Bruins Weirdos

[bignick33]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

Part of the reason that this draft class is getting a bad rap is because the top-end forwards aren't that good. However, I think there are a bunch of d-men that will eventually be top-2 guys. So, you guys have that working for you, if you go in that direction.

[eagle9903]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

[PhillyandBCEagles]

Honestly, I haven't been paying much attention to this draft class due to the fact that my team didn't have a first-round pick until today.

[PhillyandBCEagles]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

But he's good enough that it just might almost be worth it. I'd say probably 5-10% chance it happens.

Of course with our luck, the Flyers will sign him then he'll immediately go out and slam his car into a wall on the Schuylkill.

[bignick33]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

But he's good enough that it just might almost be worth it. I'd say probably 5-10% chance it happens.

Of course with our luck, the Flyers will sign him then he'll immediately go out and slam his car into a wall on the Schuylkill.

Yea, it falls in the "so you're telling me there's a chance...so what was that one in a million talk" range.

[bignick33]

Regarding the Flyers, what wouldn't surprise me at all is if they try to move up in the draft. I could see them targeting Florida's pick to draft Larsson (long shot) or NYI's pick to go after Hamilton (I could see it). The quandary that they likely will face at 8 is that the only top-tier defensemen left will be Murphy and Beaulieu, both of whom of the smaller puck-moving type d-man, which isn't really what Philly will need in a couple years when they make it to the big club (of those two, Beaulieu is bigger and more NHL ready). I don't think it'll take a huge chip to move from 8 to 5.

[claver2010]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

For someone as good as Stamkos is, he's talked about in a ton of trade rumors. Last year it was the Rangers: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/shaken_not_stirred_T6N63otVVq92kFkpEFVBMI

[claver2010]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

For someone as good as Stamkos is, he's talked about in a ton of trade rumors. Last year it was the Rangers: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/shaken_not_stirred_T6N63otVVq92kFkpEFVBMI

[eagle9903]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

For someone as good as Stamkos is, he's talked about in a ton of trade rumors. Last year it was the Rangers: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/shaken_not_stirred_T6N63otVVq92kFkpEFVBMI

I think its just because of Tampa Bay, not him. They have a ton of money tied up in Lecavelier, St. Louis and Malone and their poor. So I think its one of those things where if they trade him it'll be looked back on as 90% salary dump.

[bignick33]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

For someone as good as Stamkos is, he's talked about in a ton of trade rumors. Last year it was the Rangers: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/shaken_not_stirred_T6N63otVVq92kFkpEFVBMI

I think its just because of Tampa Bay, not him. They have a ton of money tied up in Lecavelier, St. Louis and Malone and their poor. So I think its one of those things where if they trade him it'll be looked back on as 90% salary dump.

For me, it would be unconscionable for them to trade Stamkos. St. Louis may still be there best player, but Stamkos is right there and he's still young. The rest are aging.

[eagle9903]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

For someone as good as Stamkos is, he's talked about in a ton of trade rumors. Last year it was the Rangers: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/shaken_not_stirred_T6N63otVVq92kFkpEFVBMI

I think its just because of Tampa Bay, not him. They have a ton of money tied up in Lecavelier, St. Louis and Malone and their poor. So I think its one of those things where if they trade him it'll be looked back on as 90% salary dump.

For me, it would be unconscionable for them to trade Stamkos. St. Louis may still be there best player, but Stamkos is right there and he's still young. The rest are aging.

I think they're under K and he's an RFA. Thus the difference.

[bignick33]

I'd rather take best-available-prospect than commit to taking a blue liner.

Brad Richards supposedly might be headed to Philly....Stamkos rumors floating around as well but I'll believe that when I see it

the stamkos thing would be ridiculous. 4 first rounders and committing over 7 million/year.

For someone as good as Stamkos is, he's talked about in a ton of trade rumors. Last year it was the Rangers: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/rangers/shaken_not_stirred_T6N63otVVq92kFkpEFVBMI

I think its just because of Tampa Bay, not him. They have a ton of money tied up in Lecavelier, St. Louis and Malone and their poor. So I think its one of those things where if they trade him it'll be looked back on as 90% salary dump.

For me, it would be unconscionable for them to trade Stamkos. St. Louis may still be there best player, but Stamkos is right there and he's still young. The rest are aging.

I think they're under K and he's an RFA. Thus the difference.

I understand that. Still, they have a guy who will be one of the top 5 in the NHL for the next decade. It would be utter insanity to deal him because of Ryan freaking Malone's bad contract.

[bignick33]

Surprised flyers didn't take Hamilton, but they got a great player who slipped. The bs were actually gonna trade their pick to Nashville, but scrapped it when Hamilton fell to them. 2 years from being NHL ready most likely.

[PhillyandBCEagles]

TB is a pretty well-run club (they have to be to be a perennial playoff team/semi-regular title contender in that awful market), which is why I think they'll find a way to keep Stamkos.

Love the Flyers' pick. Not that I'd ever heard of the guy, but his writeup sounds great.

[PhillyandBCEagles]

http://www.phillygameday.com/2011/06/hu ... -together/

Heh.

[bignick33]

Bruins weirdos might be interested to know that the Bruins actually had a deal in place to trade the 9th pick in the draft for Nashville prospect Ryan Ellis. Ellis is a little d-man with very good offensive skills, and likely would have been able to make the big club this year. The Bs likened him to a more seasoned Ryan Murphy (who was high on their board as I mentioned earlier in the thread). But, when Hamilton fell to them, they didn't pull the trigger on the deal. No one expect Hamilton to be around at 9, as most mocks had him going between 4 and 7.

The side effect drafting Hamilton (a big tough d-man who nonetheless projects to be a dominant player in a few years) instead of a puck mover such as Ryan Murphy, Nathan Beaulieu, or Ryan Ellis is that Kaberle might be back in play if he's willing to sign at a reasonable price (~$3 mil/per)for a short number of years (optimally, two). On another note, I don't see them re-signing Ryder despite his strong playoff performances and his relationship with Seguin. They can likely get better value elsewhere.

[bignick33]

Even after the Philadelphia Flyers re-sign Ville Leino (assuming that happens), there will be some cash leftover to spend on scoring. Probably not enough to chase Steven Stamkos, but more than what's needed to to sign a player like Michael Ryder.

Chuck Gormley of Courier-Post suggests the Flyers will pursue the unrestricted free agent-to-be. And he may be available. The Boston Bruins still seem to be on the fence about whether or not to make the winger an offer.

Ryder is expected to take a significant pay cut from the $4 million he earned this past season. If the Bruins don't offer him a quality deal, the Flyers may be able to snag the 31-year-old for about $2.5 million, or less.

Per ESPN Rumor mill

[bignick33]

With a thin free agent class and a lot of buyers due to the increased salary cap, this summer will be a very good one to be a FA. A number of RFAs such as Kevin Bieksa (5/$23 mil) and Brooks Laich (6/$27 mil) have already gotten surprisingly big money on multiyear deals. Once free agency starts on July 1, the competition for the small number of proven players available will be intense, and I could see some crazy numbers get thrown around for marginal players.

[bignick33]

Fin.

can't be fin - we have over 60 more pages needed.

Almost there, but I'm not getting much help here.

[bignick33]

Well the Leafs will probably be as bad, if not worse, than the Bruins in scoring goals now. So goes the quest for Taylor Hall.

The Leafs have a pretty decent shot of finishing ahead of the Bruins now.

The Leafs traded 3 good offensive players for a very good defenseman and an over-the-hill goalie. You would have thought they would have realized after they dumped Tuuka Rask for a washed-up Andrew Raycroft that they should stop trading for mediocre, past-their-prime goalies. Since then, they have fielded had one atrocious goalie after the next. They have good defenseman. That's it. They have no one capable of scoring goals or stopping pucks. This trade does not make them better, at least not right now.

I can't believe I just responded to the idiotic suggestion that the Leafs are well-run. They are laughably incompetent, and it will the Bruins' massive, massive gain if they can avoid drafting people like Matt Lashoff with the bounty of picks they will be receiving.

Wanna bet about who finishes ahead of whom?

Sounds familiar.

But at least the Bruins have some semblance of a vision and system put in place. As far as I can tell, Toronto does not. And they can't improve themselves significantly through the draft due to the Kessel deal. They are betting biiiig time that Phaneuf can bounce back. If he doesn't that is a very large cap hit (something like $6.5 mil AAV) for an above-average, but not elite, defenseman. He's getting paid Chara money and Phaneuf is no Chara right now.

Edit: Yay! Mark Stuart out for another month because he broke his finger on that pussy Wayne Simmonds visor. And the hits keep acomin'.

The Bruins have a vision? What vision is that? Only retain players who forecheck and can't score? Don't pay market value? Regress instead of improve? Cross your fingers and hope for Taylor Hall?

Food for thought.

[claver2010]

Dear Rangers:

Please do not sign Richards.

Hugs & Kisses,
Claver2010

[bignick33]

Dear Rangers:

Please do not sign Richards.

Hugs & Kisses,
Claver2010

You should trade for Erhoff's rights. That way, he could say he was traded to every NY team this week.

[Endless Mike]

The Bruins are trying to trade Kaberle's rights.

http://www.necn.com/06/29/11/Report-Bruins-attempt-to-trade-rights-to/landing_sports.html?blockID=538159&feedID=3352

[bignick33]

The Bruins are trying to trade Kaberle's rights.

http://www.necn.com/06/29/11/Report-Bruins-attempt-to-trade-rights-to/landing_sports.html?blockID=538159&feedID=3352

His agent asked for a multi-year deal at almost 5 mil per year. Chiarelli probably literally laughed. The funny thing is that they were actually willing to bring him back at the right price, unlike (in my estimation) Ryder.

[bignick33]

Free agency is 42 minutes in, and the Flyers might be on the verge of bringing back Michal Handzuš to increase the depth at center. Rumor has it that the Bruins may be pursuing big Ed Jovonowski, who apparently is only 35 (I would have guessed older).

[bignick33]

Jagr to Philly ool

[PhillyandBCEagles]

Didn't see that coming.

(Also can't believe Jagr is only 39)

[bignick33]

Didn't see that coming.

(Also can't believe Jagr is only 39)

I was thinking the same thing about Ed Jovanowski, who apparently just turned 35 last week. I'm pretty sure he's been in the NHL for at least 2 decades. Incidentally, Florida just gave him a 4 year deal, and he'll assuredly be dead before that contact ends.

There's some crazy contracts being throw around, particularly for d-men (40 mil for Erhoff, 33 mil for Wisniewski, 4 years for Big Ed...makes the 23 mil for Bieksa look like a steal). Lots of irresponsibility in the NHL over the last few days.

[bignick33]

What the fuck is going on today? Colorado just dealt a first and second rounder to Washington for Varlamov (I thought he was going to Russia?). The first will likely be a top ten pick in a very deep draft year. That's almost as big a fleecing by Washington as the Kessel deal was for Boston.

[bignick33]

Maxim Talbot to the Flyers for a 5 (!) year deal worth 9 million. This is a minor addition, but I see the Flyers as being a pain in the ass to play against.