Yesterday it was shocking to announce that the Toronto Maple Leafs hired former longtime New Jersey Devils General Manager Lou Lamoriello as their new GM. Lamoriello had been the GM of the Devils since 1987, before stepping down this past May but remained team president before leaving to go to the Leafs.
Lamoriello is a hall of fame GM for building the Devils into a Cup contender for most of his 28 years on the job. They missed the playoffs only six times since he's been there (although four times have occurred in his last five seasons there) and have won the Stanley Cup three times while losing twice more in 2001 and 2012.
Lamoriello is a living legend if you will and his time in New Jersey should be celebrated minus the fact if you are like myself, you hated the Devils and their stupid Neutral Zone Trap which helped really ruin the game of hockey. Nevertheless, the Leafs are doing something teams especially a big market like Toronto tend to do and that's reach for the past.
Of course Buffalo teams were really good at that but thankfully under the Pegula ownership, both Bills and Sabres are no longer doing that (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/im-glad-sabres-no-longer-reaching-in.html). I am mush more happy we have a young more progressive GM in Tim Murray then the old guard who has great ideas from about 20-25 years ago but does not have a clue in this day in age.
Now Lamoriello is not a part of the Leafs organization ever, but his past success is still reaching for past success with another team I might add. It is said that he drafted current Leafs President Brendan Shanahan so they have a good relationship. He was successful with the Devils in the past, the key word is WAS. Lamoriello was very successful, maybe most successful GM prior to the 2004-05 lockout with all three of his Cups in his first 17 years as GM. Post 04-05 Lockout was not as successful. While the Devils won four division titles in the first five years post 04-05 lockout (ironically same amount of division titles in his first 17 years), the Devils failed to make it out of the second round each year with three times losing in the first round.
The last five years of his tenure saw the Devils miss the playoffs four times with one notable exception being that they made it all the way to the Cup Finals in 2012, where they lost to the Los Angeles Kings. One of the biggest reasons for the decline was that Martin Brodeur was not the elite goalie (while still pretty good) as he was before the lockout. His numbers steadily declined as his save percentage kept going down each year and his playoff numbers and performances (minus the 2012 run to the finals) were bad, really bad as he was a shell of his former self.
Other reasons include Lamoriello's ability to be penny pinching, which worked for some time when they had really great talent on the blue line along with a hall of fame goalie in his prime. All that starts to catch up as they lost talented players such as Brian Gionta, Scott Gomez, and Zach Parise as he let them walk and trading away other key veterans (such as Jamie Langenbrunner) or letting them walk in free agency.
Losing Parise was especially tough as he failed to get a deal done before he became an unrestricted free agent after the 2011-12 run to the finals. Actually, Parise was an unrestricted free agent in 2011, but signed a one-year deal to remain after he missed most of the season with a knee injury, but Lamoriello failed to lock him up long term and he's been doing great in Minnesota while New Jersey struggles to be competitive.
He did trade for Ilya Kovalcyuk in 2010 and managed to sign him to a 15-year, $100 million deal that saw him fight with the NHL which was eventually solved, but not without the NHL fining them and taking away a first round pick for circumventing the salary cap originally. Kovalchuk's deal hurt the Devils' cap space as in 2010-11, that along with injures forced them to dress as few as 15 players at one point in a game and management came under intense scrutiny for that.
Kovalchuk was very productive in New Jersey and I don't blame Lamoriello one bit for signing him because they were terrible offensively minus Parise during these years. Kovalchuk suddenly "retired" from the NHL in 2013 and went back to Russia to play in the KHL. That hurt the Devils even more. Kovalchuk might have cost them a chance at re-signing Parise or maybe they thought they would lose him, whatever.
I can't blame Lamoriello for these moves, maybe should have done a better job with Parise so he made some moves out of desperation. He's signed old, past-their-prime players such as Shanahan, Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik, Petr Sykora, and Henrik Tallinder during his final decade there. To help make up for the loss of both Parise and Kovalchuk in 2013, Lamoriello decided to trade a top-10 pick for goalie Cory Schneider.
Schneider is very good and has been very good for New Jersey. But they thought they can get back to the old glory days of finding an elite goalie to make up for a loss of offense, which does not happen in this day of age. You don't need a big time, big money goalie you need elite forwards. Schneider is in a seven-year deal with a $6 million a year cap hit. That's a recipe for disaster. I like Schneider a lot, he's one of my favorite goalies, but he's in no man's land with no elite players in front of him which won't lead to a ton of success.
That's just Lamoriello reaching for the past of defense and elite goaltending, which is not that game anymore. Lamoriello gets credit and rightfully so for winning, but he gets too much credit like many who are successful for a long period of time for developing a "culture of winning" and "building a winner." If you know me you know that I think that whole culture of winning is a crock. Well it's not but only if you get great players and win. Then and only then do you build a culture of winning. It's not something you go into a locker room or front office and just say you're going to do it and make up some phony things that lead to building a winning culture.
Perfect example a few years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs hired Scott Pioli from the New England Patriots to run their team. He was from a winning culture known as "the Patriot way." He tried to establish that same culture in Kansas City by doing such small and petty BS things like make sure trash is picked up by placing a candy bar wrapper and see if anyone cleans it up and throw a fit if no one does. If you think I am kidding, go Google it. How did that work out? He and his cronies were fired in less than four years with one of the worst teams in the NFL. What about that winning culture? It turned out they couldn't bring Tom Brady with them.
So how did Lamoriello build a winning culture? It wasn't because he placed trash and made sure people picked it up or cleaned the bathrooms. It was because he found great players, especially in the draft. He obviously hit on Brodeur and Patrik Elias in late first and second rounds, drafting Shanahan 2nd overall, and even signing or trading for star players that were drafted at the top of the draft for other teams like Scott Stevens and Scott Niedermayer.
Some of Lou's bizarre tactics such as firing coaches just before the regular season and even appointing himself as head coach, signing cheap veterans, and letting players go worked because they kept come of their best players and just fit the pieces around them. He kept the great players like Brodeur, Stevens, Niedermayer, and Elias while letting other replaceable players go. It's as simple as that.
Great players build a winning culture and the GMs, scouts, and coaches get ridiculous amounts of credit for star players. Chicago was terrible for a long, long time maybe because the culture in the locker room or bathroom or wherever was awful. People must not have been picking up their candy bar wrappers and now maybe finally someone has taken the initiative to clean up the mess. That or they were so bad and got a lot of great players like Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews at the top of the draft but believe whatever you want. The reason I laugh and take shots at takes like these is because it's total nonsense and BS.
Speaking of being terrible and finishing at the top of the draft for great players, the Devils really should have done that last season. Last season, they really should have went after McEichel by bottoming out. Instead, they finished with the sixth-worst record in the NHL and were 24 points behind the Sabres for 30th, yet finished 21 points out of the playoffs. That's even worse than the Flyers did (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/07/flyers-are-in-terrible-cap-situation.html) as both organizations are going nowhere fast.
People hate bottoming out but that's what you have to do if you want to get great players to contend and win the Stanley Cup, unless you're lucky and can get a big time free agent, but those days are no more. I for one am glad the Sabres decided to take the bottoming out role and getting Jack Eichel instead of middling it for years and years to come.
I am no way saying that Lamoriello doesn't deserve the credit for what he's done overall. However, it should be noted the last 5-10 years did not go too well and I don't expect him to come in a build a winner in Toronto. I like the way Toronto is doing their rebuild and if they want to be successful, hopefully they don't go the role of Lamoriello and how he build the Devils in recent years. He was successful, but I'm glad the Sabres are not reaching for the past in their organization or off other successful organizations.
Showing posts with label Philadelphia Flyers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philadelphia Flyers. Show all posts
Friday, July 24, 2015
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Flyers Are in Terrible Cap Situation; One of the Teams I Don't Want to Be; They Should have Tanked for McEichel
Boy I've said it many times just recently but I've also been saying it since the beginning of last season, the Philadelphia Flyers are one of the top teams I'd least like to be. Now after a season in which they finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and were 14 points out of the playoffs, the prophecy is even more true. Now word on the street is that they are facing a horrific cap situation to make matters even worse (http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/25244976/flyers-face-daunting-salary-cap-situation-in-2015-16-and-beyond).
The Flyers should have really bottomed out for McEichel. They were in a terrible spot, so bad not to make the playoffs but not bad enough to finish 30th or 29th. I'm sure Philadelphia was fine not finishing last because they have too much pride like the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, the tough gritty northeastern teams. Boston is the team I'd least like to be because of their idiocy at the top of the organization letting go of top notch players for ridiculous reasons.
New Jersey and Philadelphia are very close and all three of these teams need to reload and retool and bottom out and need several years of high draft picks to be great again. These are long rebuilds unlike the Sabres. Of course Boston had several high draft picks gifted to them only to throw them away for nothing. Montreal, despite their regular season successes the last three years, is approaching team I least like to be status due to lack of big play scoring forwards (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/carey-price-cleans-up-nhl-awards.html).
The Flyers also made numerous dumb moves much like the Bruins have. They got rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because they "partied too much", well Richards turned out to be ok to let go of because of recent events and his decline but not before winning two Stanley Cups with the Kings. Carter on the other hand was a very foolish move to get rid of him. He's been great for LA. They got good players in return for both such as Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Sean Couturier.
The problem isn't what they got back it's that no one else has stepped up. The bottom six forwards don't score and the defense and goaltending have been nightmares. And the flyers have spent a ton on absolutely nothing and that's what's been ruining them. Other dumb moves the Flyers have made include trading Carter and Richards to clear up cap space to sign Ilya Bryzgalov. Their goaltending wasn't great but they went to the finals in 2010 with three goalies and lost in six games to Chicago. One of those goalies ended up being Sergei Bobrovsky, who's won a Vezina and has been great for Columbus. Had they not blown it all on Bryzgalov they'd still had Bobrovsky.
After buying out Bryzgalov after two lousy years, they went back with Ray Emery and Steve Mason as neither worked out. Other foolish moves include trading former number two overall pick James van Riemsdyk to Toronto for failed defenseman Luke Schenn and signing 35 year old Vincent Lecavalier to a five year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit, 37 year old Mark Streit to a four year deal, and Andrew MacDonald to a six year $30 million deal. All these moves the Flyers have made have only given them only half a million dollars worth of cap space left.
That doesn't include the fact that Voracek is set to be an unrestricted free agent and they must do whatever to keep him and both Couturier and Brayden Schenn are set to be restricted free agents next year. That's insane some of your best young players are set to be free agents with that low amount of cap room shows just how awfully mismanaged the Flyers really are. Claude Giroux has a $8.275 million cap hit but he's obviously worth it. Simmonds has a cap hit just under $4 million and that looks like an incredible bargain.
Good news is that Sam Gagner's $3.2 million cap hit and Luke Schenn's $3.6 million cap hit both come off the books after this season and RJ Umberger's $4.6 million cap hit, Mason's $4.1 million cap hit, and Streit's ludicrous $5.2 million cap hit (when he's 39) come off the books after the 2016-17 season. Lecavalier doesn't come off the books until 2018. That's messed up considering he scored only 8 goals and 20 points in 57 games last year as it will only get better keep telling yourself. Same with newly signed defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who signed a two year deal to help the struggling blue line and carries a $3.875 million cap hit.
What's happened to the Flyers? They were the team I wanted to be back around 2008-2011 because of the moves they made. Of course I wanted to be a lot of teams not named the Sabres at that time now I'm proud what the Sabres are doing. Anyways, the Flyers had the worst record in 2006-07 with 22 wins and 56 points. The Sabres won the President's Trophy with 53 wins and 113 points and they destroyed the Flyers 9-1 early that season, which saw them fire both Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke shortly after.
The Flyers made a ton of spectacular moves by acquiring Martin Biron, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, drafting JVR second overall, and then signing Daniel Briere from the Sabres along with youngsters like Richards and Carter stepping up. The changes saw the Flyers goes from 56 points to a whopping 95 and made the Eastern Conference Finals. Many thought the Flyers would not make the playoffs let alone go to the Eastern Conference Finals one year after being the worst team in the league. It shows you that turnarounds don't have to take forever as the Sabres are looking to show the NHL that same thing.
Two years later, the Flyers lost in the finals to Chicago and beat the Sabres in the first round in 2011 before they started to make puzzling moves to put them in the position they are currently in. I hope the Sabres show similar progress from last year to this year, which is not crazy to do. Let's hope however they don't make the same mistakes the Flyers did or like the Bruins by letting go of great players for stupid reasons.
The Flyers should have really bottomed out for McEichel. They were in a terrible spot, so bad not to make the playoffs but not bad enough to finish 30th or 29th. I'm sure Philadelphia was fine not finishing last because they have too much pride like the Boston Bruins and New Jersey Devils, the tough gritty northeastern teams. Boston is the team I'd least like to be because of their idiocy at the top of the organization letting go of top notch players for ridiculous reasons.
New Jersey and Philadelphia are very close and all three of these teams need to reload and retool and bottom out and need several years of high draft picks to be great again. These are long rebuilds unlike the Sabres. Of course Boston had several high draft picks gifted to them only to throw them away for nothing. Montreal, despite their regular season successes the last three years, is approaching team I least like to be status due to lack of big play scoring forwards (http://buffalosportsbeat.blogspot.com/2015/06/carey-price-cleans-up-nhl-awards.html).
The Flyers also made numerous dumb moves much like the Bruins have. They got rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because they "partied too much", well Richards turned out to be ok to let go of because of recent events and his decline but not before winning two Stanley Cups with the Kings. Carter on the other hand was a very foolish move to get rid of him. He's been great for LA. They got good players in return for both such as Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Sean Couturier.
The problem isn't what they got back it's that no one else has stepped up. The bottom six forwards don't score and the defense and goaltending have been nightmares. And the flyers have spent a ton on absolutely nothing and that's what's been ruining them. Other dumb moves the Flyers have made include trading Carter and Richards to clear up cap space to sign Ilya Bryzgalov. Their goaltending wasn't great but they went to the finals in 2010 with three goalies and lost in six games to Chicago. One of those goalies ended up being Sergei Bobrovsky, who's won a Vezina and has been great for Columbus. Had they not blown it all on Bryzgalov they'd still had Bobrovsky.
After buying out Bryzgalov after two lousy years, they went back with Ray Emery and Steve Mason as neither worked out. Other foolish moves include trading former number two overall pick James van Riemsdyk to Toronto for failed defenseman Luke Schenn and signing 35 year old Vincent Lecavalier to a five year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit, 37 year old Mark Streit to a four year deal, and Andrew MacDonald to a six year $30 million deal. All these moves the Flyers have made have only given them only half a million dollars worth of cap space left.
That doesn't include the fact that Voracek is set to be an unrestricted free agent and they must do whatever to keep him and both Couturier and Brayden Schenn are set to be restricted free agents next year. That's insane some of your best young players are set to be free agents with that low amount of cap room shows just how awfully mismanaged the Flyers really are. Claude Giroux has a $8.275 million cap hit but he's obviously worth it. Simmonds has a cap hit just under $4 million and that looks like an incredible bargain.
Good news is that Sam Gagner's $3.2 million cap hit and Luke Schenn's $3.6 million cap hit both come off the books after this season and RJ Umberger's $4.6 million cap hit, Mason's $4.1 million cap hit, and Streit's ludicrous $5.2 million cap hit (when he's 39) come off the books after the 2016-17 season. Lecavalier doesn't come off the books until 2018. That's messed up considering he scored only 8 goals and 20 points in 57 games last year as it will only get better keep telling yourself. Same with newly signed defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who signed a two year deal to help the struggling blue line and carries a $3.875 million cap hit.
What's happened to the Flyers? They were the team I wanted to be back around 2008-2011 because of the moves they made. Of course I wanted to be a lot of teams not named the Sabres at that time now I'm proud what the Sabres are doing. Anyways, the Flyers had the worst record in 2006-07 with 22 wins and 56 points. The Sabres won the President's Trophy with 53 wins and 113 points and they destroyed the Flyers 9-1 early that season, which saw them fire both Ken Hitchcock and Bobby Clarke shortly after.
The Flyers made a ton of spectacular moves by acquiring Martin Biron, Kimmo Timonen, Scott Hartnell, drafting JVR second overall, and then signing Daniel Briere from the Sabres along with youngsters like Richards and Carter stepping up. The changes saw the Flyers goes from 56 points to a whopping 95 and made the Eastern Conference Finals. Many thought the Flyers would not make the playoffs let alone go to the Eastern Conference Finals one year after being the worst team in the league. It shows you that turnarounds don't have to take forever as the Sabres are looking to show the NHL that same thing.
Two years later, the Flyers lost in the finals to Chicago and beat the Sabres in the first round in 2011 before they started to make puzzling moves to put them in the position they are currently in. I hope the Sabres show similar progress from last year to this year, which is not crazy to do. Let's hope however they don't make the same mistakes the Flyers did or like the Bruins by letting go of great players for stupid reasons.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Ryan O'Reilly Signs Seven-Year Deal; It's Not Crazy to Think the Sabres Can Make the Playoffs; Looking at Really Quick Turnarounds in One Year
Ryan O'Reilly officially signed a contract extension with the Sabres at 7 years, $52.5 million, the largest in Sabres history at least until Jack Eichel's contract comes up. That doesn't actually kick in until the 2016-17 season. He will actually make $11 million that first season but the thing we focus on is not salary but rather cap hit, which will be $7.5 million. I know it sounds like a lot but it's really not. The fact is the cap is going up because revenues are going up. That is the going rate for a center who is great defensively, at possessing the puck, and on 5-on-5, which is what the game has become.
O'Reilly's cap hit is topped by only elite level players and some players that are better than him, don't cost their team as much against the cap. But they signed their deals within the last couple of years or so and are older than O'Reilly, who is only 24. You have to also take into consideration, this isn't the cap coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, where $7.5 million would have been looked down upon. While his cap number counts 10.5% of the total cap, it would have counted almost double at 19.2% back 10 years ago. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews $10.5 million cap hits count 14.7% of the cap each.
O'Reilly's 5-on-5 numbers are among the best among centers and his points per game over the last four seasons is 19th best among centers (http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=2012&year_max=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&rookie=N&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=C&handed=&is_playoffs=N&c1stat=points_per_game&c1comp=gt&c1val=0.7&c2stat=games_played&c2comp=gt&c2val=250&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&threshhold=5&order_by=points_per_game). The ones ahead of him are all pretty much elite.
He has great 5-on-5 Corsi numbers despite being on one of the worst possession teams in the NHL and with not a lot of skilled talent. Defensively he can shut down any line and has the most takeaways in the NHL the last two years. He also has one of the best even strength points per 60 minutes of any player as well. So yeah, he is not one of the elite number one centers, but he is very good and the going rate will show this will be a bargain in years to come.
The Sabres look to really improve from finishing in last place the last two years with all their additions. Now going from last season's total of 54 points to going into say the low 90s to get into the playoffs seems like a ginormous task. Heck, many think just a 20-point jump is a challenge not 40 points and they'll think that this will be a long rebuild. I am here to tell you that it won't take long even though they were the worst team by miles the last two years.
It wouldn't shock me if they made the playoffs. That's right I think this team can make it because one-year jumps, no matter how bleak it may look, happen on a regular basis in the NHL more than you think. The only way a team does have to go five years or longer to rebuild is because they don't have enough high draft picks and great players. That turns your franchise around quickly, especially in a salary cap era.
It doesn't take much to make the playoffs as if you finish in the top-3 in a division you automatically are locked into a playoff spot. I see the Sabres being better than pretty much every team except Tampa, Montreal (only because they have a great goalie and high point total but that will come down if they don't get better scorers), and Florida I think will be very good but it's only because they've been ahead of the Sabres in the rebuilding department.
It's possible they can finish in the top-3. Detroit is on their way down along with Boston. Ottawa doesn't scare me and Toronto is rebuilding and needs at least one more really great draft. Plus the Sabres were artificially awful as they did everything to ensure they finish 30th for Jack Eichel this past season. If they really tried and got better players by bringing them up or signing them, they could have had 65-70 points, but who wants that? That doesn't get you a potentially elite number one center like Eichel. So don't count last year's point total too much as it was meant to be awful. It wasn't an accident.
I am going to show you non-believers some teams who were awful and turned it around quickly, going from worst to first (or close to first in the division) in just one year thanks to some great high draft picks as well as great free agent and trade pickups.
The San Jose Sharks went from 47 and 62 points in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons to making the playoffs in 1997-98 with just 78 points, but it was enough. They picked Patrick Marleau second overall in the 1997 draft behind current Shark Joe Thornton.
Since then, the Sharks were one of the better teams in the NHL missing the playoffs only twice since then, one was just this past season, despite never making it to the finals. Point is, they went from a bottom feeder to drafting and acquiring great talent and for nearly 20 years were a contender to win the Cup.
Speaking of Thornton, the Bruins finished dead last in the 1996-97 season with 61 points and won the lottery and drafted Thornton. The following year, they made the playoffs with 91 points, a 30-point jump. The Bruins then had a bad run post 2004-05 lockout posting 74 and 76 points in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons where the Sabres were at the top of the league and running over the Bruins.
Since then, the Bruins had been on the NHL's best teams with additions of former #2 overall pick Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, and top-5 pick Phil Kessel, who was then spun off for first round draft picks that became Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton.
The Bruins were perennially a 100-point team, winning their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, going to another Stanley Cup Finals, and winning a President's Trophy. Of course the Bruins are stupid trading both Seguin and Hamilton for nothing and they missed the playoffs this past season and are on the decline.
The New York Islanders missed the playoffs seven straight seasons before 2001-02. That year, they hired an unknown Peter Laviolette as their head coach and made some purchases such as Alexi Yashin and Michael Peca among others and went from 52 points the year before to making the playoffs with 96 points (44 point jump).
In recent years, the Islanders missed the playoffs five straight seasons before acquiring some top picks like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo and made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. After missing the playoffs in 2013-14 with just 79 points, the Islanders rebounded this past season after some retooling with 101 points.
The Carolina Hurricanes had 61 and 76 points when Laviolette took over in 2003-04. The next season, he led Carolina to 112 points and the Stanley Cup thanks to a number two overall pick in Eric Staal and other veteran acquisitions.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were awful when they drafted Sidney Crosby 1st overall in 2005. In fact, Crosby's rookie year, they were still the worst team record wise with 58 points. After getting Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal second overall in drafts, the pens went from 58 points to 105 the next season. The year after that, they lost in the Cup finals. The year after that, they won the Cup. They have also been a perennial 100-point team every year since.
The Washington Capitals were really bad before they drafted Alex Ovechkin 1st overall in 2004. They were still bad in Ovechkin's first two years with 70 points each season before adding players like Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green (when he was an offensive machine) to finish with 94 points in 2007-08 and win the Southeast Division. They have made the playoffs all but one season since and even won the President's Trophy in 2009-10.
The Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs six straight seasons before having a 101-point season in 2009-10. Along the way, the Kings had some high draft picks such as Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and two other top-5 picks were traded for pieces such as Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, which helped them win two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.
The Philadelphia Flyers had a season to forget in 2006-07 where they only had 56 points, worst in the NHL and worst in franchise history. That was the same season where they were destroyed by the Sabres 9-1 and Ken Hitchcock and many of the front office staff were fired. I am sure that 56 points was no accident they probably thought they'd win the Cup or something and then realized we need to retool.
They traded a lot of awful pieces, brought in some of their young talented prospects, brought in players such as Danny Briere, Marty Biron, Scott Hartnell, and Kimmo Timonen and drafted James Van Riemsdyk second overall. The flyers jumped from 56 points to 95 in 2007-08 and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in one year. Two years later, they lost in the Staney Cup Finals.
Ryan O'Reilly's old team the Colorado Avalanche had the second-worst record in 2012-13, they won the draft lottery and drafted Nate MacKinnon to go along with other top-2 draft picks Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. the very next season saw the Avalanche jump to 112 points and won the division.
The Montreal Canadiens were the third-worst team and worst in the Eastern Conference with 78 points. They ended up getting a new coach (Michel Therrian) and GM (Marc Bergevin) and a few other things and went from worst to first winning the division in 2012-13. They finished with 100 and 110 points and another division the next two seasons and have been one of the better teams in the East in terms of record. I don't know how exactly, outside of Carey Price and PK Subban they don't have much. They can't score and their forwards aren't that great. They drafted Alex Galchenyuk third overall in 2012 and he's been decent, he hasn't lived up to the hype of his draft status.
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be the team to beat for years to come thanks to their high draft picks. They had the third-worst record in 2012-13 but rebounded to 101 points the following season. This past season, they had 108 points and lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Chicago. Thanks to first overall pick Steven Stamkos and second overall pick defenseman Victor Hedman along with gems like second round pick Nikita Kucherov and undrafted free agent turned sensation Tyler Johnson, the Lightning will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. They will be the team that wins Cups and the Sabres will have to fight them to get there. Even 2013 third overall pick Jonathan Drouin hasn't done much. He spent 2013-14 in the juniors and didn't contribute a whole lot this season as he was a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs. When he does live up to his potential, watch out.
The Blackhawks have been the gold standard for the NHL the last 7-8 years, winning three of the last six Stanley Cups and lost in the conference finals two other times. Before that, they were one of the worst teams not only in the NHL but in all professional sports. They missed the playoffs 9 out of 10 seasons and were considered a laughing stock. The fans didn't go to Blackhawk games, instead they went to the AHL Chicago Wolves games. But they drafted Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and along with two of the best defenseman Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and others they built what is somewhat of a dynasty. In Kane and Toews first season, they went from 71 points to 88, just missing the playoffs but the groundwork for success was laid out.
The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets are two teams on the rise. The Panthers went from 66 points two seasons ago to 91 this past season. They have had three top-3 picks in recent years; Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad, who have helped this young team develop and win quickly.
The Blue Jackets don't have a ton of high draft picks except 4th overall pick Ryan Johansen, 3rd overall pick Jack Johnson, who's done well since being traded by the Kings, and 2nd overall pick defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been injured a lot and has not lived up to the hype. But the players they get off of other teams such as Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Johnson, and Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky have helped turn this moribund franchise into a young promising playoff team. They went from a league worst 65 points in 2011-12 to just missing the playoffs by one point in 2012-13. They made the playoffs in 2013-14 with 93 points, but missed the playoffs this season despite having 89 points with over 500 man games lost due to injury.
So as you see, it doesn't take a lot to get your team from the bottom to just making the playoffs the following season. Even at worst, it might take two years but even the year before shows the team just barely misses the playoffs and shows tremendous progress. It's not that hard as long as you rebuild the right way, which i believe the Sabres did.
O'Reilly's cap hit is topped by only elite level players and some players that are better than him, don't cost their team as much against the cap. But they signed their deals within the last couple of years or so and are older than O'Reilly, who is only 24. You have to also take into consideration, this isn't the cap coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, where $7.5 million would have been looked down upon. While his cap number counts 10.5% of the total cap, it would have counted almost double at 19.2% back 10 years ago. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews $10.5 million cap hits count 14.7% of the cap each.
O'Reilly's 5-on-5 numbers are among the best among centers and his points per game over the last four seasons is 19th best among centers (http://www.hockey-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=combined&year_min=2012&year_max=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&rookie=N&age_min=0&age_max=99&birth_country=&franch_id=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=C&handed=&is_playoffs=N&c1stat=points_per_game&c1comp=gt&c1val=0.7&c2stat=games_played&c2comp=gt&c2val=250&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&threshhold=5&order_by=points_per_game). The ones ahead of him are all pretty much elite.
He has great 5-on-5 Corsi numbers despite being on one of the worst possession teams in the NHL and with not a lot of skilled talent. Defensively he can shut down any line and has the most takeaways in the NHL the last two years. He also has one of the best even strength points per 60 minutes of any player as well. So yeah, he is not one of the elite number one centers, but he is very good and the going rate will show this will be a bargain in years to come.
The Sabres look to really improve from finishing in last place the last two years with all their additions. Now going from last season's total of 54 points to going into say the low 90s to get into the playoffs seems like a ginormous task. Heck, many think just a 20-point jump is a challenge not 40 points and they'll think that this will be a long rebuild. I am here to tell you that it won't take long even though they were the worst team by miles the last two years.
It wouldn't shock me if they made the playoffs. That's right I think this team can make it because one-year jumps, no matter how bleak it may look, happen on a regular basis in the NHL more than you think. The only way a team does have to go five years or longer to rebuild is because they don't have enough high draft picks and great players. That turns your franchise around quickly, especially in a salary cap era.
It doesn't take much to make the playoffs as if you finish in the top-3 in a division you automatically are locked into a playoff spot. I see the Sabres being better than pretty much every team except Tampa, Montreal (only because they have a great goalie and high point total but that will come down if they don't get better scorers), and Florida I think will be very good but it's only because they've been ahead of the Sabres in the rebuilding department.
It's possible they can finish in the top-3. Detroit is on their way down along with Boston. Ottawa doesn't scare me and Toronto is rebuilding and needs at least one more really great draft. Plus the Sabres were artificially awful as they did everything to ensure they finish 30th for Jack Eichel this past season. If they really tried and got better players by bringing them up or signing them, they could have had 65-70 points, but who wants that? That doesn't get you a potentially elite number one center like Eichel. So don't count last year's point total too much as it was meant to be awful. It wasn't an accident.
I am going to show you non-believers some teams who were awful and turned it around quickly, going from worst to first (or close to first in the division) in just one year thanks to some great high draft picks as well as great free agent and trade pickups.
The San Jose Sharks went from 47 and 62 points in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 seasons to making the playoffs in 1997-98 with just 78 points, but it was enough. They picked Patrick Marleau second overall in the 1997 draft behind current Shark Joe Thornton.
Since then, the Sharks were one of the better teams in the NHL missing the playoffs only twice since then, one was just this past season, despite never making it to the finals. Point is, they went from a bottom feeder to drafting and acquiring great talent and for nearly 20 years were a contender to win the Cup.
Speaking of Thornton, the Bruins finished dead last in the 1996-97 season with 61 points and won the lottery and drafted Thornton. The following year, they made the playoffs with 91 points, a 30-point jump. The Bruins then had a bad run post 2004-05 lockout posting 74 and 76 points in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons where the Sabres were at the top of the league and running over the Bruins.
Since then, the Bruins had been on the NHL's best teams with additions of former #2 overall pick Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron, and top-5 pick Phil Kessel, who was then spun off for first round draft picks that became Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton.
The Bruins were perennially a 100-point team, winning their first Stanley Cup in 29 years, going to another Stanley Cup Finals, and winning a President's Trophy. Of course the Bruins are stupid trading both Seguin and Hamilton for nothing and they missed the playoffs this past season and are on the decline.
The New York Islanders missed the playoffs seven straight seasons before 2001-02. That year, they hired an unknown Peter Laviolette as their head coach and made some purchases such as Alexi Yashin and Michael Peca among others and went from 52 points the year before to making the playoffs with 96 points (44 point jump).
In recent years, the Islanders missed the playoffs five straight seasons before acquiring some top picks like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo and made the playoffs in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. After missing the playoffs in 2013-14 with just 79 points, the Islanders rebounded this past season after some retooling with 101 points.
The Carolina Hurricanes had 61 and 76 points when Laviolette took over in 2003-04. The next season, he led Carolina to 112 points and the Stanley Cup thanks to a number two overall pick in Eric Staal and other veteran acquisitions.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were awful when they drafted Sidney Crosby 1st overall in 2005. In fact, Crosby's rookie year, they were still the worst team record wise with 58 points. After getting Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal second overall in drafts, the pens went from 58 points to 105 the next season. The year after that, they lost in the Cup finals. The year after that, they won the Cup. They have also been a perennial 100-point team every year since.
The Washington Capitals were really bad before they drafted Alex Ovechkin 1st overall in 2004. They were still bad in Ovechkin's first two years with 70 points each season before adding players like Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green (when he was an offensive machine) to finish with 94 points in 2007-08 and win the Southeast Division. They have made the playoffs all but one season since and even won the President's Trophy in 2009-10.
The Los Angeles Kings missed the playoffs six straight seasons before having a 101-point season in 2009-10. Along the way, the Kings had some high draft picks such as Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and two other top-5 picks were traded for pieces such as Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, which helped them win two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.
The Philadelphia Flyers had a season to forget in 2006-07 where they only had 56 points, worst in the NHL and worst in franchise history. That was the same season where they were destroyed by the Sabres 9-1 and Ken Hitchcock and many of the front office staff were fired. I am sure that 56 points was no accident they probably thought they'd win the Cup or something and then realized we need to retool.
They traded a lot of awful pieces, brought in some of their young talented prospects, brought in players such as Danny Briere, Marty Biron, Scott Hartnell, and Kimmo Timonen and drafted James Van Riemsdyk second overall. The flyers jumped from 56 points to 95 in 2007-08 and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals in one year. Two years later, they lost in the Staney Cup Finals.
Ryan O'Reilly's old team the Colorado Avalanche had the second-worst record in 2012-13, they won the draft lottery and drafted Nate MacKinnon to go along with other top-2 draft picks Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog. the very next season saw the Avalanche jump to 112 points and won the division.
The Montreal Canadiens were the third-worst team and worst in the Eastern Conference with 78 points. They ended up getting a new coach (Michel Therrian) and GM (Marc Bergevin) and a few other things and went from worst to first winning the division in 2012-13. They finished with 100 and 110 points and another division the next two seasons and have been one of the better teams in the East in terms of record. I don't know how exactly, outside of Carey Price and PK Subban they don't have much. They can't score and their forwards aren't that great. They drafted Alex Galchenyuk third overall in 2012 and he's been decent, he hasn't lived up to the hype of his draft status.
The Tampa Bay Lightning look to be the team to beat for years to come thanks to their high draft picks. They had the third-worst record in 2012-13 but rebounded to 101 points the following season. This past season, they had 108 points and lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to Chicago. Thanks to first overall pick Steven Stamkos and second overall pick defenseman Victor Hedman along with gems like second round pick Nikita Kucherov and undrafted free agent turned sensation Tyler Johnson, the Lightning will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. They will be the team that wins Cups and the Sabres will have to fight them to get there. Even 2013 third overall pick Jonathan Drouin hasn't done much. He spent 2013-14 in the juniors and didn't contribute a whole lot this season as he was a healthy scratch for most of the playoffs. When he does live up to his potential, watch out.
The Blackhawks have been the gold standard for the NHL the last 7-8 years, winning three of the last six Stanley Cups and lost in the conference finals two other times. Before that, they were one of the worst teams not only in the NHL but in all professional sports. They missed the playoffs 9 out of 10 seasons and were considered a laughing stock. The fans didn't go to Blackhawk games, instead they went to the AHL Chicago Wolves games. But they drafted Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews and along with two of the best defenseman Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, and others they built what is somewhat of a dynasty. In Kane and Toews first season, they went from 71 points to 88, just missing the playoffs but the groundwork for success was laid out.
The Florida Panthers and Columbus Blue Jackets are two teams on the rise. The Panthers went from 66 points two seasons ago to 91 this past season. They have had three top-3 picks in recent years; Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Aaron Ekblad, who have helped this young team develop and win quickly.
The Blue Jackets don't have a ton of high draft picks except 4th overall pick Ryan Johansen, 3rd overall pick Jack Johnson, who's done well since being traded by the Kings, and 2nd overall pick defenseman Ryan Murray, who has been injured a lot and has not lived up to the hype. But the players they get off of other teams such as Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell, Johnson, and Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky have helped turn this moribund franchise into a young promising playoff team. They went from a league worst 65 points in 2011-12 to just missing the playoffs by one point in 2012-13. They made the playoffs in 2013-14 with 93 points, but missed the playoffs this season despite having 89 points with over 500 man games lost due to injury.
So as you see, it doesn't take a lot to get your team from the bottom to just making the playoffs the following season. Even at worst, it might take two years but even the year before shows the team just barely misses the playoffs and shows tremendous progress. It's not that hard as long as you rebuild the right way, which i believe the Sabres did.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Former Sabre Phil Housley along with Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Federov and Chris Pronger Headline 2015 Hockey Hall of Fame Class; Lindros, Andreychuk, and Roenick Not in
Former Buffalo Sabres defenseman Phil Housley was announced that he will inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2015. Headlining that class are fellow defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Pronger along with center Sergei Federov. Four-time U.S. Olympian Angela Ruggeiro became the fourth woman to be elected into the hall and is joined by Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. and executive Bill Hay.
Housley finally got into the Hockey Hall of Fame 12 years after he retired from the NHL after a stellar 21-year career. Housley was an offensive defenseman if there ever was one. His 1,232 points are the most ever by a U.S.-born defenseman and are the second most points by a U.S. born player behind only Mike Modano. He also played the third most games (1,495) by an American-born player behind only Modano and Chris Chelios. Housley also played the most games by a player who never won the Stanley Cup as he was in the Cup finals with the Washington Captials, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings and fellow Hall of Fame inductees Lidstrom and Federov.
Housley was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres with the 6th overall pick in the 1982 NHL Draft. He played right away as an 18-year-old right out of high school and scored 19 goals and 66 points and was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 1983 as the league's rookie of the year. His second year, Housley had 31 goals and 77 points in 75 games. He had a stellar eight-year career in Buffalo with 178 goals, 380 assists, and 558 points in 608 games.
He was traded in 1990 along with a first round pick (which turned out to be fellow American great Keith Tkachuk) to the Winnipeg Jets for Dale Hawerchuk and their first round pick which would be Brad May. Hawerchuk had a great career in Buffalo. Housley was spectacular in three seasons in Winnipeg scoring 64 goals, 195 assists, and 259 points in 232 games. His last season in Winnipeg (1992-93) was his best ever with 79 assists and 97 points. He also helped rookie Teemu Selanne score 76 goals that season as well.
Housley would be traded to St. Louis and bounce around with Calgary, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago, and ending his career with one game in Toronto. While he was still productive, he failed to live up to his high-scoring ways in Buffalo and Winnipeg. Housley played for the United States in 10 international events as well. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2007. Housley coached Team USA to the gold medal in the 2013 World Junior championships and is currently an assistant head coach for the Nashville Predators.
Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Federov were successful teammates when they were drafted together in 1989 and were teammates on the Red Wings from 1991-2003. Both led Detroit to three Stanley Cups in 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2001-02 and three President's Trophies as the Red Wings were the best team in the NHL in the 1990s and 2000s. Federov left Detroit in 2003 to play for Anaheim and then played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals before heading to the KHL in 2009. Lidstrom stayed in Detroit until he retired in 2012, where he led the Wings to another Cup in 2008 and three more President's Trophies and was the captain for his last six seasons with the team following the retirement of long-time captain Steve Yzerman.
Federov quietly defected to Detroit from Russia in 1990. He was considered one of the best players in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s and considered to be one of the best playoff performers in NHL history. His best individual season came in 1993-94 when he scored 56 goals and 120 points in 82 games to win both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and the first of his two Selke Trophies (best defensive forward). He won a second Selke in 1996 and was one of the best two-way centers in the league during his prime, breaking a stereotype that Russian and European players are soft and won't play defense. He'd even play as a defenseman at times for Scotty Bowman in Detroit.
Federov played in three Olympics for Team Russia as well. He scored 483 goals and 1,179 points in his 1,248 game career. He's the all-time leading scorer in both goals and points for a Russian player in NHL history. He also had 176 in 183 career playoff games. In 2009, he became the oldest player to score a game-winning Game 7 goal when he led Washington to a first round series victory over the New York Rangers. He currently is the general manager for CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Lidstrom is considered to be one of the greatest defensemen ever to play in the NHL. He scored 1,142 points in 1,564 games during his 20-year career, all with the Wings. In addition to winning the Cup four times, Lidstrom won seven Norris Trophies as the league's best defenseman, joining Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr (who won eight) to win as many as seven. Lidstrom was a finalist for the Norris Trophy 12 of his last 14 seasons and won it seven of his last ten seasons. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup MVP in 2002, becoming the first European player to win playoff MVP and became the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup in 2008.
Lidstrom appeared in 263 Stanley Cup Playoff games, second most all-time only to former teammate Chris Chelios' 266. Lidstrom shares a record with Larry Robinson for playing in 20 consecutive playoff appearances. Lidstrom was incredibly durable as he was usually among the leaders in ice time per game and never missed more than 12 games in a single season (which occurred in his final season). Lidstrom led Team Sweden to the gold medal in 2006 Olympics when he scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game, giving him a Stanley Cup, a gold medal in the World Championships, and a gold medal in the Olympics.
Chris Pronger saw his Hall of Fame career come to an abrupt end in 2011 when he suffered post-concussion syndrome and an eye injury due to three separate incidents shortly after being named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Pronger currently works for the NHL in their department of player safety and is in the hall despite being under contract with the Arizona Coyotes. He was traded to the Coyotes last week by the Philadelphia Flyers, who were unloading his contract. The Coyotes took on his salary to help them get to the cap floor.
Pronger was drafted second overall in the 1993 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers, before playing for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Anahiem Ducks, and Flyers from 1993-2011. He was also the captain of both the Blues and Ducks in addition to being captain of the Flyers. Pronger is one of the most fierce and physically imposing defensemen of his era. He also added some offense to his physical game with 698 points in 1,167 career games.
Pronger won the Cup in 2007 with the Ducks and helped lead the Oilers in 2006 and the Flyers in 2010 to the Cup Finals, where they lost. He has been in the playoffs in every year except his first two in Hartford. His best years where in St. Louis, where he was a five-time All-Star and helped lead them to the President's Trophy in 1999-2000. That same season he also won the Norris Trophy and became the first defenseman to win the Hart Trophy since Bobby Orr in 1972. No defenseman has won it since.
Current Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. His contributions are that he created the Detroit Compuware youth hockey program in the 1970s, which produced 235 Division I hockey players and 14 NHL first-round picks. He owned several OHL franchises before he purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994. He moved them to Raleigh, North Carolina a few years later and they became the Carolina Hurricanes (boo!!).
Housley finally got into the Hockey Hall of Fame 12 years after he retired from the NHL after a stellar 21-year career. Housley was an offensive defenseman if there ever was one. His 1,232 points are the most ever by a U.S.-born defenseman and are the second most points by a U.S. born player behind only Mike Modano. He also played the third most games (1,495) by an American-born player behind only Modano and Chris Chelios. Housley also played the most games by a player who never won the Stanley Cup as he was in the Cup finals with the Washington Captials, where they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings and fellow Hall of Fame inductees Lidstrom and Federov.
Housley was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres with the 6th overall pick in the 1982 NHL Draft. He played right away as an 18-year-old right out of high school and scored 19 goals and 66 points and was the runner-up for the Calder Trophy in 1983 as the league's rookie of the year. His second year, Housley had 31 goals and 77 points in 75 games. He had a stellar eight-year career in Buffalo with 178 goals, 380 assists, and 558 points in 608 games.
He was traded in 1990 along with a first round pick (which turned out to be fellow American great Keith Tkachuk) to the Winnipeg Jets for Dale Hawerchuk and their first round pick which would be Brad May. Hawerchuk had a great career in Buffalo. Housley was spectacular in three seasons in Winnipeg scoring 64 goals, 195 assists, and 259 points in 232 games. His last season in Winnipeg (1992-93) was his best ever with 79 assists and 97 points. He also helped rookie Teemu Selanne score 76 goals that season as well.
Housley would be traded to St. Louis and bounce around with Calgary, New Jersey, Washington, Chicago, and ending his career with one game in Toronto. While he was still productive, he failed to live up to his high-scoring ways in Buffalo and Winnipeg. Housley played for the United States in 10 international events as well. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 2007. Housley coached Team USA to the gold medal in the 2013 World Junior championships and is currently an assistant head coach for the Nashville Predators.
Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Federov were successful teammates when they were drafted together in 1989 and were teammates on the Red Wings from 1991-2003. Both led Detroit to three Stanley Cups in 1996-97, 1997-98, and 2001-02 and three President's Trophies as the Red Wings were the best team in the NHL in the 1990s and 2000s. Federov left Detroit in 2003 to play for Anaheim and then played for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals before heading to the KHL in 2009. Lidstrom stayed in Detroit until he retired in 2012, where he led the Wings to another Cup in 2008 and three more President's Trophies and was the captain for his last six seasons with the team following the retirement of long-time captain Steve Yzerman.
Federov quietly defected to Detroit from Russia in 1990. He was considered one of the best players in the world in the 1990s and early 2000s and considered to be one of the best playoff performers in NHL history. His best individual season came in 1993-94 when he scored 56 goals and 120 points in 82 games to win both the Hart Trophy (league MVP) and the first of his two Selke Trophies (best defensive forward). He won a second Selke in 1996 and was one of the best two-way centers in the league during his prime, breaking a stereotype that Russian and European players are soft and won't play defense. He'd even play as a defenseman at times for Scotty Bowman in Detroit.
Federov played in three Olympics for Team Russia as well. He scored 483 goals and 1,179 points in his 1,248 game career. He's the all-time leading scorer in both goals and points for a Russian player in NHL history. He also had 176 in 183 career playoff games. In 2009, he became the oldest player to score a game-winning Game 7 goal when he led Washington to a first round series victory over the New York Rangers. He currently is the general manager for CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Lidstrom is considered to be one of the greatest defensemen ever to play in the NHL. He scored 1,142 points in 1,564 games during his 20-year career, all with the Wings. In addition to winning the Cup four times, Lidstrom won seven Norris Trophies as the league's best defenseman, joining Doug Harvey and Bobby Orr (who won eight) to win as many as seven. Lidstrom was a finalist for the Norris Trophy 12 of his last 14 seasons and won it seven of his last ten seasons. He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as Stanley Cup MVP in 2002, becoming the first European player to win playoff MVP and became the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup in 2008.
Lidstrom appeared in 263 Stanley Cup Playoff games, second most all-time only to former teammate Chris Chelios' 266. Lidstrom shares a record with Larry Robinson for playing in 20 consecutive playoff appearances. Lidstrom was incredibly durable as he was usually among the leaders in ice time per game and never missed more than 12 games in a single season (which occurred in his final season). Lidstrom led Team Sweden to the gold medal in 2006 Olympics when he scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game, giving him a Stanley Cup, a gold medal in the World Championships, and a gold medal in the Olympics.
Chris Pronger saw his Hall of Fame career come to an abrupt end in 2011 when he suffered post-concussion syndrome and an eye injury due to three separate incidents shortly after being named captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Pronger currently works for the NHL in their department of player safety and is in the hall despite being under contract with the Arizona Coyotes. He was traded to the Coyotes last week by the Philadelphia Flyers, who were unloading his contract. The Coyotes took on his salary to help them get to the cap floor.
Pronger was drafted second overall in the 1993 NHL Draft by the Hartford Whalers, before playing for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Anahiem Ducks, and Flyers from 1993-2011. He was also the captain of both the Blues and Ducks in addition to being captain of the Flyers. Pronger is one of the most fierce and physically imposing defensemen of his era. He also added some offense to his physical game with 698 points in 1,167 career games.
Pronger won the Cup in 2007 with the Ducks and helped lead the Oilers in 2006 and the Flyers in 2010 to the Cup Finals, where they lost. He has been in the playoffs in every year except his first two in Hartford. His best years where in St. Louis, where he was a five-time All-Star and helped lead them to the President's Trophy in 1999-2000. That same season he also won the Norris Trophy and became the first defenseman to win the Hart Trophy since Bobby Orr in 1972. No defenseman has won it since.
Current Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame. His contributions are that he created the Detroit Compuware youth hockey program in the 1970s, which produced 235 Division I hockey players and 14 NHL first-round picks. He owned several OHL franchises before he purchased the Hartford Whalers in 1994. He moved them to Raleigh, North Carolina a few years later and they became the Carolina Hurricanes (boo!!).
Karmanos interestingly has some involvement with some of the fellow Hall of Famers in this class. He signed Federov to an offer sheet in 1998 worth $38 million after Federov was holding out in a bitter contract dispute with the Red Wings, who decided to match the offer sheet, bringing Federov back to Detroit. His Hurricanes lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2002 to both Federov and Lidstrom. He did however beat Pronger's Oilers in 2006 to win the Stanley Cup (which I vomitted in my mouth at that). He did trade Pronger to St. Louis in 1995 when he owned the Whalers.
Bill Hay was the first NCAA graduate to play in the NHL, where he played for the Chicago Blackhawks for eight seasons, winning a Stanley Cup in 1961. Hay was the President and CEO of the Calgary Flames before becoming the Chair of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Angela Ruggeiro won a gold and two silver medals in the Olympics as well as four world championships in her 13-year career. She also became the first woman non-goalie to play in a professional hockey regular season game when she played for the Tulsa Oilers of the Continental Hockey League on January 28, 2005.
Those missing were Eric Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, and Jeremy Roenick as only six can be voted on one ballot each year which I think is ridiculous. There should be 10 if there are 10 guys eligible just like if there are only one or two eligible that's how many should be in. I never agreed with someone is not a first ballot hall of famer but can make it several years later. If your a hall of famer, you're a hall of famer enough said and you should go in whenever you are eligible.
Lindros missed the hall of fame for the fifth year in a row, which is getting ridiculous. How is he not a hall of famer? His 1.138 points per game rank 19th all time. He was the 1995 Hart Trophy winner and is one of a few Hart Trophy winners who are not active to not be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I know because of injuries (concussions) keeping him out of many games and not winning the Stanley Cup have kept him from being in the Hall of Fame. But the guy made a huge impact and was one of the best players in the 1990s and early 2000s. Watching him play and his presence on the ice makes you think hall of famer. He was also one of the best junior players of all time, which is why many thought he'd be the next Wayne Gretzky. Just because he wasn't Gretzky doesn't mean he's not an elite player.
Our old buddy Andreychuk should be in as he scored the most power play goals in NHL history and his 640 goals were the most of anyone who's not active who is not in the Hall of Fame. He had a stellar 11-year career with the Sabres and was spectacular with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Andreychuk also finally won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Roenick scored 513 goals and is up there with Phil Housley and Mike Modano as one of the best U.S. born players in NHL history.
Those missing were Eric Lindros, Dave Andreychuk, and Jeremy Roenick as only six can be voted on one ballot each year which I think is ridiculous. There should be 10 if there are 10 guys eligible just like if there are only one or two eligible that's how many should be in. I never agreed with someone is not a first ballot hall of famer but can make it several years later. If your a hall of famer, you're a hall of famer enough said and you should go in whenever you are eligible.
Lindros missed the hall of fame for the fifth year in a row, which is getting ridiculous. How is he not a hall of famer? His 1.138 points per game rank 19th all time. He was the 1995 Hart Trophy winner and is one of a few Hart Trophy winners who are not active to not be in the Hockey Hall of Fame. I know because of injuries (concussions) keeping him out of many games and not winning the Stanley Cup have kept him from being in the Hall of Fame. But the guy made a huge impact and was one of the best players in the 1990s and early 2000s. Watching him play and his presence on the ice makes you think hall of famer. He was also one of the best junior players of all time, which is why many thought he'd be the next Wayne Gretzky. Just because he wasn't Gretzky doesn't mean he's not an elite player.
Our old buddy Andreychuk should be in as he scored the most power play goals in NHL history and his 640 goals were the most of anyone who's not active who is not in the Hall of Fame. He had a stellar 11-year career with the Sabres and was spectacular with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Andreychuk also finally won a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04. Roenick scored 513 goals and is up there with Phil Housley and Mike Modano as one of the best U.S. born players in NHL history.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
I'm Glad the Sabres No Longer Reaching in the Past Like Other Teams; They are a Completely Different Team than Last Season; a Complete 180
One thing I took real notice when I was watching the draft last night were the amount of teams that weren't very good that had former players from that franchise that were running their team as either a GM, President, head coach, or some sort of front office position. Three teams that really took notice to me were the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Colorado Avalanche.
The Bruins might be the worst position by trading Dougie Hamilton for a mid 1st round pick and parting ways with their number one defenseman. They brought in former players Cam Neely and Don Sweeney recently to be the President and General Manager respectively. So far they've done a horrible job and picked up where the last regimes left off.
In the last decade, the Bruins have traded Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, and now Hamilton. They also traded Ray Bourque 15 years ago but that was more to help Bourque get a Cup per his request so that doesn't count. Just because they won a Cup and been to another finals doesn't mean they've done things very well lately.
The moves they made remind of moves the Flyers used to make by getting rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because "they partied" plus needed to free up cap space to give goalie Ilyz Bryzgalov a lucrative contract which blew up in their face. This wasn't the lone move that's made the Flyers a joke to the point where they're way too far away from being championship contenders but way too far away from the top picks of the draft to get elite players such as McDavid and Eichel and keeping them in the worst possible spot, "Hockey Purgatory."
They did get some decent pieces in the Carter and Richards trades that brought them in Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, and a first round pick that became Sean Couturier. Simmonds and especially Voracek have been great. Claude Giroux has also been very good as well. However, the Flyers lack secondary scoring outside their top players along with a terrible defense corps and lackluster goaltending.
Other moves that blew up in their face were giving up on former second overall pick James Van Riemsdyk, trading him to the Leafs for failed defenseman Luke Schenn, also giving up on future Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky after signing Bryzgalov, trading Scott Hartnell, and signing a past his prime Vincent LeCavalier. Despite those awful moves by Paul Holmgren, Holmgren, a former Flyers player, was promoted to team President and replaced by yet another former Flyer player, Ron Hextall as GM.
They recently fired former Flyer player Craig Berube and replaced him with the successful University of North Dakota head coach, a move I like that's different. This is the same franchise that kept Bobby Clarke as GM forever after he played for them and was their captain when they won two Stanley Cups in the 1970s. Clarke of course is still in the organization in the front office after making a lot of bonehead moves as a GM. This is a team, like the Bruins, who have to keep their former players in the organization and parade them out to the fans despite their failures.
In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche have hired former Stanley Cup winners goalie Patrick Roy as both head coach and vice president of hockey operations and former captain Joe Sakic as GM. Can they add Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote to the team as well? Maybe even Claude Lemieux? Their first year they went from the second-worst record to winning the division and a 100-point season in 2013-14 season. They lost in the first round as many analytics experts thought they were lucky and called for them to lose to the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
They called for a serious regression this season even though Roy and Sakic laughed at that. They "played the game" and knew more than "analytics nerds" know. They had the second-worst Corsi for (only behind the Sabres) this past season and missed the playoffs and finished with the 10th worst record this season. Once again, the analytics and advanced stats crowd called a regression much like they did a couple years ago with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The problem is that in any sport, not just hockey, bringing in players or coaches or whatever from the past glory days is usually a problem. Very teams had success when bringing in past glory because players don't usually make great coaches or GMs or front office personnel. Players with that same franchise usually don't bring a fresh perspective to a struggling team and try to relive the glory days. They also try to sell the past to fans which almost always never works out. You need a fresh perspective and a fresh set of eyes from outside the organization to tell what's really wrong with the organization.
Recently, the Edmonton Oilers had problems with former players Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish being the President and GM and even head coach and running that team into the ground. They were a joke for a long time as for some reason, the organization could not let go of the past. Now they seem to have done a better job at bringing in GM and head coach from outside the organization.
New Jersey has had Lou Lamoriello as GM forever and had success but recently, they've struggled as Lamoriello has failed to adapt to the newer NHL. Last year, they fired Peter DeBoar as head coach and brought in, get this, former Devil Scott Stevens along with another former Hall of Fame player Adam Oates (who failed as a head coach with his former team Washington how about that) to be the head coach.
If bringing in former franchise players are a problem, bringing in former longtime failure coaches and GMs to be coaches and GMs because they're buddy-buddy with other coaches and GMs to bring more stench of failure. New Jersey brought in former failed Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero as their new GM. Way to keep up with the times and evolve and grow. That's why the Devils aren't going anywhere for a long time. It's like when the Penguins replaced Shero last year with another former failure GM Jim Rutherford, who was fired by Carolina after he did a miserable job.
The Bills and Sabres used to have these problems for years, bringing in former players and coaches back to the team or bringing in failed coaches and GMs and scouts, etc. That is until now as both Bills and Sabres, thanks to Terry and Kim Pegula, have brought in fresh brand new ideas with people from outside the organization to bring in a fresh pair of eyes and perspective to build a winner. These are organizations both known for losing and to build a winner, you need to go away from the stench of failure that breeds among both teams.
I love the direction both the Bills and especially Sabres are heading into. It's great to see how the Sabres are almost nothing like the team a year ago. They're adding Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, and Ryan O'Reilly to the mix. This is a complete 180 from last year's mess.
The Bruins might be the worst position by trading Dougie Hamilton for a mid 1st round pick and parting ways with their number one defenseman. They brought in former players Cam Neely and Don Sweeney recently to be the President and General Manager respectively. So far they've done a horrible job and picked up where the last regimes left off.
In the last decade, the Bruins have traded Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel, Tyler Seguin, and now Hamilton. They also traded Ray Bourque 15 years ago but that was more to help Bourque get a Cup per his request so that doesn't count. Just because they won a Cup and been to another finals doesn't mean they've done things very well lately.
The moves they made remind of moves the Flyers used to make by getting rid of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards because "they partied" plus needed to free up cap space to give goalie Ilyz Bryzgalov a lucrative contract which blew up in their face. This wasn't the lone move that's made the Flyers a joke to the point where they're way too far away from being championship contenders but way too far away from the top picks of the draft to get elite players such as McDavid and Eichel and keeping them in the worst possible spot, "Hockey Purgatory."
They did get some decent pieces in the Carter and Richards trades that brought them in Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek, Brayden Schenn, and a first round pick that became Sean Couturier. Simmonds and especially Voracek have been great. Claude Giroux has also been very good as well. However, the Flyers lack secondary scoring outside their top players along with a terrible defense corps and lackluster goaltending.
Other moves that blew up in their face were giving up on former second overall pick James Van Riemsdyk, trading him to the Leafs for failed defenseman Luke Schenn, also giving up on future Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky after signing Bryzgalov, trading Scott Hartnell, and signing a past his prime Vincent LeCavalier. Despite those awful moves by Paul Holmgren, Holmgren, a former Flyers player, was promoted to team President and replaced by yet another former Flyer player, Ron Hextall as GM.
They recently fired former Flyer player Craig Berube and replaced him with the successful University of North Dakota head coach, a move I like that's different. This is the same franchise that kept Bobby Clarke as GM forever after he played for them and was their captain when they won two Stanley Cups in the 1970s. Clarke of course is still in the organization in the front office after making a lot of bonehead moves as a GM. This is a team, like the Bruins, who have to keep their former players in the organization and parade them out to the fans despite their failures.
In recent years, the Colorado Avalanche have hired former Stanley Cup winners goalie Patrick Roy as both head coach and vice president of hockey operations and former captain Joe Sakic as GM. Can they add Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote to the team as well? Maybe even Claude Lemieux? Their first year they went from the second-worst record to winning the division and a 100-point season in 2013-14 season. They lost in the first round as many analytics experts thought they were lucky and called for them to lose to the Minnesota Wild in the first round.
They called for a serious regression this season even though Roy and Sakic laughed at that. They "played the game" and knew more than "analytics nerds" know. They had the second-worst Corsi for (only behind the Sabres) this past season and missed the playoffs and finished with the 10th worst record this season. Once again, the analytics and advanced stats crowd called a regression much like they did a couple years ago with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The problem is that in any sport, not just hockey, bringing in players or coaches or whatever from the past glory days is usually a problem. Very teams had success when bringing in past glory because players don't usually make great coaches or GMs or front office personnel. Players with that same franchise usually don't bring a fresh perspective to a struggling team and try to relive the glory days. They also try to sell the past to fans which almost always never works out. You need a fresh perspective and a fresh set of eyes from outside the organization to tell what's really wrong with the organization.
Recently, the Edmonton Oilers had problems with former players Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish being the President and GM and even head coach and running that team into the ground. They were a joke for a long time as for some reason, the organization could not let go of the past. Now they seem to have done a better job at bringing in GM and head coach from outside the organization.
New Jersey has had Lou Lamoriello as GM forever and had success but recently, they've struggled as Lamoriello has failed to adapt to the newer NHL. Last year, they fired Peter DeBoar as head coach and brought in, get this, former Devil Scott Stevens along with another former Hall of Fame player Adam Oates (who failed as a head coach with his former team Washington how about that) to be the head coach.
If bringing in former franchise players are a problem, bringing in former longtime failure coaches and GMs to be coaches and GMs because they're buddy-buddy with other coaches and GMs to bring more stench of failure. New Jersey brought in former failed Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero as their new GM. Way to keep up with the times and evolve and grow. That's why the Devils aren't going anywhere for a long time. It's like when the Penguins replaced Shero last year with another former failure GM Jim Rutherford, who was fired by Carolina after he did a miserable job.
The Bills and Sabres used to have these problems for years, bringing in former players and coaches back to the team or bringing in failed coaches and GMs and scouts, etc. That is until now as both Bills and Sabres, thanks to Terry and Kim Pegula, have brought in fresh brand new ideas with people from outside the organization to bring in a fresh pair of eyes and perspective to build a winner. These are organizations both known for losing and to build a winner, you need to go away from the stench of failure that breeds among both teams.
I love the direction both the Bills and especially Sabres are heading into. It's great to see how the Sabres are almost nothing like the team a year ago. They're adding Jack Eichel, Evander Kane, and Ryan O'Reilly to the mix. This is a complete 180 from last year's mess.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
This is a Deep Draft But Will it Rival the 2003 Draft?
Tomorrow's NHL draft is considered to be a very deep, talent rich draft, especially in the first round. It's not just Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, which are the top prizes, but the top-5, 10, maybe even the entire first round has potential great talent. It's supposed to be the deepest draft since the 2003 NHL Draft. The question is will be be as deep as 2003? (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-draft-can-this-year-s-class-rival-2003-1.3126035) Here's an old article from five years ago (http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/further-proof-that-the-2003-nhl-entry-draft-was-the-best-of-all-time).
NHL drafts usually don't produce a ton except for the top three-to-five picks. It's really a crap shoot when you get out of the top-5, top-10. The 2003 NHL Draft however did not just produce talent at the top. No way, the vast majority of the first round picks turned out to have very productive careers in the NHL. Not only was the first round very successful, the second produced a decent amount of talent as did the rest of the rounds in that draft.
This is probably the best draft in NHL history, some say even better than the 1979 NHL draft that featured a total of five hall of famers including Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, and Mike Gartner with three of the hall of famers selected in the first round (Messier was taken the 3rd round). Technically there's six hall of famers from that draft if you count Dino Ciccarelli, who went undrafted.
12 of the 21 first round picks that year were selected to at least one All-Star game, 19 of the 21 picks played in at least 450 NHL games and every one of the 21 picks played in at least 200 games. 82% of the total picks played in at least NHL game. This might still be the best of all time depending on how many of the players from the 2003 draft make it to the Hall of Fame. The 1979 draft could be even greater if then 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky entered the draft, but his rights were retained by the Edmonton Oilers after they had him in the WHA before they moved to the NHL.
Anyways back to 2003, every one of the 30 picks in the first round went on to play at least one game in the NHL with 28 of those playing in at least 200 games. 14 of those 30 made it to at least one All-Star game, 12 have representer their country in the Olympics, and nine have won the Stanley Cup. Five players in the draft (including second round pick Patrice Bergeron) played significant playing time in their rookie seasons and every player drafted in the top-10 played in at least nine games by the end of the 2005-06 season.
The first overall pick of that year's draft was Marc-Andre Fleury. This is second time ever and hasn't happened since that the #1 overall pick was used on a goalie (Rick DiPietro in 2000 was the other). Roberto Luongo was the previous highest at #4 in 1997 and Kari Lehtonen was second in 2002. Drafting goalies in round 1 is never really a good idea (unless its at the bottom of round 1 and you have depth everywhere else) because you can find goalies anywhere in the draft. Many of the best goalies in NHL history were taken outside the first round.
Both #1 overall pick goalies have been busts, DiPietro more so because of his 15-year contract but he was pretty good until then until injuries and inconsistent play along with having to live up to that gigantic contract. Fleury was actually very good early in Pittsburgh, winning a Stanley Cup in 2009 after being in the finals the year before. He was very good in those two playoff runs and gave the Penguins hope for a long term goalie. Since then however, his performances have been laughable in the postseason with sub-.900 save percentages from 2010-15 playoffs and usually losing in the first or second rounds to lesser teams because of his awful play.
It makes you think he was only good because of the teams he had early on with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and other veterans they'd acquire at the trade deadlines. Fleury's postseason performances post-Cup have gotten current Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma fired from Pittsburgh. Fleury has looked like a bust since 2009 and does not look like anything worth the number one overall pick, which is why I would never use a top-3, top-5, top-10, pretty much almost any first round pick on a goalie. He was the first of four consecutive top-2 picks in the draft followed by Crosby, Malkin, and Staal.
The Penguins could have been better served with the number two overall pick, center Eric Staal, who went to Carolina and helped them win the Cup in 2006. Third went to Florida, who took winger Nathan Horton, who has had a very good career but injuries prevented what could have been an even better career. He did help Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and to the finals again in 2013. He had six consecutive 20-goal seasons and had 17 and 13 after playing in 46 and 43 games in 2012 and 2013 respectively. A back injury has pretty much ended his career now. Interestingly, Florida held the number one overall pick as they won the draft lottery for the second year in a row. But for the second year in a row, they traded the pick to move down to #3. In 2002, they passed on a chance to take Rick Nash 1st overall to move down to take defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
Nikolay Zherdev went fourth with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had a couple of productive 27 and 26 goal seasons with Columbus before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2008. He had 23 goals and 58 points with the Rangers before leaving to go to the KHL in a messy contract dispute. He since bounced around between teams in the KHL and one year in Philadelphia and has since become somewhat of a bust.
Buffalo took Thomas Vanek fifth overall in what was a great pick and never had fewer than 20 goals in any season in the NHL. Twice he's had 40 goal seasons along two other 30+ goal seasons with the Sabres. His 20 goals in 2012-13 came in only 38 games as it was a lockout-shortened season and it would have projected to 43 over a full 82-game season, which would tie his career high. The Sabres drafted Vanek shortly after he led the Minnesota Golden Gophers to the 2003 NCAA National Championship and was named Frozen Four Tournament MVP in Buffalo nonetheless.
The rest of the top-10 Milan Michalek, Ryan Suter, Brayden Coburn, Dion Phaneuf, and Andrei Kostitsyn. All have been pretty good except Coburn, who started strong but has fallen off, and Kostitsyn, who had three 20+ goal seasons before injuries and going to the KHL ended his time in the NHL. Phaneuf had a 20-goal season his rookie season and was a force in his first few seasons with Calgary before he regressed both offensively and defensively and was traded to Toronto, and has never lived up to his early years.
Other great players in the first round include: Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Brent Burns, Ryan Kessler, Mike Richards, and Anaheim got two players who helped them win a Cup in 2007 and have been one of the better teams in the NHL post-2004 Lockout in Ryan Getzlaf (19th overall) and Corey Perry (who went 28th overall). Tim Murray was working in Anaheim at that time under his uncle and then-Ducks' GM Bryan Murray.
The first round wasn't the only round to produce All-Star talent. The second round produced such talent as Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Carle, Shea Weber, Corey Crawford, David Backes, and Jimmy Howard. After a couple of so-so rounds 3 and 4, which saw the Sabres take Clarke MacArthur in the 3rd round, the talent picks back up again with Western New York's own Lee Stempniak being picked in round 5. Joe Pavelski was taken in the 7th round. Defensemen Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien were taken in the 8th round (the NHL Draft is only 7 rounds long now). The ninth and final round produced current Sabre Matt Moulson and goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott (who was the next-to-last pick of the draft).
That's an amazing amount talent in one entire draft. It's tough to say whether this draft will produce anything close to that. It will be a deep draft no doubt. Will it be like 2003? Only time will tell. One thing for sure though is the top two picks this year will definitely be better than 2003. The Sabres will get their franchise guy no doubt.
NHL drafts usually don't produce a ton except for the top three-to-five picks. It's really a crap shoot when you get out of the top-5, top-10. The 2003 NHL Draft however did not just produce talent at the top. No way, the vast majority of the first round picks turned out to have very productive careers in the NHL. Not only was the first round very successful, the second produced a decent amount of talent as did the rest of the rounds in that draft.
This is probably the best draft in NHL history, some say even better than the 1979 NHL draft that featured a total of five hall of famers including Mark Messier, Ray Bourque, and Mike Gartner with three of the hall of famers selected in the first round (Messier was taken the 3rd round). Technically there's six hall of famers from that draft if you count Dino Ciccarelli, who went undrafted.
12 of the 21 first round picks that year were selected to at least one All-Star game, 19 of the 21 picks played in at least 450 NHL games and every one of the 21 picks played in at least 200 games. 82% of the total picks played in at least NHL game. This might still be the best of all time depending on how many of the players from the 2003 draft make it to the Hall of Fame. The 1979 draft could be even greater if then 18-year-old Wayne Gretzky entered the draft, but his rights were retained by the Edmonton Oilers after they had him in the WHA before they moved to the NHL.
Anyways back to 2003, every one of the 30 picks in the first round went on to play at least one game in the NHL with 28 of those playing in at least 200 games. 14 of those 30 made it to at least one All-Star game, 12 have representer their country in the Olympics, and nine have won the Stanley Cup. Five players in the draft (including second round pick Patrice Bergeron) played significant playing time in their rookie seasons and every player drafted in the top-10 played in at least nine games by the end of the 2005-06 season.
The first overall pick of that year's draft was Marc-Andre Fleury. This is second time ever and hasn't happened since that the #1 overall pick was used on a goalie (Rick DiPietro in 2000 was the other). Roberto Luongo was the previous highest at #4 in 1997 and Kari Lehtonen was second in 2002. Drafting goalies in round 1 is never really a good idea (unless its at the bottom of round 1 and you have depth everywhere else) because you can find goalies anywhere in the draft. Many of the best goalies in NHL history were taken outside the first round.
Both #1 overall pick goalies have been busts, DiPietro more so because of his 15-year contract but he was pretty good until then until injuries and inconsistent play along with having to live up to that gigantic contract. Fleury was actually very good early in Pittsburgh, winning a Stanley Cup in 2009 after being in the finals the year before. He was very good in those two playoff runs and gave the Penguins hope for a long term goalie. Since then however, his performances have been laughable in the postseason with sub-.900 save percentages from 2010-15 playoffs and usually losing in the first or second rounds to lesser teams because of his awful play.
It makes you think he was only good because of the teams he had early on with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and other veterans they'd acquire at the trade deadlines. Fleury's postseason performances post-Cup have gotten current Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma fired from Pittsburgh. Fleury has looked like a bust since 2009 and does not look like anything worth the number one overall pick, which is why I would never use a top-3, top-5, top-10, pretty much almost any first round pick on a goalie. He was the first of four consecutive top-2 picks in the draft followed by Crosby, Malkin, and Staal.
The Penguins could have been better served with the number two overall pick, center Eric Staal, who went to Carolina and helped them win the Cup in 2006. Third went to Florida, who took winger Nathan Horton, who has had a very good career but injuries prevented what could have been an even better career. He did help Boston win the Stanley Cup in 2011 and to the finals again in 2013. He had six consecutive 20-goal seasons and had 17 and 13 after playing in 46 and 43 games in 2012 and 2013 respectively. A back injury has pretty much ended his career now. Interestingly, Florida held the number one overall pick as they won the draft lottery for the second year in a row. But for the second year in a row, they traded the pick to move down to #3. In 2002, they passed on a chance to take Rick Nash 1st overall to move down to take defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.
Nikolay Zherdev went fourth with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had a couple of productive 27 and 26 goal seasons with Columbus before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2008. He had 23 goals and 58 points with the Rangers before leaving to go to the KHL in a messy contract dispute. He since bounced around between teams in the KHL and one year in Philadelphia and has since become somewhat of a bust.
Buffalo took Thomas Vanek fifth overall in what was a great pick and never had fewer than 20 goals in any season in the NHL. Twice he's had 40 goal seasons along two other 30+ goal seasons with the Sabres. His 20 goals in 2012-13 came in only 38 games as it was a lockout-shortened season and it would have projected to 43 over a full 82-game season, which would tie his career high. The Sabres drafted Vanek shortly after he led the Minnesota Golden Gophers to the 2003 NCAA National Championship and was named Frozen Four Tournament MVP in Buffalo nonetheless.
The rest of the top-10 Milan Michalek, Ryan Suter, Brayden Coburn, Dion Phaneuf, and Andrei Kostitsyn. All have been pretty good except Coburn, who started strong but has fallen off, and Kostitsyn, who had three 20+ goal seasons before injuries and going to the KHL ended his time in the NHL. Phaneuf had a 20-goal season his rookie season and was a force in his first few seasons with Calgary before he regressed both offensively and defensively and was traded to Toronto, and has never lived up to his early years.
Other great players in the first round include: Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Brent Seabrook, Zach Parise, Brent Burns, Ryan Kessler, Mike Richards, and Anaheim got two players who helped them win a Cup in 2007 and have been one of the better teams in the NHL post-2004 Lockout in Ryan Getzlaf (19th overall) and Corey Perry (who went 28th overall). Tim Murray was working in Anaheim at that time under his uncle and then-Ducks' GM Bryan Murray.
The first round wasn't the only round to produce All-Star talent. The second round produced such talent as Loui Eriksson, Patrice Bergeron, Matt Carle, Shea Weber, Corey Crawford, David Backes, and Jimmy Howard. After a couple of so-so rounds 3 and 4, which saw the Sabres take Clarke MacArthur in the 3rd round, the talent picks back up again with Western New York's own Lee Stempniak being picked in round 5. Joe Pavelski was taken in the 7th round. Defensemen Tobias Enstrom and Dustin Byfuglien were taken in the 8th round (the NHL Draft is only 7 rounds long now). The ninth and final round produced current Sabre Matt Moulson and goalies Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott (who was the next-to-last pick of the draft).
That's an amazing amount talent in one entire draft. It's tough to say whether this draft will produce anything close to that. It will be a deep draft no doubt. Will it be like 2003? Only time will tell. One thing for sure though is the top two picks this year will definitely be better than 2003. The Sabres will get their franchise guy no doubt.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
How Did the Kings Win?
How did the Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup? They were the first-ever 8th seeded team to win the Stanley Cup. Before this year, no team below a 5th seed and outside of the top-8 in overall NHL standings ever won the Cup. The Kings had 15 loser points and won just 40 of 82 games. So they had a subpar record. Outside of goalie Jonathan Quick and center Enze Kopitar, most of the players had career-worst years. the Kings scored the 2nd fewest goals of any team in the NHL this season, but they allowed the 2nd fewest. They really lacked elite star power on offense. Kopitar is very good but I am not sure he is an elite player. I like Captain Dustin Brown and Mike Richards, who the Kings acquired from Philly after last season. But both struggled in the regular season. They fired head coach Terry Murray in December with a 13-12-4 record. After brief run with interim coach John Stevens, the Kings hired Darryl Sutter as the permanent head coach. Sutter had been a good coach, but many felt his teams underachieved in the playoffs. The Kings did go 25-13-11 with Sutter as coach so the coaching change did work.
The Kings were in 11th place on March 11th, but were still in contention for the Pacific Division. They lost out to Phoenix and settled for 8th place in a very competitive Western Conference. They were 9-2-3 in their final 14 games, enough to lift them into the playoffs. They took on the President’s Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks in the 1st round and many, including myself, predicted the Canucks would win and play for the Stanley Cup. Instead the Kings, behind Quick, shut down the high-scoring Canucks in five games, allowing just 8 goals. Quick was even more impressive against the 2nd seeded St. Louis Blues, where he allowed just 6 goals in a four-game sweep. Then the Kings displaced the 3rd seeded Phoenix Coyotes in 5 games as they moved onto the finals for the 2nd time in franchise history, the other was 1993 with Wayne Gretzky. The Kings were only the second team in NHL history to defeat the top-3 seeds in their conference, the other was the 2003-04 Calgary Flames, coached ironically by Darryl Sutter. The Kings continued their dominance in the first three games of the finals against the New Jersey Devils, outscoring them 8-2 as they were up 3-0 in the series. But the Devils fought back hard to win games 4 and 5 to force a 6th game back in L.A. However, the Kings scored 3 power play goals in the 1st period en route to a dominating 6-1 win and won their first-ever Stanley Cup in their 45-year history.
They finished a whopping 16-4 in the playoffs, including 10-1 on the roadwhich includes an NHL 10 consecutive road playoff victories and a road playoff record. Quick won the Conn Smythe Trophy with a 16-4 record, an incredible .946 save % and a 1.41 goals against average. Dustin Brown and Enze Kopitar tied for the lead in scoring with 8 goals and 20 points and a +16. Justin Williams had a good playoff and defensemen Drew Doughty was simply amazing averaging over 26 minutes of ice time. Former Flyers Mike Richards and Jeff Carter both had great playoffs after they both had down regular seasons. Richards and Carter showed the Flyers how wrong they were for shipping them away after last season’s playoff loss and they were the scapegoats because they partied and drank too much. How does that feel now Philly? They beat the team that beat you in the playoffs. Add Simon Gagne and former coach Flyer coach and current assistant coach John Stevens, and its even more pain for Flyer fans who have been waiting for a Cup since 1975. I could not be happier just based on that merit.
How in the world did the Kings win? Beats the heck out of me. It shows you that now you can make the playoffs and you have a strong shot to win. New Jersey could have won and they would be the first 6th seed to win the Cup, but they were no ordinary 6th seed as they had 100 points and barely finished 4th in the super competitive Atlantic Division. There is a lot of questions up coming for the Devils including will Brodeur retire and will they be able to keep some free agents, such as Zach Parise? I do want to congratulate New Jersey on a fantastic season despite the disappointing ending.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Sabres-Leafs Post Game Reactions
What a game last night as the Sabres overcame a 3-0 1st period deficit to defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-5 in overtime to keep their playoff hopes alive. There were so many emotions running through my head like "these guys are bums," "they are ready to go golfing," "way to not show up," to "holy cow they are going to win" and "they are going to make the playoffs." Yea it was a very bi-polar game, but those are the most exciting games when you are disappointed and then you are super excited because you won. It's only good when you pull out a win. I was thinking "I did not want to be eliminated from the playoffs by the Maple Leafs and Ben Scrivens because they are terrible." I figured once the Sabres tied it up, they were going to win and I think they will make the playoffs.
The star of the game was without a doubt Marcus Foligno. He was all over the ice hitting players, finishing his checks, and even getting into a fight. He and fellow rookie Brayden McNabb were the only Sabres doing anything in the 1st period of a must-win game. The veterans were doing nothing while these two youngsters were setting the tone. Foligno's play of the game, which was the play of the game, came when they were trailing 5-4 with less than two minutes to go. He and Mike Komisarek were jawing at each other on the faceoff which led to Komisarek taking him down and punching him while Foligno was done and Foligno just took the punishment while there was a gigantic scrum in front of the net for the loose puck. Every Sabres on the ice minus Foligno and Miller were in front of the net poking and prodding until Jordan Leopold banged it home to tie the game up. Credit to the officials who were able to see the puck still in play. Generally those plays are blown dead once they lose control of where the puck is. Leaf fans were probably pissed and so would we if it happened to us, but it was the right call. Foligno created that goal by getting in Komisarek's head with the jawing and the play behind the net which led to Komisarek losing his control and focus and eventually the game. There's never been a time I can remember when someone who didn't score a goal, had more to do with it than the person who scored like what happened last night.
Foligno's hitting and physical play has been awesome, but his physical play creates chances and goals and he scores goals. Hopefully he can our Milan Lucic or even his father Mike, who was one of the most popular Sabres ever with his scoring and physical play. If Marcus keeps this up, he will join the ranks of his father in terms of popularity in Sabres history. The not being physical or tough enough point is a bit overrated because when the Sabres win because of their offense, no body mentions physical play. When they lose, it's easy to say "they're not physical or tough enough and they lack effort." I know, I'm guilty of that to at times, I'm calling myself out here. But reality sets in and I know the truth, they are a scoring team that can be physical, but they are trying to score first and foremost. Their record this season when they score 3 or more goals is 31-6-4. Of course last night, the more they scored, the more physical it seemed they were. When our team is scoring and winning, it makes everything look better. They look like they are trying harder and are more physical. They are more fun to watch when they are winning and scoring. Conversely, when they lose and not scoring, it makes them look like they are not physical and not trying. They also look dull and boring. Since being called up no March 10, the Sabres have been 8-2-2 in 12 games with Foligno in the lineup. He's scored 6 goals and 13 points and is a +9 with a shooting percentage of a whopping 30.0. Foligno is also averaging over 15 1/2 minutes of ice time a game. There's no doubt his physical play and scoring have brought such a needed spark to this team. He is what we wanted Zack Kassian to be, a big physical forward who hits, finishes off his checks, fights, and most importantly scores.
Ryan Miller continues to struggle without Tyler Myers or Christian Ehrhoff in the lineup in front of him. He obviously trusts them because they don't get out of position much and have the talent to break up plays before they even start. Most of the other defensemen on this team like Weber and Sekera can't do the things like Myers or Ehrhoff and have to sit back. Miller has to gamble more and overcompensate without them in the lineup and it leads to many more opportunities for the other team to score. Miller is really cool, calm, and collective with Myers and Ehrhoff in the lineup. Myers and Ehrhoff bring the goals allowed by over one full goal per game when they are in the lineup. Miller struggles too, but the other defense, although Regehr and Jordan Leopold do a pretty good job most of the time, is not as good without those two in the lineup. I need Miller to be better without them in the lineup as Ehrhoff will be out for the rest of the regular season and Myers may or may not be back this week. This is the 3rd straight game Miller and the Sabres allowed 4 or more goals a game. I need Miller to be better, but I also need Myers and Ehrhoff to be healthy and hope they can be healthy next year and beyond. One of the many reasons the Sabres as well as Miller turned their season around in the middle of the season was because Myers and Ehrhoff and Myers were back and healthy and playing well. They really control the game on both sides of the ice. We really need one or two more of those guys on this team.
Alex Sulzer had a great game as well as a big mistake that nearly cost them the game. He was beat by former Sabre Clarke MacArthur in the front of the net to make the score 4-2 as he was on the ice for three of the Leafs' 5 goals. But Sulzer more than made up for it by scoring a beautiful goal thru both former Sabre Tim Connolly and Ben Scrivens to make it 3-2. He also set up Tyler Ennis for the Sabres' first goal after being down 3-0. Sulzer did not stop there as he once again picked up a loose puck in front of the net to score his 2nd of the game to make it 5-4. Sulzer came over from Vancouver in the Cody Hodgson deal and it figured he'd be just another body. But he has played much better than expected. He's scored 3 goals and 8 points as well as averaging nearly 20 minutes in ice time and has played better than expected defense.
Now how about the man who scored the game-winner? The unlikely hero of the game: Derek Roy. Roy scored a power play goal to cut the lead to 4-3 in the 3rd. Then after the Sabres tied it and sent it to overtime, Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was called for a delay of game penalty for clearing the puck over the glass. Roy slipped a loose puck past Scrivens for an improbably 6-5 overtime win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Roy became the unsung hero as many, including myself, dogged him throughout the game especially in the 1st period. Roy has been having his worst season since he was a rookie. His 43 points and 0.55 points per game is his lowest in a full season. He had 35 points last season in 43 fewer games. His -9 and 9.8 shooting % are the worst of his career. Many fans, even myself, wanted him traded at the trade deadline and even this off season. Roy was apparently on the trading block last off season, but either no one wanted him or the deal was not good enough. Roy has definitely been the poster child for the team's lack of success by many of the fans, especially since Connolly left. Last season, the Sabres were 10 points out of a playoff spot going into the 1st of the year and had one of the best records in the league after he was done for the year with a hip injury. Before last night's game, Roy had been pointless in five consecutive games and seven of the previous games. It's been truly a disappointing year but he made up some of it with his performance last night and if they get in, then we can thank Roy. And then trade him LOL.
Last night's game was a microcosm of the season so far. There was great expectations going into the game just like going into the season. Then they go down 3-0, which resembles the way they played from mid-November when Miller was hit by Lucic to late-January when they were in last place in the Eastern Conference. We mostly gave up on them, I know I did. Last night I thought it was over. Then they come back to make it 4-3 and make a run like they did from Jan. 24 to last weekend as they played so much better. Then Toronto scored a goal in which the skater went right through the defense to make it 5-3. That was symbolic of how the Sabres were this past weekend against Pittsburgh and Toronto. Then the Sabres rally to tie it to keep their hopes alive in both the game and playoffs. Sabres win it in overtime to overcome a 3-0 and 5-3 deficit. If this trend continues, then the overtime goal symbolizes the Sabres in the playoffs.
Sabres need to win their last two games against Philadelphia and Boston. They also need either Florida to win tomorrow night against Washington in either regulation or even overtime or shootout, this allows the Sabres to control their own destiny by winning out. The Caps cannot gain more than 3 points or else they're in. Or the Sabres need Florida to not get a single point over the final two games. Of course the Sabres need to win out for this to be a reality. If either one of those scenarios happen, the Sabres are in the playoffs. I will be glued to my TV tomorrow watching the Sabres and keep a close eye on the Washington-Florida game. Here we go again!! Go Sabres!!
The star of the game was without a doubt Marcus Foligno. He was all over the ice hitting players, finishing his checks, and even getting into a fight. He and fellow rookie Brayden McNabb were the only Sabres doing anything in the 1st period of a must-win game. The veterans were doing nothing while these two youngsters were setting the tone. Foligno's play of the game, which was the play of the game, came when they were trailing 5-4 with less than two minutes to go. He and Mike Komisarek were jawing at each other on the faceoff which led to Komisarek taking him down and punching him while Foligno was done and Foligno just took the punishment while there was a gigantic scrum in front of the net for the loose puck. Every Sabres on the ice minus Foligno and Miller were in front of the net poking and prodding until Jordan Leopold banged it home to tie the game up. Credit to the officials who were able to see the puck still in play. Generally those plays are blown dead once they lose control of where the puck is. Leaf fans were probably pissed and so would we if it happened to us, but it was the right call. Foligno created that goal by getting in Komisarek's head with the jawing and the play behind the net which led to Komisarek losing his control and focus and eventually the game. There's never been a time I can remember when someone who didn't score a goal, had more to do with it than the person who scored like what happened last night.
Foligno's hitting and physical play has been awesome, but his physical play creates chances and goals and he scores goals. Hopefully he can our Milan Lucic or even his father Mike, who was one of the most popular Sabres ever with his scoring and physical play. If Marcus keeps this up, he will join the ranks of his father in terms of popularity in Sabres history. The not being physical or tough enough point is a bit overrated because when the Sabres win because of their offense, no body mentions physical play. When they lose, it's easy to say "they're not physical or tough enough and they lack effort." I know, I'm guilty of that to at times, I'm calling myself out here. But reality sets in and I know the truth, they are a scoring team that can be physical, but they are trying to score first and foremost. Their record this season when they score 3 or more goals is 31-6-4. Of course last night, the more they scored, the more physical it seemed they were. When our team is scoring and winning, it makes everything look better. They look like they are trying harder and are more physical. They are more fun to watch when they are winning and scoring. Conversely, when they lose and not scoring, it makes them look like they are not physical and not trying. They also look dull and boring. Since being called up no March 10, the Sabres have been 8-2-2 in 12 games with Foligno in the lineup. He's scored 6 goals and 13 points and is a +9 with a shooting percentage of a whopping 30.0. Foligno is also averaging over 15 1/2 minutes of ice time a game. There's no doubt his physical play and scoring have brought such a needed spark to this team. He is what we wanted Zack Kassian to be, a big physical forward who hits, finishes off his checks, fights, and most importantly scores.
Ryan Miller continues to struggle without Tyler Myers or Christian Ehrhoff in the lineup in front of him. He obviously trusts them because they don't get out of position much and have the talent to break up plays before they even start. Most of the other defensemen on this team like Weber and Sekera can't do the things like Myers or Ehrhoff and have to sit back. Miller has to gamble more and overcompensate without them in the lineup and it leads to many more opportunities for the other team to score. Miller is really cool, calm, and collective with Myers and Ehrhoff in the lineup. Myers and Ehrhoff bring the goals allowed by over one full goal per game when they are in the lineup. Miller struggles too, but the other defense, although Regehr and Jordan Leopold do a pretty good job most of the time, is not as good without those two in the lineup. I need Miller to be better without them in the lineup as Ehrhoff will be out for the rest of the regular season and Myers may or may not be back this week. This is the 3rd straight game Miller and the Sabres allowed 4 or more goals a game. I need Miller to be better, but I also need Myers and Ehrhoff to be healthy and hope they can be healthy next year and beyond. One of the many reasons the Sabres as well as Miller turned their season around in the middle of the season was because Myers and Ehrhoff and Myers were back and healthy and playing well. They really control the game on both sides of the ice. We really need one or two more of those guys on this team.
Alex Sulzer had a great game as well as a big mistake that nearly cost them the game. He was beat by former Sabre Clarke MacArthur in the front of the net to make the score 4-2 as he was on the ice for three of the Leafs' 5 goals. But Sulzer more than made up for it by scoring a beautiful goal thru both former Sabre Tim Connolly and Ben Scrivens to make it 3-2. He also set up Tyler Ennis for the Sabres' first goal after being down 3-0. Sulzer did not stop there as he once again picked up a loose puck in front of the net to score his 2nd of the game to make it 5-4. Sulzer came over from Vancouver in the Cody Hodgson deal and it figured he'd be just another body. But he has played much better than expected. He's scored 3 goals and 8 points as well as averaging nearly 20 minutes in ice time and has played better than expected defense.
Now how about the man who scored the game-winner? The unlikely hero of the game: Derek Roy. Roy scored a power play goal to cut the lead to 4-3 in the 3rd. Then after the Sabres tied it and sent it to overtime, Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was called for a delay of game penalty for clearing the puck over the glass. Roy slipped a loose puck past Scrivens for an improbably 6-5 overtime win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Roy became the unsung hero as many, including myself, dogged him throughout the game especially in the 1st period. Roy has been having his worst season since he was a rookie. His 43 points and 0.55 points per game is his lowest in a full season. He had 35 points last season in 43 fewer games. His -9 and 9.8 shooting % are the worst of his career. Many fans, even myself, wanted him traded at the trade deadline and even this off season. Roy was apparently on the trading block last off season, but either no one wanted him or the deal was not good enough. Roy has definitely been the poster child for the team's lack of success by many of the fans, especially since Connolly left. Last season, the Sabres were 10 points out of a playoff spot going into the 1st of the year and had one of the best records in the league after he was done for the year with a hip injury. Before last night's game, Roy had been pointless in five consecutive games and seven of the previous games. It's been truly a disappointing year but he made up some of it with his performance last night and if they get in, then we can thank Roy. And then trade him LOL.
Last night's game was a microcosm of the season so far. There was great expectations going into the game just like going into the season. Then they go down 3-0, which resembles the way they played from mid-November when Miller was hit by Lucic to late-January when they were in last place in the Eastern Conference. We mostly gave up on them, I know I did. Last night I thought it was over. Then they come back to make it 4-3 and make a run like they did from Jan. 24 to last weekend as they played so much better. Then Toronto scored a goal in which the skater went right through the defense to make it 5-3. That was symbolic of how the Sabres were this past weekend against Pittsburgh and Toronto. Then the Sabres rally to tie it to keep their hopes alive in both the game and playoffs. Sabres win it in overtime to overcome a 3-0 and 5-3 deficit. If this trend continues, then the overtime goal symbolizes the Sabres in the playoffs.
Sabres need to win their last two games against Philadelphia and Boston. They also need either Florida to win tomorrow night against Washington in either regulation or even overtime or shootout, this allows the Sabres to control their own destiny by winning out. The Caps cannot gain more than 3 points or else they're in. Or the Sabres need Florida to not get a single point over the final two games. Of course the Sabres need to win out for this to be a reality. If either one of those scenarios happen, the Sabres are in the playoffs. I will be glued to my TV tomorrow watching the Sabres and keep a close eye on the Washington-Florida game. Here we go again!! Go Sabres!!
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