General Hockey Thread v2.0

[Jori]

Good news is that I'm now a DU season ticket holder (well at least a Pioneer Pack owner).

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Originally Posted by amesj523

Jump on the pens bandwagon before anyone notices.... i won't tell.

Everyone did that last offseason and you guys ended up with the 2nd worst record in the league.

[Clockwork Orange]

I just want to see them go with youth now. Forget signing Blake or Skrastins. Lock up the young RFA's, let them play and let the chips fall where they may. They've screwed themselves out of any chance of contention, so I'm officially throwing my support behind them jumping into the Angelo Esposito sweepstakes for next year.

Contend or rebuild, either one is fine with me. A commitment to mediocrity and being a middle of the pack team is unnacceptable.

[Mtbrncofn]

Great. CO is always my saving grace when it comes to these huge disappointments. I'm getting the sense he's not so happy about it. Now I know it really does blow.

The Pronger thing was funny though!

[Breck Bronc]

This whole thing is so convoluted. We've got people all over the net posting stuff from the CBA that shows the bonuses shouldn't have counted on this year's cap. There's so much confusion and it appears the Avs front office is just as confused as its fans. I’m not even sure who I should be mad at, though Lacroix seems to be the leading candidate (and I’ll always hate Gary Bettman).

I'm beyond disillusioned with the league right now. Since 2004-'05 there's been an entire season cancelled and our franchise has lost Forsberg, Foote, Kariya, Selanne, Tanguay and probably Blake. I'm so glad I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on NHL tickets, merchandise and Center Ice over the years. What a way to treat loyal fans.

On the bright side, at least we're not in danger of losing the team to another city. Now's the time to see who the real hockey fans are in this city, because it doesn't look like we'll be making the playoffs this season (unless Sakic plays like it's 1996 and Theodore goes out and wins 40 for Paris). This is the moment many Avalanche detractors have been hoping and wishing for.

Good thing DU looks to have a strong team this year and will be hosting an NCAA Regional.

[Jori]

Originally Posted by Breck Bronc

This whole thing is so convoluted. We've got people all over the net posting stuff from the CBA that shows the bonuses shouldn't have counted on this year's cap. There's so much confusion and it appears the Avs front office is just as confused as its fans. I’m not even sure who I should be mad at, though Lacroix seems to be the leading candidate (and I’ll always hate Gary Bettman).

I'm beyond disillusioned with the league right now. Since 2004-'05 there's been an entire season cancelled and our franchise has lost Forsberg, Foote, Kariya, Selanne, Tanguay and probably Blake. I'm so glad I've spent tens of thousands of dollars on NHL tickets, merchandise and Center Ice over the years. What a way to treat loyal fans.

On the bright side, at least we're not in danger of losing the team to another city. Now's the time to see who the real hockey fans are in this city, because it doesn't look like we'll be making the playoffs this season (unless Sakic plays like it's 1996 and Theodore goes out and wins 40 for Paris). This is the moment many Avalanche detractors have been hoping and wishing for.

Good thing DU looks to have a strong team this year and will be hosting an NCAA Regional.

It's why I bought a Pioneer Power Pack today....better chance of getting tickets to the regional in 07 and the FF in 08.

[Tredici]

Not being able to manage a team under cap constraints may finally be Pierre's downfall. Anyone think it's coincidence he's posturing on surrending the reins at this point?

[Jori]

A lot of people believe that Lacroix stepped down because he couldn't handle the "new NHL." During his presser, Lacroix said that he planned on stepping down more then a year ago. Pierre's track record hasn't been great since the Blake trade. He's admitted on more then one occasion that it was harder to find trade partners (Pierre used the term dance partners). I don't mind the new blood, but Lacroix has certainly put Giguere in a precarious position.

[Breck Bronc]

Jori, do you know when the Avalanche prospect camp is being held? I've never been to one and figure I might as well check out our future now that the present doesn't look too hot. Is it usually held at Family Fun Center?

[SoCalBronco]

Article Launched: 06/28/2006 01:00:00 AM MDT

terry frei
Avs need to make big deal
By Terry Frei
Denver Post Staff Columnist



What next?

If the Avalanche dramatically uses salary cap room freed up by Alex Tanguay's trade to Calgary for defenseman Jordan Leopold and two second-round draft choices, the weekend deal will be defensible. Otherwise, it's shaky.

A trade for Edmonton's disgruntled Chris Pronger or the landing of an elite unrestricted free agent after the signing period opens Saturday would justify banishing Tanguay. Not much else would.

The caveat: The salary cap makes this tricky. New Avalanche general manager Francois Giguere and those around him will have to be ingenious to pull off anything but the 2005-06 status quo - minus Tanguay. But they have to at least try.

On the same day the Avalanche announced that it was picking up Antti Laaksonen's option and had re-signed Ossi Vaananen to a one-year deal, the league and its players association Tuesday announced the ceiling for next season would be $44 million, an increase of $5 million from 2005-06.

Let's plug Pronger in as the example, but it could be any elite player.

It would strain the cap budget to have Joe Sakic ($5.75 million), Pronger ($6.25 million), Rob Blake and Jose Theodore (with a cap number of $5.3 million as the average of his three-year deal) taking up roughly half of the available payroll. (Theodore's cap figure is the riskiest part of the deal for the enigmatic goalie who is spending the offseason in the tabloids and on "Inside Edition.")

And that's even before the twin $2.3 million bonus payments to Sakic and Blake, due in 2006-07 as part of the contracts they signed in 2001, come into play. Because of the bonus, Sakic will eat up more than $8 million of the Avalanche's cap space next season. Even if Blake, who could be an unrestricted free agent Saturday, leaves, the Avs will be paying him that $2.3 million bonus, and it will count against the cap for 2006-07.

It's all intertwined. NHL deals no longer can be evaluated solely on this-for-that comparisons, but in the context of the salary cap and subsequent moves. That's why the Avalanche trade of Tanguay can be conditionally defended.

(The deal also should further dispel the notion that French-Canadian favoritism affects Avalanche moves. The Avs have traded one of the league's top French-Canadian players, one who was raised speaking French in Quebec and learned English as a second language, for an American-born defenseman who won the Hobey Baker Award at the University of Minnesota as U.S. college hockey's top player.)

Short-term judgments come with those qualifications, ones that go beyond the issues




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of whether Leopold - an offensive-minded defenseman who was restrained in the "my way or the highway" system of Calgary coach Darryl Sutter - can be rejuvenated in Colorado; or whether the second-round draft picks provide the Avs with stars. The Avs used the first of those picks Saturday to take Brandon Wheat Kings center Codey Burki.
Bottom line: The Avalanche was convinced Tanguay wasn't going to deliver a superstar's performance for what soon might become a superstar's salary, especially if he goes to arbitration. Vinny Lecavalier of Tampa Bay is the same age, 26, and will make $7.1 million next season, and that would have been one of the benchmarks in arbitration arguments. And Tanguay could be an unrestricted free agent next year.

But the Avs overreacted.

Tanguay needed to produce in the series against Anaheim for the Avalanche to have a chance, and he was awful. Many times, it has been as if he skated up to the line of stardom, put a toe over it and found he couldn't handle the pressure and stepped back.

But banishing him? That asks us to forget that the Avalanche for years has been billing Tanguay both as a member of that vaunted "core" and as one of the young players who needed to be kept at all costs - including allowing Peter Forsberg to exit, stage left. This deal could come back to haunt the Avalanche as much as, and more so, than the 2002 shipping of Chris Drury to...where did he go? Oh, yeah, Calgary. It's been fashionable to knock Tanguay as the product of playing with Sakic or Forsberg in the past, but playing with the Flames' Jarome Iginla on the other wing isn't going to help Tanguay now?

It was worth the risk to keep Tanguay around for another season.

Unless the Avalanche has some bombshells to drop in the next few weeks.

Staff writer Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.


http://www.denverpost.com/avalanche/ci_3987271

[Breck Bronc]

What a miserable year.

[SoCalBronco]

I think you guys will be fine. Even with those bonuses, you guys still have what, 12 million to play with? There's some cash there to improve your team. And you guys are already pretty good. Alot of good young players like Svatos, Liles, Leopold, and good vets like Lapierriere etc. its just a matter of keeping people healthy. That was a big problem, and you guys still overcame it to get into the dance and beat one of the best teams in the league. The Avs cap situation would appear to be quite bright for the future, guys like Sakic and Blake won't be there more than 2 years anyway, and that is about the time Theodore's deal expires too.

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by SoCalBronco

I think you guys will be fine. Even with those bonuses, you guys still have what, 12 million to play with? There's some cash there to improve your team. And you guys are already pretty good. Alot of good young players like Svatos, Liles, Laperriere, its just a matter of keeping people healthy. That was a big problem, and you guys still overcame it to get into the dance and beat one of the best teams in the league. The Avs cap situation would appear to be quite bright for the future, guys like Sakic and Blake won't be there more than 2 years anyway, and that is about the time Theodore's deal expires too.

We'll probably be a .500 team that won't make the playoffs because we play 32 games against the best division in hockey.

Coming back to the pack was bound to happen after winning 9 division titles in a row, I just don't like the way it's happened with the new CBA.

[watermock]

So when did Smilin' Thomas take over the AV's? They are morphing into the Knickerbockers!

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by watermock

So when did Smilin' Thomas take over the AV's? They are morphing into the Knickerbockers!

Who are the AV's, you drunken ******.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Breck Bronc

What a miserable year.

Nah, it's more of a mediocre year than a miserable year. A miserable year at least comes with high draft picks. A mediocre year comes with middle of the pack draft picks.

I hope the Avs will take this as a sign that they need to take a step back for a year, play the youngsters, get some higher draft picks, further replenish the farm system and get out from under the cap mess they've made for themselves. All of that can be accomplished by taking a step back for one season. No band aids, no quick fixes, just run with what you got and take whatever comes your way.

I'll take that over them battling it out for a spot in the middle of the pack any day.

[Jori]

Originally Posted by Breck Bronc

Jori, do you know when the Avalanche prospect camp is being held? I've never been to one and figure I might as well check out our future now that the present doesn't look too hot. Is it usually held at Family Fun Center?

As far as I know, the Avs have never had a prospects game during the summer. They usually have a small rookie camp about the week before training camp at Family Sports. It always ticked me off that the Avs never had some kind of prospects camp or a draft party. When it comes to following prospects, the Avs never make it easy.

I plan on taking some time off to go to camp this year and check out Stewart and Burki.

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller

Everyone did that last offseason and you guys ended up with the 2nd worst record in the league.

Yeah but that problem is now gone.

On paper they looked good - and they will be much different this year. Even a caps fan has to admit that.

[Jori]

Canucks lock up Luongo

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170025&hubname=nhl

4 years/ 27 million---6.75 per year cap hit

[WABronco]

Originally Posted by Jori

Canucks lock up Luongo

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170025&hubname=nhl

4 years/ 27 million---6.75 per year cap hit

Whewww...

That was a whole lot easier than I thought it'd be.

[Bronx33]

Originally Posted by Jori

Canucks lock up Luongo

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170025&hubname=nhl

4 years/ 27 million---6.75 per year cap hit

Iam not sold on reberto but we will see, he seems to be a goal tender that relies alot his defense and the nucks D is average at best but they may address it as well.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Originally Posted by amesj523

On paper they looked good - and they will be much different this year. Even a caps fan has to admit that.

Yeah, they looked much better on paper last year than they currently do. Malkin is still a complete unknown until he plays in the NHL. Last year it was Mario, Recchi, Ziggy, and hopefully a Crosby that would live up to the hype. This year it's an established Crosby, some expected progression from the other young guys, and a Malkin that will hopefully live up to his rep as the best player outside the NHL.

[Jori]

Looks like Redden is staying in Ottawa

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170030&hubname=

2 years/ 13 million

[Jori]

Free agency period starts July 1st at 12:00 PM EST

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by Hercules Rockefeller

Yeah, they looked much better on paper last year than they currently do. Malkin is still a complete unknown until he plays in the NHL. Last year it was Mario, Recchi, Ziggy, and hopefully a Crosby that would live up to the hype. This year it's an established Crosby, some expected progression from the other young guys, and a Malkin that will hopefully live up to his rep as the best player outside the NHL.

Rechhi did play well for the team and palffy until he retired was a 1pt/game player. Mario was too brittle. Gonchar did play well at the last half of the year.

I say they fight for the 8th spot.