Official 2014 NHL Offseason Thread
- Thread starter EagerBeaver
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I agree on all counts. I don't know why people are so hard on Phaneuf. He may not be a top 5 defenceman, but he's definitely among the top 15 defencemen in the league. He's a horse! He rarely takes a night off, he's rarely injured & if he is he finds a way to play, he's always out there against the opposing team's best line & plays both the powerplay and is on the team's #1 penalty-killing unit. And, he's a leader and a captain. He's also a bargain compared to some of the ridiculous contracts recently being signed.
I still don't think Robidas or Gardiner are the answer as a true #2 pairing for Phaneuf. But Carl Gunnerson certainly wasn't the answer and on most teams he's a #5 or 6 defenceman. The Leafs were playing him as a #2 defenceman.
This season, the Leafs plan on playing Phaneuf at his proper defensive position. He'd been playing on the opposing side for most of his Leafs career in order to help out as much as he could.
Doc,
I think it is tme for Gardiner to shine. The kid has so much skill and so much upside and was our best dman the last 20 games of the season and by far our best player as well in the those last 20 games when everyone else ran out of gas and when Reimer could not handle the pressure. His contract is gonna be a steal before all is said and done as long as he stays healthy.
Robidas has always been a steady defender and is a huge addition to the Leafs blue line even at 37. Shanahan would never of signed him (or gave the ok to Nonis to do so) had there been any chance Stephane was not 100% after his second broken leg last season. Gunnerson never earned the #2 role but then again there was nobody else to put there so it was what it was. One of Granberg/Percy/Holzer/MacWilliam hopefully are given a shot to crack the lineup out of camp and one should make the jump (likely Granberg) and hopefully Franson is traded.
Loved Fransons game when he was first traded for but it was apparent he is only at his best on the power play and is too slow to be up on the rush 5 on 5. We have enuf good dmen for the PP and he should bring a nice return as PP specialists are in high demand these days. I would settle for a 2nd round pick and a decent prospect but still holding out for a Evander Kane trade for Reimer (Winnipeg hometown boy) Franson and a prospect and maybe throw in a pick albeit not a first round pick.
I think it is tme for Gardiner to shine. The kid has so much skill and so much upside and was our best dman the last 20 games of the season and by far our best player as well in the those last 20 games when everyone else ran out of gas and when Reimer could not handle the pressure. His contract is gonna be a steal before all is said and done as long as he stays healthy.
Robidas has always been a steady defender and is a huge addition to the Leafs blue line even at 37. Shanahan would never of signed him (or gave the ok to Nonis to do so) had there been any chance Stephane was not 100% after his second broken leg last season. Gunnerson never earned the #2 role but then again there was nobody else to put there so it was what it was. One of Granberg/Percy/Holzer/MacWilliam hopefully are given a shot to crack the lineup out of camp and one should make the jump (likely Granberg) and hopefully Franson is traded.
Loved Fransons game when he was first traded for but it was apparent he is only at his best on the power play and is too slow to be up on the rush 5 on 5. We have enuf good dmen for the PP and he should bring a nice return as PP specialists are in high demand these days. I would settle for a 2nd round pick and a decent prospect but still holding out for a Evander Kane trade for Reimer (Winnipeg hometown boy) Franson and a prospect and maybe throw in a pick albeit not a first round pick.
I wish i shared your optimism.
But i can't see Gardiner improving that much under a coach like Randy Carlyle, who isn't a fan of Gardiner's. And Gardiner knows it. He is quite aware that the coach doesn't have much confidence in him and this isn't a good thing since Gardiner seems like the insecure type. But i could be wrong and i sure hope i am.
Robidas is a quality veteran, but he's had two broken legs (same leg i believe) over the past 2 years or so. Not a good thing at his age. I hope he can spend the entire season healthy and not suffer another broken leg, which will likely put an end to his career. A few years ago, the Leafs signed Francois Beauchemin and i thought it was the best news of the pre-season. He had similar qualities to Robidas'. However, Beauchemin and the Leafs were not a good fit and he was eventually traded (which turned out to be a good trade for the Leafs). But he's once been thriving in Anaheim. Therefore, i won't get my expectations too high in regards to Robidas. I'll take a wait-and-see approach.
I have no problem with Franson spending the entire year with the Leafs. They know what they have with him. Defense is also the toughest position to learn and it wouldn't surprise me if he will not be a better player this season, considering his experience and especially the fact he'll be UFA after this season. Players in contract years often play their best.
I doubt the Jets would be stupid enough to trade Evander Kane for James Reimer, whom no one in the league seems to want. Sure, the Leafs could trade a couple of quality players to Winnipeg for Kane, but the numbers will have to work out since the Leafs are currently over the cap (but only slightly). Winnipeg will not just give away Evander Kane, who is their most sought-after player.
But i can't see Gardiner improving that much under a coach like Randy Carlyle, who isn't a fan of Gardiner's. And Gardiner knows it. He is quite aware that the coach doesn't have much confidence in him and this isn't a good thing since Gardiner seems like the insecure type. But i could be wrong and i sure hope i am.
Robidas is a quality veteran, but he's had two broken legs (same leg i believe) over the past 2 years or so. Not a good thing at his age. I hope he can spend the entire season healthy and not suffer another broken leg, which will likely put an end to his career. A few years ago, the Leafs signed Francois Beauchemin and i thought it was the best news of the pre-season. He had similar qualities to Robidas'. However, Beauchemin and the Leafs were not a good fit and he was eventually traded (which turned out to be a good trade for the Leafs). But he's once been thriving in Anaheim. Therefore, i won't get my expectations too high in regards to Robidas. I'll take a wait-and-see approach.
I have no problem with Franson spending the entire year with the Leafs. They know what they have with him. Defense is also the toughest position to learn and it wouldn't surprise me if he will not be a better player this season, considering his experience and especially the fact he'll be UFA after this season. Players in contract years often play their best.
I doubt the Jets would be stupid enough to trade Evander Kane for James Reimer, whom no one in the league seems to want. Sure, the Leafs could trade a couple of quality players to Winnipeg for Kane, but the numbers will have to work out since the Leafs are currently over the cap (but only slightly). Winnipeg will not just give away Evander Kane, who is their most sought-after player.
Franson wont get better, for that to happen he would need to get faster, by A LOT! Sure Barb Underhill is a great teacher but she aint a miracle worker. Franson sucks as a defender and his asset ( and a good one at that) is on the PP. Many teams would love to have him for a "decent" price. I have heard a rumor that the Jets would want Lupul as part of a trade for Kane. I would send Reimer (hometown boy) Franson (greatly improve the Jets PP) Lupul and a prospect/pick for Kane and likely another salary dump. But like all clubs, the Jets probably want more than is reasonable.
Dion and Elisha accept JVR's Ice Bucket Challenge
http://tipofthetower.com/2014/08/12/toronto-maple-leafs-dion-phaneuf-answers-ice-bucket-challenge/
http://tipofthetower.com/2014/08/12/toronto-maple-leafs-dion-phaneuf-answers-ice-bucket-challenge/
Rumors are floating around that defenceman Tory Krug might be heading to the KHL. Word is that a KHL team has made him a great offer to join their ranks.
Congrats to the Wings on signing the great Ken Holland for another 4 years as GM!
Here are just a few of the man's many amazing accomplishments as Red Wing GM for the past 17 years:
3 Stanley Cups (plus 1 more as assistant GM before that; he's been with the Wings in one capacity or another for 31 years)
4 Presidents Trophies
10 Division titles
100 or more points 13 times
746 regular season wins (more than any other team)
115 post-season wins (more than any other team)
Some of his players: Yzerman, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Konstantinov, Fedorov, Larionov, Kronwall, Hasek, Hull, Shanahan,.....
The second greatest GM of all time (behind Sam Pollock)!
Here are just a few of the man's many amazing accomplishments as Red Wing GM for the past 17 years:
3 Stanley Cups (plus 1 more as assistant GM before that; he's been with the Wings in one capacity or another for 31 years)
4 Presidents Trophies
10 Division titles
100 or more points 13 times
746 regular season wins (more than any other team)
115 post-season wins (more than any other team)
Some of his players: Yzerman, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Konstantinov, Fedorov, Larionov, Kronwall, Hasek, Hull, Shanahan,.....
The second greatest GM of all time (behind Sam Pollock)!
A new song for Subban: If I Had $72 Million
by Stu Cowan, The Gazette
MONTREAL — The Canadian group Barenaked Ladies had a big hit in the early 1990s with their song If I Had a Million Dollars.
They sang about buying things like a house, a “nice Reliant automobile,” a fur coat — “but not a real fur coat, that’s cruel” — an exotic pet and some art, “a Picasso or a Garfunkel”.
Now, imagine what you could buy with $72 million!
That’s the amount the Canadiens will pay defenceman P.K. Subban over the next eight years, the biggest contract in Habs history.
The numbers are quite staggering when you break them down, with the 25-year-old Subban averaging $9 million a year through the 2021-22 season. Subban will earn an average of $109,756 per game for the next eight years. He averaged 24 minutes of ice time per game last season, which works out to $4,573 per minute under his new deal. Breaking it down even more, Subban will earn an average of $24,657 every day of the year, which works out to $1,027 an hour 24 hours a day.
Good work if you can get it.
Subban was on Sportsnet 590 The Fan radio in Toronto this week with Bob McCown and was asked what he had splurged on since reaching the contract agreement last Saturday.
“You know what? I haven’t splurged on anything yet,” Subban said. “I haven’t spent much money. I actually had a conversation with my mom the day before I signed about my Visa statement coming in and too many expenses there.”
Subban added: “Listen, you know, the NHL, it’s a great league to play in. And I got to say out of the 722 players in the league, we all live pretty good lives. I live a pretty simple life, but, you know, it’s fun for me. Splurging for me is probably going for a nice dinner and having a nice bottle of wine. But I’m training now, so my trainer won’t let me have any wine. So I don’t know how much splurging I can do right now.”
After Subban’s contract was announced, the Down Goes Brown Twitter account posted a funny line about how Subban might spend some of his money: “PK Subban just hired Shawn Thornton to sit on a bench and squirt champagne in his face.”
That’s gotta hurt if you’re a Bruins fan.
Thornton, who infamously squirted water in Subban’s face while sitting on the Boston bench during last season’s playoff loss to the Canadiens, wasn’t re-signed by the Bruins and has since inked a two-year, $2.4-million deal with the Florida Panthers.
Subban now ranks third in the NHL in terms of average salary per season behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin ($9.58 million) and Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin ($9.5 million) and just ahead of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million). Subban is also the highest-paid defenceman in the NHL now in terms of average salary per season.
However, the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber will earn twice as much as Subban during the 2014-15 season on a 14-year, $110-million contract he signed before the NHL lockout in 2012. While Weber’s deal averages $7.8 million per year, he will earn $14 million this season — an average of $170,731 per game — as the league’s highest-paid player. Subban’s deal comes under the new collective bargaining agreement, which limits contracts to eight years for a player re-signing with his original team and seven years for others. Capgeek.com broke down Subban’s new contract, which will pay him $7 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16, $11 million in 2016-17 and 2017-18, $10 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and $8 million in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
P.K.'s new song
by Stu Cowan, The Gazette
MONTREAL — The Canadian group Barenaked Ladies had a big hit in the early 1990s with their song If I Had a Million Dollars.
They sang about buying things like a house, a “nice Reliant automobile,” a fur coat — “but not a real fur coat, that’s cruel” — an exotic pet and some art, “a Picasso or a Garfunkel”.
Now, imagine what you could buy with $72 million!
That’s the amount the Canadiens will pay defenceman P.K. Subban over the next eight years, the biggest contract in Habs history.
The numbers are quite staggering when you break them down, with the 25-year-old Subban averaging $9 million a year through the 2021-22 season. Subban will earn an average of $109,756 per game for the next eight years. He averaged 24 minutes of ice time per game last season, which works out to $4,573 per minute under his new deal. Breaking it down even more, Subban will earn an average of $24,657 every day of the year, which works out to $1,027 an hour 24 hours a day.
Good work if you can get it.
Subban was on Sportsnet 590 The Fan radio in Toronto this week with Bob McCown and was asked what he had splurged on since reaching the contract agreement last Saturday.
“You know what? I haven’t splurged on anything yet,” Subban said. “I haven’t spent much money. I actually had a conversation with my mom the day before I signed about my Visa statement coming in and too many expenses there.”
Subban added: “Listen, you know, the NHL, it’s a great league to play in. And I got to say out of the 722 players in the league, we all live pretty good lives. I live a pretty simple life, but, you know, it’s fun for me. Splurging for me is probably going for a nice dinner and having a nice bottle of wine. But I’m training now, so my trainer won’t let me have any wine. So I don’t know how much splurging I can do right now.”
After Subban’s contract was announced, the Down Goes Brown Twitter account posted a funny line about how Subban might spend some of his money: “PK Subban just hired Shawn Thornton to sit on a bench and squirt champagne in his face.”
That’s gotta hurt if you’re a Bruins fan.
Thornton, who infamously squirted water in Subban’s face while sitting on the Boston bench during last season’s playoff loss to the Canadiens, wasn’t re-signed by the Bruins and has since inked a two-year, $2.4-million deal with the Florida Panthers.
Subban now ranks third in the NHL in terms of average salary per season behind Washington’s Alex Ovechkin ($9.58 million) and Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin ($9.5 million) and just ahead of Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million). Subban is also the highest-paid defenceman in the NHL now in terms of average salary per season.
However, the Nashville Predators’ Shea Weber will earn twice as much as Subban during the 2014-15 season on a 14-year, $110-million contract he signed before the NHL lockout in 2012. While Weber’s deal averages $7.8 million per year, he will earn $14 million this season — an average of $170,731 per game — as the league’s highest-paid player. Subban’s deal comes under the new collective bargaining agreement, which limits contracts to eight years for a player re-signing with his original team and seven years for others. Capgeek.com broke down Subban’s new contract, which will pay him $7 million in 2014-15 and 2015-16, $11 million in 2016-17 and 2017-18, $10 million in 2018-19 and 2019-20, and $8 million in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
P.K.'s new song
Yes it's quite interesting that P.K.'s average salary is currently the 3rd highest in the NHL as projected on a current long-term average (of course it will not stay that way, as more and more new contracts are negotiated) yet he will only earn half as much as Shea Weber (P.K. at $7 mill vs. Weber at $14 mill) for the upcoming season...and as we all know there are also several other players who will earn more than P.K. in 2014-2015. Still, no one ever said you had to be at or near the top - his $7 mill is still okay for a season of hockey even though he is not in the top 3 highest paid for the 2014-2015 season. (Just among d-men, we all know several who will earn more in 2014-2015.)
Mike Babcock took care of that at the Olympics. But Geoff Molson went against Marc Bergevin's advice two weeks ago & now Pernell's ego is in full-blown mode. I doubt a little bit of ice will bring it back down....okay, maybe temporarily. :smile:
Quite correct Doc, in fact he hasn't even been cleared for contact. I'm sure the organization knew what it was doing when they signed the oft-injured d-man a to a 3 year deal while no other teams were offering the ageing blue liner a new contract.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=460973
Robidas thought his career might be over after breaking the same leg twice and had thoughts of retirement.
http://sports.nationalpost.com/2014...areer-might-be-over-after-breaking-leg-twice/
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