Rob Dunning
-Doc Emrick
The final call made for the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs that certainly gave fans of hockey adrenaline, anxiety, and heartbreak. Filled to the max with bone crunching hits, ultra-precise wrist shots, and calculated decision making, this year’s rendition of the playoffs certainly did not disappoint. We saw the Blackhawks cement their legacy as a dynasty, the Lightning rise to the top of the East, and the foundation for a busy offseason filled with mystery and rumors flying around the landscape of Yahoo!, NHL.com, and Bleacher Report like no tomorrow. With that being said, the NHL free agency period as well as the draft certainly have had their effect on the hockey landscape. Therefore, it is time to award some winners and losers for the NHL offseason so far:
Winner: Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers, once again, had a very disappointing regular season, finishing 6th in the Pacific Division with 62 points. However, the Oilers were able to strike gold on draft day. Once the lottery commenced, and Edmonton was graciously given the first pick, they were granted rights to the consensus number one pick, and superstar in the making; Connor McDavid. I’ll put a link below to show you viewers how special this kid is. Intelligence, ridiculous hands, and killer speed will turn this kid into the best player in the league five years from now. They also went out and signed two savvy veterans to add to their young core; Andrej Sekera and Mark Letestu. Sekera is a strong, smart puck-moving defenceman who should contribute immediately, while Letestu is a solid depth forward who should be used on the penalty kill. Draft night wasn’t just McDavid, they also went out and landed Rangers goaltender Cam Talbot for draft picks. Talbot helped lead the Rangers to the Presidents Trophy in absence of Henrik Lundqvist, but with Lundqvist fully healthy, the Rangers are wasting his number one capabilities behind him. Edmonton had to give up two second rounders, but other than that, they landed a number one goalie in the process, something they have been so desperate for. So, by landing one of the best young players in recent memory, a starting goalie, and two solid veterans, Edmonton is certainly heading up and not down.
McDavid Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSE-HXgluMo
Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins barely snuck their way into the playoffs as the 8th and final seed after a miserable end to the regular season, and they were bounced in the first round by the Rangers in 5 games. However, Penguins fans have reason to rejoice as their team has done some pretty good things in the offseason. Paul Martin was a loss on the blue line, but there was no way that the Penguins were going to give him a four year contract, and they have prospects that can fill the void temporarily. The main one here is the Phil Kessel trade, where the Penguins basically committed highway robbery on the Maple Leafs. While the Maple Leafs did receive draft picks in 2016, a solid player in Nick Spaling, and two shiny new prospects, players like Kessel don’t come around too often. He’s as pure a goal scorer as you are ever going to find, and he should form a dynamic duo with Sidney Crosby. Also, according to James Mirtle of Globe and Mail’s, Toronto is also picking up 15% of his salary until the year 2022. The Penguins also prevented the first rounder they sent to the Maple Leafs to be a lottery pick, while gaining a second round pick and two NHL bodies in Biggs and Tim Erixon. If you cancel out all the prospects who are a few years away and the extra players as well, the Penguins, who are in win-now mode, got Kessel for Spaling, a first, and a third rounder. No brainer win for the Penguins.
Winner: Washington Capitals
The Capitals put together a strong regular season to finish 2nd in the Metropolitan division thanks in large part to the play of Braden Holtby and their superstar Russian, Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals snuck past the Islanders in a 7 game series, while they fell to their playoff foes, the Rangers, in 7 games when they were up in the series 3-1. The Capitals have certainly recovered from that devastating Game 7 loss to make some pretty good moves in the offseason. They went out and acquired T.J Oshie from the Blues for Troy Brouwer, a third round pick, and a goalie prospect. Oshie should be able to slide into Washington’s top six, which could easily net him 20-25 goals. They also gave up practically nothing to acquire him, so it was a pretty lopsided trade. Next, the Capitals looked to add playoff experience and a winning mentality to their roster, and that’s exactly what they got in Justin Williams. Williams is a 20 goal scorer who brings 3 Stanley Cup Rings (2006 with the Hurricanes and 2012/2014 with the Kings) to the District. They got him at a modest price of $3 million a year for two years, which suites perfectly for a player of his caliber. The duo of Oshie/Williams puts the Caps in a far better state than Brouwer/Ward, whom the latter signed a deal with San Jose. The Capitals are also rid of disgruntled, error prone defenseman Mike Green, whose tenure with the team ended with him signing with Detroit. The Capitals have plenty of quality defenders already and have the prospects and money to replace Green in a heartbeat. To recap, the Capitals gained some quality playmakers and experience in the forward corps and subtracted a problem on defense, and assuming they can replace Green’s offensive production, the Capitals are in really good shape heading into 2015-2016.
Loser: Chicago Blackhawks
Oh what is that old saying, oh yeah, all good things must come to an end. While the Blackhawks did oust the Lightning in 6 games to capture their third cup in the last six seasons, the Blackhawks, quite frankly, have made some tough decisions this offseason, and it is all based on the salary cap. With Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane receiving their twin contracts, about $10.5 million per, the Blackhawks were strapped to the cap. Along with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa and others, the Blackhawks needed to make moves that would help their financial aspects, while keeping the champs a quality team like they have been for the last decade. In a move that shocked the hockey world, the Blackhawks shipped 22 year old rising star Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets for Artem Anisimov, three others players and a draft pick. Saad was expected to hit restricted free agency and the Blackhawks simply could not afford him, and it’s a shame because he is a really good young player. He can skate, play in all three zones, and has a big body. Saad ended up signing a 6 year deal to stay with the Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks also sent veteran forward Patrick Sharp and a prospect to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt. Sharp has been a part of all three of the Blackhawk’s cup wins and could not be kept as well due to the cap constraints. The Blackhawks lost a 50 point caliber player and gained a defenseman who has trouble in his own zone and a bottom 6 forward. The Blackhawks have also failed to resign center Marcus Kruger long term and still have hefty contracts like Brian Bickell ($4 million) and Kris Versteeg (2.2 million) to dump. Add in the loss of veteran presence Brad Richards to Detroit and the Blackhawks have had a difficult offseason so far. The champs are still a serious threat in the West, but their offseason issues have raised some concerns in the windy city.
Loser: Los Angeles Kings
The Kings missed the playoffs in 2015 after an inconsistent season. This came after the Kings rode all sorts of momentum into the 2014 playoffs, and wound up winning the Stanley Cup. With the culmination of their elimination, the Kings have certainly declined over the offseason. The most significant story of the offseason has got to be the off-ice issues for the Kings. To begin, defenseman Slava Voynov was charged with felony assault on his wife and is slated to go to trial, losing a key puck moving defenseman with high-upside. Center Jarret Stoll (pictured below) was busted for cocaine and MDMA in Las Vegas and plead guilty to plenty misdemeanors, losing a key depth player and penalty-kill specialist. Then there is the Mike Richards scandal, where the center’s $5.75 million monster contract, coupled with his massive regression, made him a serious problem. The Kings decided to terminate his contract, but by doing that, the Kings will lose 1.3 million dollars over the next five seasons due to the new cap rules in the NHL and the structure of Richard’s contract. The most likely reason that the NHL decided his contract could be terminated is because of Richard’s use of OxyContin pills at the Canada/U.S border, but that has not yet been proven. Regardless, the Kings have plenty of issues on their hands. Add to the fact that they lost Andrej Sekera and Justin Williams to free agency, and picked up a hefty contract in Milan Lucic and depleted their draft picks in the process, the Kings have had a pretty miserable offseason.
“The what the heck are they doing?!” Team of the Offseason: Boston Bruins
This award goes to the team that has done the most perplex, and questionable, transactions over the offseason so far. This is also the team that has done moves that are both good and bad. The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs in 2015 after winning the Presidents Trophy in 2014. This resulted in the departure of GM Peter Chiarelli, and the introduction of new GM Don Maloney, who no doubt has made some head scratchers this offseason. He traded cornerstone d-man Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames. Hmm? Where have we seen this before? The Bruins have traded multiple players at the beginning of the careers who have turned out to be stars. For example, Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars and Phil Kessel of the Penguins are proven stars for their respective teams, making the Bruins foolish for trading them. They also got only one first round pick out of him and not one, NOT ONE of the Flames good, young forwards. He made a great trade in acquiring a high draft pick for Milan Lucic, who was sent to the Los Angeles Kings. Lucic’s contract was simply too massive for the Bruins to hold on to. This freed up enough money for the Bruins to go out and sign Anaheim Ducks winger Matt Belesky in free agency. This move does have its con and its pros. The pros being that Belesky is coming off a career year in which he scored a career high 22 goals with Anaheim, and that he should fit the mold of a typical Bruin; gritty, hard-working, and a team player. The cons are that he is still an unproven player, meaning that he has only netted 112 points in his six seasons in the league, which is about 19 points a season, something not even close to a $5 million player. His 2014-2015 season could turn out to be a fluke and he could be a complete bust for the Bruins, or he could continue to be a 20 goal scorer in their system.
McDavid Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSE-HXgluMo
Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins barely snuck their way into the playoffs as the 8th and final seed after a miserable end to the regular season, and they were bounced in the first round by the Rangers in 5 games. However, Penguins fans have reason to rejoice as their team has done some pretty good things in the offseason. Paul Martin was a loss on the blue line, but there was no way that the Penguins were going to give him a four year contract, and they have prospects that can fill the void temporarily. The main one here is the Phil Kessel trade, where the Penguins basically committed highway robbery on the Maple Leafs. While the Maple Leafs did receive draft picks in 2016, a solid player in Nick Spaling, and two shiny new prospects, players like Kessel don’t come around too often. He’s as pure a goal scorer as you are ever going to find, and he should form a dynamic duo with Sidney Crosby. Also, according to James Mirtle of Globe and Mail’s, Toronto is also picking up 15% of his salary until the year 2022. The Penguins also prevented the first rounder they sent to the Maple Leafs to be a lottery pick, while gaining a second round pick and two NHL bodies in Biggs and Tim Erixon. If you cancel out all the prospects who are a few years away and the extra players as well, the Penguins, who are in win-now mode, got Kessel for Spaling, a first, and a third rounder. No brainer win for the Penguins.
Winner: Washington Capitals
The Capitals put together a strong regular season to finish 2nd in the Metropolitan division thanks in large part to the play of Braden Holtby and their superstar Russian, Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals snuck past the Islanders in a 7 game series, while they fell to their playoff foes, the Rangers, in 7 games when they were up in the series 3-1. The Capitals have certainly recovered from that devastating Game 7 loss to make some pretty good moves in the offseason. They went out and acquired T.J Oshie from the Blues for Troy Brouwer, a third round pick, and a goalie prospect. Oshie should be able to slide into Washington’s top six, which could easily net him 20-25 goals. They also gave up practically nothing to acquire him, so it was a pretty lopsided trade. Next, the Capitals looked to add playoff experience and a winning mentality to their roster, and that’s exactly what they got in Justin Williams. Williams is a 20 goal scorer who brings 3 Stanley Cup Rings (2006 with the Hurricanes and 2012/2014 with the Kings) to the District. They got him at a modest price of $3 million a year for two years, which suites perfectly for a player of his caliber. The duo of Oshie/Williams puts the Caps in a far better state than Brouwer/Ward, whom the latter signed a deal with San Jose. The Capitals are also rid of disgruntled, error prone defenseman Mike Green, whose tenure with the team ended with him signing with Detroit. The Capitals have plenty of quality defenders already and have the prospects and money to replace Green in a heartbeat. To recap, the Capitals gained some quality playmakers and experience in the forward corps and subtracted a problem on defense, and assuming they can replace Green’s offensive production, the Capitals are in really good shape heading into 2015-2016.
Loser: Chicago Blackhawks
Oh what is that old saying, oh yeah, all good things must come to an end. While the Blackhawks did oust the Lightning in 6 games to capture their third cup in the last six seasons, the Blackhawks, quite frankly, have made some tough decisions this offseason, and it is all based on the salary cap. With Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane receiving their twin contracts, about $10.5 million per, the Blackhawks were strapped to the cap. Along with Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa and others, the Blackhawks needed to make moves that would help their financial aspects, while keeping the champs a quality team like they have been for the last decade. In a move that shocked the hockey world, the Blackhawks shipped 22 year old rising star Brandon Saad to the Blue Jackets for Artem Anisimov, three others players and a draft pick. Saad was expected to hit restricted free agency and the Blackhawks simply could not afford him, and it’s a shame because he is a really good young player. He can skate, play in all three zones, and has a big body. Saad ended up signing a 6 year deal to stay with the Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks also sent veteran forward Patrick Sharp and a prospect to the Dallas Stars for defenseman Trevor Daley and forward Ryan Garbutt. Sharp has been a part of all three of the Blackhawk’s cup wins and could not be kept as well due to the cap constraints. The Blackhawks lost a 50 point caliber player and gained a defenseman who has trouble in his own zone and a bottom 6 forward. The Blackhawks have also failed to resign center Marcus Kruger long term and still have hefty contracts like Brian Bickell ($4 million) and Kris Versteeg (2.2 million) to dump. Add in the loss of veteran presence Brad Richards to Detroit and the Blackhawks have had a difficult offseason so far. The champs are still a serious threat in the West, but their offseason issues have raised some concerns in the windy city.
Loser: Los Angeles Kings
The Kings missed the playoffs in 2015 after an inconsistent season. This came after the Kings rode all sorts of momentum into the 2014 playoffs, and wound up winning the Stanley Cup. With the culmination of their elimination, the Kings have certainly declined over the offseason. The most significant story of the offseason has got to be the off-ice issues for the Kings. To begin, defenseman Slava Voynov was charged with felony assault on his wife and is slated to go to trial, losing a key puck moving defenseman with high-upside. Center Jarret Stoll (pictured below) was busted for cocaine and MDMA in Las Vegas and plead guilty to plenty misdemeanors, losing a key depth player and penalty-kill specialist. Then there is the Mike Richards scandal, where the center’s $5.75 million monster contract, coupled with his massive regression, made him a serious problem. The Kings decided to terminate his contract, but by doing that, the Kings will lose 1.3 million dollars over the next five seasons due to the new cap rules in the NHL and the structure of Richard’s contract. The most likely reason that the NHL decided his contract could be terminated is because of Richard’s use of OxyContin pills at the Canada/U.S border, but that has not yet been proven. Regardless, the Kings have plenty of issues on their hands. Add to the fact that they lost Andrej Sekera and Justin Williams to free agency, and picked up a hefty contract in Milan Lucic and depleted their draft picks in the process, the Kings have had a pretty miserable offseason.
Yes, indeed you are
“The what the heck are they doing?!” Team of the Offseason: Boston Bruins
This award goes to the team that has done the most perplex, and questionable, transactions over the offseason so far. This is also the team that has done moves that are both good and bad. The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs in 2015 after winning the Presidents Trophy in 2014. This resulted in the departure of GM Peter Chiarelli, and the introduction of new GM Don Maloney, who no doubt has made some head scratchers this offseason. He traded cornerstone d-man Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames. Hmm? Where have we seen this before? The Bruins have traded multiple players at the beginning of the careers who have turned out to be stars. For example, Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars and Phil Kessel of the Penguins are proven stars for their respective teams, making the Bruins foolish for trading them. They also got only one first round pick out of him and not one, NOT ONE of the Flames good, young forwards. He made a great trade in acquiring a high draft pick for Milan Lucic, who was sent to the Los Angeles Kings. Lucic’s contract was simply too massive for the Bruins to hold on to. This freed up enough money for the Bruins to go out and sign Anaheim Ducks winger Matt Belesky in free agency. This move does have its con and its pros. The pros being that Belesky is coming off a career year in which he scored a career high 22 goals with Anaheim, and that he should fit the mold of a typical Bruin; gritty, hard-working, and a team player. The cons are that he is still an unproven player, meaning that he has only netted 112 points in his six seasons in the league, which is about 19 points a season, something not even close to a $5 million player. His 2014-2015 season could turn out to be a fluke and he could be a complete bust for the Bruins, or he could continue to be a 20 goal scorer in their system.
The other head scratching move was trading Marc Savard’s contract and Reilly Smith to the Panthers for Jimmy Hayes. This move was head scratching because Smith is a much better player than Hayes, and deserved a little bit more of package in return. Even though Smith had a disappointing campaign, he still carries a lot more value than Jimmy Hayes does. The positives were that the Bruins were able to dump Savard’s contract, someone who doesn’t even play anymore, who was making about $4 million a year with two years left. Other questionable decisions include re-upping 3rd pairing defenseman Adam McQuaid’s contract to $2.5 mill. 3rd pairing. Keep that in mind. They also lost Carl Soderberg to free agency, who really excelled with his time in Boston. Overall, the Bruins have had the weirdest offseason of any team in the NHL by making some good moves and some bad moves. Time will tell if these decisions will have a positive or negative effect on the black and yellow.
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