Palinka
Registered User
- Dec 19, 2007
- 2,259
- 1
(I've been feeling a bit better, but this was exhausting)
Before getting into the transaction reports, a few notes from me.
When building an expansion team, it is pretty much universally recognized that the team is going to struggle off the bat, and the few that don't usually have a collapse that results from having done things in reverse. It would have been entirely possible to draft nothing but pending UFAs, let them all walk, and collect the compensatory picks. It also would have been one thing to draft them, sign them, and miss out on those picks but have a better chance of early success. It would also be another thing to trade those picks and prospects to have a greater shot at early success, knowing that a later collapse is a foregone conclusion. Any one of these represents a clear path to take.
It's also important to note that, with the makeup of the average expansion team roster, there should be zero consideration given to where exactly a player is currently slotted. If Robert Kron were traded in October of 2000, it would represent the loss of the Jackets' first-line center. To anyone else, it's the loss of a fourth-liner. The fact that Robert Kron currently holds the first-line spot doesn't mean that moving him for a good return should be delayed or prevented simply because he has some amount of token importance to an expansion team.
But now, without further ado, it begins...a look at every transaction of the Doug MacLean era. I have excluded the expansion draft for obvious reasons, but the trades surrounding it are noted. Also, a series of random signings for depth have been condensed into single notes rather than looking at each individually.
Date: May 11, 2000
Traded: 98th overall, 2000 draft (Jonas Ronnqvist), 264th overall, 2000 draft (Dmitri Altarev)
Received: Chris Nielsen
Reason: The first trade of the new team! The likelihood of two late picks turning into something compared with a moderately-skilled prospect made this a good move to make.
Outcome: It turns out that Nielsen wasn't that good of a prospect to begin with. In time, he may have developed into a bottom-six forward, but impatience led to his being moved.
Date: May 25, 2000
Traded: 105th overall, 2001 draft (Vladimir Korsunov)
Received: Espen Knutsen
Reason: Knutsen was 28 and had just led the Swedish Elite League in scoring. In addition, he was willing to move back to North America (his one prior year being less than a thrilling one).
Outcome: I was ecstatic when this deal was made, and my enthusiasm turned out to be justified. Knutsen brought scoring to an offensively-starved team and was popular with his teammates. Unfortunately, he was never the same after a certain tragedy of which we will not speak.
Date: June 7, 2000
Traded: 32nd overall, 2000 draft (Tomas Kurka)
Received: Marc Denis
Reason: The goaltending future after an aging Ron Tugnutt was non-existent; Denis was 23 and looked to have a bright future.
Outcome: When this move went down, I thought, "This guy (MacLean) is really putting something special together the right way". The 2000 draft was thin on goalies and talent, and if a 23-year-old Denis were in that draft pool, he'd be in the top-five. There was no doubt that he was going to be a star; not necessarily All-Star material, but among the ten best in the game. The reality is that Denis really wasn't that bad, but people tend to forget how brutal the blueliners in front of him were. Roberto Luongo was facing 30 shots a game, Marc Denis was facing not just 30 shots, but 18-25 that were high-quality scoring chances. When criticism started to mount in 2005-06, MacLean didn't defend him and didn't say anything about the sorry blueline he'd put together.
Date: June 12, 2000
Traded: Considerations (agreement not to select San Jose goalie Evgeny Nabokov in expansion draft)
Received: 278th overall, 2000 draft (Martin Paroulek), Jan Caloun
Reason: Adding a scoring forward plus a late draft pick seemed like a good idea. For what it's worth, Minnesota sent an 8th-rounder to San Jose plus these same "considerations" in exchange for a third-rounder, a seventh-rounder, and Andy Sutton.
Outcome: Obviously, Nabokov would have been an excellent pickup. The unfortunate part was both the overvaluing of Caloun and the failure to put the screws to San Jose. Caloun played just 11 games in Columbus before going back to Finland, and Paroulek never got a chance to see what he could do. This was a big loss of a deal from day one, mostly because Nabokov was someone San Jose desperately wanted to keep...and yes, he was legitimately projected to be an upper-echelon goalie.
Date: June 23, 2000
Traded: Turner Stevenson, 72nd overall, 2001 draft (Brandon Nolan), considerations
Received: Krzyzstof Oliwa, Deron Quint
Reason: Adding toughness and a blueliner. No matter how this deal was actually constructed, it wasn't a good one.
Outcome: I haven't yet been able to figure out the exact logistics of this deal. I've seen it described where Quint was a separate deal for "considerations" and Oliwa was traded for Stevenson and the pick, I've seen a combined deal, and whatever else. Frankly, it doesn't matter. Oliwa was a run-of-the-mill enforcer who had, shall we say, some personal demons. Quint was a third-pairing defenseman. The best pieces in this deal were Stevenson and the draft pick, and both were lost for players about whom serious question marks existed.
Date: June 23, 2000
Traded: Considerations (agreement to pick Dwayne Roloson and Geoff Sanderson in expansion draft)
Received: 150th overall, 2000 draft (Tyler Kolarik); 157th overall, 2001 draft (Andreas Jamtin); Matt Davidson; Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre
Reason: Adding a lot of pieces very quickly
Outcome: This was a terrific deal for several reasons. One, Sanderson would be a second-liner at worst on a good team and would immediately be a first-liner on an expansion team. Second, Roloson would either fight to be the backup or be in the AHL (his own eventual jackassery notwithstanding). Third, two draft picks were acquired. Four, Davidson was a middling prospect, but he would be given chances to see if he could play. Five, Grand-Pierre was a highly-regarded prospect who Buffalo really hated to lose. This was exactly the type of deal that should have been extracted from San Jose for not taking Nabokov.
Date: June 23, 2000
Traded: Considerations (agreement to select Frederic Chabot in expansion draft)
Received: 53rd overall, 2001 draft (Kiel McLeod)
Reason: A second-rounder for taking someone when no one else would really be a desirable option? Sweet!
Outcome: MacLean found a way to turn a sweet deal into nothing, but you can read all about that in his draft review thread.
Date: June 25, 2000
Traded: 267th overall, 2001 draft (Ivan Majesky)
Received: 286th overall, 2000 draft (Andrej Nedorost)
Reason: Andrej Nedorost was a targeted prospect who was there. One thing you'll notice going through the years is that MacLean made a lot of moves involving future draft picks to get one right now. Each time it cost several draft positions, and in one later case, an entire round.
Outcome: Nedorost ended up playing a few games with the Jackets, so it wasn't all bad. Majesky played a few games in the NHL as well. But we're talking about extremely late picks in rounds that don't even exist any more.
Date: June 25, 2000
Traded: 262nd overall, 2002 draft (Christian Soderstrom)
Received: 292nd overall, 2000 draft (Louis Mandeville)
Reason: Having just traded the next year's late pick, the one in 2002 was next on the block.
Outcome: Neither player made the NHL.
Date: May through October, 2000
Signed: Greg Gardner, Jonathan Schill, Mathieu Darche, Jeremy Reich, Blake Bellefeuille, Jamie Heward, Dan Watson, Martin Spanhel, Reggie Savage, Brad Moran, David Vyborny, Lyle Odelein, Ron Tugnutt, Frantisek Kucera, Serge Aubin, Michael Gaul, Bill Bowler, Sean Selmser, Andrei Sryubko, Sergei Klimentiev, Kevin Dahl, Mike Maneluk, Tyler Sloan, Steve Maltais
Reason: Filling holes and rounding out an NHL and AHL roster.
Outcome: Varies wildly. Some, like Vyborny, were key players for several years. Some, like Tugnutt and Odelein, would be traded for pieces. Some, like Selmser and Gaul and Bowler, would be unable to make an expansion team roster for good.
Date: August 16, 2000
Traded: 170th overall, 2003 draft (Andreas Sundin)
Received: Kent McDonell
Reason: Everyone needs a middling AHL-level prospect.
Outcome: McDonell played 32 games with Columbus over two seasons, where, although noted for his generally weak play, he still managed more goals and points than Alex Picard in half as many games.
Date: November 9, 2000
Traded: Bert Robertsson
Received: J-F Labbe
Reason: Marc Denis suffered a groin strain of unknown severity (seriously, that's the reason).
Outcome: Labbe had made himself into a decent prospect, and Robertsson is one of the most replaceable players in CBJ history.
Date: November 27, 2000
Signed: Alexander Selivanov
Reason: Jan Caloun went back to Europe, creating a need for a streaky scorer.
Outcome: Selivanov had once been a decent prospect, but had dropped down to replacement level. Finished out the season with Columbus, then went back to Europe.
Date: January 14, 2001
Traded: Krzyzstof Oliwa
Received: 85th overall, 2001 draft (Aaron Johnson)
Reason: There were a couple of incidents related to Oliwa's various demons that came to a head. Understand that when he first came to North America, he was popular with his teammates, but there soon developed a fear that he was always one drink or one sarcastic comment away from totally going nuts. This trade was a "PLEASE take him off our hands" move.
Outcome: Basically, the Jackets traded 13 draft positions and Turner Stevenson for Deron Quint. This move may have been done out of desperation and netted a surprisingly high return, but it simply highlights how poor the original deal was.
Date: January 31, 2001
Signed: Jody Shelley
Reason: With Oliwa's borderline-psychotic presence out of the lineup, a need for toughness was there. And it's not like he could produce less offensively than Sean Selmser anyway.
Outcome: One of the most popular players in CBJ history, both in the locker room and in the community, Shelley put his fists and face on the line every night and never let his profound lack of fighting skill prevent him from trying to punch his way through the league. The return from his eventual trade was a component of the Jason Williams deal.
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Traded: Kevyn Adams; 117th overall, 2001 draft (Michael Woodford)
Received: Ray Whitney
Reason: Because Doug MacLean wanted to have Whitney on a line with Shelley, then find someone else with a woman's first name on the back of their jersey to round it out. He'd have called it "The Hair Salon Line". Ooh, maybe if Espen Knutsen ("Shampoo") was out there....(I'm kidding, but what a thought!)
Outcome: Whitney scored 137 points in 148 games on an expansion team, then was never offered a contract extension. The original move was larceny, the idiocy that led to his departure was....well, idiocy.
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Traded: Steve Heinze
Received: 87th overall, 2001 draft (Per Mars)
Reason: A guy toward the end of his career and clearly declining for a draft pick. That's pretty much all there is to it.
Outcome: This is a great example of the internal conflict of Doug MacLean. Were the Jackets buyers or sellers? Moving a bottom-six player and a late pick for a scoring forward (Ray Whitney) would indicate buying, but moving one of the top scorers for a draft pick would certainly indicate selling. In any case, Heinze played parts of three years after this before retiring, while Mars...well, read the draft review thread for my thoughts on that pick.
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Traded: Frantisek Kucera
Received: 187th overall, 2001 draft (Artem Vostrikov)
Reason: A replaceable part was desired.
Outcome: Back to the internal conflict thing...Kucera was logging minutes and not embarrassing himself. Was the meager return worthwhile, or was it a dumping move done by sellers at the deadline?
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Claimed off waivers: Blake Sloan
Reason: He was available for nothing.
Outcome: I hate to bring up the internal conflict, but here it is again.
Date: June 24, 2001
Traded: 157th overall, 2001 draft (Andreas Jamtin)
Received: Paul Manning
Reason: Manning was a defenseman who was graduating from Colorado College; Calgary didn't seem to have any interest in keeping him around.
Outcome: This was a good move; Manning had come along nicely in college and looked like a possible bottom-pairing guy in the future. It didn't happen (8 NHL games), but for that matter, have you ever heard of Andreas Jamtin?
Date: Pre-July 1, 2001
Signed: Karl Goehring, Duvie Westcott, Brett Harkins, Jeff Ware
Claimed off waivers: Sean Pronger
Reason: More filling out of the roster
Outcome: Varying degrees of success or failure. Westcott is still being paid from his buyout after an ill-advised contract extension.
Before getting into the transaction reports, a few notes from me.
When building an expansion team, it is pretty much universally recognized that the team is going to struggle off the bat, and the few that don't usually have a collapse that results from having done things in reverse. It would have been entirely possible to draft nothing but pending UFAs, let them all walk, and collect the compensatory picks. It also would have been one thing to draft them, sign them, and miss out on those picks but have a better chance of early success. It would also be another thing to trade those picks and prospects to have a greater shot at early success, knowing that a later collapse is a foregone conclusion. Any one of these represents a clear path to take.
It's also important to note that, with the makeup of the average expansion team roster, there should be zero consideration given to where exactly a player is currently slotted. If Robert Kron were traded in October of 2000, it would represent the loss of the Jackets' first-line center. To anyone else, it's the loss of a fourth-liner. The fact that Robert Kron currently holds the first-line spot doesn't mean that moving him for a good return should be delayed or prevented simply because he has some amount of token importance to an expansion team.
But now, without further ado, it begins...a look at every transaction of the Doug MacLean era. I have excluded the expansion draft for obvious reasons, but the trades surrounding it are noted. Also, a series of random signings for depth have been condensed into single notes rather than looking at each individually.
Date: May 11, 2000
Traded: 98th overall, 2000 draft (Jonas Ronnqvist), 264th overall, 2000 draft (Dmitri Altarev)
Received: Chris Nielsen
Reason: The first trade of the new team! The likelihood of two late picks turning into something compared with a moderately-skilled prospect made this a good move to make.
Outcome: It turns out that Nielsen wasn't that good of a prospect to begin with. In time, he may have developed into a bottom-six forward, but impatience led to his being moved.
Date: May 25, 2000
Traded: 105th overall, 2001 draft (Vladimir Korsunov)
Received: Espen Knutsen
Reason: Knutsen was 28 and had just led the Swedish Elite League in scoring. In addition, he was willing to move back to North America (his one prior year being less than a thrilling one).
Outcome: I was ecstatic when this deal was made, and my enthusiasm turned out to be justified. Knutsen brought scoring to an offensively-starved team and was popular with his teammates. Unfortunately, he was never the same after a certain tragedy of which we will not speak.
Date: June 7, 2000
Traded: 32nd overall, 2000 draft (Tomas Kurka)
Received: Marc Denis
Reason: The goaltending future after an aging Ron Tugnutt was non-existent; Denis was 23 and looked to have a bright future.
Outcome: When this move went down, I thought, "This guy (MacLean) is really putting something special together the right way". The 2000 draft was thin on goalies and talent, and if a 23-year-old Denis were in that draft pool, he'd be in the top-five. There was no doubt that he was going to be a star; not necessarily All-Star material, but among the ten best in the game. The reality is that Denis really wasn't that bad, but people tend to forget how brutal the blueliners in front of him were. Roberto Luongo was facing 30 shots a game, Marc Denis was facing not just 30 shots, but 18-25 that were high-quality scoring chances. When criticism started to mount in 2005-06, MacLean didn't defend him and didn't say anything about the sorry blueline he'd put together.
Date: June 12, 2000
Traded: Considerations (agreement not to select San Jose goalie Evgeny Nabokov in expansion draft)
Received: 278th overall, 2000 draft (Martin Paroulek), Jan Caloun
Reason: Adding a scoring forward plus a late draft pick seemed like a good idea. For what it's worth, Minnesota sent an 8th-rounder to San Jose plus these same "considerations" in exchange for a third-rounder, a seventh-rounder, and Andy Sutton.
Outcome: Obviously, Nabokov would have been an excellent pickup. The unfortunate part was both the overvaluing of Caloun and the failure to put the screws to San Jose. Caloun played just 11 games in Columbus before going back to Finland, and Paroulek never got a chance to see what he could do. This was a big loss of a deal from day one, mostly because Nabokov was someone San Jose desperately wanted to keep...and yes, he was legitimately projected to be an upper-echelon goalie.
Date: June 23, 2000
Traded: Turner Stevenson, 72nd overall, 2001 draft (Brandon Nolan), considerations
Received: Krzyzstof Oliwa, Deron Quint
Reason: Adding toughness and a blueliner. No matter how this deal was actually constructed, it wasn't a good one.
Outcome: I haven't yet been able to figure out the exact logistics of this deal. I've seen it described where Quint was a separate deal for "considerations" and Oliwa was traded for Stevenson and the pick, I've seen a combined deal, and whatever else. Frankly, it doesn't matter. Oliwa was a run-of-the-mill enforcer who had, shall we say, some personal demons. Quint was a third-pairing defenseman. The best pieces in this deal were Stevenson and the draft pick, and both were lost for players about whom serious question marks existed.
Date: June 23, 2000
Traded: Considerations (agreement to pick Dwayne Roloson and Geoff Sanderson in expansion draft)
Received: 150th overall, 2000 draft (Tyler Kolarik); 157th overall, 2001 draft (Andreas Jamtin); Matt Davidson; Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre
Reason: Adding a lot of pieces very quickly
Outcome: This was a terrific deal for several reasons. One, Sanderson would be a second-liner at worst on a good team and would immediately be a first-liner on an expansion team. Second, Roloson would either fight to be the backup or be in the AHL (his own eventual jackassery notwithstanding). Third, two draft picks were acquired. Four, Davidson was a middling prospect, but he would be given chances to see if he could play. Five, Grand-Pierre was a highly-regarded prospect who Buffalo really hated to lose. This was exactly the type of deal that should have been extracted from San Jose for not taking Nabokov.
Date: June 23, 2000
Traded: Considerations (agreement to select Frederic Chabot in expansion draft)
Received: 53rd overall, 2001 draft (Kiel McLeod)
Reason: A second-rounder for taking someone when no one else would really be a desirable option? Sweet!
Outcome: MacLean found a way to turn a sweet deal into nothing, but you can read all about that in his draft review thread.
Date: June 25, 2000
Traded: 267th overall, 2001 draft (Ivan Majesky)
Received: 286th overall, 2000 draft (Andrej Nedorost)
Reason: Andrej Nedorost was a targeted prospect who was there. One thing you'll notice going through the years is that MacLean made a lot of moves involving future draft picks to get one right now. Each time it cost several draft positions, and in one later case, an entire round.
Outcome: Nedorost ended up playing a few games with the Jackets, so it wasn't all bad. Majesky played a few games in the NHL as well. But we're talking about extremely late picks in rounds that don't even exist any more.
Date: June 25, 2000
Traded: 262nd overall, 2002 draft (Christian Soderstrom)
Received: 292nd overall, 2000 draft (Louis Mandeville)
Reason: Having just traded the next year's late pick, the one in 2002 was next on the block.
Outcome: Neither player made the NHL.
Date: May through October, 2000
Signed: Greg Gardner, Jonathan Schill, Mathieu Darche, Jeremy Reich, Blake Bellefeuille, Jamie Heward, Dan Watson, Martin Spanhel, Reggie Savage, Brad Moran, David Vyborny, Lyle Odelein, Ron Tugnutt, Frantisek Kucera, Serge Aubin, Michael Gaul, Bill Bowler, Sean Selmser, Andrei Sryubko, Sergei Klimentiev, Kevin Dahl, Mike Maneluk, Tyler Sloan, Steve Maltais
Reason: Filling holes and rounding out an NHL and AHL roster.
Outcome: Varies wildly. Some, like Vyborny, were key players for several years. Some, like Tugnutt and Odelein, would be traded for pieces. Some, like Selmser and Gaul and Bowler, would be unable to make an expansion team roster for good.
Date: August 16, 2000
Traded: 170th overall, 2003 draft (Andreas Sundin)
Received: Kent McDonell
Reason: Everyone needs a middling AHL-level prospect.
Outcome: McDonell played 32 games with Columbus over two seasons, where, although noted for his generally weak play, he still managed more goals and points than Alex Picard in half as many games.
Date: November 9, 2000
Traded: Bert Robertsson
Received: J-F Labbe
Reason: Marc Denis suffered a groin strain of unknown severity (seriously, that's the reason).
Outcome: Labbe had made himself into a decent prospect, and Robertsson is one of the most replaceable players in CBJ history.
Date: November 27, 2000
Signed: Alexander Selivanov
Reason: Jan Caloun went back to Europe, creating a need for a streaky scorer.
Outcome: Selivanov had once been a decent prospect, but had dropped down to replacement level. Finished out the season with Columbus, then went back to Europe.
Date: January 14, 2001
Traded: Krzyzstof Oliwa
Received: 85th overall, 2001 draft (Aaron Johnson)
Reason: There were a couple of incidents related to Oliwa's various demons that came to a head. Understand that when he first came to North America, he was popular with his teammates, but there soon developed a fear that he was always one drink or one sarcastic comment away from totally going nuts. This trade was a "PLEASE take him off our hands" move.
Outcome: Basically, the Jackets traded 13 draft positions and Turner Stevenson for Deron Quint. This move may have been done out of desperation and netted a surprisingly high return, but it simply highlights how poor the original deal was.
Date: January 31, 2001
Signed: Jody Shelley
Reason: With Oliwa's borderline-psychotic presence out of the lineup, a need for toughness was there. And it's not like he could produce less offensively than Sean Selmser anyway.
Outcome: One of the most popular players in CBJ history, both in the locker room and in the community, Shelley put his fists and face on the line every night and never let his profound lack of fighting skill prevent him from trying to punch his way through the league. The return from his eventual trade was a component of the Jason Williams deal.
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Traded: Kevyn Adams; 117th overall, 2001 draft (Michael Woodford)
Received: Ray Whitney
Reason: Because Doug MacLean wanted to have Whitney on a line with Shelley, then find someone else with a woman's first name on the back of their jersey to round it out. He'd have called it "The Hair Salon Line". Ooh, maybe if Espen Knutsen ("Shampoo") was out there....(I'm kidding, but what a thought!)
Outcome: Whitney scored 137 points in 148 games on an expansion team, then was never offered a contract extension. The original move was larceny, the idiocy that led to his departure was....well, idiocy.
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Traded: Steve Heinze
Received: 87th overall, 2001 draft (Per Mars)
Reason: A guy toward the end of his career and clearly declining for a draft pick. That's pretty much all there is to it.
Outcome: This is a great example of the internal conflict of Doug MacLean. Were the Jackets buyers or sellers? Moving a bottom-six player and a late pick for a scoring forward (Ray Whitney) would indicate buying, but moving one of the top scorers for a draft pick would certainly indicate selling. In any case, Heinze played parts of three years after this before retiring, while Mars...well, read the draft review thread for my thoughts on that pick.
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Traded: Frantisek Kucera
Received: 187th overall, 2001 draft (Artem Vostrikov)
Reason: A replaceable part was desired.
Outcome: Back to the internal conflict thing...Kucera was logging minutes and not embarrassing himself. Was the meager return worthwhile, or was it a dumping move done by sellers at the deadline?
Date: March 13, 2001 (trade deadline)
Claimed off waivers: Blake Sloan
Reason: He was available for nothing.
Outcome: I hate to bring up the internal conflict, but here it is again.
Date: June 24, 2001
Traded: 157th overall, 2001 draft (Andreas Jamtin)
Received: Paul Manning
Reason: Manning was a defenseman who was graduating from Colorado College; Calgary didn't seem to have any interest in keeping him around.
Outcome: This was a good move; Manning had come along nicely in college and looked like a possible bottom-pairing guy in the future. It didn't happen (8 NHL games), but for that matter, have you ever heard of Andreas Jamtin?
Date: Pre-July 1, 2001
Signed: Karl Goehring, Duvie Westcott, Brett Harkins, Jeff Ware
Claimed off waivers: Sean Pronger
Reason: More filling out of the roster
Outcome: Varying degrees of success or failure. Westcott is still being paid from his buyout after an ill-advised contract extension.
(The suicide emoticon from SAS, that we don't have here).
