Confirmed with Link: Keith Ballard bought out

[Just A Bit Outside]

@NHLbyMatty1m

Take this to bank: Keith Ballard signs in his home state of Minnesota, with the Wild. They need third pairing D-man

Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Jim Matheson twitter.

I honestly hope he does well and makes AV look like an idiot.

 

[luongo321]

Could you guys imagine, if we didnt sign Hamhuis so we would have been forced to play Ballard in a top 4 role? Yikes.

No, AV would have put Rome in the top 4.

 

[Wisp]

The pro scout who recommended Ballard should be fired.

I wonder how much the pro-scout had to do with this one. He was a Gilman zeroed in. Relied too heavily on the analytics for this one. Ballard looked great on paper.

 

[David71]

Michael Russo ‏@Russostrib 11m

Things are tracking really well that the #mnwild will be signing former #gophers defenseman Keith Ballard #canucks
Retweeted by Samir Javer

 

[CRDragon]

Well this was all just downright disappointing. I really thought Ballard was going to be a great player here and the perfect replacement for Ehrhoff. Oh well, he had some good moments here and we'll have the caphit from his buyout to remember him by. Best of luck to him.

His caphit is 0.

We used a compliance buyout on him.

Indeed was disappointing...wish him the best elsewhere. It just wasn't the right fit here for him.

 

[pitseleh]

Two-year, $3 million deal for Keith Ballard with #mnwild

https://twitter.com/Russostrib/status/352913599955607554

 

[Frankiedarling]

And there's his value. Glad we dropped him.

 

[Orca Smash]

And there's his value. Glad we dropped him.

Well he just wasnt a fit here, and we already have a ton tied up in D and he was overpaid.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Good riddance to his salary.

 

[Mr. Canucklehead]

Glad Ballard landed on his feet. I really get the feeling he's going to make AV and the Canucks look silly very soon.

 

[Slashy McSlewfoot]

It's too bad he regressed so horribly. I remember when the Canucks acquired him, I was more excited about Ballard than I was about Hamhuis. But he looked awful here, and it had nothing to do with the coaches. Maybe a fresh start in a new city will be good for him.

 

[Reverend Mayhem]

Glad Ballard landed on his feet. I really get the feeling he's going to make AV and the Canucks look silly very soon.

Me too. Class act, very funny guy.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Glad Ballard landed on his feet. I really get the feeling he's going to make AV and the Canucks look silly very soon.

Based on what?

 

[me2]

GL after the crap he put up with and not complaining I hope he finds a new home and fits in and plays better.

 

[Wolfhard]

Glad Ballard landed on his feet. I really get the feeling he's going to make AV and the Canucks look silly very soon.

Me too! Happy he's already got a new job. I'll be keeping an eye on him next year and I hope he does well.

 

[Sedinery2011]

1.5/year isnt his value. He is probably taking a cut to play in his home town team, and another cut because he is desperate and just wants a regular spot and wants to play. I think he will make a fool out of AV. He wasnt treated fairly. He would be kept out of the line up for long stretches and then expected to suddenly perform without mistakes. Unrealistic. AV was an idiot, didnt give our young players a real chance either because he didnt want to live with their mistakes/growing pains. He preferred to take the safe route and go with what worked than to risk anything that would make him look bad.

 

[MS]

Glad Ballard landed on his feet. I really get the feeling he's going to make AV and the Canucks look silly very soon.

I doubt it. There were zero signs in 3 years here that he was a good player.

And even if he does turn it around, it doesn't make us look silly. He had 160 games to show something, and he didn't. He was in the lineup every night to start off every season, and stunk. On a good team with excellent depth, he wasn't going to get to play any more than he did with the performance level that he brought.

For the record, I think he'll score 15-18 points next year in 17-18 minutes of icetime, and will be called a 'comeback player' and 'good signing' even though his Corsi numbers are crap.

 

[David71]

he score 20pts, plus plays on the powerplay in minnisota.

 

[MS]

1.5/year isnt his value. He is probably taking a cut to play in his home town team, and another cut because he is desperate and just wants a regular spot and wants to play. I think he will make a fool out of AV. He wasnt treated fairly. He would be kept out of the line up for long stretches and then expected to suddenly perform without mistakes. Unrealistic. AV was an idiot, didnt give our young players a real chance either because he didnt want to live with their mistakes/growing pains. He preferred to take the safe route and go with what worked than to risk anything that would make him look bad.

1) Ballard wasn't "kept out of the lineup for long stretches and then expected to perform without mistakes". Again, for the umpteenth time, he was in the lineup every single night for roughly the first half of each season he was here. Stretches of 20-40 games in a row knowing he'd play. And he stunk, and contributed nothing. He had every opportunity to build confidence and improve to earn more icetime, and failed.

2) As for the bolded, again this is total revisionist BS. Is this why he scratched a 'veteran' in Ballard to play a raw rookie in Corrado at the end of this season? That was a huge risk where he opened himself up to all kinds of criticism. If he didn't want to 'look bad' the easiest thing to do would have been to play Ballard. But he didn't, and it was the right call - Ballard stunk.

The amount of apologists for this guy continues to amaze.

 

[JuniorNelson]

He was a terrible acquisition, it's easy to say, now, in hindsight.

I remember he threw a few hipchecks when he arrived, like Edler, then stopped doing it. I think this hampers the crap out of some guys, when they are told not to do something they are expert at. Edler will demonstrate this, I think. I believe his game will blossom under Tortorella and he will be a crushing hitter, again.

MS is right, though. Ballard had plenty of rope and hung himself every time. I am pretty sure he was saved from being sent down by the fighting concussion, a couple of years ago. If he hadn't been injured at that juncture, I think he was AHL bound! His career would have been essentially over as an NHLer.

MS points out ( paraphrased) that Ballard could lug the puck (and gain the zone), but did not have a strategy (hockey smarts) beyond that. I think this is ill usage and was an untapped resource. Again, telling him not to do it seems to have hurt his game. Why didn't they use this to advantage and give him instructions about what to do in the opposition zone? Pass off to a Sedin, maybe?

Whatever. It didn't work out here. Let the new coach shape the defense to his liking, no matter what the cost.

 

[King of the ES*]

Glad Ballard landed on his feet. I really get the feeling he's going to make AV and the Canucks look silly very soon.

Totally agree. Very happy for Keith. He's going to thrive in Minnesota, and they're probably going to be a much improved hockey team.

That leaves us without Keith Ballard, and likely on the verge of overpaying for Chris Tanev. Man, that future of ours is looking so bright!

 

[McLlwain]

On playing in Vancouver, Ballard said, "It was a battle to find the right fit. I had a few injuries. It was a different role than I was accustomed to. There were a lot of different situations that took place. There weren’t one or two things that went wrong. At the same time, I really, truly loved my time in Vancouver. The guys I played with, it was a great group. It’s bittersweet right now. I’m really excited to be moving on and getting a fresh start, but it’s hard leaving people you were close to and a city and a fan base that I really enjoyed playing in front of."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/214312231.html

Who woulda thunk?

Wish him all the best with the Wild, though.

 

[King of the ES*]

For the record, I think he'll score 15-18 points next year in 17-18 minutes of icetime, and will be called a 'comeback player' and 'good signing' even though his Corsi numbers are crap.

Who cares about his Corsi numbers? At $1.5M, I'm sorry, Keith Ballard is a total steal. He's going to hit, he's going to block shots, and he's probably going to be given some room to join rushes, maybe even play on the PP in Minnesota.

 

[King of the ES*]

http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/214312231.html

Who woulda thunk?

Wish him all the best with the Wild, though.

As I recall, he said something similar in his exit interview. "Believe it or not, Alain and I have a great relationship. I like him a lot." Something like that. All class to the end.

 

[nekyvGkOPaiWICTscLl6]

Supported Bally to the bitter end.
I still think that's a trade you make any day, but it's easy to look back at things retrospectively.

Shame he never fit here. He has great tools, just gotta figure out how it fits in the tool box.