Official lead up to 2015-16 season thread

[philou21]

It never said they were gone for good though. Just that is was more rare year after year.

[nino33]

Good article but "death of bridge contracts" is too strong. What is Kuznetsov's contract, then?

Yeah that headline might have been a bit strong HaHa...but I'm not sure Kuznetsov is the type of player they were talking about though, because as skilled as he is he's played only one full NHL season and put up 37 points (while guys the article mentioned like O’Reilly/Tarasenko/Stepan have a more proven NHL track record)

[Alessandro]

Good article but "death of bridge contracts" is too strong. What is Kuznetsov's contract, then?

Yeah that headline might have been a bit strong HaHa...but I'm not sure Kuznetsov is the type of player they were talking about though, because as skilled as he is he's played only one full NHL season and put up 37 points (while guys the article mentioned like O’Reilly/Tarasenko/Stepan have a more proven NHL track record)

You made the exact definition of a bridge contract, though

[nino33]

Good article but "death of bridge contracts" is too strong. What is Kuznetsov's contract, then?

Yeah that headline might have been a bit strong HaHa...but I'm not sure Kuznetsov is the type of player they were talking about though, because as skilled as he is he's played only one full NHL season and put up 37 points (while guys the article mentioned like O’Reilly/Tarasenko/Stepan have a more proven NHL track record)

You made the exact definition of a bridge contract, though

Really? One 37 point season is worth the same as the others mentioned? IMO they're not the same situations at all (maybe to you Kuznetsov is on the cusp of being an elite star, but I've not heard that on this side of the ocean...over here I think he's still looked at as more potential, less proven)

Would you even know who he was (i.e. a guy at age 23 who's played 97 NHL games and has 46 points) if he wasn't Russian?

EDIT - and just to clarify, "as a concept" I can see how you could consider it a bridge contract, but to me that's not what the article was referring to...I thought the article was referring to people who were already NHL team leaders/stars who had actually produced in the NHL from a teen onwards, and in their early 20s were getting long term/bigger money contracts then what they used to in the past [to "lock them up long term at a younger age" as opposed to making them "prove it more" - Kuznetsov on the other hand is reasonably (IMO) being asked to "prove it more"]

[Alessandro]

Some good read about Vladimir Tarasenko http://thehockeywriters.com/vladimir-ta ... -contract/

[nino33]

Some good read about Vladimir Tarasenko http://thehockeywriters.com/vladimir-ta ... -contract/

A good read, thanks for sharing!

[Alessandro]

Some good read about Vladimir Tarasenko http://thehockeywriters.com/vladimir-ta ... -contract/

A good read, thanks for sharing!

I will post more in the next few days! Thank you for reading!

[Ozil]

Patrick Sharp is a Star! Dallas trades Daley and Garbutt to the Hawks for Stephen Johns and Patrick Sharp. Another important note is that Dallas eats half of Garbutt's salary, meaning the Hawks have some room. I like the trade for Sharp, but we need a defenseman! As for the Hawks, maybe getting Daley means they won't be retaining Oduya

[17Scribbles]

I like the trade for Sharp, but we need a defenseman!

Defensive logjam up the wazoo. We've got Goligoski, Klingberg, Nemeth, Jokipakka, Benn, Demers, Oleksiak--not to mention upcoming Honka, Lindell, and Johns now (and McKenzie ?) Plus whichever one of the Matthias(es) plays D. Where do we put more defensemen?

now back to lurking

[Cap]

Well, I could see Dallas going after Franson as he would be an upgrade over someone like Benn. By the way, is anyone surprised Franson hasn't signed yet? I wonder if he is waiting for teams to increase their offers. Erhoff too although with his injury history, I could see why teams aren't willing to offer term and huge money.

[Manimal]

Funny how Daley scored as many goals as Sharp did last season. Sharp will probably rebound with more playing minutes.
Hawks needed a dman and Daley with his skating two-way game fits their mold
I'm a bit surprised the Hawks gave up on Johns, though. He seems NHL-ready
Plus, the Hawks did not gain that much cap space with the deal. They need to do more(Bickell?)

[Peter_Doherty]

I think that's a very meh trade for Hawks, Garbutt is a pretty bad player even at $900k and Daley is far from great. They also didn't gain that much cap space, i dont know...

I like the trade from Dallas perspective, Daley wasn't great last season and they have plenty of young D-men that can jump up one slot in the pecking order and getting rid of Garbutt can be seen as addition by subtraction even if they had to retain 50% salary. Sharp has a good chance to bounce back in Dallas.

[Prowl]

I agree Peter. When I saw the trade, I was underwhelmed. I've never been a Daley fan though if he plays on a 2nd or 3rd pairing, maybe he's more effective. Garbutt is meh for me as well. On the Dallas side, it's a win. Sharp adds experience and someone who plays the 200 Ft. game. I like the Johns addition too. All the Stars have to hope for is that one of Lehtonen or Niemi will provide above average goaltending

[Alessandro]

Interview with Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy http://thehockeywriters.com/vasilevskiy ... re-season/
Have a good read

[Doomski]

Interview with Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy http://thehockeywriters.com/vasilevskiy ... re-season/
Have a good read

Thanks, very interesting! I really like this guy, he's very impressive for his age, and he was even back in the KHL. He seems to be an honest man

[Prowl]

Interview with Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy http://thehockeywriters.com/vasilevskiy ... re-season/
Have a good read

Thanks, very interesting! I really like this guy, he's very impressive for his age, and he was even back in the KHL. He seems to be an honest man

I heard him being labelled the Russian Carey Price from Lavoie. That's mighty high praise for him

[philou21]

ROR got arrested in Ontario for drunk driving. He hit a Tim Hortons then ran away! Him and Kane are going to be the new Carter/Richards.

[CJ]

Toronto has a new GM. Lou Lamoriello!

[Alessandro]

A translated interview with Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks

http://thehockeywriters.com/money-not-a ... i-panarin/

[Devils88]

Toronto has a new GM. Lou Lamoriello!

Don't get me wrong, i was a big fan of Lou since the beginning of my "Devils Fan Career". Smart Decisions, good Trades, good Team. But he lost his "Mojo" Years ago.
So as a longtime Devilsfan i was really enjoying the news for Lamoriello stepping down as GM. The Devils needed new blood (not only players) badly. Lou was a great GM til 2004-05 (Salary-Cap). The last 5 years his transactions and contracts were headscratching . He was a great GM. He WAS.
So i don't see any improvment for Toronto in hiring LL.
Should he teach Kyle Dubas, how to give a 35 years old 3rd Liner named Zubrus, a three Year Contract for 3.5 Mio. per Year.
Maybe he trades for some "dead bodies" on the devils roster (Zubrus, Ruutu, Gionta) that would be be hillarious.
Poor Leafs.

[nino33]

Lou was a great GM til 2004-05

Since 2005 the Devils have 6 playoff appearances (including the Semis twice and the Finals once).....I suspect the Leafs would be thrilled with this kind of lack of success HaHa

IMO just Lamoriello's contacts/connections alone have likely improved the Leafs. He's not "taking over" the Leafs http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/why- ... anization/

[Peter_Doherty]

Shanahan will still have the final word, Lou will just be another person to bounce ideas of, solid acquisition i must say.

[CJ]

Since 2005 the Devils have 6 playoff appearances (including the Semis twice and the Finals once).....

And I still to this date have no idea how the Devils made it to the SC final 2012. LA winning the whole thing was a surprise also. (Two underdog teams at the time)

A translated interview with Artemi Panarin of the Chicago Blackhawks

http://thehockeywriters.com/money-not-a ... i-panarin/

Thanks for the interview. It'll be interesting to see how he'll manage in NHL.

[ClassicSwarley]

Lou might even be there to ''educate'' Dubas on becoming the next big thing, you never know
As Peter_Doherty mentioned, Shanny will still have the final word. Lou is most likely a small piece of the puzzle and the Leafs wouldn't have hired Lou if he wasn't fully on board with the rebuild, and how they want to do it.

[philou21]

Soooooo MTL takes the bet with Semin for one year, worth 1.1 M$. I would say that could ending up being a steal BUT I really don't like that guy and with Therrien defensive play, I doubt he succeeds honestly. Still a good deal that won't hurt them at all.

Holtby who was asking for 8 M$ per year got 6 per year for 5 years. That's already better than 8 freaking millions.