Sport Chit Chat

The media blows. Even with the Leafs meant to be sucking they find stories in non-stories in the Leafs. Honest who should give a fuck?

He’s taking a lot of flak from switching goalies for the shootout. Granted it doesn’t seem like a smart idea that it hasn’t worked but it’s more then what other coaches are trying.

It’s more demoralizing to lose shootout after shootout, isn’t it worth trying something to switch things up?

That’s exact what Wilson is doing. Other then Kulemin we’ve had different shooters.

To$kala doesn’t seem like the type fazed. He’s enjoying himself out there in which he knows he’s playing for a season that’s mean to be lost. It also looks like Toskala and Joseph were told of the switching happening. How is that hurtful to Toskala’s psyche?

The Leafs should probably think of trading Toskala anyway if they can get the right price. Otherwise it’s dumb/shallow to think the Leafs made the wrong choice. Wilson has gotten the Leafs to work hard in every single game and while a 1-2-3 record isn’t sexy the outright losses are to the two best teams in the conference (New York is overrated :P).

Don’t listen to the media on this… it just isn’t important. You can’t fault a guy for trying to pull some strings.

Wilson was meant to fail this season.. it can’t hurt if he makes some insane choices or decisions. The fact that these things are still front page stories on Canadian outlets is dumb.

P.S. It IS a good strategy to switch goalies in a shoot out provided it’s done correctly. WARM the fuck up. Have the goalie in the back constantly warming up and taking shots from the guys who were scratched or something. The fact the goalies are cold shouldn’t be a big deal, back up goalies should be able to warm up in time if they know they are being called upon.

Alexei Cherapanov, the New York Ranger’s top prospect has passed away at the young age of 19. He is quite well known to hockey hardcore fans as he was a top 5 talent heading into the 2007 draft and dropped to 17th after teams called for boycotting/avoiding Russian players.

Some of the details of his death are unknown… but it apparently took 15-20 minutes for the ambulance to come back (it’s normally at games but left for some reason). This was after an accidental collision with Jagr apparently… There also was no defibrillator in the arena that are normally located in NHL games.

The question with Cherepanov was also when he would come over to North America and I was personally excited to watch him play. It just sucks… only 19 to as well, he’s a year younger then me too.

Here’s a highlight of his skills:

Rest In Peace.

More details to follow…sad day for hockey.
His stats in his final 15 games: 8 goals 5 assists for Avangard Omsk.

Here’s a recording of Cherepanov’s motionless body being lifted from the bench to the dressing room:

According to X-Box Live news feed, the San Jose sharks have hired John Ferguson Jr. as a scout.
Ferguson acted as Leafs GM from 2003 until he was fired near the end of last season. Ferguson is widely credited with making terrible business decisions and signing awful players to large contracts with ‘no trade’ clauses.
As a scout in San Jose, Ferguson poses little threat to the organization. Still it is this writer’s opinion that Police officials in the San Jose area should go on high alert from this point on. When Ferguson is involved there is a good chance things might crash and burn.

With a winning record in 2007-08, it only makes sense that the man, the legend, the one person Toronto fans love to cheer for most starts between the pipes for the Leafs in pre-season 2008-09. CUJO was 3-2-0 with Calgary last year and that earns him the start in Toronto tonight.

As I write this and watch Jason Blake take the ceremonial puck drop, I am immediately reminded of the feelings I get watching CUJO in net. I have never been a goalie fan. What I mean by this is that I have never liked a goalie more than I like a player. I like tough goal scoring forwards and although Patrick Roy really stole my heart during the Avalanche’s Stanley Cup runs in the ’95 but the only goalies whose jersey I would buy are Felix Potvin and for some reason Curtis Joseph.

My brother had a CUJO jersey as a kid and I was jealous. CUJO is not the best goalie in the world. Hell at this point in his career I’m not even certain he is the best goalie I can see right now (Shout outs to Maxmillien the Fantasy Guru), but CUJO can make saves that makes my heart leap with joy. He passes the puck majestically; he does things that keep his team in games when they shouldn’t be. While I realize that lots of goalies do this, CUJO has the luxury of being a Leaf and therefore having a spot in my heart.

But the other side of CUJO is the letdown side. And the presence of this side is why I never bought a CUJO jersey of my own. CUJO can be awesome but CUJO can also suck. Everyone who was watched him knows what I mean. They know that he can let ion goals from bizarre angles, leave space between his pads and the post and what I like least is just look disinterested. Some goalies have a fiery passion (Dominic Hasek), but CUJO always looks like a businessman who couldn’t care less. That frustrates me beyond belief.

If I had a nickname like CUJO id try to live up to it game in, game out. But I will probably only see CUJO a handful of times this season so I will hope that I can see the good and not the bad. Hopefully he will save the bad for his off days and only screw up opening the bench door for his team mates.

Good Luck CUJO, I’ll be rooting for you.

Now this can hardly be considered ‘news’ at this point, but it deserves some Chit Chat recognition none-the-less. Robert Lang was traded on September 12th from the Chicago Blackhawks, to the Montreal Canadiens for a second round draft pick. This is an excellent acquisition for the Canadiens. Lang is a 6-3, 216 lb centre. This makes him unique in a Montreal lineup saturated with small (albeit talented) centres such as Tomas Plekanec and Saku Koivu. Bringing Lang into the picture gives Montreal a core group of 7 forwards who are all capable of scoring over 50 points. Along with former teammate Alex Kovalev, Lang joins Andrei Kistitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, Saku Koivu, Christopher Higgins and fellow new acquisition, Alex Tanguay. This new Canadien ‘Group of Seven’ will definitely bring Montreal deep in the playoffs in the 2008-09 campaign.
While Bob Gainey may have looked silly last season for trading Christobal Huet for a second round draft pick, he did well for himself in turning that pick into the powerful and talented Robert Lang.
Look for Lang to score around 60 points in his new setting.

Lang, part of the new Canadien 'Group of Seven'

Bryan McCabe was finally traded away to the Florida Panthers along a 4th round pick for Mike Van Ryn. I did say that it would probably take a miracle for the Leafs to trade away McCabe without getting ripped off but I guess the Leafs made a solid move.

It’s not that good though.

The Panthers get the struggling McCabe at a cost of 800k more this year and next, and 4 million on the final year of the deal. $4 million for a draft pick and a better player is actually pretty good. It’s a clear upgrade over Mike Van Ryn (when healthy) and it only cost them the extra year pretty much. He’s still a major liability defensively but with guys like Boynton, Allen and Skrastins on the back line his offense contributions strongly outweigh his dumb defensive plays for Florida. IF McCabe could somehow replicate his 05/06 or even his 06/07 season I would say it’s a win for Florida.

The Leafs were in a lose-lose situation. Nothing they did would make this trade any better and getting rid of McCabe is necessary in the rebuilding stage. Mike Van Ryn is a solid player and can possibly put up 40 points. Ryn’s contract pays for 3.35 mil the next two seasons. He had a low 2 points in 20 games in an injury plagued season.

The real issue at hand is that the Leafs gain roughly 3 million in cap space (6 in the 3rd year) and for a 4th round pick that is excellent. The Panthers can afford giving up cap space despite McCabe taking up almost 6 million.

On a hockey level, I like what the Panthers did. The Leafs have to use the entire 6 million that comes off the books in 2 seasons. Preferably we have a rebuilding season the next two years and then spend big afterwards. We may see a much different team in 2010/2011.

Budblog is harsh against Bryan McCabe, saying he’s not worth 4 million. Van Ryn isn’t worth 3 either so I guess that’s why the trade happened. Pension Plan Puppets makes more of an effort to get down to it, McCabe was a scapegoat even when he didn’t play.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are on a spending spree and I can’t help but shake my head. The Lightning locked up Andej Meszaros to a 6-year/24 million contract.

The trade:
Ottawa gets: Filip Kuba, Alexandre R. Picard (the other one NOT the Columbus BJ first round pick but the Philadelphia draft pick) and a 1st round pick (from San Jose from the Dan Boyle deal).

Tampa gets 22-year old Andrej Meszaros. Who did put a +39 (but +/- is a useless stat for the most part..it’s a mark of team success)

On PAPER this deal is pretty even, a 22-year old defense with 3 years of experience don’t grow on trees as some would suggest. However I think Ottawa steals this deal, here’s why.

Kuba earns his dough, at 3 million he’s a steady-as-she-goes type of big guy who hits, blocks shots and pitches in a little offensively. He can be used a defensive minded guy like he was in Minnesota. He’s basically a guy that can play against the other team’s top line, Meszaros is not though the numbers don’t suggest this. Age aside, Kuba will be expected to play a defensive style of a game that Meszaros couldn’t provide as a youngster. With not many years left for the Sens to win a cup, getting a guy like Kuba is paramount (like Jason Smith). Picard and the 1st rounder are bonuses if they want to trade for other pieces - a big deal during the middle of the season.

Meszaros earns his 4 million based on the market, though he is young nothing about his games screams great potential. Perhaps on the offensive end, but he needs a lot of work defensely. He struggled 2 seasons ago with 100 PIM (he’s not a fighter) and failed to be Redden’s much needed #2 and was arguably a liability at times. He always struck me as kind of overrated and props to Murray for not giving in. The Sens NEED cap space and asking for a ridiculous price is not going to get the Sens anywhere so getting more veterans who earn their money is the real reason.

Why is this so bad for Tampa? Let’s look at their defense corps: Meszaros, Carle, O’Brien, Ranger, Lundin (who?), Andrew Hutchinson
Any bets Meszaros sucks this year? I also don’t understand the reasoning behind trading Dan Boyle…they desperately needed him and are under the cap (at least after they were). Boyle at least gives you a true #1, while Meszaros will be hardpressed to lead this team. With no other big name defensemen and veterans on this Lightning team, look for Meszaros to be exposed and lauded. He’ll probably get better but right now he is still very raw and not as good as you think he is.

Unlike with the Eastern Conference, where the Wade Redden signing stuck out like a sore thumb as a poor decision, the Western Conference does not seem to have as many stupid off season signings. Or at the very least the stupidity appears to be overshadowed by some smart moves. For that reason I have decided to select three signings that get a large thumbs up and 1 team that receives a “what the hell did you do that for?” thumb to the forehead.

I would like to start with the good signings. First off, top honours goes to the Detroit Red Wings. Hockey Town USA scored yet again by signing Marian Hossa to a one-year, $7.4 million contract. Detroit kept the important pieces of their Stanley Cup winning team and added yet another strong scorer. Hossa had 66 points in 72 games last season and was an important piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ playoff run. A one-year contract could have even be an under sight for the 29-year-old powerhouse. On Detroit’s part, they should have tried to lock in the consistent scorer for a longer period of time. Despite his decrease from 100 points two seasons ago, Hossa remained a formidable force this past season. Hossa himself should have looked for a longer contract from the Red Wings, since their current talent, and great nucleus of young talent put them in good standing to raise Stanley a few more times in years to come. I have no idea who is at fault for making the one-year decision, but kudos to the Red Wings for brining in such a great player none-the-less.

Another thumbs up goes to the Dallas Stars for signing Sean Avery to a 4-year, $15.5 million contract. Avery impressed me this past season with his 33 points and 154 minutes in penalties. I used to consider him to be a pest not worth anyone’s time, but in the middle of the Jason Blake vs. Sean Avery war of words, my good friend the Fantasy Guru Maxmillien pointed out Avery’s worth… he is a pest not worth anyone’s time. Other teams loathe him and goalies want to blocker him in the face. But all of that makes Sean Avery a very valuable commodity. His gritty play and surprising scoring touch during the playoffs made NYR games exciting to watch. Plus, any guy who can date Elisha Cuthbert has to get a thumbs up. Congrats Dallas, you are now home to the NFL’s and NHL’s bad boys.

I would like to now give the Chicago Blackhawks two thumbs up. That’s right, TWO!

The first is for signing Brian Campbell to an 8 year, $56.8 million contract. Campbell is in my opinion one of the foremost offensive-defencemen in the league. Since playing his first full season in 2002-03, Campbell’s point totals have climbed steadily higher. Last season, his 62 points were a career high. The one thing that puts Campbell above his peers is his ability to move the puck. While he only scored 8 goals on 142 shots last season, his 54 assists make him ideal to lead Chicago’s young and talented powerplay. Look for Campbell to have another great season in the windy city.
The second thumb is for signing goaltender Christobal Huet to a 4 year, $22.4 million contract. With Khabibulin finishing up his 4 year contract this season Chicago will be looking for another number one to replace him. Khabibulin has struggled since arriving in Chicago. His 17, 25 and 23 wins in each of the past three seasons respectively, have not made him the Stanley Cup winning goalie that Chicago thought they were signing. Huet on the other hand had an excellent start to the season with Montreal and made Bob Gainey look like a fool for trading him for a 2nd round draft pick at the deadline. Huet can command much more on the open market and Chicago was smart to pay him good wages for the next 4 seasons. He was 21 and 12 while with Montreal last season and was an impressive 11 and 2 after being traded to Washington. The Capitals should have held on to this netminder because there is no doubt in my mind that he will become one of the top goalies in the league by the time his contract expires in Chicago. Maybe Campbell and Huet are the pieces that the Blackhawks need to bring glory back to this ‘original 6’ city.

Now for the part where I metaphorically flick someone in the forehead for being an idiot. Today’s honour goes to the entire Colorado Avalanche’s front office. Whose bonehead idea was it to bring in Toronto’s trash? Does anyone believe that Andrew Raycroft will win them anything? The only thing Raycroft is good for is picking up the number one overall draft pick, and that is only if you actually decide to play him. I realize that one year at $800,000 is not that big of a deal. However, the fact that Raycroft is still on an NHL team is ridiculous. Andrew Raycroft is truly good at one thing, talking to the press. Therefore, I suggest that the Avalanche move him quickly to the podium after games and let him handle all questions in a humourous way. That is the only way that it will be $800,000 well spent. (Just as a note, other things that you can buy for $800,000: 381 MacBook Pros, 2 2008 Ferrari 612 Scagliettis, 30303 cases of Pabst Blue Ribbon.) The Avalanche also picked up Darcy Tucker for $4.5 million over 2 seasons. Tucker is a huge fan favourite in Toronto but this does not make him worth anyone’s money. Tucker is old, slow and has lost the grit that made him an NHL commodity. While Tucker is still willing to stand up for his team mates suffering from Leukemia, he does not posses the strength or speed necessary to dig the puck out of the corners. Good luck to the avalanche with their new acquisitions, I suppose they have resolved themselves to making this year a rebuilding one.

I would also like to give a pre-emptive flick to the forehead to the Florida Panthers should they decide to accept a trade for Bryan McCabe. McCabe and Raycroft could captain ‘Team Useless’ at the Olympics in 2010.

-Apples

While signings in the NHL this off season have been anything but slow, acquisitions that stand out about all are few and far between. With superstars like Jaromir Jagr heading overseas to play and Mats Sundin considering hanging up his skates, many of the Eastern Conferences teams look to be in a similar position that they found themselves in last year. For some however, this is not such a bad thing, as keeping their personnel puts some in good standing for the future. However others may find themselves on thin ice for the years to come.

Lets start with the positive. The Tampa Bay Lightning made the obvious choice in drafting Steve Stamkos first overall and signing him to a 3-year entry-level contract. However, it is their signing of a former number one pick that gets them a large plus in my books. The 11-year contract given to Vincent Lecavalier is one of the smartest off-season moves by any Eastern Conference team thus far. While helping lead the Lightning to a Stanley Cup in 2003-04 he has also proved his value in the post-lockout game. Lecavalier has been a 35+ goal scorer in each of the last 3 seasons, winning the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 06-07 and cashing in 92 points this past season. While the 11-year contract makes him a member of the Lightning until he is 40 it puts the team in good standing to build around a true franchise player. There is no doubt in my mind that his presence will help shape Stamkos into the superstar he has the potential to become. With the loss of Brad Richards last season, the Lightning will be looking to maintain their powerplay prowess. Lecavalier can lead this charge with 29 powerplay points last season and the potential to connect with Stamkos who played the powerplay throughout his junior career. Lecavalier’s front loaded contract which pays him $10 million over the first 6 seasons, and decreases steadily to only $1 million in the final year of his contract opens up cap space in the future when Tampa Bay will need to reenergize their offence. Due to the importance of Lecavalier as a leader, point getter and the brilliant front loading of his contract, this signing gets top honours in the Eastern Conference thus far.

While re-signing their top scorer is a great move for the Lightning, the New York Rangers have replaced Jaromir Jagr with the aging Markus Naslund. Only time will tell whether $8 million over two seasons for the former Canuck will pay off for the Rangers. They need to replace Jagr’s leadership and scoring prowess and Naslund may fit the bill. However, by locking up $39 million over the next six years in the 31-year-old Wade Redden, the Rangers may have blown any opportunity to find someone other than Naslund in the years to come. Scoring does not come cheap and committing that much cash to a defenseman who scored a measly 38 points with Ottawa last season may have unnecessarily handcuffed their club. As Scott Cullen reported, Redden is an undersized and slower than average D. I can see no reason to sign a player for an average of $6.5 million per season for the next 6 years when they can’t defend against young and aggressive opponents even today. Overpaying Redden for lack of offensive prowess over the past few seasons combined with this lack of defensive presence and aging body makes him the worst Eastern Conference signing thus far this summer.

Soon we look at the West.

Before you criticize me for the title, I’m not sure if I know what other people feel about this but it has been my belief that Jay Bouwmeester is one of the most overrated players by scouts, media and fans alike. I have voiced this reasoning for the past few years.

He’s been in trade rumors a ton with a possible destination as the Toronto Maple Leafs. I hope to god that doesn’t happen because any team trading for Bouwmeester will get ripped off and isn’t any wonder why the Panthers are trying to trade him? He just isn’t worth the hype.

Let’s discuss why Bouwmeester is so over hyped. He played on the Canadian World Junior team when he was 16. He would play 3 seasons for them amassing 4 points in 21 games. He was much younger then most of the competition as was poised to the be the #1 overall pick in the 2002 draft. In an odd move by the Panthers, they decided to move down to the 3rd spot to take Bouwmeester anyway for the right to switch picks but giving up a 3rd and 4th. He was still considered the #1 pick even if he was picked behind Rick Nash and Kari Lehtonen.

It also helps that he’s a huge 6′4 with decent speed. However, he was the mould of the old school thought of what good defensemen had to be like.

However, to me he’s just another big guy who’s never had the track record nor has the offensive skills to be a top defensemen.

Let’s look at his stats before he was drafted. Jay Bouwmeester has always been a “potential” guy. The term is thrown about 50 times too much with him compared to other defensemen. He never really put up the stats or put up stud numbers. As an 18-year old he put up 61 points in 61 games. His highest ever goal total was just a meager 14 goals. Nothing poor but nothing that screams “stud defensemen”. Keep in mind I’m still calling a worthy 1st round pick but nothing like best of the league-style.

What makes him overrated? He just isn’t that good of an offensive defensemen. He put 16 and 20 points as an 19 and 20 year old. Nothing too bad. However when he played in the minors during the lock year, he was quite average. He didn’t dominate the competition. He had 0 points in 18 playoff games for the AHL Chicago Wolves. In the regular season, in a combined 82 games he had 26 points. Even though this is just a 21-year old kid, he’s definitely not playing like a #1 prospect. 40 points would be ideal.

Back to the NHL, he put up 46 points as a 22-year old which is more like it, amassing 41 points. The last two years he’s been regressing dropping to 42 points and 37 points. He increased his goal total last season to 15 a career high in professional hockey. But he had just 22 assists. Don’t you expect more from a guy who’s earning 4.875 million? (and even more in the 2009/2010 season)

Some notable guys who did better then Bouwmeester: Mike Green, Brent Burns, Ryan Whitney, and Tobias Enstrom.

All those players are all younger and outscored Bouwmeester. Whitney himself was taken 5th of the same draft.

22 assists! Some people will look at the 15 goals and say that’s more valuable. I will beg to differ as it shows he’s limited offensively and does have a big shot. People will start playing the shot more and what’s he going to do? Look at this statistic: Bouwmeester was tied for 7th in shots with 182. The more alarming statistic is not his shooting percentage which is respectable but its the players around him. Every one of the players around him had 50 assists or more except Chris Pronger and Zdeno Chara. Pronger had a dismal season by his standard (6 more games with 16 less points) and Zdeno Chara is hardly a passer and more of a physical presence anyway.

His team has never made the playoffs and that doesn’t seem like that’s going to change any time soon at least with the Panthers. He’s not a winner and he hasn’t put them over the top. He’ll be 25 at the start of the season and his time is running out to reach that “potential” that is always associated with him. Other young guys have passed him and it’s time to stop overhyping the guy.

He’s still a good player don’t get me wrong but he’s just average.