Whose Prospects/Team benefits the most from a lockout?

[tom_servo]

He just said yesterday that he's preparing to play for the next couple seasons. Since Lemieux missed the last 70+ games of last season, he'll have been off for nearly two years. Long layoffs have historically only helped the guy, but he'll be 40 this year. I wouldn't cry if he retired.

 

[leafaholix*]

Also Fehr may skip Portland and go straight to the league. Ouellet would develop more in DC, IF we had a good team. Werner will be really good.

Caps may lose Fehr, he's not signed.

 

[nomorekids]

The thread title should have been:

"Sign up below to say your favorite team benefits from the lockout!"

are you new to these boards or something, vlad?

 

[Chimaera]

While I conceed I did feel there would be a lot of, yes, my team benefited the most... I was hoping to at least hear from other people who think their players are getting a year or two of seasoning that they could use down in the AHL.


On the reverse side of it, I don't know if a player like Spezza for example is helped by a lockout. He probably was poised to either become a disappointment, or finally get over the hump to being closer to what he was pegged as when drafted.


Or some other players who might have sat the pine for the stocked teams like Detroit/Colorado, who are finally getting top minutes elsewhere.

And contrary to most, I'm not certain the Caps are completely helped. While they do have a lot of young talent, they lack the ability to correctly see if that talent translates to the NHL yet. It may, and it may not. But seeing some of them in Portland while letting them grow, may not allow some others to breakout yet.

 

[Crossbar]

Homer pick, Florida....Lockout gives both Mike Keenan and Jacques Martin plenty of time to get settled into the organization since the time of their (re)hirings, to evaluate everyone in the system first-hand.

From a developement standpoint I think Nashville's prospects will benefit the most from the Lockout.

 

[Ola]

Seriously teams with a handful of prospects in the minors can hardly be said to "benefit" from the lockout. Its not like these guys wouldn´t develop if there was a NHL. Especially since some of the teams mentioned here have 10 players sitting at home doing nothing... The lockout must also be a nightmare for teams like Sens and the Leafs who would be contenders this year. For example in Ottawa they only have a limited time before these guys are due for a pay raise and they could have some problems keeping the team together under the cap.

There are a bunch of huge loosers in lockout. Especially teams like NJD, Detroit, Toronto, Ottawa and Philadelphia. NJD and Detroit could be the biggest loosers, they are getting older with the majority of the team dooing nothing.

Teams like Pittsburg, Chicago, Washington and the Rangers might actually benefit from the lockout. Ovechkin, Malkin and Co. don´t have to jump into the NHL right away. Chicago has a great young D that will another year under its belt. The Rangers have the entire team gooing beside Holik and Poti. A huge part of what would have been the starting line up(minus Jagr, Holik, Kaspar, Weeks and Nylander) are in hartford right now and are having a very good year there. They actually have 13 players in Hartford this year that played in the NHL last year. They also had a ton of draftpicks the last 2-3 years who will be a step closer next year. On another hand the Rangers if any team might have benefited if the NHL would have started on march 5. With 3/4th of the roster already playing together they have the chemistry and the speed and might have been able to steal some points at the start that they otherwise would have had a really hard time getting.

I am not sure if I would call teams like Columbus and Nashville winners. They have a decent core to build on, but creating chemistry takes time this lockout means that they have lost a year. Any team that ends up with Crosby would of course be some kind of winner but thats up in the air right now...

 

[Habs4ever]

What about the young talent team is gone be loaded

with young players just Montreal alone has Perezhogin, Danis, Hossa, Plekanec, Higgins, Hainsey, Komisarek ready for NHL thats gone change the whole outlook from teams perspective, maybe another 86 repeat if everything falls in place.

 

[HockeyMan9]

I think this lockout may help Columbus quite a bit, we have a habit of rushing some of our prospects, see Klesla, Rusty. This gives some of our younger guys a chance to play in lower leagues a build their game and confidence, Svitov is having a really good year with the Crunch.

 

[Calorissi]

This lockout has not been too bad on Ottawa either:
Kayogordov is burning up the RSL in this, his breakout year
Mezeros is doing well in Vancouver in his first taste of NA play.
Eaves is doing very well in the College Ranks.
Spezza is playing in more situations and responding well.
Volchenkov has seemed to get his game back and was an AHL all star (injury pick I believe).
Vermette has another pro year under his belt to help his advancement.

In the big team, if the season were to somehow be miraculously saved....
Hasek could only have to deal with 1/2 a year and the playoff run. Should help him stay healthy and if he gets hot, look out.

 

[Gumby]

I think this hurts Washington. If there was a season, they'd have a top 2 or 3 pick automatically.

Now the draft positioning is a complete question mark.

Exactly. When you look at the atrocity of a lineup that WAS woulda had I think they'd have been a lock for the worst record in the league, thus either gettin Crosby (Crosby, AO, Semin....good lord that'd be unbeleivable) or the #1 d-man they desperatly need in Johnson. Now who knows where the hell they'll pick. Plus the fact that things don't exactly look great in the developement dept under Tim Army in Portland.

 

[arnie]

IMO its Pittsburgh. I'm pretty sure that the Pens were looking to use guys like MAF and Whitney in the NHL before they're ready just to show that they have some talent and sell some tickets. I thought that what was done to Fleury last year (Pitt bouncing him around) was a bad call. To me prospects should spiral up instead of getting called up to early, making mistakes, and getting sent down. It just messes with a kids head to do that type of yoyo-ing.

What's Fleury's excuse this year. A .902 sv pct. 50th in the AHL.

 

[salty justice]

All the bottom teams of the last 3 years benefit the most, all the top teams hurt the most. Im very happy knowing that the Hawks benefit more than almost any team. They have a lot of great young prospects playing in NA that will continue to develope instead of getting their confidence killed in the NHL like last year. Their core of players is still very young (mid 20s) AND they are the 2nd most likely to get Crosby. In a shortened season, the Hawks would have probably been botton 10 or 12, no way bottom 2.

Its very narrow minded to suggest teams like the Leafs or Wings benefit at all in this. Obviously their prospects develope, but they would do the same had there been an NHL this season. Their old players just get older and fatter, and they are going to actually have to compete on even grounds once the lockout ends. No more buying the competition. If the lockout lasts all of next season and comes back in 06-07, theres a decent chance Detroit and Toronto wouldnt even make the playoffs.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

1/2 the players mentioned in this thread wouldn't be playing in the NHL this year anyway.

A player that would benefit from the lockout would be players that would otherwise be forced to play in the NHL when they needed more development time. Like Fleury, or Whitney, or all of the washington prospects

Any prospect that is property of a top team that can make that team, like Spezza, isn't benefiting.

On a side note, i say Detroit has benefited the most. They were able to give Matt Ellis and Darryl Bootland 3rd line minutes in the AHL.

 

[Vatican Roulette]

All the bottom teams of the last 3 years benefit the most, all the top teams hurt the most. Im very happy knowing that the Hawks benefit more than almost any team. They have a lot of great young prospects playing in NA that will continue to develope instead of getting their confidence killed in the NHL like last year. Their core of players is still very young (mid 20s) AND they are the 2nd most likely to get Crosby. In a shortened season, the Hawks would have probably been botton 10 or 12, no way bottom 2.

Its very narrow minded to suggest teams like the Leafs or Wings benefit at all in this. Obviously their prospects develope, but they would do the same had there been an NHL this season. Their old players just get older and fatter, and they are going to actually have to compete on even grounds once the lockout ends. No more buying the competition. If the lockout lasts all of next season and comes back in 06-07, theres a decent chance Detroit and Toronto wouldnt even make the playoffs.

damn, you really hate the wings and leafs dont you. Every thread i see you post in, you make a comment about how they suck.

Wings and leafs have been top teams for the past 10 years, they do that with good managment...how do the hawks do it?

...and, Detroit Toronto and Chicago were on even grounds. Don't complain about their owners spending money just because your's won't...

 

[Jaded-Fan]

damn, you really hate the wings and leafs dont you. Every thread i see you post in, you make a comment about how they suck.

Wings and leafs have been top teams for the past 10 years, they do that with good managment...how do the hawks do it?

...and, Detroit Toronto and Chicago were on even grounds. Don't complain about their owners spending money just because your's won't...

I do not look to the past, the Detroits, etc. played by the rules. But to think that the lockout most helps teams who have finished consistently toward the top makes no sense. They get a break in losing a year of contracts that had them over the Cap, but aside from that, obviously teams that had trouble making a quarter of the aggregate payroll of the Detroits and Torontos will be helped by the new environment, if the new Cap keeps the range between biggest and smallest spenders maybe $10 million. Also, chances are pretty good that the lower teams in the 2004 season standings will get another high draft pick however the draft is eventually decided. I just do not see an even opportunity, some sort of weighting and just what kind I do not know, but not an even chance for all. That does Detroit and similar little good, though to be fair had there been a season those teams likely would have picked near the bottom anyways. No way any team gets gutted in this new environment, though you all are getting a bit long in tooth and time may gut you in a year or two, far more than a new CBA will. All in all the guy had some points, though he made them in a very digging the upper teams way.

 

[KallioWeHardlyKnewYe]

I think this lockout may help Columbus quite a bit, we have a habit of rushing some of our prospects, see Klesla, Rusty. This gives some of our younger guys a chance to play in lower leagues a build their game and confidence, Svitov is having a really good year with the Crunch.

Agreed. I'd use Aaron Johnson and Tim Jackman as better examples. They're two guys who got some NHL playing time because of injuries when last we played hockey. Johnson looked capable and Jackman looked decent. I know CBJ fans were clamoring to have Johnson on the CBJ blueline this year, I wasn't so sure. I'm glad he was forced into another year of AHL service.
Though Fritsche wasn't in the AHL, I'd cite him and PIcard as examples as well. Given that he made the team before, Fritsche was almost a lock to do it again. Picard would've had a good shot too. I'm not conpletely convinced either was ready. Now, both are ready to be pros (AHL or NHL) next year.

 

[salty justice]

damn, you really hate the wings and leafs dont you. Every thread i see you post in, you make a comment about how they suck.

Wings and leafs have been top teams for the past 10 years, they do that with good managment...how do the hawks do it?

...and, Detroit Toronto and Chicago were on even grounds. Don't complain about their owners spending money just because your's won't...

Explain to me one advantage Detroit or Toronto have over any other team during the lockout.

 

[A Good Flying Bird*]

The thread title should have been:

"Sign up below to say your favorite team benefits from the lockout!"

Well, I gotta say the Wings prospects have been hurt by the lockout.
Oh, I suppose it doesn't hurt to have Kronwall playing in every situation in GR. But we already knew what he was about and he would have taken a regular shift in Detroit.
Detroit got screwed because so many players play in Europe.
On the one hand, it's good to see guys like Jamtin and Franzen doing well against the NHLers in Sweden.
But on the other hand, prospects like Backer, Tolsa, Eriksson, and other have had to accept dramatically reduced roles. This is not a good thing for a 22 or 23 year old hockey player.
Grigorenko's comeback was hurt by the NHLers playing in Europe. He struggled on to get any icetime in the first half of the season.
Only after he was traded to a team with few stars did he finally start showing signs of returning to old form.
So while there have been positives, I'd have to see that Detroit's prospects were hurt more than they were helped by the lockout.

 

[Ismellofhockey]

I don't see how any pool of prospects are better off than any others in this lockout. They're all in the same boat, it appears.

I don't think that's true, take good/fringe prospects for example a lot of them will have lost their spots in their country's top league to NHLers. That means they go and develop in a lesser league for a full year.

On the other hand those few prospects that manage to stay in the top league are suddenly surrounded by NHL talent to help them along. To use 4 Sens prospects as an example, Lyamin was relegated to CSKA-2 because of a slow start, Karlsson was bumped out of a spot in the SEL and is now in Div III while Kajgorodov was promoted to first line centre in the RSL and seems to have Elias and Sykora as linemates according to one russian poster on the Sens board. He now leads the league in scoring. Having Spezza in the AHL certainly can't hurt Bochenski's development either. Not all prospects are in the same boat.

As for teams, the uncertainty regarding unsigned prospects affects all teams differently, if Philadelphia were to lose Carter it would be a big blow while Ottawa has no one of note to sign.
Teams who would have used this year to rebuild may be stuck with the same draft position as last year and still the need to rebuild. Maybe St-Louis and Boston are in that situation, this could be bad for them.

I'd say teams with veteran lineups are benefitting most from the lockout followed by teams with many prospects and coming in last are teams with young NHLers.
Losing a year off a 37-year old player's career while giving time for that team's prospects to develop isn't as bad as losing a year off a player's prime.
Teams like Calgary and Ottawa lose a year off of cheap contracts and a year of a player's peak productivity. Teams like Pittsburgh have players who can develop just as much in the AHL as the NHL (Beech, Fleury...), they lose a year off of a cheap contract too but it's not a peak productivity year for those players.

 

[saillias]

Whichever teams that are losing less money than if they were actually playing, of course.

 

[Old Hickory]

Only one team has been helped by this lockout and that team is in washington.

I am still waiting for an explanation on this one

 

[hfboardsuser]

I'd say Toronto and Detroit. These teams don't have much in the pipeline compared to the amount of depth they stand to lose due to retirements and aging-associated production drop-offs. Any extra time is helpful as it means their young guys can step in that much sooner.

 

[DARKSIDE]

Seriously teams with a handful of prospects in the minors can hardly be said to "benefit" from the lockout. Its not like these guys wouldn´t develop if there was a NHL. Especially since some of the teams mentioned here have 10 players sitting at home doing nothing... The lockout must also be a nightmare for teams like Sens and the Leafs who would be contenders this year. For example in Ottawa they only have a limited time before these guys are due for a pay raise and they could have some problems keeping the team together under the cap.

There are a bunch of huge loosers in lockout. Especially teams like NJD, Detroit, Toronto, Ottawa and Philadelphia. NJD and Detroit could be the biggest loosers, they are getting older with the majority of the team dooing nothing.

Teams like Pittsburg, Chicago, Washington and the Rangers might actually benefit from the lockout. Ovechkin, Malkin and Co. don´t have to jump into the NHL right away. Chicago has a great young D that will another year under its belt. The Rangers have the entire team gooing beside Holik and Poti. A huge part of what would have been the starting line up(minus Jagr, Holik, Kaspar, Weeks and Nylander) are in hartford right now and are having a very good year there. They actually have 13 players in Hartford this year that played in the NHL last year. They also had a ton of draftpicks the last 2-3 years who will be a step closer next year. On another hand the Rangers if any team might have benefited if the NHL would have started on march 5. With 3/4th of the roster already playing together they have the chemistry and the speed and might have been able to steal some points at the start that they otherwise would have had a really hard time getting.

I am not sure if I would call teams like Columbus and Nashville winners. They have a decent core to build on, but creating chemistry takes time this lockout means that they have lost a year. Any team that ends up with Crosby would of course be some kind of winner but thats up in the air right now...

I can't speak for the other teams, but I can't disagree with you more concerning the Devils. True, due to being one of the top franchises over the last decade they haven't had many high draft picks. However, they still manage to add young good players to their lineup almost every year, like Gomez, Gionta, Hale and Martin. If and when there is a next season, they plan to add at least 2 or more rookies to the line-up, one being Parise and the other being Suglobov. It's not all about draft positioning, it's also about your scouting and how your organization brings young players along and Devils are one of the best at both!

 

[Jaded-Fan]

It is not just prospects developing that goes into answering the thread's question, but ultimately how the drafts (including the dispersal draft for teams over the Cap) are handled will be a much bigger factor. If, as is likely, there is some weight given to past finish, be it 2004 alone, a three year average, or a myriad of other possibilities that have been discussed, the teams that are most weighted toward will be the most helped. Development of prospects would occur no matter if there was a season or not so I am not as sure that would be as big a factor as the drafts issue to answer this thread.

 

[borro]

I am still waiting for an explanation on this one

"It's so nice to be insane, no one asks you to explain, the radio by the door, Angie baby." Helen Reddy-Angie. This seems to apply to Moebeagle's posts.