NHL awards/draft/off-season/training camp/preseason running thread

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

And maybe I'm just not paying attention, but how is it the Rangers are supposed to be worldbeaters next year?

Is Gomez really going to give them more than Nylander would have? Is Drury, for all his alleged leadership skills, actually going to lead a team to the Finals as one of the guys in the spotlight?

That's a team that finished third in its division last year and won one playoff series against a weak division winner, only to be blitzed by a team that got blitzed by the team that got blitzed in the Final. I may be waaaay off-base here, but now that I think about it, I don't see them as a conference champion, much less a Cup winner.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

Since you called Ottawa this year, I'll defer. Though I'm not going to believe it until I see it.

It may be the Pens fanboy in me, but I still don't understand 7 years and $51.5M for a guy that scored 60 points last year and has never scored 85 points in an NHL season (though, admittedly, he wasn't exactly playing pond hockey in NJ). And while Drury seems universally lauded as the second coming of Mark Messier, he just whiffed on two golden opportunities to lead his team to the Finals. And he's never had a 70-point season.

Just tell me Pittsburgh will be better and I can enjoy the rest of the offseason.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

It could be worse I suppose. The Sabres are still a playoff team, will still be fast, but to me, lost that edge when Drury left. The part that really gets me is Drury and the Sabres verbally agreed on a deal in the fall and the Sabres did nothing after that. Didn't take the time to ink it out for way less than what he got in NY and with the way Drury is, he wasn't about to bring it up during the season; especially to his teammates.

We still got Timmy.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

The Rafalski deal to Detroit shocked me more than the Gomez deal. I didn't think the Devils would part with a defenseman, but then again, Lou remains steadfast in his thinking that teams win games, not individuals.

I am mildly surprised, though, that the Devils wouldn't put up a fight for a top free agent for the new building, but hell, the Devils need a coach before they think about a free agent.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

Bates is back! My little world just got brighter.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

Paging hockeybeat. Hockeybeat to the white courtesy phone please.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

Mo likes him a lot. I suspect that's a bigger reason for his being in Toronto than most know.

Good for Bates, good for Mo and good for the Leafs. Problem is, Battaglia isn't a franchise-saver. What else is the organization going to do?

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

Read the Devils' story on the owner's feelings about losing Gomez and Rafalski. Towed the company line and confidence in Lou's decision not to re-sign the two. About the only good thing to come out of the story was that July 11 is when the NHL schedule is released.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

And you know what? It's going to be good for hockey. What's the #6 search term on the Yahoo list as of this second? "New York Rangers". IN JULY!

A good Rangers team next season that makes a deep run into the postseason is going to do more for hockey than anything, and I'm hoping they do it. Sorry if you don't like it, but that's the fact.

 

Re: 2007 NHL awards, draft and off-season running thread

according to the Sabres blog on Buffalo News.com, teams have started calling Vanek. Yesterday, the team prez says Vanek is coming back and they'll match whatever offer he gets. Please, Larry Quinn, for the love of Seymour H. Knox, shut the hell up.