• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

NHL 2015-2016 Season

CanadaJohn

CanadaJohn

Canadian Conservative
DP Veteran
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
28,822
Reaction score
20,495
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Conservative
Time to start a new thread for the upcoming NHL season.

Good luck to everyone who has a team to root for. Here in Toronto, we've decided not to have a team at the NHL level this year so I won't be posting too much. But at least the Helen Keller of hockey executives has now hired enough front office brass that aren't afraid of a microphone so he can hide away in the ACC and enjoy his winter hibernation.
 
CanadaJohn said:
Time to start a new thread for the upcoming NHL season.

Good luck to everyone who has a team to root for. Here in Toronto, we've decided not to have a team at the NHL level this year so I won't be posting too much. But at least the Helen Keller of hockey executives has now hired enough front office brass that aren't afraid of a microphone so he can hide away in the ACC and enjoy his winter hibernation.
Click to expand...


Maybe Toronto and Vancouver can form their own two team league. We don't have an NHL team either.
 
Fearandloathing said:
Maybe Toronto and Vancouver can form their own two team league. We don't have an NHL team either.
Click to expand...

Vancouver might have a chance at the cup in that league - if Toronto got close, Helen Keller would put Peter Horachek back in as head coach.
 
I'll make the first prediction of the year:

Phil Kessel will score 50+ goals in his first year as a Penguin, lead the Penguin's number one power play in the league and will significantly help Pittsburgh to first place in the Metropolitan Division and the Conference.
 
CanadaJohn said:
I'll make the first prediction of the year:

Phil Kessel will score 50+ goals in his first year as a Penguin, lead the Penguin's number one power play in the league and will significantly help Pittsburgh to first place in the Metropolitan Division and the Conference.
Click to expand...

Kessel will get 40ish. Pitt will be third in the Metropolitan, losing too many games with scores like 10-8. 9-5, 7-6. Fluery will be so emotionally scarred by the playoffs that Pitt loses in the first round.
 
Well, the Blackhawks will hopefully contend, even after the salary cap crisis caused some raping (Kane) and pillaging (Sharp and Oduya, and to a lesser extent, Saad)to the core. The defense is going to be a shambles after the second pairing, and even that may only have Hjalmarsson holding the fort alone.

Kane's case goes up to a grand jury today. I think the Blackhawks may part ways with hiim no matter the outcome - the team is very image conscious, and Kane was given ample warnings.
 
The Chicago salary dump continues: Kris Versteeg traded to Carolina Hurricanes by Chicago Blackhawks in multiplayer trade - NHL.com - News

The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Kris Versteeg as part of a multiplayer deal Friday with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Versteeg, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Blackhawks, was traded with forward Joakim Nordstrom and a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft for defenseman Dennis Robertson, the rights to unsigned defenseman Jake Massie, and a fifth-round pick in 2017.
Click to expand...

Carolina got the much better end of the deal. It looks like Chicago is now solidly under cap, but next season they are going to probably have to dump salary again(unless Seabrook gives them one hell of a discount).

Edit: as mentioned in the article, Carolina now has 10 picks in the first 3 rounds over the next two years.
 
Redress said:
The Chicago salary dump continues: Kris Versteeg traded to Carolina Hurricanes by Chicago Blackhawks in multiplayer trade - NHL.com - News



Carolina got the much better end of the deal. It looks like Chicago is now solidly under cap, but next season they are going to probably have to dump salary again(unless Seabrook gives them one hell of a discount).

Edit: as mentioned in the article, Carolina now has 10 picks in the first 3 rounds over the next two years.
Click to expand...

But importantly, they signed Marcus Kruger, who is a critical piece of the team - much more than Versteeg or Nordstrom or both.

They may have a boatload of cap space - I have a feeling Kane will be gone by year's end.
 
Threegoofs said:
But importantly, they signed Marcus Kruger, who is a critical piece of the team - much more than Versteeg or Nordstrom or both.
Click to expand...

I meant to mention that and forgot. The Kruger signing is pretty big, though only for one year. That is one of the prices of successful clubs these days, they start to bleed players at a painful rate, and with 3 big contracts due next year, and the cap unlikely to go up a whole lot, Chicago is likely to go through this again.

They may have a boatload of cap space - I have a feeling Kane will be gone by year's end.
Click to expand...

If he is indicted, yes. If not, probably not. Chicago would be very unlikely to get value back for him, and could end up having to keep part of his salary to trade him. Further, Kane has a full no trade, which means he would have to agree to any trade.
 
Redress said:
I meant to mention that and forgot. The Kruger signing is pretty big, though only for one year. That is one of the prices of successful clubs these days, they start to bleed players at a painful rate, and with 3 big contracts due next year, and the cap unlikely to go up a whole lot, Chicago is likely to go through this again.



If he is indicted, yes. If not, probably not. Chicago would be very unlikely to get value back for him, and could end up having to keep part of his salary to trade him. Further, Kane has a full no trade, which means he would have to agree to any trade.
Click to expand...

Another interesting idea was floated over at The Committed Indian - trade Bryan Bickell Ryan Clowne to get cap space. I'll just cut and paste it here for your reading pleasure:

One interesting way for Stan Bowman to play alchemist was floated by none other than HockeeNight’s Forklift, who in a moment of clarity among decades of senility tossed out the idea of trading Bryan Bickell to for what is now the ended career of Ryane Clowe, similar to what the Leafs did to get rid of David Clarkson. Clowe will never play again and the Hawks have more liquid cash than the Devils do, and could afford to continue to pay Clowe and receive the LTIR overage of his $4.85 million salary, while the Devils actually pay out of pocket for a live body in the form of Bryan Bickell. But this situation still requires monitoring even as camp rapidly approaches.
Click to expand...
 
Threegoofs said:
Another interesting idea was floated over at The Committed Indian - trade Bryan Bickell Ryan Clowne to get cap space. I'll just cut and paste it here for your reading pleasure:
Click to expand...

Interesting idea, but that would pretty much signal giving up on the season. For this season, they should be(depending on the size of Kruger's contract) under cap, so their is no immediacy. Kane's situation has to be sorted out, and if he is indicted and (I think he needs to be) convicted, the team can release him for nothing, in which case their is no cap issue any more. If Kane is not indicted, then they will probably do more of the same next summer, trade to try and field the best team and ride out until the Kane/Toews contracts are not so rough on them, then compete again. Probably better than going into a full rebuild.

Chicago, Boston, Pitt, all have had to make significant changes this summer to stay under cap and field competitive teams. Boston probably won';t be competitive, but Pitt could be, and Chicago probably will. We will I think so more of this in the years to come.
 
Redress said:
Interesting idea, but that would pretty much signal giving up on the season. For this season, they should be(depending on the size of Kruger's contract) under cap, so their is no immediacy. Kane's situation has to be sorted out, and if he is indicted and (I think he needs to be) convicted, the team can release him for nothing, in which case their is no cap issue any more. If Kane is not indicted, then they will probably do more of the same next summer, trade to try and field the best team and ride out until the Kane/Toews contracts are not so rough on them, then compete again. Probably better than going into a full rebuild.

Chicago, Boston, Pitt, all have had to make significant changes this summer to stay under cap and field competitive teams. Boston probably won';t be competitive, but Pitt could be, and Chicago probably will. We will I think so more of this in the years to come.
Click to expand...

Giving up on the season? This will solidify the team for this season - the Hawks just need a solid defenseman - and getting one will make them a strong contender again. And Bickell is no prize, much like giving up Versteeg and Nordstrom -they are replacement players.
 
Threegoofs said:
Giving up on the season? This will solidify the team for this season - the Hawks just need a solid defenseman - and getting one will make them a strong contender again. And Bickell is no prize, much like giving up Versteeg and Nordstrom -they are replacement players.
Click to expand...

But they would not be getting a defenseman, they would be getting an LTIR contract. Where does the defenseman come from, and what would Chicago have to give up for him?
 
Redress said:
But they would not be getting a defenseman, they would be getting an LTIR contract. Where does the defenseman come from, and what would Chicago have to give up for him?
Click to expand...

Somebody else that needs to dump salary, I assume.
 
CanadaJohn said:
I'll make the first prediction of the year:

Phil Kessel will score 50+ goals in his first year as a Penguin, lead the Penguin's number one power play in the league and will significantly help Pittsburgh to first place in the Metropolitan Division and the Conference.
Click to expand...

Hope you're SERIOUSLY WRONG!!!!

Redress said:
Kessel will get 40ish. Pitt will be third in the Metropolitan, losing too many games with scores like 10-8. 9-5, 7-6. Fluery will be so emotionally scarred by the playoffs that Pitt loses in the first round.
Click to expand...

Hope you're much closer to reality!!!!


I'm ready for Pittsburgh to totally self destruct.
 
Threegoofs said:
But importantly, they signed Marcus Kruger, who is a critical piece of the team - much more than Versteeg or Nordstrom or both.

They may have a boatload of cap space - I have a feeling Kane will be gone by year's end.
Click to expand...

For what it is worth General Fanager shows the Kruger contract to be for 1.5 mil, with Chicago then being just under 1 mil under cap.
 
I found this interesting: LeBrun's Rumblings: League, teams monitoring concussions - Cross Checks Blog - ESPN

In an effort to boost its ongoing concussion protocol, the NHL is in the process of hiring concussion "spotters" for all 30 arenas, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to ESPN.com on Monday.

The move has the blessing of the NHL Players’ Association, as the union and league run the concussion program jointly.

There have been club concussion spotters for the past few seasons -- people hired by teams -- but this season they will be independent. There will be two designated people per building with varied backgrounds who will split the games.

Their only given job on any given night will be spotting for any visible signs of concussion. They will log all those incidents into a file.

If or when a club wants to use the league spotter instead of their own, they can do that, in which case the spotter will have communication abilities down to the bench to talk to the trainer. But on most nights, because most clubs want to maintain this responsibility in-house, the new independent spotters are there just logging incidents.
Click to expand...

Seems like a good idea to me.

Also of note, Owners meeting September 29th, likely more about expansion will be addressed, but unlikely that a recommendation will be made. The expectation is that the December owners meeting will probably be the big one for expansion.

And the Detroit prospects are 2=0 so far this tournament, and go to the finals if the win or get to overtime against Dallas's prospects tonight.
 
Canes in full rebuild mode. Will have 2 first round picks in the '16 draft and hoping we can unload E. staal for another. :)
 
Rough start to training camp for some. Isle's prospect Joshua Ho-Sang was late to the first day, and so the Isle's sent him back to the OHL. If you do not want to be there, you can go back down. In Detroit, Darren Helm had an accidental collision during a drill with free agent invitee(and career minor leaguer at best) Jerome Verrier. End result was Verrier out with a broken leg, Helm out at least a week for concussion protocol. In Buffalo, Rasmus Ristolainen went down with an "upper body injury", out 7 to 10 days and Cody McCormick failed his physical and is out indefinitely. In New Jersey, Patrik Elias is out an unknown amount of time with knee issues.

In better news, Max Pacioretty was named Habs captain.

Also, Toronto made a trade for Grabner, giving up a pile of low end prospects.
 
Cam Ward lets in 6 goals on 21 shots in 2 periods against the Pens.

Hello Eddie Lack.....next man up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom