The Official 2016-17 NHL thread

EagerBeaver said:

The USA Today, while not offering grades, has offered an in depth analysis of each pick in the 1st round and they assess the Rangers pick much better than the Leafs pick....

Click to expand...

Duh, no kidding! The Rangers picked him in the 7th spot while Toronto got their guy in the 17th spot. Of course that knucklehead from USA today who probably has never watched a live hockey game will say that the Rangers pick is 'much' better than the Leafs pick. By the way, i never heard of Kyle Woodlief, the wannabe hockey scribe who wrote the article. He's probably that 400 lbs fat guy living in a basement in New Jersey whom Donald Trump referred to during one of the debates.

EagerBeaver said:

Leafs could have taken the guy that the Rangers got at #21 (who is assessed better than the guy taken at 17).

Click to expand...

I got news for you. That 21st pick by the Rangers likely will spend his career playing in the minor leagues or in Europe. This wasn't a strong crop of draft picks and I'd say only the top dozen picks likely will play in the NHL on a regular basis. Toronto had to take a chance since they were picking only 17th and they did by chosing an Erik Karlsson clone who was rated as the top defenceman in the draft and as high as #2 overall last fall before he fell to mononucleosis which basically killed his season.

The Sportsnet panel called it a steal the second he was chosen and i'll believe Canadian hockey people over any nobody from USA Today anytime!

And even if Toronto's pick doesn't end up having a great career is no big deal considering they were picking 17th and it's always a 50-50 chance that players drafted in the second half of the first round ever wind up having successful hockey careers. It was worth the gamble and many believe the Leafs hit a homerun with that pick. Only time will tell if they were right or not.

EagerBeaver said:

I am just wondering if he is related to the famous World War II Admiral?

Click to expand...

Of course he is. That WWII Japanese admiral was his great-great grandfather.

On another note, i found it somewhat odd that out of two draft picks (Yamamoto and Suzuki) with asian surnames none of them looked asian.

EagerBeaver said:

Yamamoto's father is part Japanese and the mother is Hawaiian.

Click to expand...

Strange. He looks caucasian. Maybe he has one or two caucasian grandparents.

Teemu is indeed automatic. I'm not sure about the other ones. I'd be okay will letting in Middleton and Larmer. I'm okay with Paul Henderson not being in the hall, but why Tretiak if no Henderson? Henderson's exploits during the 1972 Canada/Russia series changed hockey forever throughout the world. To me that's worth something.

The HHoF is probably the easiest HoF to get in of all sports. Too many guys in there don't belong and too many questions on others. One of the problems is that we don't know who voted for who. The selection committee is too secretive and has zero accountability.

Doc Holliday said:

I also predict that Marc Methot will wind up in Dallas.

Click to expand...

The Dallas Stars have acquired defenceman Marc Methot from the Vegas Golden Knights for a second-round draft pick in 2020 and goaltending prospect Dylan Ferguson.

My opinion is that it's a steep price to pay for Methot. I wouldn't have given more than a third-rounder for him. I guess playing next to Erik Karlsson makes your stock go high, just like it was for Mike Komisarek playing alongside Andrei Markov.

Connor McDavid expected to sign new 8-year contract extension

by Elliotte Friedman

It isn’t finalized yet, but Connor McDavid’s new deal with the Edmonton Oilers is in the neighbourhood of $13.25 million for eight years. (Neither the Oilers nor McDavid’s agent, Jeff Jackson, would comment.) That’s a win for everyone.

Initially, the Oilers worried their captain might only want five years, but they get him for maximum term. It’s a win for McDavid — for obvious reasons.

The thing to remember here is this is for all of his prime years. Pittsburgh could “back-dive” Sidney Crosby’s contract. He’s making $3 million per season at ages 35, 36, and 37. The new CBA doesn’t allow that for McDavid.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are making $13.8 million in the first four years of their mega-deals with Chicago. It goes to $12 million in Year 4 but down to $6.9 million in Year 8, when both will be 34. McDavid won’t be into his 30s by the time this ends.

Now, what does it mean for the team?

Alex Ovechkin’s Washington extension was 19 per cent of the cap when he signed it. Crosby’s second contract was 17.3 per cent while Evgeni Malkin’s was 15.3. McDavid is at 17.6, but that’s assuming zero growth. Going into next year, it will be 12.7 per cent for Ovechkin and 11.6 for Crosby.

Malkin is a little more complex because he’s signed two contracts since his entry-level at two different values. The first was at an annual average value of $8.7 million. His second deal is at $9.5 million.

Remember that McDavid’s entry-level deal is still in place for next season, so the Oilers have one more shot with him at the low number no matter what Leon Draisaitl signs for. Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2009 under similar circumstances, as Malkin was still on his entry-level contract.


Connor McDavid to sign contract extension

Dave Semenko R.I.P.

He passed away from cancer earlier this morning.

gohabsgo said:

Karl Alzner and the Montreal Canadiens have agreed on a five-year deal, worth just over $23 million total, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.

Click to expand...

This is great news!!!! :thumb:

gaby said:

..thanks Doc......and where is Big Joe.....

Click to expand...

Big Joe would love to stay in SJ. But not sure there's a match. I have a feeling he's waiting to see with whom Patrick Marleau will sign with.

Update: Big Joe just re-signed with the Sharks.