The 2010 All-Time Free Agency Thread (The Undrafteds)

[VanIslander]

Brent Burns

* 6'5, 219 lbs.
* 158 points over just 405 NHL games
* Best Defenseman at 2008 World Championships
* Most Minutes Played for Team Canada at 2010 World Championships

Upon turning professional with the Wild in 2003, Burns was converted to defense by defensively minded coach Jacques Lemaire. Burns played in 36 games with Minnesota in the 2003-04 season, showing flashes of natural ability in rushing from the blueline. After spending the 2004 NHL Lockout in the AHL with the Houston Aeros, Burns adapted as defenseman and earned a regular spot on the Wild team in the 2005-06 season, contributing 16 points in 72 games.

In the 2006-07 season, Burns eclipsed his previous seasons points total with 25 and became a significant force for the Wild in the later months of the season scoring back-to-back overtime winners in March and two fights during the playoffs.

On October 25, 2007, during the 2007-08 season, Burns signed a four-year contract extension with the Wild. Burns emerged as the Wild's best defenseman, establishing a career-high 15 goals and 43 points.

 

[MadArcand]

Two guys that I wanted to draft (and perhaps should have), that I believe were better than some of the Soviets drafted - (MOD EDIT: DO NOT JUST DROP NAMES. POST A STAT OR REASON WITH EACH). I think that the Czechoslovak stars get overlooked in favor of Soviet depth players, which is kinda weird.

 

[EagleBelfour]

Two guys that I wanted to draft (and perhaps should have), that I believe were better than some of the Soviets drafted - (MOD EDIT: DO NOT JUST DROP NAMES. POST A STAT OR REASON WITH EACH). I think that the Czechoslovak stars get overlooked in favor of Soviet depth players, which is kinda weird.

Come on VanI, would of like to know who's Madarcand was talking about. Hope you're not going to start editing our post when you don't feel they're complete enough.

 

[seventieslord]

EB: one of them was Dusan Pasek, a guy who has flirted with my radar a few times. Being a LW, he had a better chance than a center at being selected, but he couldn't quite get there. He had a few good finishes in the Czech league but there were a few things I couldn't get over:

- 51 points in 82 games internationally. Generally you look for close to a point per game for guys unproven in north america, or a crazy amount of games. Pasek is reasonably close to the latter, but per-game wasn't producing quite what I would like to be comfortable with.
- Played one NHL season at age 28, which is pretty much the time a player is in his offensive prime. Had 14 points in 48 games. Small sample size, yes, but not impressive.

 

[EagleBelfour]

EB: one of them was Dusan Pasek, a guy who has flirted with my radar a few times. Being a LW, he had a better chance than a center at being selected, but he couldn't quite get there. He had a few good finishes in the Czech league but there were a few things I couldn't get over:

- 51 points in 82 games internationally. Generally you look for close to a point per game for guys unproven in north america, or a crazy amount of games. Pasek is reasonably close to the latter, but per-game wasn't producing quite what I would like to be comfortable with.
- Played one NHL season at age 28, which is pretty much the time a player is in his offensive prime. Had 14 points in 48 games. Small sample size, yes, but not impressive.

Maybe he suffered the ''Krutov'' effect. Do we have any indication on how he played in the NHL and why it never worked out?

 

[MadArcand]

EB: one of them was Dusan Pasek, a guy who has flirted with my radar a few times. Being a LW, he had a better chance than a center at being selected, but he couldn't quite get there. He had a few good finishes in the Czech league but there were a few things I couldn't get over:

- 51 points in 82 games internationally. Generally you look for close to a point per game for guys unproven in north america, or a crazy amount of games. Pasek is reasonably close to the latter, but per-game wasn't producing quite what I would like to be comfortable with.
- Played one NHL season at age 28, which is pretty much the time a player is in his offensive prime. Had 14 points in 48 games. Small sample size, yes, but not impressive.

He saw 12.7 minutes per game in Minnesota. With that kind of icetime, his production was on par. According to LOH, "He was a solid role player" that season.

As for national team:
- 69 goals in 196 games total, the 51/82 figure is for best on best competition
- even there, he was PPG in his two Olympics, had 7 pts in 17 games in three CCs and 29 pts in 50 WC games. Of the WCs, two came before he was 23 (he went 8/20 in those), as did one of the CCs. All in all, those were very solid numbers for 2nd/3rd line in NT.
- in the 1988 Olympics, he captained the team and scored 11 pts in 8 games, finishing 4th in scoring, and leading the Olympics in goals with 6 (both tied).
- those NTs had success with him too - five WC medals (incl. one gold), and a silver at Olympics.

He was a prolific scorer in the Czechoslovak league as well, debuting at 17, becoming the youngest captain in league at 19, and scoring 187 goals in 372 games. He was a 1st team All-star in 1988 (without being a top-10 scorer), and led the league in points and assists in 1987.


The other guy I mentioned was Darius Rusnak, who was linemate of Lukac and Liba (and Lala and Pasek at other times) in the NT.

- 186 goals in 436 league games
- 68 goals in 156 NT games
- 5 WCs, 5 medals (one gold, 3 silvers, one bronze), scoring 28 pts in 44 games, scoring the championship winner in 1985
- Olympic silver in Sarajevo (11 pts in 7 games, 4th in scoring, 2nd in assists to Fetisov)
- played in 1981 CC, scoring 4 goals in 6 games

 

[seventieslord]

He saw 12.7 minutes per game in Minnesota. With that kind of icetime, his production was on par. According to LOH, "He was a solid role player" that season.

Helminen played 13.6 minutes as a 21-year old and had 40 points in 66 games. But some of that can be explained by PP time so let's look deeper:

He had an estimated 24 ESP in an estimated 702 ESM. (2.05/60 min)

Pasek had 10 ESP in an estimated 548 ESM. (1.08/60 min)

Now these are small samples and only reasonably estimated, but Helminen at 21 was doubling Pasek's production at 29.

Pasek's saving grace is that he was a LW, making it easier to get a spot here. But I see him as a top-6 guy and I can't see him outproducing MacDonald, Conacher, Poddubny or Dumont at the NHL level, or Hartnell and Bennett for that matter, and they're in the bottom-6 here.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #83 pick in A2010, The Cathedral Bohemians are pleased to select:

Jack Portland, D

I mentioned Portland last year in the undrafteds thread and I think he is still well worth mention:

- Portland was the tallest player in the NHL when he played – 6’2”, 185 lbs. He and Eddie Shore made an imposing pair for a number of years with Boston. According to LOH.net, He was a key performer, providing a solid defensive foundation for the Bruins as they won a Stanley Cup in 1939 According to “Players”, Portland was as talented an athlete as existed in Canada. He competed in the 1932 Olympics in high jump; he was also accomplished at javelin and boxing… Teamed with Eddie Shore on the Bruins, the two formed a fearsome line of defense… his long stride and broad shoulders cut an imposing swath across the ice lanes”. He scored 71 points in 381 NHL games, and though that doesn’t sound like much, he was actually 10th in the NHl among defensemen twice. He also played in 8 playoffs, with 4 points in 33 games. In the one season that we have all-star voting records that go that far down, 1937, Portland is 11th among defensemen.

the 11th in all-star voting was with one point, so it's not that significant. And although cynically you might say that playing with Eddie Shore made him look better, you can also say that playing with Eddie Shore made him a top pairing defenseman at a time when there weren't many of them.

Not much is known, but it appears he was a tough customer:

Suddenly Phil Watson slugged Bruins defenseman Jack Portland, who had cross checked him between the eyes.

Affable and smiling off the ice, the 6'2" Portland was teamed with Eddie Shore to make sure no one got near Tiny Thompson's goal.

Thanks to Mr. Bugg for this tidbit:

"He wasn't very fast but he had a long reach. And when you went to go around him, he'd turn the blade of his stick over so that instead of hooking you with it and getting a penalty, he'd give you a push with the flat part of the blade. He was so strong, he could push you over. In the first game I played against him, he had me on my backside at least ten times."

 

[MadArcand]

I can't see Dumont finishing 4th in Olympic scoring, or leading Olympics in goals...

Seriously, you're extrapolating based on half a season halfway across the globe in his twilight years?

 

[seventieslord]

I can't see Dumont finishing 4th in Olympic scoring, or leading Olympics in goals...

I could, because it wasn't best on best, and he's a guy who scored 50+ points in the NHL five times.

Seriously, you're extrapolating based on half a season halfway across the globe in his twilight years?

it wasn't his twilight. He was 29 and had four years of hockey left.

 

[MadArcand]

I could, because it wasn't best on best, and he's a guy who scored 50+ points in the NHL five times.

Expecting Dumont to outscore Makarov is a tall order.

it wasn't his twilight. He was 29 and had four years of hockey left.

Many players were done in early 30s in that era. Four years of hockey is misleading - he played 41 meaningful games after that season (IHL, Czechoslovakia, Finland). The rest was spent in retirement leagues in Switzerland and Italy.

Also keep in mind he had to adapt to a different country, and it's easy to see why he had a mediocre season in Minny.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #84 pick in A2010, The Wascana View Millionaires are pleased to select:

Bob Froese, G

Wow, did I ever go back and forth on this one. Do I really want a guy with 242 NHL games? And the answer is yes. I'll explain why.

First of all, Froese has a 2nd all-star team nomination. That alone makes him worthy of consideration. But there are other all-star teamers not yet selected, and rightfully so. So more deliberation was required.

So let's look at his 2nd team all-star season, 1986. Froese was actually two voting points away from being a Vezina winner, being narrowly edged by John Vanbiesbrouck, 60-58. But Philadelphia had a knack for making their goalies look better than they were during the 1980s. Was Froese really the NHL's 2nd-best goalie for a season? Because if he was, you put that together with a career seven more seasons longer, and that alone clinches it. The details of Froese's 1986 season:

- He led the NHL with a .909 sv%, plus three team stats (31 wins, 2.55 GAA, 5 SO)
- Froese's edge in sv% was more than enough to transcend team factors: He was just 4 points ahead of runner-up Kelly Hrudey, and 14 points ahead of "the pack", led by Clint Malarchuk. He was also 35 points better than the league average of .874.
- If Philly was making Froese look better, why didn't they make Jensen, Lindbergh & Resch look better in the 42 games they played in? The three managed a combined sv% of .883.
- Froese's sv% was the highest recorded in the entire 1980s. There were only six times in the 1980s that a goalie played 2400 minutes and recorded a .900 sv%.
- The Flyers were the league's 2nd most-penalized team, leading to more high-percentage PP shots against. Froese held the fort very well.

Maybe not a season for the ages, but one of the finest seasons of the 1980s.

Froese was a bit of a hidden gem before that, though:

- In 1985, he played just 17 games behind Vezina winner Lindbergh, but his .914 sv% was better than Lindbergh's .899.
- In 1984, he played 48 games to Lindbergh's 36, and his 7th-place sv% of .887 dstroyed Lindbergh's brutal .860. (he was actually 7th in all-star voting this year too, with 10 voting points) No one played more minutes than Froese and had a better sv%. Philly was also the 4th-most penalized team in the NHL this year.
- In 1983, the rookie Froese played 24 games behind Lindbergh, posting a sv% of .896 that would have been 5th in the NHL had he maintained it over more games. (Lindbergh was 2nd with .890)

With Philadelphia careers almost entirely overlapping, Froese outperformed Lindbergh rather significantly, with a sv% of .899 as a Flyer to Lindbergh's .887. And it's not like he was playing backup minutes: He played 8101 in Philly; Lindbergh played 9150.

After his 1986 season, it was a mixed bag, but there was some good. In 1987, he was 12th with an .885 sv%, out of 40 goalies with 25+ GP. In the following three seasons, he faded, but performed at a level close to the league average (.874 vs. .880)

Few goalies have started off so well as he did as rookie in 1982-83... While Flyers have been waiting for Pelle Lindbergh to reach his potential, Froese has quietly done a steady job in nets... relieves stress of goaltending with sense of humour... plays standup style and covers angles well...

Became Flyers' #1 goalie following the tragic death of Pelle Lindbergh. "I always wanted to be #1... but not this way."... Proved he could handle the load under emotionally difficult circumstances...

Froese is a standup goaltender, excellent at cutting down the shooter's angles... he comes out to challenge effectivemy and is good at deflecting shots either to teammates or into the corners.. handles his rebounds well... has fast hands and feet... Vulnerable when he comes out of the net on breakaways... not as good off his feet as he is standing up, but when he butterflies he covers the bottom half well... has very strong concentration and is mentally tough, able to forget about bad outings or goals... can become nonchalant after a few good games in a row and loses a degree of intensity... he was outstanding in the playoffs, regardless of the results, and held the team together with steady performances throughout the year...no one could have asked for more from him last year.

a cool customer...GM Esposito was happy to get Froese... "Bob is a quality goaltender, an all-star", he said...

 

[seventieslord]

Expecting Dumont to outscore Makarov is a tall order.

Anything can happen in a short tournament. Dumont has had 8-game stretches where he outscored Ovechkin, I'm sure. My point is not to downplay that at all, but on the aggregate, I consider a guy like Dumont a safer bet to produce in an all-time context based on the overall body of work from each player.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #85 pick in A2010, The Wascana View Millionaires are pleased to select:

Willy Lindstrom, RW

Lindstrom was a fast, offensive player who proved he could be an effective scorer in both the WHA and the NHL (and a primary scorer on a successful WHA team), and also proved he could be a valuable role player and secondary scorer on a cup winner. His energy will really come in handy on the 4th line.

Willy was 24 when he crossed the pond and joined the WHA's jets. In four seasons he scored 261 points in 316 games, and 48 more in 51 playoff games, helping the Jets to three Avco cups in four trips to the finals. In the last of those, he led the WHA in playoff goals, and he was 8th in regular season WHA goals in 1977.

When the WHA merged with the NHL, Lindstrom stayed with the Jets and posted five more seasons with 22-32 goals. Lindstrom was tarded at the 1983 deadline to the Oilers and had three strong playoffs with them, winning the 1984 and 1985 Stanley Cups. In 582 NHL games, Lindstrom had 323 points, and 32 more in 67 playoff games. In both the WHA and NHL, Lindstrom scored more points per game in the playoffs than he did in the regular season.

He didn't play much international hockey along the way, but he had 15 points in 18 games across 3 tournaments, and was 6th in the 1974 Worlds, behind only Soviets Mikhailov & Yakushev, and teammates Hlinka, Martinec & Nedomansky.

Lindstrom's career is a perfect exercise in league equivalencies. He scored at 2/3 the level in the NHL, than he did in the WHA, with a large sample size to draw from in each league. If you imagine he played his 316 WHA games in the NHL instead, he'd likely have about 174 points, for a decent career total of 497 in 898 games (and 61 in 108 playoff games, if you extrapolate that, too) No way does a guy like that go unselcted this long. WHA uncertainty seems to hold Lindstrom back.

He certainly had staying power: In 1986-87, his last NHL season, he was 35, and just Gilbert Perreault was older, and Salming, Robinson, Pouzar, Hajt, and Dionne were the same age.

very fast skater and hard shooter... scouts said he played a very aggressive, professional style in Europe, but he needed 50 games under his belt before he began to trade checks... skates with legs far apart...

blossomed into a 44-goal scorer, living up to coach's prediction... uncoils a hard slapshot... an excellent skater... can claim to have played more games in one season as a pro... between August 5, 1976 , the day he reported to Sweden's national team training camp, and May 26, 1977, the final day of the Avco Cup playoffs, he played 124 games...named the best player at the WHA all-star game...

considered the fastest of all the jets...his career has suffered a broken wrist, nose, cheekbone, and torn knee ligaments...

free-wheeling... has never fought, but plenty of people have bounced off of him...

turbocharged RW who knows how to get from one end of the ice to the other in a hurry... has hard slapshot to complement blazing speed...

smooth, slick skater with strong offensive skills... major star in swedish hockey...

 

[seventieslord]

With the #86 pick in A2010, The Cathedral Bohmeians are pleased to select:

Alf Smith, Coach

Unfortunately little is known about Smith's coaching style, other than what we can glean from his hockey career and the fact that he played in half the seasons that he coached, so we can assume that he liked rough hockey. Also, it is tough to say for sure just what kind of a coaching role he had if he was also playing. As such, it's tough to give him the reins to his own team, but he can help Sid Abel, a guy who had great regular season teams that just couldn't win the big prize. Winning the big prize was not a problem for Smith. With Larry Cahan, Rick Lapointe, Ken Smith, Vic Lynn and Jack Portland in the Cathedral fold, Smith has guys who will play his way.

Here's what we know about Smith's coaching career:

- Smith is officially listed as the coach of the 1903-1906 Ottawa Silver Seven, who won every Stanley Cup challenge they faced in that time, except the last one to the Wanderers. Smith's in the books as a 3-time cup winner as coach, and a finalist.

- SIHR has coach stats listed for Smith in the 1907 and 1908 seasons with ottawa as well. They were 7-3 in both seasons but finished 2nd and did not make the playoffs.

- SIHR says Smith coached the WPHL's Pittsburgh athletic club in the 1909 season. It appears their record was 2-11.

- He's listed as the coach of the 1913-1914 NHA Ottawa Senators who went 11-9, as well as the 1919 edition that went 12-6 but imploded in the playoffs without Frank Nighbor.

- According to SIHR: Also Coached 1909 Ottawa Cliffsides (IPAHU), Montreal Canadiens (12-13), Moncton Victorias-MPHL (12-13). I'm not sure how he could have coached two teams that year. But it's said he coached the Cliffsides to the first Allan Cup, but then lost it in a challenge to Queen's.

His ask.com bio seems to indicate he also coached Ottawa in 1901 (they were 8-0 that year), as well as the 1910 and 1911 Renfrew Millionaires, and that not only was he Ottawa's 1914 coach, but he coached them until 1917. SIHR also says "Named Coach of NY Americans, Jan. 17, 1926", even though the official record has Tommy Gorman earning that whole season's 12-20-4 record. The Americans were 6-11-3 after January 17th (.375), not much off the record of the genius Gorman (.406)

Based on everything I've just recounted, it appears that Smith has a career record of 153-94-5 (.617), and was 21-13-2 (.611) in the playoffs, in a career as player/coach as well as just coach, that spanned 26 years at the top levels of hockey. Just to recap, this record includes the following:

1901 Ottawa
1903-1908 Ottawa
1909 Pittsburgh/Ottawa Cliffsides
1910-1911 Renfrew
1913 Montreal
1914-1917 Ottawa
1919 Ottawa
1926 NY Americans

Smith began his hockey career playing for the Ottawa Hockey Club (Ottawa HC) of the AHAC in the 1890s. In 1897 he retired from the Ottawa HC. In 1898, he played for the Ottawa Capitals intermediate team, but did not finish the season because he was ruled to be ineligible. In 1896, Smith had accepted a $100 bonus for play with the Capitals lacrosse team. By 1898, the Amateur Athletic Association of Canada ruled that he was ineligible for play in amateur hockey.[1] He would not play for several years, but did coach the Ottawa Hockey Club to the 1901 CAHL title.

In 1901–02, he returned to active play, as a professional, in the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League for Pittsburgh. The following year he returned to Canada to coach the Ottawa HC to their first Stanley Cup championship against the Montreal Victorias in 1903. In 1903–04 he became reinstated as an amateur and he returned to play, playing right wing on a line that featured "One Eyed" Frank McGee. As a player-coach, he would eventually lead the team to consecutive Stanley Cup victories in 1904, 1905, and 1906, the club by then known as the Silver Seven.

In 1907, McGee retired and his place on the top line was taken by Alf's brother Harry. At the conclusion of the 1907 ECAHA season, Smith moved west to play with the Stanley Cup champion Kenora Thistles, playing in the MPHL finals. He was also a player during their unsuccessful Stanley Cup challenge rematch versus the Montreal Wanderers, where his presence along with Harry Westwick caused the series to be played under protest. He played one final season with Ottawa in 1908, scoring 12 goals in 9 games.

In 1908–09, he had an eventful season. Lured back to Pittsburgh for the newly-reformed Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, he was suspended from two teams for rough play. He returned to Ottawa and played with several former Silver Seven players on the Senators of the Federal League. He made time that season to coach the Ottawa Cliffsides to the first Allan Cup championship, only to lose it to Queen's University in a challenge. This was his final season of play.

In 1909-10, he resumed his coaching career with Renfrew, the so-called "Millionaires" of the new National Hockey Association (NHA). He returned to coach the Ottawa Hockey Club in 1913 and coached the team until 1917. Smith later coached and managed teams in Moncton, New Brunswick, and North Bay, Ontario.

Along with Harvey Pulford, Harry Westwick and Russell Bowie, Smith was one of the final active players who had played major senior hockey in the 19th century. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

loh.net knows he coached New York, but has the timing backwards, and this makes it even more curious that the official record doesn't credit him with those wins and losses. Apparently there was a lot more to his coaching career beyond that, but not much is known about it other than the location.

Smith's coaching experience included the Renfrew Millionaires, a celebrated squad that featured some of the game's greatest early stars, and the Ottawa Senators in the newly formed National Hockey League. He was also the first coach of the New York Americans when the team joined the NHL in 1926.

Alf Smith stayed in hockey for most of his life, coaching and managing teams in Moncton, New Brunswick, and North Bay, Ontario.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #87 pick in A2010, The Broder's Annex Marauders are pleased to select:

Dennis Herron, G

I really flip flopped here. With my last chance to select a goalie in this draft, I wanted to make sure I was taking the best guy. I think I got him.

I started by looking at Billy Hague, but he was actually awful with a stacked Ottawa team, allowing many goals in cup matches that should have been easy and much more lopsided. I was set on Murray Bannerman, who had a couple good sv% finishes and was in two all-star games. But then Herron caught my eye. He doesn't have Bannerman's solid playoff record. But he did play 173 more regular season games and post even more impressive save percentages for a couple bad teams. I don't really care that he won two Jennings as that's a team award, but I will show you he was Montreal's best goalie when there. Herron's career was far from perfect, but he shone as an excellent "bad team goalie" and a decent "good team goalie".

His career basically had three phases:

1. The bad team phase.

I'll start in 1975 as Herron only played 23 games in the two seasons prior. He played just three games with Pittsburgh before heading to Kansas City. Newly-released sv% statistics show that Herron greatly outperformed his teammates, with a .896 sv%. The other two combined for a mark of .881.

Rightfully so, Herron took over as the starter for KC, and played the 4th-most minutes in the league. His .889 sv% was one point out of the top-10 and considerably greater than the combined mark of his understudies: .853. Think about that: .853!!!

Herron actually escaped back to Pittsburgh as a free agent, and though they were a decent team, they were a doormat compared to the titans in this imbalanced league. He played behind Dunc Wilson, but did outperform him from a sv% standpoint: .910 to .906. Herron was 5th in the NHL in sv% this year.

Much like in KC, his performance earned him the starter's role the following season. Herron played the 5th-most minutes in the NHL and posted a .901 sv%, the league's 8th-best. Where would the Pens have been without him? Well, with the other three Pittsburgh goalies combining for a .837 sv%, I'm guessing last overall.

1979 was another solid season. Herron played the 5th-most minutes in the league and posted the 9th-best sv%: .892. Understudy rookie Greg Millen performed OK, but not at Herron's level.

2. The good team phase.

Herron is a bit of a "fall guy" for this period. When people look back at the Habs of the early 1980s and their inability to keep the destiny going after Dryden's retirement, Herron is named as a culprit.

Now, this was a very strong defensive team that could boost its goalies' sv%, and I don't want to give Herron too much credit for finishing 1st in the NHL in sv% in both 1980 and 1982 while playing just the 2nd-most minutes in the team's rotation. But what I do want to give him credit for is that, on an aggregate level, he was Montreal's best goalie from 1979-1984:

Herron: 86 GP, .901
Rest of team: 260 GP, .887 (best was Sevigny's .894 in 101 GP)

I included the 1984 season for the larger sample size, though Herron was well into his last phase by then.

3. Another bad team phase.

Herron then went to the lowly pens to help them "earn" the right to draft Mario Lemieux. (He was traded for a draft pick that became A draft cut Nelson Emerson) His 1983 season was a complete write-off and we'll just leave it at that.

In 1984, however, Herron managed to post an .885 sv% for the league's worst team, good for 9th in the NHL. I think this is extremely impressive! Are there any comparables to this? I will find out for you shortly.

In 1985, he was getting old at 32, but kept pace with the Pens' team average at least.

During his 2nd Pens' tenure, they used the same 3 goalies all three full seasons that he played. How do you think he performed compared to them? I bet you already know.

Herron: .869
Rest of team: .862

OK, comparables. I looked at the period of 1973-1986, Herron's whole career. I took a look at all goalies who played 1800+ minutes in any given season. Herron had three of the 30 lowest win% seasons. (.330 or worse) - His 1976 season with Kansas City when he had a .889 sv%, is the highest posted by a bad team goalie in this 14-year period. His 1984 season with Pittsburgh (.885) was 4th, and the only time any goalie with a win% .330 or lower was top-10 in sv%. His 1985 was also a decent showing at 11th on the list, with an .875.

Other goalies to show up multiple times in this lowly-30 list and where their sv% ranked:

Herron: 1st, 4th, 11th
Meloche: 4th, 8th, 9th
Low: 27th, 28th, 29th
Plasse: 2nd, 14th
Millen: 15th, 24th.

One more number crunch: On this list, goalies other than Herron who had win% less than .330, had a combined sv% of .870. Herron's cumulative sv% in his 3 worst win% years? .884.

Herron's work did earn him some All-star recognition, but not in the years he probably deserved it most. He was 5th in 1980, 7th in 1976 (but with just 3 votes), and 9th in 1982 (but with just 2 votes) - In the heaviest platoon era, he consistently outperformed the other goalies on his team, all the way through his career. How much worse than Dan Bouchard is he? Was he just Gilles Meloche with less longevity?

compiled a respectable 3.75 GAA with Scouts... "I want lots of work"... Coach Bep Guidolin: "He's an eager, aggressive kid."... Assistant GM Baz Bastien: "The kid has guts."... admits weaknesses include lack of concentration for full game, roaming from net and not controlling rebounds... style has been described as "semi-acrobatic".

worked 34 games for Pittsburgh and was team's top goalie... In spite of suspect defense, Herron and Dunc Wilson carried bulk of goaltending and managed to finish 7th in team average... His size was what the Pens originally didn't like but they have since found that little guys can do a big job...

with his slight build, Denis has trouble convincing people he really is an athlete... Scouts claimed he was too skinny to play for them... at one point they tried to build him up with a diet of milkshakes but he developed kidney stones... Herron says his weight presents no problem for him...

admits to being more of a "flopper" who relies more on quick reflexes than positional goaltending... hard to believe the way this skinny athlete can scramble around the crease carrying 35+ pounds of equipment... a perrennially slow starter, he was challenged for the starting job by Greg Millen early and probably will be again...

deserves Purple Heart for wounds received in action while playing for so many losing teams... 12-year veteran who endured many 50-shot games for Kansas City... faced an average of 32 shots a game last season... better goalie than his career 136-178-73 record shows.

generally did not play as well last year as when the team was absolutely defenseless in front of him in 1983-84, but he had his moments... still the best the Penguins have...personable veteran of 12 NHL seasons...

 

[hfboardsuser]

With the #83 pick in A2010, The Cathedral Bohemians are pleased to select:

Jack Portland, D

I mentioned Portland last year in the undrafteds thread and I think he is still well worth mention:



the 11th in all-star voting was with one point, so it's not that significant. And although cynically you might say that playing with Eddie Shore made him look better, you can also say that playing with Eddie Shore made him a top pairing defenseman at a time when there weren't many of them.

Not much is known, but it appears he was a tough customer:

I can add something here. In addition to referring to him as the largest player in the league at the time, Don Gallinger had this to say about Portland:

"He wasn't very fast but he had a long reach. And when you went to go around him, he'd turn the blade of his stick over so that instead of hooking you with it and getting a penalty, he'd give you a push with the flat part of the blade. He was so strong, he could push you over. In the first game I played against him, he had me on my backside at least ten times."

I've long been waiting to see his name here, and I think he's essentially a Hal Gill clone.

 

[seventieslord]

I can add something here. In addition to referring to him as the largest player in the league at the time, Don Gallinger had this to say about Portland:

"He wasn't very fast but he had a long reach. And when you went to go around him, he'd turn the blade of his stick over so that instead of hooking you with it and getting a penalty, he'd give you a push with the flat part of the blade. He was so strong, he could push you over. In the first game I played against him, he had me on my backside at least ten times."

I've long been waiting to see his name here, and I think he's essentially a Hal Gill clone.

Thank you for the info! That does paint a much better picture of him than I already had.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #88 pick in A2010, The Rosemont Mintos are pleased to select:

John Tortorella, Coach

Tortorella has a very strong bevy of accomplishments already:

- The 2004 Stanley Cup
- A well-deserved Jack Adams award in 2004, as well as a runner-up in 2003
- .524 win% in 680 NHL games
- .519 win% in 52 playoff games
- .541 win% in 2 AHL seasons
- an AHL championship

But you might be thinking, "I know Tortorella and he ain't no assistant coach!" - I might agree too, except that Torts was an assistant coach in the NHL for 9 years - and for some pretty good teams, too. The 1989-1995 Buffalo Sabres averaged a .532 win%, and the 1997-1999 Phoenix Coyotes were .525 with him there. Yes, legitimately .525, this was before the OTL.

So, there should be no doubt that Tortorella can back up Bruce Boudreau. Following the Pens/Caps 24/7 HBO Documentary, you know that the two think (and talk) very alike.

Tortorella has been touted league-wide for his aggressive forechecking schemes and more open offensive system, one which injects high-energy and excitement into the game for fans and players alike. His 2003-04 team tallied a franchise all-time high 245 goals as many of his Lightning players established personal bests in goals, assists and points. He now has 121 wins with the Lightning, ranking him second on the team’s all-time wins list.

The 2003-04 Lightning team was 13 points better than the 2002-03 squad, which totalled 36 wins, 93 points, won its first-ever Southeast Division championship and made its first playoff berth in seven seasons. Tortorella finished second in voting for the Jack Adams Award after that banner campaign, which happened to be 24 points better than the 2001-02 Lightning.

A 14-year National Hockey League coaching veteran, Tortorella became the fourth head coach in team history when he was named to that position on January 6, 2001. Recognized as one of the top teaching coaches in the game, the Boston native joined the Lightning organization when he was hired on as an associate coach prior to the 2000-01 season. Now in charge of the Lightning for more than three full seasons, the 46-year old Tortorella immediately brought increased expectations and a new level of accountability to the Lightning locker room.

Tortorella began his playing career at Salem State College before transferring to the University of Maine. He spent three seasons with the Black Bears and was twice named an East Coast Athletic Conference All-Star. After playing in Sweden, Tortorella played in the Atlantic Coast Hockey League with Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Erie. He spent two seasons as the General Manager and Head Coach of the Virginia Lancers (Atlantic Coast Hockey League) from 1986-87 to 1987-88, where he garnered Coach of the Year honors during both campaigns while leading his ‘86-87 team to the league championship.

Tortorella got his first major break in 1988-89 when he was hired as an assistant coach with the New Haven Nighthawks of the American Hockey League. He became an assistant coach with the Buffalo Sabres the following season, and remained with the Sabres organization through the 1996-97 season. The Sabres recognized Tortorella's teaching abilities and named him the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans, prior to the 1995-96 season. His Rochester team won the Calder Cup in 1996 and followed that up with the best record in the AHL’s Northern Conference during the 1996-97 regular season.

Tortorella returned to the NHL in 1997 as an assistant with the Phoenix Coyotes, where he spent two seasons before joining the Rangers for 1999-2000. He served as the Rangers' interim head coach for the final four games of the '99-00 season before joining the Lightning staff.

 

[seventieslord]

Dangit, I wanted this all done by the new year. But it's hard when I'm working a minimum of two hours OT every day. Tomorrow is the busiest day of the year, and it's my wife's birthday. So there won't be anything posted tomorrow. On the weekend I'll try to get the last 12 finished. I'm actually looking forwawrd to unveiling a few multi-positional spares.

Anyone who is still paying attention, feel free to rate the 'A' draft picks. Wait till I;m done though. (that gives you some time to do some reading)

Think about each pick. Was he:

- Someone you could see in the MLD?
- Someone you could see in the AAA?
- An AA-level player no better than the ones we just drafted?
- Nothing more than a "next-best" player and therefore wasn't overlooked by the GMs
- A scrub and you have no idea why I'm profiling him

I'd love to see lists from Hedberg, VI, ZM, TDMM, EB, and anyone else. I'd be interested to see which players tend to fall into which tiers. Personally I don't think we are so bad as a group that we missed anyone who could have been an MLD player. But I definitely see a lot of AAA potential.

 

[VanIslander]

Dangit, I wanted this all done by the new year.
On the weekend I'll try to get the last 12 finished.
I'd love to see lists from Hedberg, VI, ZM, TDMM, EB, and anyone else.

I've been waiting for you to profile your 100 mock draftees before profiling the guys I think worthy of having been drafted, guys who would have gone early in a single-A draft if we had had one. Please FINISH your profiles asap, whenever that may be. I had planned to profile one a day all along, but when you suddenly announced you were doing your own private single-a draft, I decided to wait until you were done to profile the guys I thought should have been drafted.

 

[Hedberg]

I've been waiting for you to profile your 100 mock draftees before profiling the guys I think worthy of having been drafted, guys who would have gone early in a single-A draft if we had had one. Please FINISH your profiles asap, whenever that may be. I had planned to profile one a day all along, but when you suddenly announced you were doing your own private single-a draft, I decided to wait until you were done to profile the guys I thought should have been drafted.

Same here (I've really enjoyed the undrafted profiles).

 

[seventieslord]

OK. I'll make sure this is done this weekend, boys. Again, I feel kinda silly to have commandeered the whole 'A' draft process. It was not my grand design to do that; I had some guys to profile and it just took off from there.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #89 pick in A2010, The Rosemont Mintos are pleased to select:

John McKinnon, D

From last year:

- McKinnon is but a footnote in history by now, but he was one of the best offensive defensemen of his time, even if his time was really short. He finished 5th and 6th in the NHL in points by a defenseman in his two best seasons with the Pirates, and was particularly good at scoring goals. During his 5-year career from 1926-1931, only 6 defensemen had more goals. LOH.net says: ” a useful goal scorer from the point who played over 200 games in the 1920s and '30s. He could also make quick passes and play the body in his own zone…the Pirates were struggling on and off the ice. One of the lone bright spots in 1929-30 was McKinnon's ten goals and overall hustle.” Only getting into two playoff games in his career is a big part of why he was not selected.

With modest offensive defensemen Hamhuis, Smehlik, and Mariucci playing in the top-6, McKinnon gives Rosemont a valid option to play on the PP and provide an offensive boost in general.

McKinnon's point totals throughout his career (and his goal totals in particular) have the look of a guy who was sometimes a forward in a career otherwise spent as a defenseman - 0, 13, 3, 1, 10, 1. It's important that we are sure he was a defenseman his whole career because if he was a forward when he got those higher totals, he's not the least bit special. I searched google news and the only references I can find to a forward McKinnon, are of his brother Alex.

Following his time in the NHL, McKinnon played six full years in the AHA, the 2nd-best league in the world at the time, and scored 76 points in 259 games, and 5 more in 25 playoff games.

 

[seventieslord]

With the #90 pick in A2010, The Broder's Annex Marauders are pleased to select:

Marty Howe, D/RW

While no Gordie or Mark, Marty Howe was a very good player. Don't underestimate him as the 3rd wheel of the hockey family. His scouting reports speak well of him, and he played 646 NHL/WHA games, and an impressive 90 more in the playoffs. Most important about Marty is his versatility. Able to play both forward and defense, he can be a very useful spare to an AAA team.

Howe scored 189 points in 444 WHA games, then bounced up and down for three seasons before sticking for two seasons with Hartford and Boston. Marty was twice 5th in the WHA in +/-.

the tallest of the three Howes and the least publicized, perhaps because he's a defenseman and a defensive one at that... has one the respect of hockey experts as a bonafide major leaguer despite his youth and the demands attached to his name... he's a bone-crusher who rarely misses... loves contact and takes a fiendish delight in aggravating forwards...

rightfully belongs among the WHA's five most liberal hitters... he relishes contact... all too often this guy is overlooked as one of Houston's best players... he has his dad's passion for being tough, if not downright mean some nights... loves to tee up an unsuspecting forward and let him have it... good skater and hard shooter... finished fifth in goals by defensemen... grew up idolizing Bill Gadsby as the kind of player he would like to be... and he is, though maybe tougher.

nobody shhots harder from the point than Marty... led the Aeros wth the highest +/- on the team for the 2nd year in a row... rugged individual who can be downright mean... possesses an excellent shot that resulted in 14 goals, 2nd among WHA defensemen...

brings a mean streak and a sizzling point shot to the team... has all of the Howe toughness, though not as subtle as his dad, but maybe meaner...

the least spectacular of the Howes but richly talented, too... Whaler watchers say he could develop into one of the league's best... can be a mean cuss around the New England net... best asset of all is his shot, a boomer...