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Updates and Rumours from around the League

Good on Booth. He played a set play in practice like he'd play it in a real game and poor Kessel got upset about a brush with the elbow.

On a positive note, it's the first time he's showed emotion on the ice in 4 months.

They need to tear this down. Too bad; Kessel's a talented player. But the issue this year is either (i) he's really truly flawed or (ii) the media has gotten to him and in either case I think it raises significant questions.
 
Kessel like a number of players on this team can't handle playing in this market. Put them on another team and they will flourish.
 
Can anyone believe what Devan Dubnyk has done this year?

If it wasn't for Price this guy would be duking it out with Rinne for the Vezina, and likely would win.

Pretty phenomenal turn around for him, even if the wild are a D first team, those numbers are impressive.
 
Not Detroit. Detroit is putting themselves in the position to take one last run at a cup while Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still impact players.

I could see them taking a run at Phaneuf if they can move the Weiss contract in the deal (while giving up futures to get it done), as well as taking a run at a Thornton for Howard deal

Nyqvist-Datsyuk-Tatar
Abdelkader-Thornton-Zetts
Helm-Sheahan-XXXXXX

Kronwall-Phaneuf
Dekeyser-XXXXXX

There's some holes to fill, and not a lot of cap space to do it with, but **** me if that wouldn't be a dangerous team in the playoffs. The killer part, is when they really need a goal, both Dats & Zetts can play wing. Datsyuk-Thornton-Zetterberg if you're stacking a line is about as good as any possible line in the NHL.
 
MindzEye said:
Not Detroit. Detroit is putting themselves in the position to take one last run at a cup while Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still impact players.

I could see them taking a run at Phaneuf if they can move the Weiss contract in the deal (while giving up futures to get it done), as well as taking a run at a Thornton for Howard deal

Nyqvist-Datsyuk-Tatar
Abdelkader-Thornton-Zetts
Helm-Sheahan-XXXXXX

Kronwall-Phaneuf
Dekeyser-XXXXXX

There's some holes to fill, and not a lot of cap space to do it with, but **** me if that wouldn't be a dangerous team in the playoffs. The killer part, is when they really need a goal, both Dats & Zetts can play wing. Datsyuk-Thornton-Zetterberg if you're stacking a line is about as good as any possible line in the NHL.
Click to expand...

and SJS can add a quality goalie to Pavelski, Couture, Burns ( whichver of Marleau/Thornton isnt dealt) and quickly rebuild
 
Neither Thornton nor Marleau will waive their NTCs. They are there for the duration of their contracts. SJ better figure something else out.
 
CTheBigPicture said:
Neither Thornton nor Marleau will waive their NTCs. They are there for the duration of their contracts. SJ better figure something else out.
Click to expand...


Thornton would probably waive to go to Detroit. Detroit is actually closer to his home town than Toronto, comes with a fraction the attention that Toronto would, and a legit chance to compete for something before he retires.

It's actually the ultimate "going home to finish my career" move for Thornton, much better than any of the Leaf scenarios that have been thrown around over the last few years.
 
MindzEye said:
Thornton would probably waive to go to Detroit. Detroit is actually closer to his home town than Toronto, comes with a fraction the attention that Toronto would, and a legit chance to compete for something before he retires.

It's actually the ultimate "going home to finish my career" move for Thornton, much better than any of the Leaf scenarios that have been thrown around over the last few years.
Click to expand...

and he can slide right in behind Datsyuk in the 2 hole....it's so fitting.
 
MindzEye said:
Thornton would probably waive to go to Detroit. Detroit is actually closer to his home town than Toronto, comes with a fraction the attention that Toronto would, and a legit chance to compete for something before he retires.

It's actually the ultimate "going home to finish my career" move for Thornton, much better than any of the Leaf scenarios that have been thrown around over the last few years.
Click to expand...


Sure I won't be shocked if this happened, I just think these two are enjoying their California life and signed contracts to make sure they stay there no matter what. We shall see.
 
Thoughts on ?

"In a way, the season ends once teams can no longer win a championship, yet fans are still asked to pay a premium to go and see their favourite teams perform,” Gold said. “In an attempt to inspire fans, to maintain interest, passion and optimism in their favourite teams while still giving the worst teams that need the most help the best picks to get the best players, I respectfully propose that draft order should be determined based on how teams perform after becoming mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.”

A bad team would have a longer time period to rack up points, while teams on the playoff bubble might have just one or two games. As an example, Gold revisited the 2010 Draft and found that the Oilers would have won it (as they actually did) because they had 14 games to collect points while no other team had more than eight. In 2011, however, Edmonton would have earned the third-overall pick because in 12 games they only collected as many points as St. Louis managed in just four. "

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/smart-way-keep-nhl-teams-taking-draft/
 
It's one of those proposals that sounds perfectly fair and reasonable on paper, but in real life it's completely unworkable and needlessly complicated.

If the league is truly embarrassed about tanking, then just simplify it even more: all 14 teams out of the playoffs get their name thrown into a hat, and drawn out one-by-one to determine the draft order from #1 to #14. That's the only real way to get rid of the concept of incentivized failure in the league. When the choice is between making the playoffs and having a 7% chance of picking 1st, nobody's going to make the effort Buffalo has to be bad on purpose.

As an added benefit, teams like Edmonton, who have horrendous scouting and player development, will have no choice but to invest and improve in those areas, with the crutch of an automatic top-5 pick every year taken away.
 
TimHorton said:
The league simply doesn't care.
Click to expand...
If that was true, there wouldn't be a draft lottery at all. Let alone a new draft lottery for this season that gives the 30th place team only a 20% chance to get the top pick, and a draft lottery next year that'll have the top three picks up for grabs via a lottery.
 
I don't care what the league does, when there is a Connor McDavid available teams will tank.

This year can't really be compared to most years.
 
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