Around the NHL: Bye bye, Lavy!

[ColePens]

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[Darth Vitale]

Vancouver fans already creating drama for Horvat before he steps foot in camp, and the media is helping. Stupid. Horvat was drafted asset, not the "equivalent" of Schneider. Vanouver and Toronto fans need to learn to get a grip / get some perspective of hockey and life.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=427449

 

[Frederick Stanley]

No more free agent frenzy?

Horvat will have a tough life up there, Vancouver media is pretty ****ed up. Since the goaltending mess SHOULD be sorted out now, they have to create other stories.

 

[Darth Vitale]

Well still FA but the frenzy is clearly done my friend. Less than 1 move a day by all 30 teams ≠ frenzy.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

No more free agent frenzy?

Horvat will have a tough life up there, Vancouver media is pretty ****ed up. Since the goaltending mess SHOULD be sorted out now, they have to create other stories.

They shouldn't rush him, they will be stupid to keep him on the team. London is hosting the Memorial Cup next year, they should send him back down for a complete season and get him more experience from another Memorial Cup.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Well still FA but the frenzy is clearly done my friend. Less than 1 move a day by all 30 teams ≠ frenzy.

Not much left out there, Jagr, Penner and Hainsey (which teams probably don't want because of the lockout)

 

[Ogrezilla]

Grabovski is still available too.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Grabovski is still available too.

Forgot about him and surprised he hasn't signed yet, can see him fitting well in Washington to take over for Ribeiro

 

[Bennett Brauer]

I think I read somewhere that Washington is done shopping. They lost Rebeiro and just signed AHL depth. If he's done shopping he should be out of a job, however that's been the opinion of many people for awhile now

 

[Randy Butternubs]

Washington is in for a rude awakening when they are in an actual division next season.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

I think I read somewhere that Washington is done shopping. They lost Rebeiro and just signed AHL depth. If he's done shopping he should be out of a job, however that's been the opinion of many people for awhile now

Agreed. The longer McPhee keeps his job the better for us.

He did pull off a great trade at the deadline Erat for Forsberg

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Washington is in for a rude awakening when they are in an actual division next season.

Yup, no more free points against crap teams and easily winning that division. I wouldn't be surprised if Columbus finishes ahead next year in the standings

 

[Ogrezilla]

Yup, no more free points against crap teams and easily winning that division. I wouldn't be surprised if Columbus finishes ahead next year in the standings

If Ovi is MVP Ovi they will make the playoffs. Though I think Columbus could be better than Philly, NJ and Carolina next year, fighting with the rags and caps behind us

 

[Shady Machine]

If Ovi is MVP Ovi they will make the playoffs. Though I think Columbus could be better than Philly, NJ and Carolina next year, fighting with the rags and caps behind us

Which MVP Ovi? The one that plays half the season and wins by default?

 

[Ogrezilla]

Which MVP Ovi? The one that plays half the season and wins by default?

ya, but he will need to do it longer in a full season in a better division. you know what I mean

 

[Frederick Stanley]

Renaud Lavoie ‏@RenLavoieRDS 1h
8 years / 52M$ contract extension for Patrice Bergeron. #RDS #bruins

Renaud Lavoie ‏@RenLavoieRDS 19m
No move clause in the first 6 years for Patrice Bergeron. In the last two, its a limited no trade. #bruins #RDS

https://twitter.com/RenLavoieRDS/status/355694364456005632

 

[Shady Machine]

Good deal for the Bruins. Bergeron is awesome.

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Bergeron is a great player, does all the little things right, but still a lot of money especially for the term

 

[Darth Vitale]

Yup, no more free points against crap teams and easily winning that division. I wouldn't be surprised if Columbus finishes ahead next year in the standings

Yes and no.

Carolina will continue to blow defensively, CBJ is not going to be near as good as people think for the opposite reason (their offense blows -- Bob and gritty D can carry them only so much over 82 games), and NJ (thanks to Kovalchuk, Parise and Clarkson all being gone) will be a joke next year, unless they make a big trade for F skill. But they don't really have anything to give up for that F skill any longer. Certainly not draft picks!

NJ is about *this close* to rebuilding IMO. Will not be shocked at all (despite fan pride yesterday about not tanking), if they are in line to draft McDavid in two years. They're almost bankrupt and the core guys from their big years are about to retire... all they'll be left with are plugs and youth movement guys like Henrique and Larsson. Those two kids are very good players potentially but I don't think you can build a franchise around them from what I've seen. In short, Washington will easily be better than all three of those teams.


So I expect the final division standings to be something close to:

Pittsburgh
Philly
Rags
Washington
Isles
Jackets
Canes
Devils

Isles or Jackets might potentially move up a spot but not more than that IMO. Washington and Rags pretty interchangeable, us and Philly pretty interchangeable as far as being 3-4 and 1-2 respectively. Washington is just a player or two short of being a very competitive team in this or any other division. Don't let your dislike for Ovy cloud your judgement; they're not weak simply because they beat up on a weak division in recent years. They'll definitely lose some extra games and struggle a bit at times but overall I believe they'll remain competitive. Especially if they continue to be more defensively responsible etc under Oats.

 

[Shady Machine]

Bergeron is a great player, does all the little things right, but still a lot of money especially for the term

Why? He's 27 and will be 35 when his deal is done. The cap will be much higher be the end of the deal. I don't see what the issue is. A good deal is a good deal.

 

[Shrimper]

I'd be going towards something like this CV;

Pittsburgh
Rags
Isles
Philly
Washington
Jackets
Canes
Devils

 

[Le Magnifique 66]

Why? He's 27 and will be 35 when his deal is done. The cap will be much higher be the end of the deal. I don't see what the issue is. A good deal is a good deal.

36 actually since this only kicks in after next year

Since his concussion, his best offensive season has been 64pts and 57pts. I know it's not only about pts but a player being paid that much IMO needs to put up offensive numbers as well

 

[Darth Vitale]

Yah that Bergeron signing is a good one for sure.

 

[Darth Vitale]

I'd be going towards something like this CV;

Pittsburgh
Rags
Isles
Philly
Washington
Jackets
Canes
Devils

Could happen for sure and I wouldn't be totally surprised. The Isles are the wild card IMO. They could surprise some people and really take a step forward into that 3/4 mix too but too early to tell. They still have goalie issues, and their D is still pretty thin in spots but not bad.

But on balance, if Washington does something to improve its roster a bit this summer, I expect they'll be in the thick of the race regardless. They're not suddenly going to become a doormat because they no longer play FLA and TB 6 times a year. Arguably, NJ will be worse than both of those teams next year (though before yesterday we wouldn't have expected it). And arguably, CBJ no better than either of those teams (maybe worse) on balance if Markstrom and Bishop have solid years in net. TB in particular might round into a good team this year as Hedman and other young guys come into their own.

 

[Frederick Stanley]

36 actually since this only kicks in after next year

Since his concussion, his best offensive season has been 64pts and 57pts. I know it's not only about pts but a player being paid that much IMO needs to put up offensive numbers as well

Bergy is one of the best, if not the best defensive forward in the game. Plus, he's able to score 60 points. That's a very good deal.