Official lead up to 2015-16 season thread

[Peter_Doherty]

That's a good trade atleast, given how the goalie market looked during the draft...

[nino33]

Semin is just Semin, a team will definitely take a gamble on him.

Doesn't Semin have 3 years left on a $7 million a year contract? At that price I'd be really surprised if anyone took a gamble on him myself

[bruins72]

Word is that Hamilton was looking for $6-7M per from the Bruins. I also heard that Lucic was looking for an 8 year deal from the Bruins.

[bruins72]

Has anyone heard of that prospect?

[Peter_Doherty]

Semin is just Semin, a team will definitely take a gamble on him.

Doesn't Semin have 3 years left on a $7 million a year contract? At that price I'd be really surprised if anyone took a gamble on him myself

He's getting bought out, was put on waivers today, which is way i'm talking about him

[Peter_Doherty]

Has anyone heard of that prospect?

Nope

Rumors that Dougie is close to signing with Flames now for under $6M for 6 years.

[nino33]

Semin is just Semin, a team will definitely take a gamble on him.

Doesn't Semin have 3 years left on a $7 million a year contract? At that price I'd be really surprised if anyone took a gamble on him myself

He's getting bought out, was put on waivers today, which is way i'm talking about him

So you're saying someone will take a gamble on him AFTER he clears waivers and AFTER he's bought out...I see now, but I can't see why anyone (NHL) would want Semin

[Peter_Doherty]

Yeah that's what i say They will take a gamble on him because he's a PPG player when he's motivated and healthy... If he is willing to take a cheap (under $3m) 1-2 year contract then he can basicly choose where he want's to play, that is my guess atleast.

Hamilton signed for 6 years at $5.75M cap hit according to Dreger.

[batdad]

DOug Maclean from Sportsnet says Boston fans will be very happy with this kid they got from San Jose. A stud.

Someone will try Semin, likely a horrible team desperate for scoring. Welcome to Vancouver Alex. LOL.

[nino33]

If he is willing to take a cheap (under $3m) 1-2 year contract then he can basicly choose where he want's to play, that is my guess atleast.

With a low dollar/short contract an NHL team might take a chance, but IMO there's no way Semin gets to choose where he wants to play (unless where he wants to play is the KHL)

[Peter_Doherty]

If he is willing to take a cheap (under $3m) 1-2 year contract then he can basicly choose where he want's to play, that is my guess atleast.

With a low dollar/short contract an NHL team might take a chance, but IMO there's no way Semin gets to choose where he wants to play (unless where he wants to play is the KHL)

I disagree, if he is willing to play cheap then i think he will have 15+ offers.

[Prowl]

If rumours were true about Dougie being offered that $33 million over 6 years, then it's clear he wanted out of Boston with the deal he signed with Calgary. If that's the case, Sweeney had to trade him. I still think he could and should have got a better return, but I'm not whining

[batdad]

LOL 15 offers? No way no how. Maybe 15 offers at league minimum for one season. Last time around he would have got a few offers, but not this time. Welcome is being worn out. Same for Boyes.

Again, My bet is some team does get him but on one year cheap deal to prove he has something. Then he plays his way to a new contract, and then he sucks again.

[Peter_Doherty]

Yeah, no matter if Dougie wanted out and tried to force it, doesn't change the fact that Sweeney messed up big time with the return he got.

batdad - I think so, almost every conteder will want to add his scoring on a cheap deal is my guess. I think Boyes will get claimed, his contract isn't even bad, $2.5m for 1 year for a guy that's always around 40 points with 15-20 goals, hope Rangers claim him.

That's my bet aswell, but i think he will have ALOT of 1 year offers...

[bruins72]

If rumours were true about Dougie being offered that $33 million over 6 years, then it's clear he wanted out of Boston with the deal he signed with Calgary. If that's the case, Sweeney had to trade him. I still think he could and should have got a better return, but I'm not whining

That's pretty much what I've been hearing. He wanted out. There's also talk that he was "uppity" and wasn't well liked in the locker room. I'm guessing those rumors are a part of a Bruins smear campaign though.

I'm pretty sure they could have gotten more than they did for Hamilton. I think Sweeney had a plan in his head for going after that #3 overall pick and it didn't work out at all.

[nino33]

Almost every contender wouldn't want to add his personality to the team (and with the Leafs trying to move Kessel the whole NHL is thinking about what a cancer such players can be on a team, making a Semin signing less likely IMO)...you talk like his agent PD HaHa

[bruins72]

DOug Maclean from Sportsnet says Boston fans will be very happy with this kid they got from San Jose. A stud.

Really? Nice! So the Lucic trade looks much better at this point. I still wish they hadn't hung on to a part of his contract though.

[Peter_Doherty]

Almost every contender wouldn't want to add his personality to the team (and with the Leafs trying to move Kessel the whole NHL is thinking about what a cancer such players can be on a team, making a Semin signing less likely IMO)...you talk like his agent PD HaHa

LOL I just think teams would gamble on a guy with that high of a ceiling, maybe i'm overly optimistic but no way he will have any trouble finding a team, probably a contender or a team that's close to contending.

[Ukko]

Martin Jones is the new SJ Sharks goalie, what are your thoughts ?

Got traded from Bruins for a 1st pick in 2016 and Sean Kuraly

I personaly quite like SJ widdling off LAK, the fact that he's a good upper side goalie and has nice stats in AHL and in his 8 NHL games.
On the other side, he has to prove he's worth it as a starter, but I don't see why he'd not do the job

[batdad]

MAybe 10 years ago teams would take a gamble like that. Now....just the weaker teams, or the dumber GMs. Rumour though is that Pittsburgh is interested...how desperate are they for someone on the wing. Maybe they add Kessel and Semin.

I just do not see teams wanting him now, it is such a different league where you always have young guys in your locker room...and I would not want them having to deal with Semin, Kessel or Richards...and perhaps Boyes as veterans on the team....Selfish guys who have bad attitudes about defensive play or just real problems off the ice. It used to be that would be about 10 teams, now it is about 20. Anyone is taking a big gamble on a guy like those guys if they bring em in. Too big a gamble. Semin will whine if not getting PP1 and top minutes and will not play hard in his own zone or listen to coaches. Neither will Kessel or Boyes. Richards will listen, but then will forget because he was drunk.

[Peter_Doherty]

Think he was probably the best choice left but they paid a pretty hefty price for him. He has 34 NHL-games btw.

batdad - We'll see what happens in the next few days, will be interesting for sure.

[batdad]

Martin Jones will fail in San Jose. The Sharks, Canucks and Bruins are the new Islanders, Oilers and Flames.

[Ukko]

Think he was probably the best choice left but they paid a pretty hefty price for him. He has 34 NHL-games btw.

My bad on number of games, and you're probably right for the price too, depends on where Sharks end at the end of the season. Anyway, we've seen dumber moves from Doug Wilson in the past

[Peter_Doherty]

Martin Jones will fail in San Jose. The Sharks, Canucks and Bruins are the new Islanders, Oilers and Flames.

Do you like a single young goalie in the entire league?

[batdad]

LOL. Yes I do. I just do not like them the way fan dom world LURVES them.

The problem I have as I have told you many many times PD....is that people build these young kids up into something. I would suggest you look at the numbers Martin Jones has put up since his 8-0-0 start to his NHL career. Behind a pretty darn solid defensive team. NOT VERY GOOD. .915 save percent. Very very average as a back up...leads to very very average as a starter. Lehner same thing. Cam Talbot good goalie, but #s have been inflated by pla4ying behind a super defensive coach whose players in the regular season get the job done the way AV wants them too. That is not going to translate behind the young team in Edmonton. Course if they get their act together they probably only need a goalie to stop 9 out of 10 pucks, not 93 out of a hundred as most teams do.

The thing is...the goalies out there right now, people are building them up...just like they do for all prospects. So it is real easy to say they are going to fail...why? Because the clowns in this world think that they are ALL going to turn into Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden or the bestest evah #1 dman or centre in the league.

People need to start taking the emotion, the hope and the wish out of their prospect evaluations....as FANS....FANS of a specific team (generally not calling out any team specifically) have no clue what so ever, what a real hockey player looks like. They just think that these hockey players are awesome because some clown shoes reporter told them he was. Or some (even worse) blogger on HF or somewhere.

Get out and actually watch these guys play in person. You will quickly realize that they are all .... graduating towards being decent (average) starters or decent (average) backups.

There are no Ken Dryden Patrick Roy out there. There will not be for some time. Noone is going to go that far above the average save percentage that those guys did in their careers. They will not be the guy who changes goaltending again. They will be decent, average starters.


But because of the build up of them....the fans will easily start saying they have FAILED and are complete busts.


And for you: Apparently all the young goalies are potential super stars? Is there a prospect out there in the net that you have not said was going to be a great starter?

I meat quite honestly...your thoughts are so polar you have never met an average player in the game of hockey. He sucks or he is a god. that is all you have.


Every guy you post about is either going to be great or going to be horrible. There is no in between but it is quite humorous considering that only 5% of the NHL players are stars and only 5% should not be in the league.

You are bold in your predictions, I will give you that. But you are the Eklund of the fan world in terms of evaluating talent. All idealism no reality.