General Hockey Thread v2.0

[Nuggets4]

Originally Posted by bronco militia

that's why you should stick with basketball...go back to nuggpuppy, newbie!

*retreats with tail between legs*

Hey, I'll openly admit that hockey is my weakest sport knowledge-wise of the big 3. That said, one thing I don't get is the Theodore bashing going on. I'm not ready to throw him under the bus yet. I thought he played really well in the Dallas series and I expect that from him this season (provided he's not on the DL with ghonorrhea -- er, a "concussion"). Isn't his contract up after this season anyway?

[24champ]

The Kings have given qualifying offers to keep forwards Sean Avery, Eric Belanger, Dustin Brown, Michael Cammalleri, goaltender Mathieu Garon and defensemen Tim Gleason and Mike Weaver — all restricted free agents.

per LA times. I know I know Av fans REALLY wanted Avery.

[Jori]

Avs have re-signed Skrastins and Clark to multi-year deals. No word yet on terms. Story is on the Avs website.

[Tredici]

Lookin grim for Blake and my Number 13....

[Jori]

Denver Post reports that Skrastins has received a 3 year/ 7.2 million dollar deal; Clark has received a 2 year/ 3 million dollar deal. That's 2.4 million dollar cap hit per year for Skrastins, 1.5 for Clark. Say good bye to Rob Blake.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Jori

Denver Post reports that Skrastins has received a 3 year/ 7.2 million dollar deal; Clark has received a 2 year/ 3 million dollar deal. That's 2.4 million dollar cap hit per year for Skrastins, 1.5 for Clark. Say good bye to Rob Blake.

That leaves $8.1 million for the Avs to fill 7 roster spots.

You said it right, bye bye Blakey.

[Clockwork Orange]

So the Avs defense corps is Skrastins, Liles, Leopold, Clark, Vaananen, Breezeby & Sauer. Funny, ever since they were eliminated we've all been talking about how the Avs needed to upgrade their defense. Due to their own screw ups, they've actually downgraded. The only change made was swapping Blake for Leopold, a step down no matter which way you slice it.

Another question is who's the Avs 2nd line center? Wolski? He's listed as a LW, but he played C during his MVP campaign in Brampton as well as when he came to the Avs for the postseason.

Hmmm, I wonder if there's any chance that they might try to sign one of their college prospects like Paul Stastny or TJ Hensick to step in and fill a spot.

[Tredici]

JFC.

What was the reason to commit to Blake last year instead of Foote?

Two seasons and already in cap hell. Excellent.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Tredici

JFC.

What was the reason to commit to Blake last year instead of Foote?

Two seasons and already in cap hell. Excellent.

Some of us were begging them to buy out Blake when they had the chance last year. Foote or Forsberg would still be here if they had, but once again, they made a poor choice and now you can add Blake to the list of cap casualties that includes the aforementioned Forsberg & Foote as well as Alex Tanguay.

It's a sad state of affairs.

[Breck Bronc]

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

Some of us were begging them to buy out Blake when they had the chance last year. Foote or Forsberg would still be here if they had, but once again, they made a poor choice and now you can add Blake to the list of cap casualties that includes the aforementioned Forsberg & Foote as well as Alex Tanguay.

It's a sad state of affairs.

Would Blake's bonus have been triggered on last year's cap had they bought him out?

It sounds like we'd have been better off not declining the 2006-'07 options on Sakic and Blake last year.

I'd like to know who the Avalanche cap guy is and when they knew the 4.6 million bonus money would count against the cap.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Clockwork Orange

Well, at least someone in the media is attempting to take the Avs to task for their bungling of the salary cap.

Adrian Dater's latest column.

Something I found completely unsurprising:

The Avs said Giguere was unavailable Thursday for comment

If you're waiting for anyone in the organization to admit to their screw ups on this matter, grab a Snickers because you won't be going anywhere for a while. It's amazing to see the way they've bent themselves over when they should have been a team with a large chunk of cap space to spend this offseason. Let's review.

Gave two year deals to old and mostly worthless players Breezeby, Turgeon & May. Having them on the team a year ago was bad enough, but every last one of them got two year deals. Had they all been given one year deals (the ones they seem to like to give to actual useful players like Svatos, Vaananen & Liles) the Avs would have saved $4.425 million on this years cap, or just about an amount that would have offset the deferred bonuses to Sakic & Blake.

Running total of cap space wasted: $4.425 million

Speaking of which, there's those pesky deferred bonuses that are now biting the Avs in the rear. I don't know how on earth they failed to prepare for this or even find a way around it, but the fact of the matter is that about 11% of the team's total cap for the year is now basically tied up in this dead money.

Running total of cap space wasted: $9.025 million.

Then there's Jose Theodore, the guy Lacroix just had to have. Forget for a minute that his performance before the trade was poor. No, focus on what he did once he got here and ask yourself this, did he do anything that David Aebischer couldn't or wouldn't have done? The answer, in my opinion, is no. He is going to do something this year that Aebischer wouldn't or couldn't have done, though. He's going to count $5.33 million against the cap. It's obvious that Quenneville didn't like Aebischer, fine. Why not let him play out the season and then just fail to qualify him and let him become a UFA? You save the cap space and you've got plenty of $$ available to find a suitable replacement. Nope, Lacroix wanted Theodore and his fat contract, so that's what we've got. A goaltender who's performed no better than the guy he replaced, but eats up considerably more cap space. Brilliant.

Final total of cap space wasted: $14.355 million.

That would have given the Avs the flexibility to be major players on the free agent market. But through bad decisions and flat out incompetance, all of that has been squandered. It appears as though Skrastins & Hinote will both be playing elsewhere next season and it wouldn't shock me in the least to see Rob Blake signing with someone else as well. The Avs are in a situation where they've got $12 million in cap space to fill 9 roster spots. Call me a skeptic, but I don't see them making any vast improvements to the team with such limited resources. And they've got no one to blame but themselves.

Time for a rebuilding year guys. I know, I keep saying that and I'm going to keep saying it. The band-aid approach they took last year when they signed the likes of Breezeby, Turgeon & May and traded for Theodore didn't bring them anything but a big salary cap burden. No more stopgaps, go with youth, a year from now the bonuses will be gone as well as the contracts of the first three (Theodore has one more year at $5.33 million left after this one), get some quality draft picks and continue to rebuild from within. It looks like the only viable option to me at this point. If anyone's got any better ideas, I'm all ears.

Hinote and Blake!!?!! Noooooooooo!! ****in Pierre. You're on my list, buddy. I'm really beyond bummed. If Hinote and Blake go, there go 2 more of my jerseys. Geez. This reallys sucks ass.

[WABronco]

Vancouver re-ups the Sedin twins for 3 years.

Yesssss...

[Nuggets4]

Originally Posted by Mtbrncofn

Hinote and Blake!!?!! Noooooooooo!! ****in Pierre. You're on my list, buddy. I'm really beyond bummed. If Hinote and Blake go, there go 2 more of my jerseys. Geez. This reallys sucks ass.

I don't think Pierre knew he was in trouble until MT pulled him off of her Xmas card list.

[Pendejo]

Originally Posted by WABronco

Vancouver re-ups the Sedin twins for 3 years.

Yesssss...

I guess that's great news for Caf*** fans...Mary Kate and Ashley have re-signed.

As far as the Avs go...they had a hell of a 10 year stretch...but they were obviously deficient in certain areas. Detroit makes big deals at the deadline, but still have several of their draftees on their team, and they're not getting f***ed by the cap.

The 'Diques were on their way BEFORE they moved to Denver. Lacroix made the great deal for Roy, but other than that his trades have been completely suspect. The Blake deal got them over the hump...but it cost them severely. For all of Pierre's maneuvering and the talent they had on the roster...they only won two cups. It's horrible to say, but the Avs should have won at least one or two more.

Time to take the lumps...and let the kids develop. In two or three years they'll be right back there. Next season is going to be ugly though. I still really like the Leopold trade. Tanguay almost made me chew my own tongue on several occasions. I think he's one of the most talented players in the league, but he's never been able to put it all together.

Watching Tanger was like watching Tony Gwynn eat himself into retirement...a la...What the f*** are these guys doing?

[WABronco]

Originally Posted by Pendejo

I guess that's great news for Caf*** fans...Mary Kate and Ashley have re-signed.

All right, you guys need to come up with one moniker and stick with it. Some are good...and some just aren't.

[Hercules Rockefeller]

Wonder if McPhee is going to take someone's problem contract off somebody on the cheap? Caps have to spend a bit to get up to the floor, helps that Ovechkin (and Backstrom if he signs) will both count for $3.9M b/c of the rookie bonus clauses.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by Nuggets4

I don't think Pierre knew he was in trouble until MT pulled him off of her Xmas card list.

Oh I'd still send him one, but there sure as hell wouldn't be anything merry about it.

[Mtbrncofn]

Originally Posted by WABronco

All right, you guys need to come up with one moniker and stick with it. Some are good...and some just aren't.

We've got a ton of originals. Stick around!

[Clockwork Orange]

Fernando Pisani re-signs with Edmonton

4 years, $8 million.

[SoCalBronco]

Denver Nuggets' George Karl is latest star in bidding for Penguins
Saturday, July 01, 2006

By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


David Zalubowski, Associated Press
George Karl: Willing to match his civic pride with money.
Click photo for larger image.




Andy Murstein isn't the only Penguins bidder who has recruited a famous native son and hopes to keep the hockey club in town.

While Murstein, president of Medallion Corp. in New York, has added billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former Pitt and Miami Dolphins Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino to his group, Ohio businessman Jim Renacci has recruited Denver Nuggets coach George Karl.

Karl, a Penn Hills native and longtime basketball coach, told the Denver Post yesterday that he would invest about 10 percent if Renacci's bid is accepted. That could add up to $15 million or more, considering the winning offer for the Penguins is expected to top $150 million.

"I love Pittsburgh. I'm proud of just being a Pittsburgh person," Karl said. "We're just trying to keep the civic pride of Pittsburgh, and if we can help it by being business partners, we'll do it."

Karl said he and Renacci have known each other for years and have been business partners on various ventures. The two currently are involved in a Harley Davidson dealership and a golf course, both in Columbus, Ohio.

Karl said he wouldn't get involved in Penguins operations, at least not until he retires from coaching, but wanted to join Renacci to help financially and in public relations.

"For me, it's exciting that it looks like we're going to keep the Penguins in town, whether it's [Murstein's] group or whoever," said Karl, who certainly isn't getting involved out of passion for the game.

"I've never understood hockey. I've never played hockey. People tell me it's a lot like fastbreak basketball and power basketball because they throw it in front of the net and try to tip it in. I just know when I watch the [Colorado Avalanche] play and I watch the Stanley Cup [playoffs], it seemed a lot speedier."

Renacci, who grew up in the Mon Valley, is the mayor of Wadsworth, Ohio, near Akron, has a stake in several other companies and owns the Columbus Destroyers of Arena Football. He would probably keep his stake in that team if he buys the Penguins.

A Steelers season ticket holder, Renacci has said his goal is to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh. He could not be reached.

Murstein, who is believed to be lining up additional local investors, is known to have made a formal bid to Allen and Company of New York, which is brokering the sale and could begin paring the number of bidders next week.

Marino, who grew up in Oakland, is expected to make a six-figure investment if Murstein's bid wins out. Cuban is expected to invest significantly more, but would still be a minority owner and wouldn't be heavily involved in day-to-day operations.

Also on Murstein's team is Shadyside real-estate firm Walnut Capital.

Other players in the Penguins' sale process include Hartford businessman Sam Fingold, who has ties to Kansas City, and Boston area businessman Lawrence Gottesdiener, who might explore moving the Penguins to Hartford if they don't get a deal for a new arena.

Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer might also have some interest, and the owners of the minor-league Manitoba Moose have said they will pursue the Penguins if there comes a time when the team could freely be moved to Winnipeg.

Anyone who buys the Penguins is bound to the club's agreement with Isle of Capri, a gaming company that is one of three finalists for the city's slots license.

If Isle of Capri gets the license, it will donate $290 million for a new facility to replace outdated Mellon Arena, and the Penguins will be staying. If not, there is a plan for a new arena outlined by Gov. Ed Rendell, but new owners would not be bound to it.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06182/702645-61.stm

[Clockwork Orange]

File that under, "Did not see that one coming."

[Nuggets4]

Originally Posted by SoCalBronco

Denver Nuggets' George Karl is latest star in bidding for Penguins

Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[Jori]

Last thing the Avs need is a spy in their midst.

[Clockwork Orange]

Originally Posted by Jori

Last thing the Avs need is a spy in their midst.

A spy might have a better understanding of the salary cap than the Avs front office.

At this point, it's worth a shot.

[Clockwork Orange]

It's noon EST. The market is officially open for business.