The draft was tonight... the main guys went as expected, but there were a couple other noteable trades during the night. The biggest ones being:

Olli Jokinen got traded to Phoenix for two defencemen pieces, Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton

The Flames got Michael Cammalleri from L.A. for their 17th pick, then traded Alex Tanguay to Montreal for the 25th pick

St. Louis got RJ Umberger from Philadelphia for the 19th pick. They also got Chris Mason from Nashville for a 4th rounder.

...

Maybe I'm just used to the NBA, but shouldn't pretty good players like Cammalleri (who scored 80 points two years ago and is still young), Tanguay, and Umberger be worth more than mid-round draft picks? Is picks like the 17th or 19th really that valuable? And Chris Mason is a pretty good goalie, they got him for a 4th rounder, wtf? At least Huet was going to be a UFA when he got traded for a second rounder.

A few other news from the last couple days:

The Canadians have been given permission to talk to Mats Sundin. That would be the funniest shit ever if it went down, but it's probably the best thing for Toronto to get rid of him now. On that note I'm not sure what Montreal is doing... they don't really need more offense like Tanguay and Sundin, they need toughness and d.

Russia offered Malkin their version of the Beckham contract. Translated to American dollars, he'd be getting 15 mil a year to play in their league. Would be devastating for the NHL if it happened, but I don't think it will. At least with Beckham he couldn't compete that well with the Euro pros by that point anyways.

Umberger went to the Blue Jackets, not the Blues, but yeah, it was kind of a bizarre night for trades. Umberger had a great playoffs, why is Philly getting rid of him?

It must have to do with the salary cap, but with the way that thing's going up, it's gonna be like it was before the lockout. Though the Oilers have a billionaire owner now, so I really don't care. Maybe they can afford to compete this time.

I'm quite happy for the Habs. Off season after off season, their trades just never seem to work, and now finally things seem to be falling into place. We've got the young guys already, now we need experienced forwards to help out our young'ns.

Tanguay is a very good player - this is a great catch. He was picked #12 in his year, so we essentially traded away a #25 pick for a #12 pick, and it's Tanguay. He's very solid (look at his stats), still young, and I would love to see what he can do working with this team.

I didn't think much of the Sundin talks at first, but now I wouldn't at all be surprised to see him in a Habs uniform (especially with everything I've been reading around the web regarding how great the talks are going).

Mats is just looking for a good retiring year. If the Habs strike something, it will be a 1-year deal with Sundin with the lure of playing for a real team who has the potential to win the Stanley Cup. Also, let us not forget that Sundin played for the Quebec Nordiques before they went to Colorado. He's lived and experienced Quebec. I think of only good things when I think of the experience Mats could bring to the team and the leadership he could bring to our young'ns.

Sundin and Tanguay together would really allow the Habs to have 3 solid working lines. Of course, nothing is for sure, but the potential is definitely there.

Peace,
Mike

On the Habs' Alex Tanguay acquisition:

http://canadiens.nhl.com/team/app/?serv ... eid=366561

“I couldn’t be happier about coming to Montreal,” admitted Tanguay, who helped lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in 2001. “With my no-trade clause I could have said no, but I really want to play for the Canadiens. I know how strong a team we have and that I won’t have to be Mario Lemieux or even Guy Lafleur. I hope to contribute to getting this team to the next level.”

...

“We’ve brought in a player with a lot of experience who is only 28 years old and will be with us for a long time,” said Gainey. “Alex had a no-trade clause which he decided to lift in order to come to Montreal.”

Peace,
Mike

Eh...

Tanguay kinda underperformed while he was with the Flames, so I'd be hesitant to call him the solution to the Habs' problems. He'll certainly help the offence, at least.

As for Sundin, well.... I think it'd be a mistake to sign him. He'd eat up cap room and he hasn't got that long left. It works better for him than for Montreal, as he just wants to get out of the disaster that is the Leafs and try and win a Cup before he retires. So I'm not sure what Gainey is thinking.

I'm not sure what you mean about Tanguay. He had his best season of his NHL career with the Flames (81 points), and a 70 points average over the 2 seasons with them. His average with Colorado (over 6 consecutive seasons) was 67 points. His +/- rating is pretty impressive, too. He has never finished in the minus, and was +11 and +12 in his past 2 seasons with the Flames.

He may have had a lesser season than the one previously, but to say he "underperformed" while he was with the Flames is certainly a misguided statement. He's following pretty consistently with his career pattern. As a young, strong player (and as Gainey said) he could be with the Habs for years to come. His points levels are definitely great for the Habs, who lack experienced, high point gatherers (and have relied on a more collective effort). I also just feel Tanguay would fit really well into the Habs, especially considering his enthusiasm. *shrug*

As for Sundin, I definitely get what you are saying, and I would agree if the Habs were to sign him to a long-term contract. But like I said earlier, that's not what I see Gainey ever doing. If the Habs do sign him, it will be a 1 year contract. If not, then I am in your camp in that it's a waste of money.

Peace,
Mike

Well, it looks like Sundin is gonna test free agency. I'm guessing he's just gonna sign with the team he thinks has the best shot at a Cup, which means he could be heading to Detroit or Pittsburgh. If Malkin heads to Russia, then the Penguins might go after Sundin (as idiotic as that would be).

Fletcher's really cleaning up the Leafs, too. They've got Ron Wilson as coach now and he put Wellwood and Raycroft on waivers (Vancouver picked up Wellwood), and now plans to buy out Darcy Tucker (who I've never liked). I bet Leaf fans are sad he won't stick around, though they all seem convinced that Brian Burke is coming to save them.

And Lecavalier seems set to sign a nine-year, $77 million deal, which should keep him in Tampa for the rest of his career. Wonder if he'll have the same reputation as Yzerman/Sakic when he's done, as he's already got a Cup.

Here is a new prediction...

the leafs will lose.

Some big stuff happened yesterday...

My Oilers traded Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene to L.A. for Lubomir Visnovsky, who should help the powerplay. This probably means we won't be re-signing Joni Pitkanen, though.

Tampa signed Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from Pittsburgh, paying Malone way too much (between $7 and $8 million in each of the first two years - much more than he's worth). They've also acquired the rights to sign Brian Rolston from Minnesota.

And Sundin continues taking his time to decide where he's going to play. Who really cares, though. He's at the end of his career.

Insane, doesn't Crosby make like 8 mil? Malone is like a C level star, lol. I think this points to jump in FA contracts, though.

Tampa should be pretty set next year, in terms of forwards (which is the East style of play anyways).

Couple more trades for my Oilers...

Raffi Torres to Columbus for Gilbert Brule
Joni Pitkanen to Carolina for Erik Cole

Looks like Lowe's clearing cap room, hopefully he's setting up to make a big signing.

Major signings so far today...

Jose Theodore to Washington for two years
Andrew Raycroft to Colorado for one year
Curtis Joseph returns to Toronto for one year
Cristobal Huet goes to Chicago
Olaf Kolzig goes to Tampa for one year
Alex Auld goes to Ottawa for two years

So it's basically been musical chairs for the goalies.

Oh, and apparently the Canucks offered Sundin $10 million a year for two years ( ). What are they thinking?

Poor Washington

Apparently the Oilers are chasing Hossa now too. All I have to say to that is....

Chicago signs Brian Campell for 8 years, around 7 mil a year. Too much, too long. Last couple years he'll be useless. But they're going back to the playoffs.

Also, Redden went to the Rangers (again too much money, 6.5 mil per), New Jersey got Brian Rolston (great move for them, he'll be a great offensive player they need, and only at 5 mil per.)

Oilers traded Pitkanen for Erik Cole

And the Leafs signed some guy named Jeff Finger for 3.5 mil/yr. Good ol Leafs, you'd think they'd stop overspending... let alone overspending on useless guys named Jeff Finger

So Hossa signed with Detroit for one season at $7.4 million. Guess he really wants that Cup.

Flames steal Glencross

I loved that guy : (

Poor Pittsburgh. They peaked and came that close to winning the cup, and now they've lost Hossa. Not good.

Peace,
Mike

In news everyone won't care about but I do, the Bruins signed Michael Ryder to a multi-year deal. I don't think this appeared on anyone's radar (especially with Hossa, which is absolutely hilarious, but I'll have more on that in a sec) but I think it's a good move for the Bruins. There's a lot of upswing there. He only scored 14 goals last year, but he's notched 30 goals in a year twice in his career and he's only 28. He should be helpful, especially with Patrice Bergeron coming back next year.

As for Hossa, the funny thing about this from a Bruins point of view is that the NY Post was reporting that the Bruins had offered him a 10-year $100 million dollar contract. You know, Hossa's good, but 10 years at $100 million? It's a great thing that the story had no truth to it. And talk about a big fuck you to the Penguins.

Apparently the Oilers offered Hossa upwards of $9 million, and the Penguins were prepared to offer him the same deal he got from Detroit. But $100 million over 10 years? Fuck. At least we weren't that stupid.

So Brian Burke is blaming the high salary costs this year on Kevin Lowe.

*yawn*

What else is new?

Rangers sign Naslund for two years, $4 million a year. Looks like Jagr's not going back to New York.
Canadiens sign Laraque for three years, $1.5 million a year.
Penguins re-sign Fleury for seven years, $5 million a year. Good news for them