2023-24 NHL Season

[EagerBeaver]

Celebrini Has a Big Decision: Sharks or BU?

Celebrini to make Sharks or BU call 'pretty quick'

Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 overall pick of the Sharks, said he'll make a decision on whether or not to join San Jose or head back to college "pretty quick."

www.espn.com

I think Sharks management might very well encourage Celebrini to stay in college and Dickinson to stay in the OHL, the reason why is they want to tank and suck some more so they can stockpile very high draft picks, much like the Toronto Maple Leafs did 10-12 years ago. This is the quickest way to do it, but Toronto never got it right as far as their mix of talent, and missed their window of opportunity. The Sharks are going to be a little more diligent and mix character and talent a little better. If they can get another top 5 pick this year, and maybe one more next year, they will be well set up. This is what you need to do, draft high, stockpile the picks, suck badly for a few to as many as 5 years, tell fans and media that better times will be a coming soon, and they will have a chance to watch a young core grow together into an elite team.

Just call it the ole T&S- tank and suck- the more aggressive you are with it, the better chance you have for a dynasty.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Leafs Sign Stolarz, Murray

Leafs sign free-agent G Stolarz, re-sign G Murray

The Maple Leafs signed free-agent goalie Anthony Stolarz to a two-year deal on Tuesday and re-signed fellow netminder Matt Murray on a one-year deal.

www.espn.com

The Leafs gave starter money to Stolarz, who as a backup last year for Florida had an outstanding season. However, the Panthers did not really play him at all during the postseason (1 game in which he did not start), even when Bobrovsky had that rough stretch in the finals, choosing to ride it out with Bobo. I like the signing. Stolarz would appear to be ready to be a starter and may very well come into his own as a top NHL goalie.

If not, Murray is around to provide veteran backup duties. Murray's stats last year (.903) were just below league average, suggesting that the time has come for him to be a steady and consistent backup. He is solid as a backup, however. While he is likely disappointed that his NHL career has turned out as it has after posting .930 and .923 his first two years in the league, since then he has settled into who he really is as a goalie, which is a backup. The Leafs recognized this and paid him $875,000 for 1 year. It's not much more than the NHL minimum salary of $775,000, but at least he has a job in the league. He will keep his job as long as he can keep that save % close to the league average, something Jack "Soup" Campbell was unable to do with Edmonton. However, Soup was signed by Detroit as their backup for the $775,000 league minimum and he might perform well as a backup with no pressure. Detroit is betting on it. It will be interesting to see if the Soup heats up in Detroit after 2 awful seasons in Edmonton.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Do you guys realize that Soup Campbell took an 85% pay cut from last year's salary? If I took an 85% paycut, I would perish. I would be under water with creditors within months. I would have to cancel all streaming services, and just pay utilities. It would be dicy as to whether I would survive. I would probably have to withdraw from the IRA.

Does anyone know if this is the biggest paycut in NHL history, by %?

 

[Doc Holliday]

Murray was signed to basically play for the Marlies & will likely be the first call-up when either Woll or Stolarz gets injured. Murray basically replaces Martin Jones.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Do you guys realize that Soup Campbell took an 85% pay cut from last year's salary? If I took an 85% paycut, I would perish. I would be under water with creditors within months. I would have to cancel all streaming services, and just pay utilities. It would be dicy as to whether I would survive. I would probably have to withdraw from the IRA.

Does anyone know if this is the biggest paycut in NHL history, by %?

What are you talking about? Campbell is still getting the full salary that Edmonton owes him. The league minimum salary Detroit will be paying is on top of the money Edmonton is paying him. NHL contracts are guaranteed unlike the NFL. If an NHL team buys you out they’re obligated to keep on paying you the balance of what they owe you no matter if you signed with another team or not. The Campbell situation is actually not uncommon.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Murray was signed to basically play for the Marlies & will likely be the first call-up when either Woll or Stolarz gets injured. Murray basically replaces Martin Jones.

I totally forgot about Woll! He actually showed a lot of promise. It makes sense that Woll is backup and Murray is 3rd string.

I also forgot that Soup was bought out. I guess we shouldn't feel too sorry for him. He will make 2.775 million next year despite coming off two awful seasons.

 

[Doc Holliday]

I totally forgot about Woll! He actually showed a lot of promise. It makes sense that Woll is backup and Murray is 3rd string.

I also forgot that Soup was bought out. I guess we shouldn't feel too sorry for him. He will make 2.775 million next year despite coming off two awful seasons.

Woll is slated to be the #1 goalie, a role he took away from Samsonov last season until he suffered a serious high ankle sprain. Stolarz was signed to be the backup & is expected to step into the #1 role should Woll falter or get injured, which could seriously happen considering his knack to be injury prone early in his pro career. Other than Murray they also have that giant young goalie from Finland playing for the Marlies who was called up last season but has yet to play an NHL game.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Woll is slated to be the #1 goalie, a role he took away from Samsonov last season until he suffered a serious high ankle sprain. Stolarz was signed to be the backup & is expected to step into the #1 role should Woll falter or get injured, which could seriously happen considering his knack to be injury prone early in his pro career. Other than Murray they also have that giant young goalie from Finland playing for the Marlies who was called up last season but has yet to play an NHL game.

You are telling me Woll is being paid $775,000- league minimum- to be the starter while Stolarz gets $2.5 million to be his backup????????? And Murray is getting $875,000 to be 3rd string?

Leafs sign free-agent G Stolarz, re-sign G Murray

The Maple Leafs signed free-agent goalie Anthony Stolarz to a two-year deal on Tuesday and re-signed fellow netminder Matt Murray on a one-year deal.

www.espn.com

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

So basically Woll is getting less money to be the starter than his 2 backups are getting to be backups. Unbelievable! I guess when the Leafs sat down with Woll, they said "we are paying you based on how many games we expect you to be healthy for", and he must have agreed. I really wish that was the way the Yankees would have negotiated the contracts of Jacoby Ellsbury and Giancarlo Stanton. If it was, they wouldn't have paid those guys so much to be on the IL all the time.

 

[Doc Holliday]

You are telling me Woll is being paid $775,000- league minimum- to be the starter while Stolarz gets $2.5 million to be his backup????????? And Murray is getting $875,000 to be 3rd string?

Woll is actually being paid less. He’ll be paid $766 667 this season. He’s still on his rookie contract which was signed a few years ago at the league minimum at the time. However the Leafs re-signed him to a 3-yr extension on July 1st at $3 660 000 per season which will expire in the summer of 2028. Matt Murray signed for 1 year at $875 000 which is now the league minimum. So once Woll’s rookie contract expires at the end of this season he’ll be paid $3 66 million while Stolarz will be paid $2.5 million. If both goalies perform as expected they’ll likely be the same tandem a year from now & the Leafs will likely look at signing a veteran goalie at the leaugue minimum to replace Murray unless Murray is re-signed for a year at the league minimum. However like Martin Jones he may opt to sign elsewhere as a backup for a bit more money.

 

[gaby]

Well...with MARCHESSAULT and STAMKOS the PREDS will be in serious business....will look at them closely.....

 

[EagerBeaver]

Well...with MARCHESSAULT and STAMKOS the PREDS will be in serious business....will look at them closely.....

They will be eating a lot of Nashville Hots- the traditional method to celebrate a Predators win.

Nashville-Style Hot Chicken Sandwich Recipe | Little Sunny Kitchen

Crispy Nashville-style hot chicken sandwich with a juicy and tender center. Served with coleslaw, mayo, and pickle chips in a brioche bun.

littlesunnykitchen.com

 

[EagerBeaver]

Celebrini Decides on Sharks over Boston University; Will Soon Be Swimming In San Jose

Celebrini to leave BU, inks 1st deal with Sharks

Eight days after taking him with the No. 1 pick, the San Jose Sharks signed Macklin Celebrini, 18, to his entry-level contract Saturday, meaning the center will not return to Boston University and Hockey East for his sophomore season.

www.espn.com

This is great news for the other rebuilding teams. I thought the Sharks, without Celebrini, had a good chance to tank and suck one more year, but it will hard to do with Celebrini likely to elevate them from being in serious competition for another #1 overall pick.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Celebrini Decides on Sharks over Boston University; Will Soon Be Swimming In San Jose

Celebrini to leave BU, inks 1st deal with Sharks

Eight days after taking him with the No. 1 pick, the San Jose Sharks signed Macklin Celebrini, 18, to his entry-level contract Saturday, meaning the center will not return to Boston University and Hockey East for his sophomore season.

www.espn.com

This is great news for the other rebuilding teams. I thought the Sharks, without Celebrini, had a good chance to tank and suck one more year, but it will hard to do with Celebrini likely to elevate them from being in serious competition for another #1 overall pick.

There really wasn’t any doubt he’d start his NHL career this season. There simply is way too much money at stake. Had he stayed at BU he would have delayed signing his bridge contract by a year. NHL careers being as short as they are every year he plays professionally counts. Plus what if he would have got a career threatening injury while at BU before signing an NHL contract? Financially this would have been disastrous!

 

[EagerBeaver]

There really wasn’t any doubt he’d start his NHL career this season. There simply is way too much money at stake.

The media has not really looked at this issue very closely, because it is too complicated for them. Had Celebrini been an American and not Canadian, he would have NIL money at his disposal by returning to college, and the San Jose Sharks would have gotten another year of tanking and sucking. In fact, under NIL rules, there would be nothing to stop a wealthy Sharks fan from contributing to his NIL fund so as to promote another year of tanking and sucking while Celebrini developed at BU- except the fact that is Canadian. The NCAA/legal system has not figured out NIL money for foreign born players playing NCAA sports in the USA. As a result of that, UConn lost Canadian star player Aaliyah Edwards to the Washington Mystics of the WNBA, while Paige Bueckers, an American born player who would have been drafted higher than Edwards who was selected #5, stayed at UConn for another year. Bueckers is making around $1 million annually in NIL money; Aaliyah Edwards rookie contract in the WNBA is $81,000 annually for 4 years. So Bueckers is making more money in NIL than if she had gone pro.

I believe there is a lawsuit going on about NIL money going on for foreign born players. The current rule is that foreign born players can only get NIL money from NIL opportunities in their own countries. In the case of Celebrini, that might actually mean more than it does for someone like Edwards, who has more opportunities in the USA than Canada. This article discusses the extreme confusion over NIL for foreign born players, and is why the media is not talking about what analysis Celebrini did on college vs. NHL:

NIL Confusion Remains for International Athletes

Immigration attorneys' recent findings confirm frustrations, lack of opportunities

www.si.com

 

[Doc Holliday]

Celebrini had nothing to gain by going back to BU. He won the Hobey Baker award last season, which is the highest honor in NCAA hockey. He would have been a man playing with a bunch of children. It actually would have slowed his progress. And even though he may make the Sharks slightly better that’s not really his problem if they may rather suck even more this year. But my guess is that he’s too young & too raw to have much of an impact for at least the next couple of seasons. He is not projected to be much of a goal scorer in the NHL. He will be more of a quality two-way player similar to Jonathan Toews. I’ll even be surprised if he ends up winning the Calder.

 

[EagerBeaver]

I’ll even be surprised if he ends up winning the Calder.

I just read that Michkov of Philadelphia is the favorite for Calder Trophy. This is a Russian kid actually drafted last year but Philadelphia figured out a way to buy out the contract with his Russian team. Which is what Montreal needs to do with the Russian guy they drafted.

Calder Trophy Odds: Flyers’ Matvei Michkov favorite

The Philadelphia Flyers have never had a rookie win the Calder Memorial Trophy but this year’s Calder Trophy odds have Matvei Michkov as the early favorite.

www.broadstreethockey.com

 

[EagerBeaver]

In terms of Odds to Win Calder, both Fanduel and Sports Interaction have these odds:

Matvei Mitchkov +350
Macklin Celebrini +400
Logan Stankoven + 400
Cutter Gauthier +500
Will Smith +500
Lane Hutson +700

After those 6 guys, the odds skyrocket rather dramatically.

 

[EagerBeaver]

Interesting update on the Nicushkin situation with the Avs:

There's a new twist in the Valeri Nichushkin saga with Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin is speaking about what happened in April of 2023 in Seattle for the first time

denversports.com

 

[gaby]

He is a very very talented player....BUT not sure AVS will appreciate...plus a very special case...lol.

 

[EagerBeaver]

He is a very very talented player....BUT not sure AVS will appreciate...plus a very special case...lol.

No question about that, he had 9 goals in the first 10 playoff games, but once he was out the wind went out of the sails of their entire team. It was obvious. He hugely let down his team, and reading that translation of his statement (which I am not sure how good it really is), I don't appreciate it. And if I don't appreciate it, I am sure Avs management and players don't appreciate it either. You have to give some rope to a talented player, but this guy is pushing patience levels to their outermost limits.

I hope he is reinstated and stays clean, but we will see what happens.