Comments on: Canadian Shake-ups, NHL Observations

By: KForbes

KForbes — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 15:08:58 +0000

Neil: Blake’s cap hit is $4 million next year and the year after. But his actual salary breakdown is $4.5 million this year and then $3 million both next year and the year after. The actual salary is of more importance to the Ducks, who operate under a bit of an internal budget. Giguere is set to make $7 million next season. So while they are only saving $2 million in cap space, Anaheim saves $4 million in salary next season (which basically flips over to Hiller). (all salary info I used is from capgeek.com… it seems to be more accurate than nhlnumbers when it comes to these calculations).

With Washington, I think the real question is ‘when is Varlamov going to return?’ He’s been listed as being “close” for what seems like three weeks now. He seems to be the best bet to carry that team between the pipes. If I’m a Capitals fan, I would be concerned if he sees minimal time prior to the Olympics and then goes off to be a member of Team Russia (which is what it appears to be shaping up to be). But on the otherhand, he’s definitely the third goalie on Russia’s roster, so he’s unlikely to play. He has been practising in Hershey.

On a side note of what might have been, I never realised how good a fit Giguere might have been in Washington. With Theodore making $4.5 million and coming off the books at the off-season, I would think Anaheim would have been interested. The only thing I can see Washington balking at is Giguere’s salary next year, with guys like Backsrom and Fleischmann needing a new deals.

By: Blake

Blake — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:46:47 +0000

Maybe it’s just the Wild fan in me, but I think I’d rather have a Havlat/Koivu core to build around than Kessel/Overrated/Overpaid. That’s just me though.

By: Neil

Neil — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:24:52 +0000

I don’t know how exactly they calculate it but nhlnumbers.com has Blake’s cap hit in TO at 2.5 and in Anaheim at 1.5. Are they just calculating the part of the season he played for each team (meaning that Blake has a cap hit of 4 million next year)? I definitely agree that 4 million for Blake is a terrible deal.

By: Christianson10

Christianson10 — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:37:55 +0000

Varlamov stood on his head in last years playoffs till the pens and Theodore is on a hot streak…but if they picked up conklin i would definately cry tears of joy

By: MikeB

MikeB — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:03:30 +0000

Niel- Blake has a 4m cap hit this year through 2012. He is a terrible contract.

What about that Jokinen/Prust deal? How can you have two players tossed under the bus like that?

By: Neil

Neil — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 02:28:40 +0000

I typed a solid 200 words on the Dion deal and then realized you basically said it already in fewer words.

Burke is a smart guy, he is clearing off his books and adding core pieces in preparation for some free agent signings. The leafs could improve a lot in the off season. LIke most people who say what they mean and mean what they say, Burke has a fleet of haters. I’ve always liked him for his honesty, you might not always agree with him but he doesn’t shy away from the media and he shares my dislike of Mike Milbury.

I think the The Blake-Giguerre-Toskala deal works for both teams, no one wants a 6.5 million dollar backup, Toskala can’t handle the pressure in TO but he’s a questionmark at 4 million, and Blake is an ok top-6 guy with a small cap hit (2.5ish). I bet Giggy has a good year in TO next year but he certainly hasn’t been very good in Anaheim since Hiller took over. Where is the Giggy that won a cup and a con smythe? I bet Burke finds him.

By: Madeleine

Madeleine — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:00:49 +0000

It’s been so long since I had hopes for the Leafs that this feeling is new for me. I like it.

Found this nostalgic Leafs video on YouTube, pretty good for a laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4rc-rmvEd8

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 19:17:59 +0000

Fair points man. I wouldn’t be worried about giving up Varlamov or Neuvirth for a proven guy, cause the best case scenario for those two goalies is probably to someday hear someone say “Neuvirth is a proven guy”. The point I was trying to make is, if I knew my stacked team lacked in one area, and that area is the one that championships hinge on, I’d be active. That’s all.

By: MikeB

MikeB — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:59:18 +0000

No doubt the majority of the goaltenders I listed are better. But to get one you are giving up Neuivrth or Varlamov, plus a prospect (People would be gunning for Karl Alzner or John Carlson) and it wouldn’t be worth it for the increase in quality, unless we are talking Harding or Halak. Then the price goes up. The best move would probably be Marty Turco or Johan Hedberg both of which become UFA’s at the end of the season and provide some experience and stability that the Washington goalies lack, and might come cheaper then one goalie and a prospect.

By: jtbourne

jtbourne — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:39:08 +0000

I know he’s been playing bad, and that Phaneuf is overrated. But what does it matter if they’re overpaid of they can make it work under their cap space? Its up to Burke to make it work financially – the bottom line is that Phaneuf is better than White, so they got better there. A to B. And an underachieving Komisarek is an above-average NHL d-man (hurt + underachieving = average).

As for MikeB, if I was asked to rank every goalie in your comment, I’d put every single goalie ahead of all three Capitals tenders, minus Osgood and Conklin. Maybe Leclaire too. Personally, I’d have killed to get Giguere from Anaheim (okay, he gets paid too much, but you gotta make some effort to weld your weak link). And to reiterate, I’ll take quality over quantity when it comes to building a Stanley Cup contender. White is just more (affordable) quantity.