since like what, a decade?


Anyways, it'll be the first time ever since I started watching hockey that Ottawa will not have made it. Gonna feel weird.

sens draft 9th so likely OEL or Shroeder. Probably Shroeder since Ottawa doesnt have any great forward prospects.

 

[R_GILL]

Wow that sucks :lol Seriously, this is the best they've been since like what, a decade?


Anyways, it'll be the first time ever since I started watching hockey that Ottawa will not have made it. Gonna feel weird.

sens draft 9th so likely OEL or Shroeder. Probably Shroeder since Ottawa doesnt have any great forward prospects.

i'm thinking OEL since Murray has been talking about how high he has a defenseman rated on his draft board not named Hedman, and that has to be OEL as he has rocketed up the draft rankings. I'm thinking Schroeder is probably going to the Preds, since Wilson + Schroeder would be a deadly combination. Leafs will try to get Schenn and Avs will probably get Duchene.

 

[Marvie_3]

It's gonna be wierd not seeing Lemaire behind the Wild bench up here anymore. I might be able to get through a Wild game on tv without falling asleep.. :lol

 

[R_GILL]

Some Rumours going around are:

Hossa will re-sign soon in Detroit
Brian Burke is in Sweden to ink Jonas Gustavsson
Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy will sign with the Canucks

 

[Zombie James]

Poor Panthers.... Great season, 93 points, and still miss the playoffs.....

The loser point rears it's ugly head again.

Anyways, I eagerly await seeing the Super Schenn Bros. in Toronto.

 

[sefskillz]

ive found my home!

 

[RaySpencer]

sooo...anymore news on Jagr commin to Edmonton? ......



...cant believe how badly we did this year, hope we get rid of Horcoff.

 

[Hitman]

sooo...anymore news on Jagr commin to Edmonton? ......



...cant believe how badly we did this year, hope we get rid of Horcoff.

Jagr to Edmonton is dead i think.

 

[pringles]

Some Rumours going around are:

Hossa will re-sign soon in Detroit
Brian Burke is in Sweden to ink Jonas Gustavsson
Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy will sign with the Canucks

I think July at the earliest, because of tagging rules and whatnot. Negotiations are also put on hold during the playoffs. The Franzen signing made it less likely Hossa will be a Wing next season, but still not impossible.

Anyway, I don't belong in this thread.. yet.

 

[ForzaItalia]

:lol @ topic title...

 

[jacket320]

Dallas' time to really shine this summer!

Actually, I just hope we get healthy.

...and a solid backup goalie that can absorb 25 games next year.

...and a someone on the blue line that can be out on the ice 25 minutes a night and not be a liability.

 

[R_GILL]

Leafs signed Robert Slaney, yay I guess?

ATLANTA — With its 29th-place finish, the Lightning, depending on what happens in Tuesday's draft lottery, will be slotted to pick either second or third in the draft.

That doesn't mean Tampa Bay will use the pick. GM Brian Lawton said he will be open-minded about trading it.

"Between Tuesday and the draft, we're going to see a million things," Lawton said Saturday. "I'm very interested to see what comes our way. We'll evaluate everything on the merits of what it would do to the team short term and long term."

Because Lawton said he wants to build a foundation to support the club's future, he would not part with the pick easily or for something that provides "short-term gain for long-term pain."

"We're not going to trade the first pick for a 30-year-old defenseman," he said.

Taking Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman with the pick is not a bad plan, either. But as Lawton noted, "All I'm saying is there are lots of options. It's not the worst position in the world to have options, especially if you have a deep draft to back it up."

LOLawton

 

[Panda Bear]

I think July at the earliest, because of tagging rules and whatnot. Negotiations are also put on hold during the playoffs. The Franzen signing made it less likely Hossa will be a Wing next season, but still not impossible.

Anyway, I don't belong in this thread.. yet.

I thought Hossa was looking to sign a long term deal?

 

[pringles]

I thought Hossa was looking to sign a long term deal?

Yeah, he is. All signs point to the contract being discussed is similar in style to what Zetterberg signed. 8+ years, frontloaded with a cap hit of around 6 mil.
Several good players would have to be moved in order to make room for him, so Holland has to decide whether it's worth it or not.

 

[R_GILL]

Ah damn Jonas Gustavsson can't sign until May 15th if he plays for Swedens WC team. Hopefully some other team does not swoop in and make him change his mind by then.

 

[DopeyFish]

Leafs signed Robert Slaney, yay I guess?



LOLawton

maybe part of the leafs salary offload deal?

 

[R_GILL]

Leafs sign Victor Stalberg. Damn the Marlies are going to awesome next year with Stalberg, Stefanovitch, D Mitchell and Didomenico.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Isles get 1st pick. Surprise.

NEW YORK -- The New York Islanders have won the NHL draft lottery and will have the first overall pick. The Islanders finished 30th overall this season and had the best odds of landing the No. 1 pick. The draw was held at the league's offices in New York and the results were announced in Toronto by deputy commissioner Bill Daly.

The Islanders have the top draft pick for the first time since 2000. Their choice this year will likely be between two highly touted prospects: center John Tavares and Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman. Tavares was the top-ranked North American skater in final rankings by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. Hedman was tops among Europeans.

The draft will be held at Montreal's Bell Centre on June 26.

 

[BladeWorker]

Leafs sign Victor Stalberg. Damn the Marlies are going to awesome next year with Stalberg, Stefanovitch, D Mitchell and Didomenico.

One can only hope the baby leafs do well, rather than call up their talent prematurely to the frosty, frosty ice of the ACC.

 

[CrazedArabMan]

I think July at the earliest, because of tagging rules and whatnot. Negotiations are also put on hold during the playoffs. The Franzen signing made it less likely Hossa will be a Wing next season, but still not impossible.

Anyway, I don't belong in this thread.. yet.

Here's hoping we repeat and not blow it in the playoffs. I'm also hoping the Hossa rumor will be true.

 

[R_GILL]

Burke seems really confident that he can get a high draft pick in this draft, I wonder what kind of shenanigans he is going to pull and how angry it makes Bettman. Maybe he knows Snow doesn't want Tavares and is going to take Hedman and then he has a trade worked out with Tampa Bay?

 

[Manics]

Fuck Gill, do it right man. Add this image to the first post:

 

[Raistlin]

LOL to the Sabres ... 2nd season in a row missing the playoffs by a few points. This time, one game would have been enough to make it in.

When you consider we lost like 14 games to bottom feeders, but whooped on plenty of good teams ... wow ... just weak.

 

[R_GILL]

Matt Gilroy signed with the Rangers, how the fuck do they still have cap room?

 

[Mike Works]

they gotta be trading Rozsival or maybe Redden (or hell maybe Morris and Mara) in the offseason

it's the only way

 

[R_GILL]

they gotta be trading Rozsival or maybe Redden (or hell maybe Morris and Mara) in the offseason

it's the only way

With the cap going down, who is going to take those. Maybe Redden goes down to Hartford.

 

[Kingpen]

they gotta be trading Rozsival or maybe Redden (or hell maybe Morris and Mara) in the offseason

it's the only way

lol at anyone that wants Rozi with that bloated 5 mil per year contract. After seeing him for years with Pitts, he is only worth maybe 3 max...

 

[DopeyFish]

Fuck Gill, do it right man. Add this image to the first post:

haha, i see what you did there

 

[R_GILL]

Another team bites the dust. St Louis joins the Habs as the two teams eliminated thus far, Columbus looks like they will join them soon enough.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

Another team bites the dust. St Louis joins the Habs as the two teams eliminated thus far, Columbus looks like they will join them soon enough.

Err.... Habs are still in it... for now!

 

[Drozmight]

I wish Seattle would steal some NHL team away from some city and make it their own this off-season.

Then I could cease being a Vancouver fan over some time, and become a Seattle Metrosexuals fan (or whatever they decide to call them). I'm guessing a rivally between Vancouver and Seattle would break out immediatly and it'd be awesome.

 

[R_GILL]

Finally some movement on the Jonas Gustavsson front, the 24 year old star netminder of the Swedish Elite League. From the Toronto Sun: “According to a Swedish source familiar with the situation, Burke will be in the Danish capital of Copenhagen today to meet with Par Larsson, Gustavsson’s Swedish-based agent. ”

It’s been no secret that Burke would love to get Jonas’ signature on a contract. After posting a 238 minute shutout streak in the SEL this past season and leading Farjestads to a league championship, Gustavssson wowed the hockey world and has attracted interest from as many as 16 NHL teams, a list which he has now narrowed down to two: the Dallas Stars and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Fuck you Dallas we need him more. Also I would make fun of the Habs but really what is the point, plus I kind of feel bad for Carey Price.

 

[Manics]

You're doing a piss-poor job of updating this thread Gill. At least Carey Price is happy to be here:

 

[Acid08]

Hey what's up guys? Sharks-Gaf is in the house.

 

[Mii]

Hay guys.

Thornton = prospects prospects prospects
Marleau = Keep but get rid of the C
Cheechoo = I like, but lets see if we can get anything for it.

Best question is whether D Wilson is staying or not?

 

[Acid08]

I don't see why Wilson wouldn't stay. He's done his best and he has definitely added talent the Sharks needed. I think Nabby is the weak link. There are times where he NEEDS to make a save and just doesn't. Wilson is going to have a hell of a job finding another goalie. Marleau, lose the C. Thornton isn't going anywhere. I really hope Cheechoo doesn't get traded. I would really hate seeing him on another team.

Also Vlasic made by far the most mistakes in this series. He has to go.

 

[speculawyer]

Fucking Sharks . . . rule all season long and then totally choke against their rivals, the Ducks, in their first play-off series. Ugh. Fuckers.

 

[Rapping Granny]

Nabokov- get rid off.

 

[Mii]

I don't see why Wilson wouldn't stay. He's done his best and he has definitely added talent the Sharks needed. I think Nabby is the weak link. There are times where he NEEDS to make a save and just doesn't. Wilson is going to have a hell of a job finding another goalie. Marleau, lose the C. Thornton isn't going anywhere. I really hope Cheechoo doesn't get traded. I would really hate seeing him on another team.

Also Vlasic made by far the most mistakes in this series. He has to go.

Vlasic is in a growing stage and I trust the kid to improve a lot. He normally is solid. This was his first fluke period.

Maybe we can trade Thornton for a goalie? Or package Nabokov and Cheechoo together? Some combo. I don't know if I agree that Nabokov is the weak link, as he has amazing years, and meh years, and they generally trade off. Plus, remember that McLellan runs a more offense-focussed game. Most teams which have consistently brilliant goaltenders also are very defensive-minded. So of course Nabokov did better under the Wilson Sharks than the McLellan Sharks.

You're going to have a hard time finding any goalie who can do well under the McLellan Sharks environment. So is it worth searching?

 

[Slurmer]

Welcome to the offseason Sharks-age. At least you didn't lose to the Pens.

 

[Acid08]

Vlasic is in a growing stage and I trust the kid to improve a lot. He normally is solid. This was his first fluke period.

Maybe we can trade Thornton for a goalie? Or package Nabokov and Cheechoo together? Some combo. I don't know if I agree that Nabokov is the weak link, as he has amazing years, and meh years, and they generally trade off. Plus, remember that McLellan runs a more offense-focussed game. Most teams which have consistently brilliant goaltenders also are very defensive-minded. So of course Nabokov did better under the Wilson Sharks than the McLellan Sharks.

You're going to have a hard time finding any goalie who can do well under the McLellan Sharks envirt. So is it worth searching?

So McLellan is the problem now. He's trying to coach the Sharks the way he coached the Wings, very offensively. But the Sharks aren't necessarily a team that should be totally offensively focused.

 

[Mike Works]

Don't most of the big Sharks players have NTC's?

 

[TurtleSnatcher]

Nabokov for Turco?

Come on you know you want too.. Turco isn't pushing buttons on his NTC according to Dallas Morning News.

Maybe Philly needs him..

Come on.. I need something.

 

[Slurmer]

Nabokov for Turco?

Come on you know you want too.. Turco isn't pushing buttons on his NTC according to Dallas Morning News.

Maybe Philly needs him..

Come on.. I need something.

could happen. we'll definitely get a goalie.

 

[Acid08]

Don't most of the big Sharks players have NTC's?

I hope Nabby doesn't.

 

[Mike Works]

I hope Nabby doesn't.

San Jose No-Trade-Clauses

Dan Boyle, S.J - NTC [full NTC until June 30, 2012; after that, Boyle can pick 8 teams that he will not accept a trade to]
Mike Grier, S.J - NTC
Patrick Marleau, S.J - NTC
Evgeni Nabokov, S.J - NTC
Joe Thornton, S.J - NTC

lol