Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Who Got Their QO's?

I've learned over the years that things happen for a reason. The Edmonton Oilers didn't release the names of players qualified last night; most if not all other teams released them and there were some interesting names (Bergfors, Kennedy, Sugartits).

We know the Oilers passed on Stortini and Jacques (Oilers released that information to Matty and Jason Gregor) but the rest of the list remains a mystery.

Why?

If we take the list of players that fans might feel would be qualified in the "no-brainer" department-- Cogliano, Smid, Peckham and Chorney--then we might (if we were cynical types) wonder aloud about these players.

Now my knowledge of QO's, arbitration and the NHL law pertaining to contracts is not good. There is so much minutia involved in the language I'm not certain if Cogliano or Chorney could file if given a qualifying offer. I do know that looking at the list of men who weren't qualified it would seem to be a league wide issue.

Two things: when the list is released (I imagine today) can you post it? Thanks. Also, I'd love to know if there's something to what I've written above. The beauty of the Oilogosphere is that someone will be along shortly to exlain it. I look forward to reading the answer.

96 comments:

  1. I, for one, cannot believe that ol' Ruttager Sugartits did not get a QO. His (insert advanced stat here) was inSANE!

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  2. Brooks Laich signs 6 year deal with Caps as per Spector (sportsnet)

    So much for signing him

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  3. Sorry, I am confused. Who is "sugartits"? I thought that it was Penner, but that doesn't make any sense to me.

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  4. I have no idea what the reason for not releasing a full list is, but Edmonton isn't the only team doing it.

    This is a list of RFAs known to have received, or not received QOs:
    http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2011/06/27/are-they-qualified-a-list-of-players-who-did-and-didnt-receive-qualifying-offers/

    Boston has 8 RFAs according to capgeek but only three are listed here. Winnepeg has 12 and only 4 are listed.

    It may be as simple as not wanting to release the names until the organisation has had a chance to speak with the player or his agent personally.

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  5. I've learned over the years that things happen for a reason.

    I don't know how an Oilers fan can still believe this. Nothing has convinced me that life is a series of unconnected meaningless events like the nihilistic management of this squad since 2006.

    With that said, I suspect that you're right and the reason we don't have the entire list is that there's another name on it. Or the Oilers can't even feed stories to journos properly.

    There is so much minutia involved in the language I'm not certain if Cogliano or Chorney could file if given a qualifying offer.

    I doubt Chorney has much a case for an arbitrator. He wouldn't get much more than his QO even if he is eligible to file. I doubt that's the problem with him

    Cogliano is arb eligible and can file if he's given a qualifying offer. He might be a trickier case, in that he's got four years and, although his numbers aren't great, he might be due a bump from the arbitrator. With that said, to use a legal phrase, "Who gives a shit?" I doubt that he ever becomes a real player but they've got enough invested in him, enough cap room and this season is low stakes enough, to give him another year, even if it's at $1.5MM or something.

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  6. @ Brett:

    "Sugartits" aka "Hockey jesus" - Rob Scrhemp.

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  7. Ah, thanks Rich. I read it wrong somewhere along the line.

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  8. Now they can bring Schremp back to teach the youngsters how it's done.


    hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

    *Jack Torrance*

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  9. The Bruins didn't qualify an interesting goalie prospect they got from Minny this year.Anton Khudobin,I think he beat the Oilers in one of his starts this year.

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  10. From the Tallon debacle a couple years ago, if you are getting a qualifying offer, you would get it via courier or via mail (as Tallon tried). i.e. so the players would all know by now. They have to officially receive it before the deadline

    So, there may be contract negotiations going on with a couple of players not qualified.

    Reasons for not qualifying. At a certain age/experience level players must receive one way deals if qualified. Chorney might be one of these players. So, instead of a QO, they would enter negotiations for a two way contract.

    Also, as part of the ruling, some players would get arbitration rights if qualified.

    This info above is based on a couple of articles I read yesterday as all the info was hitting the interwebs.

    Given these two things above, I believe LT's comment about there is a reason for the fact a press release hasn't been made.

    In fact, maybe JDD gets another 2 way deal ? Who knows. Stu's comments yesterday on Gregor were not the most confident by Stu about JDD not returning.

    He didn't say, JDD is gone or was not offered a contract.

    Can't remember the exact wording, but it was either that he caught himself revealing too much info or that the decision wasn't final.

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  11. back to the Tallon debacle, I am sure that Shremp's QO is just stuck in the mail .... Damn Canada Post strike ... LOL

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  12. Dreger on Twitter:

    Chorney, Cogliano, Smid and Peckham all received QO's from Oilers.

    Plus O'Marra.

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  13. Rishaug reporting Chorney, Cogs, Smid and Peckham all rec'd QO's.

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  14. ^Rishaug, sorry; not Dreger. A little sleep-deprived this morning!

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  15. His (insert advanced stat here) was inSANE!

    I think you have Schremp confused with somebody else.

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  16. former Oiler MAB re-signs in TB as per twitter.

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  17. We also would have accepted: "I don't think advanced stat means what you think it means."

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  18. Regwald,

    JDD was UFA, not RFA after this year.

    We also would have accepted: "I don't think advanced stat means what you think it means."

    Perfect!

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  19. It seems interesting to me that they qualified O'Marra, in that they've got Lander, Vandevelde, House, Kytnar all kind of filling the same role already in the AHL, I guess they may not all play, or at least not play C, plus they've got Arcobello who's listed as a C, not sure if that's where he was playing?

    Maybe the Oilers think Lander is gonna start the year on the roster?

    4-10-83
    94-89-14
    91-RNH-23
    67-13-28
    Lander-UFA

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  20. Steve Sullivan not returning to Nashville. Do we need another injury prone old guy to qualify us for the regular season highest number of man-games lost title again?

    Link

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  21. So Benfeld, Pitton, Marquardt and Montgomery are UFA's?

    Up next, The Souray Buyout.

    Then they will be at 39 contracts.

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  22. Lander with be playing in Edmonton or playing in Oklahoma. He won't be the 13th or 14th forward.

    Sort of ditto for Hartikainen.

    O'Marra and Brule are candidates for the pressbox job along with whoever gets the goon gig.

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  23. With all the road paving v3.1 has done regarding "not having the 1st overall selection" playing in the NHL next year (and then saying it over and over again once RNH was selected), I think the odds on RNH staying past 9 games in the NHL is less than 25%.

    I'm not going to speculate on the C depth chart until August. There is a lot of smoke about more player movement and as always 13 is in most of the rumours.

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  24. So Laich signs in Washington for some big dollars and all the Edmonton media guys are sad.

    Good news I think, because I get the vibe the Oilers would have paid more than that to bring him here, and Tambo being saved from himself isn't a bad thing.

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  25. Brûlée (autocorrect spelled it that way, and I'm not changing it) may need a buyout, too.

    Depression (or any other mental illness he might have), whether caused by a concussion or not is apparently keeping him out of the lineup pretty regularly.

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  26. TSN with a rundown of all the available UFA's and RFA's:

    http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=38580

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  27. I'm ok with the oilers not overpaying for average talent in the UFA pool. On the same token I wouldn't be as upset if they over paid for elite talent in the UFA pool.

    Guy's like Laich are best home grown or replaced by vets on short term deals. No doubt he a good hockey player. But he's not worth letting Hall or Ebs go because he screwed our cap.

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  28. Kris, Brule can't be bought out if he's indeed suffering from Post Concussion Syndrome [PCS], since it is the direct result of having sustained a concussion while playing for the Oilers.

    PCS is can be pretty serious, and I hope he gets over whatever ailments he has and is back at 100% soon if he isn't already.

    The Oilers need big money long term contracts right now like they need a hole in the head.

    For all the talking heads lamenting the Laich signing or going on about Kennedy or Erhoff etc. they should just snap back to reality, none of those guys are coming here without a severe overpay with term. The lower tiers, role players, overpays on short term contracts types are the only players the Oiler are and should be in the market for.

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  29. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  30. What if he isn't PCS, but just experiencing Major Depressive Disorder. (pretty common and sometimes debilitating)?

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  31. Risaugh tweeting that Oilers would have made a heavy pitch to Laich.

    Also tweets that they will pitch Fiddler and Belanger with McCormick and Konopka in the "plan B" pool.

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  32. Cam Barker is on waivers.

    The Oilers should pick him up.

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  33. What if he isn't PCS, but just experiencing Major Depressive Disorder. (pretty common and sometimes debilitating)?

    Then Lombardi wouldn't have said that Brule had ongoing injury problems that made a buyout unlikely, and the Post Concussion Depression 'leak' wouldn't have come out. Either that or Lombardi was talking out of his #$$, I suppose either is possible.

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  34. I'm going to second what Traktor says - I've heard the same things about Barker, and as such, I think the Oilers need to stay away from that particular player.

    Then again, Dan Cleary straightened himself out after he left Edmonton with regards to a similar issue...

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  35. As long as there don't sign any UFA for longer than two years, I will be content.

    That means no mid tier guys, but that is okay. Two years would probably fine to Fiddler, Belanger.

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  36. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  37. No word on Souray yet this morning.?Odd-I think we've all been expecting the waive/buyout.

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  38. I haven't heard any rumours of Barker but something ain't right.

    He missed a bunch of games with mysterious "Upper body injury" and 4 straight games for personal reasons last year.

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  39. - Injury supposed to be a back injury, I'm now reading.

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  40. He's also being dumped by his second organisation and by a team that gave up a very good prospect who happened to be from Minnesota to get him.

    That seems ominous to me...

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  41. Barker has one year left on his contract and we can walk away from him. He will be a relatively low risk pickup UNLESS he has a Boris Mironov/Igor Ulanov lifestyle

    Plus he should be capable of playing 3rd pairing for year to see if he gets his life together as he plays for a contract

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  42. Looking for UFA Dmen who had good RTSS, Faced Min 2nd Pair Comp with at best 2nd pair Team and were better than league average for GA. Who were strong on the Pk.

    Andy Greene
    Scott Hannan
    Steve Montador

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  43. Barker has issues with his lateral mobility and his pivots. Don't know if these issues arose due to an injury or if his skating always had this weakness, but that was the reason he was traded from Chicago--too easy to beat. He will never get another contract like that again.

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  44. Mr. Lowetide,
    Would you consider doing a Stan Weir post in honor of Ryan Smyth's return to the Oilers?

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  45. Barker has one year left on his contract and we can walk away from him. He will be a relatively low risk pickup UNLESS he has a Boris Mironov/Igor Ulanov lifestyle

    I was thinking the same thing - maybe they could send him to rehab or something - but with a very young dressing room he is (if the strories are true) an unacceptable risk.

    If the Oilers had lots of vets like the Red Wings he might be worth considering.

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  46. Re: Barker:

    there have been rumors MIN will buy out Barker, so EDM may choose to wait and sign him via UFA on a cheaper deal. They'd have to compete for his services, but EDM would be a good choice for him because there's not much depth and he'd probably get a decent chance on the PP here.

    godot10:

    You're right, I have no idea why I wrote the lines that way. He'd prob need to be the 4th line C (maybe they'd consider playing him at wing, I doubt it but who knows?), and with a good camp I don't think that's inconceivable but I doubt they'd be placing him there on the depth chart now unless there are some trades coming that we don't see yet. Which is certainly possible.

    IF the plan is to send RNH back after 8 or 9 games, they might well just send Lander to the AHL until early DEC when RNH is sent back to junior (after playing 9 of the first 25 games or so), and recall Lander upon RNH's demotion.

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  47. Well, I'm assuming Lowetide is going to be happy that Mark Howe (finally) got into the Hall of Fame this year.

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  48. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=370270

    Mark Howe into the hall.

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  49. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  50. Bob McKenzie
    TSNBobMcKenzie Bob McKenzie
    It's believed VAN is now asking other NHL teams if they have interest in acquiring Ehrhoff's negotiating rights prior to July 1.
    53 minutes ago
    Bob McKenzie

    TSNBobMcKenzie Bob McKenzie
    Unless there's a new development, looks as though Christian Ehrhoff is headed to UFA on July 1. VAN reportedly offered him Bieksa $$$.
    55 minutes ago

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  51. Your boy Mark Howe is in, albeit about a decade late. Next up: Rogie Vachon, Clare Drake, and Bill Hunter.

    Wonder if Belfour offered the committee a billion dollars to vote him in.

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  52. I'm heavily in favor of the Oilers being active in the UFA market.

    Just please don't sign Mr. Overrated himself (Ehrhoff).

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  53. Ehrhoff would be great in the "he's better than what we have" sort of way, but $23M over 5 years for a player I'd project as a 40 point #3 defenseman on the Oilers - is this the going rate? I've always thought of Ehrhoff as an offense-only guy and while he's in is prime I don't think you win Cups with guys like that.

    Behind the net is somewhat supportive of my thoughts - just going by TOI, Ehrhoff was on Vancouver's 1st PP pairing, 2nd ES pairing, and 3rd PK pairing.

    My conclusion: Anything longer than two years (Hall's ELC) and I'm not interested.

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  54. Gilmour:

    #1) Didn't score 500 goals.
    #2) Didn't get 1000 assists.
    #3) Was never a first team all-star.
    #4) Was never a second team all-star.
    #5) Won the Selke - once; won no other awards.

    ... and he's in the HHOF before Pat Burns because some journalists don't want to admit they made a mistake.

    Embarrassing.

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  55. Well now that Gilmour is in the HHOF we have a new "low man" on the totem pole. No more crap about Clark Gillies (who should be in the Hall) and Bernie Federko (who shouldn't be).

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  56. PDO: correct me if I'm wrong, but does the builders category voting not happen separately from the election of players?

    That being said, the HHOF fucks up on a regular basis. Dick Duff getting in before Glenn Anderson, Burns not getting in last year, Bill Hunter seemingly never entering any serious discussion (as if nobody wants to recognize how damn important the WHA was in the grand scope of the growth of the game).....the list of foibles is long.

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  57. At what point does the "Hall of Fame" become the "Hall which commmemorates careers of guys who were really good but not amazing at NHL hockey"?

    That ship has sailed, yes?

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  58. If people think that Bill Hunter belongs, they should put together something in support of his case. 18 members on the Board - pretty easy to provide them with your submissions.

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  59. Just please don't sign Mr. Overrated himself (Ehrhoff).

    I have not spent much time watching him but by Rel Corsi 5 x 5 he seems like VCR's best:

    Ehrhoff 11.5
    Hamhuis 9.0
    Edler 4.0
    Bieksa 3.3
    Salo -11.7
    Ballard -13.7

    Sure hope Tambo doesn't trade for two days of his rights. He will no doubt be going to free agency.

    He'll be down right popular.

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  60. Word is Detroit is very high on Ehrhoff...expect he'll sign there.

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  61. Bernie Federko not??????????

    What planet are you from. He didn't play in the pussyville Period.
    Go to hockey reference; Power play; Season finder.
    1. select combined season
    2. Modern era 67-68 to now
    3. Forward
    4. Points/GM >= 1.00
    5. Games Played >= 900

    He ranks #11 for forwards and #7 for Centers with 1.13ppg. Just ahead of
    Kurri 1.12
    Savard 1.12
    Perrault 1.11
    Trottier 1.11
    Brett Hull 1.10
    Ratelle 1.10
    Messier 1.07
    Nichols 1.07
    Clarke 1.06
    Goulet 1.06
    Oates 1.06
    Sellanne 1.06
    Francis 1.04

    What is also nice is the Asterix next to players name says HHOF.

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  62. Hbomb:

    I thought it was all combined, but I could be wrong.

    Either way Gilmour has no business in the HHOF and it's ridiculous that Burns STILL isn't in.

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  63. I think Wisneski goes to Detroit.

    Oilers should make a run at Ehrhoff or Wisneski. Both are same age as Whitney and Gilbert. That could form our D cluster. Unfortunately we are a year away from decent free agents to want to sign here. Plus demand >>> supply. Still make the call let people know we intend to compete.

    Id say its in our best interest to play DUI 80 games this year but these kids need to learn to compete and win.

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  64. The Toronto bias of the HHOF selection committee is becoming obscenely blatant. One would think all those TO-based Hockey "Journalists" will keep their collective mouths shut over the Gilmour selection though.

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  65. The Oilers need a D who can play defense to pair with Gilbert. Ehrhoff isn't strong enough defensively and wasn't the top option in Vancouver on the PK. So he isn't worth the money to the Oilers.

    I'd rather bring Pitkanen back than sign Ehrhoff.

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  66. I think it was Peter King over at SI that coined the term "Hall of Very Good" when talking about the dilution of the NFL H.O.F.

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  67. Gilmour. 7th overall in playoff scoring. That should get you in the hall. There's stat legends who get in the hall on the basis of their numbers alone and then there's real hockey players that get in because to deny their impact denies the importance of desire, leadership and heart in this game. Gilmour falls in the latter category and I'm happy with both types being included.

    Those not so happy? Babysitters around the world. Mind you, they were already disappointed with Cicarelli's induction last year.

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  68. Further to the previous point, a Hall of Fame that would induct Joey Mullen and not Doug Gilmour makes no sense whatsoever. Ask the Flames to a man who was the more valuable player for them and I think you'd get a pretty easy and broad consensus for 'Killer'

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  69. NSH Joel Ward is UFA as well.

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  70. Murat: $23M over 5 years for a player I'd project as a 40 point #3 defenseman on the Oilers - is this the going rate?


    Sounds spot on or slightly better than Tom Gilbert and the $4M per he got a few years back so I'd say Yes...that's the going rate.

    Oiler fans need to spend less time sweating 3rd and 4th line minor overpays, especially in times when we are a long ways from the floor. That sort of thinking might have been what lead to Glencross now enjoying a Calgary postal code.

    There's worse contracts on this team now than Erhoff at $4.5 would be. Even more so if he can play more than 40 games a year.

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  71. With the size of the cap now. I think overpays aren't as bad. Back in the first few years after the lockout a bad contract really hamstrung your team.

    It still can but the extra $5 million this year really takes pressure off of cap management at the top and has obviously had the opposite effect at the bottom end of the cap.

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  72. Pitkanen signs for 3 years/$13.5M in Carolina.

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  73. @ gary b:

    Ward is a good one who's going to cash in on a playoff run. Guy is a forechecker who goes to the tough areas and plays hard every nite. Real blue collar type that Nashville loves.

    Problem is he had a playoff run similar to Pisani in 2006. His shooting percentage in the regular season (10G/19A) was 6.3%. In the playoffs it shot to 20%.

    If Vish were the GM, he'd offer $2.5 million for 4 years. Poile is smarter than that and I expect some GM to overpay, but not 3.1.

    Anything over $1.8 is too much.

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  74. I remember a debate about if any player worked good in Horcoff's conditions (Playings tops with dregs).

    Joel Ward was about the only guy swimming.

    Worth 2M$

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  75. What is also nice is the Asterix next to players name says HHOF.

    What's really nice is roast wild boar.

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  76. LT,

    In a previous thread you mentioned that Alexandre Giroux made $150K in the AHL. That was his 09/10 AHL salary.

    Giroux's AHL and NHL Salary in 10/11 was $500K

    I hope I don't come across as an "I told you so" asshole, I'm just trying to clarify the information.

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  77. what's going on with Ward and the Preds? he must be asking for the moon if they haven't worked something out with him.

    I love that guy and would like to add his work ethic to that of 94's.

    Speeds: Yeah, wouldn't surprise me if both Hopkins and Lander made the big club. Let's see what they do with 13 and if they're serious about adding another vet.

    A top four D to play with Gilbert seems like the first thing we need

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  78. Laich and Pitkanen are already gone...that's two of my favorite choices. I'd have taken both at what they got or slightly more.

    Kopecky would be nice if FLA doesn't sign him.

    They won't go after Tim Connolly, but I can hope.

    Really not a strong crop this year...especially on D. Perhaps we can trade for a strong RFA's rights.

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  79. Never worry boys with all of these middling talents coming off the UFA list.

    KLowe will have a flashback and when the TB/Stamkos neogotiations does not get done the Oil will go big game hunting

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  80. BUF Tim Connoly? although he WAS sub 50% FO last year.

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  81. LMHF#1....do you REALLY think Pitkanen would have come back here?

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  82. The Oilers can't fill up the bottom of their roster with expensive long contracts.

    One has to prepare for the $10 million per season offer sheet for Hall, the $6 million per season offer sheet for Eberle and Paajarvi, all at the same time 2 years from now.

    The defensive D can be longer than two years, but the checking centre cannot be longer than two years.

    You can overpay a little on short contracts.

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  83. Tim Connelly isn't a checking centre.

    The Oilers top two priorities:
    1) A tough minutes D to play with Gilbert. (Offense a plus, but not necessary).
    2) Checking centre, good on faceoffs, and who can PK.

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  84. Connolly has played an average of 43 games per season over the last 7 seasons, including two entire seasons lost to concussions. He had the worst +/- of any Buffalo forward last season.

    Signing him would give Gagner some competition for worst defensive center on the teams, and he would probably displace Hemsky as the most injury prone player, but I'm not sure that he'd actually make the team much better.

    In any event, now that Laich is off the market I suspect that he'll be the next 'first line' center for the Leafs.

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  85. I think there's too much paranoia over managing the cap against offer sheet scenarios. The collusion is back amongst NHL GMs and I think offer sheets are becoming a rarity again amongst all but the most bastard-ly managers.

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  86. I dont see the lack of offersheets as collusion. I just see it as a logical outcome based on their lack of effectiveness.

    Look at the van-stl offer sheet war as a prime example. Van submits an offer sheet on Backes. Matched. In retaliation Stl submits an offer sheet on Bernier. Matched. Nothing changed except both teams paid more for their players. A bunch of offersheets flying around is MADD. Why would a GM want to partcipate in a practice that os harmful to his own team?

    The lack of media mention of Joel Ward is interesting. He had a huge playoffs which the media is usually all over. I wonder if the lack of media coverage hints that there arent going to be a huge number of suitors for his services. This guy is exactly what the Oilers need and they should be making a run at him on july 1st.

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  87. Well there's not really much left now is there? Already.

    Richards and then a bunch of second raters up front, at least offensively.

    And on the blue again not so much.

    Guys just staying where they are.

    A Fiddler or Belanger type would make sense on a short term deal. Snow is quite good at those - give a guy one year, give him quite a bit of money so he won't turn you down, then move him at the deadline for a pick.

    I wouldn't be surprised if they go the trade route though. Some teams need to clear space and might be willing to move guys for ten cents on the dollar.

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  88. I actually am considering putting together Bill Hunter's HOF qualifications, but the problem is A) Do we even know who all 18 voters are? and B) Do more than three of them give a shit what anyone other than they themselves think? It'll be a neat exercise for the middle of summer, but I'm not seeing minds changed here.

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  89. Doogie: 18 guys, 16 of whom have NHL connections of some sort. 1 CHL (Cliff Branch), 1 IIHF (Jan-Ake Edvinsson). A few wear more than one hat (especially the journalists), but none of those hats say "WHA".

    I'm pleasantly surprised that Mark Howe finally got in. It was like he fell off the earth between winning the Memorial Cup at 17 and entering the NHL at 24, when in fact he had six consecutive seasons of 75+ points with Houston and New England.

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  90. Marc said...

    "In any event, now that Laich is off the market I suspect that he'll be the next 'first line' center for the Leafs."

    The Leafs are in hot pursuit of Statsny.

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  91. The Leafs are in hot pursuit of Statsny.

    As they and any other team needing a legit 1C should be. The guy is a flat-out terrific hockey player who is lost in the shuffle now that Duchene (who's no slouch himself) is on the scene in Colorado.

    The Avs would be wise to keep both those players, add Vokoun to the fold on a reasonable deal (3 years at 4-4.5 per) and then try to sign some complementary pieces.

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