NFT: NHL Free Agency Thread

Yeah, I mean.. if you told me I could take one guy for a playoff series and money was no object, I'd be hard pressed not to take him. Price is the only guy who'd make me think twice.

That said, in terms of cost to production value at the position, several teams are probably ahead of us in terms of maximizing the dollars they spend on the position.

Sean Hartnett ‏@HartnettHockey 5m5 minutes ago
#Pens shaking things up. They trade Brandon Sutter and a 3rd-rounder to VAN for Bonino, Clendening, and a 2nd-rounder. Then sign Eric Fehr to a three year deal, worth 6 million.


The Yinz have a strong lineup up and down. Sutter is the best player in the trade, but the Yinz received some quality depth.

arc, it's an interesting question... I'd be hard pressed not to take Quick. Guy has some Eli-ness to him.

Fehr's a good signing. 15-20 goal scorer.

Kessel was an excellent acquisition.

And I don't think I'd say they're deep. They have better depth than they did, yes.

They need functional depth in their lineup. This helps them.

On the other hand Sutter is always a pain in the sack when we play them. As all Sutter's have been vs the Rangers since time immemorial.

Play five forwards. Defensemen are useless pussies anyway.

Kunitz - Sindy - Kessel
Perron - Malkin - Hornqvist
Plotnikov - Bonino - Bennett
???- Fehr - Dupuis


That's a pretty fantastic offensive lineup and yeah, they're probably slated as the favorites to win the division. But fuck 'em. We're winning this bitch

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with Malkin? Kessel and Crosby is a charmin soft line.

if they get those three (Kessel, Crosby and Malkin) on the power play, that's going to be tough to defend.

anyway, I watched some of the 1987-1988 stanley cup finals at a friends house and those of you who detest Crosby should watch some old Gretzky clips. he's such a prima donna.

and he does a lot of what Crosby does, any time he's touched even a little he's looking at the refs for a penalty or his teammates come in and get physical with the player.

I only remember Gretzky for his greatness, but at least in the couple games I was watching what a douche. didn't remember that.

Every team has guys who do it. Usually the stars have the puck the most, so it makes sense they do a disproportionate amount of the whining.

Still, fuck Crosby.

Also, every time I've watched clips of Messier I couldn't help but think what a dirty douche he was. Ovechkin gets shit for his play (well-deserved), but Messier was a prick. The game's changed.

Things have changed rapidly in the last decade to protect the players. The concussion syndrome phenomena has opened everyones eyes.

In comment 12389085 BrettNYG10 said:

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Me? I always say that. I say that every year.

style of play.

If you're a fan of a Caps rival I get it, but I fail to see how otherwise unencumbered hockey fans don't like Ovie.

he's so fun to watch - now that he back checks. He lays vicious hits and he's the most skilled player in the league or at worst in the conversation.

but I'm also one of the few (only?) one on here who likes Crosby.

Can you imagine Crosby on the Habs? the hate would overcome people they'd be apoplectic with hate. It would be great.

If you throw elbows in today's league the way he did back then, you'll get suspended.

always having guys like Dave Semenko (one of the toughest players I've ever seen) to be enforcers for Gretzky, but I never remembered the lack of physical play from him.

He played his best two way season, was a factor in the locker room as a leaderand led the league in scoring. Price had an excellent year but it wasn't a historically great season. Which imo it needs to be to get goalies MVP consideration. Ovie deserved it. Fuck him.

In comment 12389132 Anakim said:

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In comment 12389085 BrettNYG10 said: Quote: . Me? I always say that. I say that every year.

Pick someone else this year please.

pj: I only 'hate' Crosby when the Rangers play him - he is on a rival after all. Otherwise, he's fine to me and he's a lot of fun to watch. I like Ovechkin. Would love to see him get a Cup someday.

I thought Price deserved his Hart. He led the league in wins, S%, and GAA - first time it's happened in 24 years. And with no 90 point scorer, there wasn't a strong enough incentive to give a forward the trophy.

I hated Crosby in the Olympics, more in Vancouver than Sochi, but same thing I guess.

I just hate Bruins players, the Maple Leafs (the Canadiens other rival) just haven't been good in a while though I'm sure some of my Kessel hate comes from that - plus they kept feeding the Bruins)

starting to get a good rivalry with Ottawa.

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Players Tribune - ( New Window )

He's a whiny, dirty, cheap-shotting bleeding gash. He's exactly like Pepe LePew, his mentor.

I have no such problem with Ovie. Ovie might be dirty sometimes, but in an honest, straighforward way.

A Flying puck to the head won't quiet the whine of that a-hole.

and Crosby's slew footing pussy brand of the game.

In comment 12389160 Torrag said:

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He played his best two way season, was a factor in the locker room as a leaderand led the league in scoring. Price had an excellent year but it wasn't a historically great season. Which imo it needs to be to get goalies MVP consideration. Ovie deserved it. Fuck him.

Absolutely. Scoring 50+ goals in this day and kind of improving his 2 way game means he should've won easily.

In comment 12389072 BrettNYG10 said:

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Kessel was an excellent acquisition.

You also have the caps going 65-17 this year and the jackets 64-18.

Rangers probably shouldn't bother showing up Brett is fellating the rest of this division so much.

In the division, and I give the Penguins the edge at this point. I think the playoffs are harder than ever, though, with WAS/CBJ/NYI having styles the Rangers struggle quite a bit with. The margin between the division winner and a wild card is going to be really narrow.

Tanner Glass is better than we thought.
Glass - ( New Window )

...but no. He's not.

Jakub Voracek: has signed a 8-year deal with AAV of $8,250,000

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In comment 12394617 Torrag said:

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...but no. He's not.

Spoiler alert: It shows he's the worst.

By far.

In comment 12389076 Greg from LI said:

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And I don't think I'd say they're deep. They have better depth than they did, yes.

D isn't bad.

Maata-Letang
Pouliout-Lovejoy
Cole-Demoulin
Scuds

Word is Scuds and Kunitz are being shopped.
Pens d is young but I wouldn't call it poor.

In comment 12394685 BrettNYG10 said:

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Jakub Voracek: has signed a 8-year deal with AAV of $8,250,000

These contracts are so ridiculous.

I think, no?

Is borderline elite. It's worth it...for now.

It'll be interesting to see what this contract means to the Isles since they will be up against resigning Okposo. It will also be interesting to see what bearing this will have on a Strome contract as he is RFA in 2016.

In comment 12395506 BrettNYG10 said:

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I think, no?

Compared to some of the other contracts I suppose so but he had 22 goals in his best season. I know he had 81 pts and he's feisty but paying a 20 goal a year winger 8 mill? I guess this is how it's going. Isles fans can kiss Okposo goodbye.

Voracek is basically one tick below the elite wingers. I think he's an excellent player but if he's worth over 8 per, that means you have to give the cream of the crop close to 10. I just don't see how, without the cap really rising, this trend is sustainable. I feel like another lockout is inevitable when this CBA is up.

In comment 12395637 arcarsenal said:

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Voracek is basically one tick below the elite wingers. I think he's an excellent player but if he's worth over 8 per, that means you have to give the cream of the crop close to 10. I just don't see how, without the cap really rising, this trend is sustainable. I feel like another lockout is inevitable when this CBA is up.

the first thing to happen is you will have teams with superstar(s) and average players + rookies playing under them.

If the Islanders are smart, they extend Tavares NOW and spread that increase throughout the next 10 years.

Dave, I'd be interested in seeing another season of him at this level before doling that sort of money out. If he reverts back to a 60 point player, you probably regret that deal. Playmakers tend to age better than goal scorers (at least last study I read) and he'll only be 33 when the deal's up, though. So I think it's a slight overpayment, but could be okay long-term.

I think arc's right about a lockout. The owners have exerted tremendous leverage and keep fucking things up. The biggest issue is guys like Orpik, Girardi, and Pouliot more than guys like Voracek making a million more than he probably should.

In comment 12395649 BrettNYG10 said:

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Dave, I'd be interested in seeing another season of him at this level before doling that sort of money out. If he reverts back to a 60 point player, you probably regret that deal. Playmakers tend to age better than goal scorers (at least last study I read) and he'll only be 33 when the deal's up, though. So I think it's a slight overpayment, but could be okay long-term. I think arc's right about a lockout. The owners have exerted tremendous leverage and keep fucking things up. The biggest issue is guys like Orpik, Girardi, and Pouliot more than guys like Voracek making a million more than he probably should.

Brett, I agree.. the guys who are important to the teams but aren't superstars are being over paid. This is what's going to create the problem.

I think they realize the holes in the cap system (not hedging the CAD? lulz). But the teams just can't help themselves. The players should be pissed.

Toews and Kane got $10.5 each. Yahoo's analyst said Kopitar should fit into the Toews framework rather than the $12+ x 8+ Stamkos is expected to get.

$10 million is the mark for the ultra elites, at least going forward.

I think the restraint was mostly due to the lack of rise in the cap and the horrible UFA class.

For a Ward/Williams/Beleskey. There wasn't any deal I thought was egregiously stupid. Last year Orpik and Pouliot got stupid deals. Usually someone does something stupid, and I thought the weak supply would increase prices.

Last year was the first time Voracek produced at that level. If he drops back to a 60ish point guy, that contract is going to be an albatross.

I just think the scaling is off and there's not enough room for it to adjust. It definitely has a lot to do with the mid-tier guys getting overpaid because it's jamming the best players in the league and the players a notch below that into a tiny quadrant all the way at the top.

Maybe they're banking on some more compliance buyouts after they lock the players out again.

At some point it has to recover and we should see more consistent growth. This is an outlier atm imo.

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Suck it Fish!