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@SensKal Where will Doan end up? You think the #Sens are done for the off season?
The Shane Doan saga's a bit odd -- isn't it? Everyone knows that the asking price -- upwards of $30M on a multi-year deal -- is pretty ridiculous, especially considering standard performance regression for a player of his age. Doan's an absolute leader and would rather die than lose, but those kind of intangibles can only push production thresholds so far. Talent wins hockey games and while Doan can certainly still draw into a top-six, signing him may come at the expense of filling a future problem area.
If I had to hazard a guess as to where he ends up, I'll go with his original team in the Phoenix Coyotes. Honestly, the National Hockey League's beaten the Coyotes drum senseless over the past few years, and they're not going to let one more financial hurdle -- no matter how large -- get in the way of Gary Bettman's dream.
If the Coyotes are in business, Doan's there. And he'll sign for less than the rumored asking price floating around the market right now.
[
If not Phoenix, Buffalo. After the thirty Shane Doan blogs, they're going to need it, or HockeyBuzz might turn into World War III.]
As for your Ottawa question, I wouldn't rule out a minor swap(I wouldn't
ever rule out minor swaps), but there's no indications right now to suggest that the team we see right now isn't the team heading to training camp.
@_Kris_L Pick one team from the east and the west that could be next year's version of the LAK - 8th seed that wins a cup
In fairness, this isn't the easiest question I've ever answered. It's essentially asking for me to try and gauge which team will drastically under-perform during the regular season, then normalize and dominate -- as it should've all season long -- come playoff time.
I'm not one to back away from a question, though, so I'll go ahead and nominate the Carolina Hurricanes out of the Eastern Conference and Dallas Stars out of the Western Conference.
Carolina gave up a pretty substantial haul for Jordan Staal, but the move -- so long as he stays healthy -- should pay major dividends. Staal, much like he did in Pittsburgh, is going to carry the tough minutes, hopefully providing some more desirable shifts for ultra-talents for brother Eric, Alex Semin, et al. Cam Ward's still a machine, too. The team doesn't have any areas where they really excel above the natural curve, but they lack notable weaknesses, too. Well-rounded club.
For the past few years, Dallas has been right on the cusp of playoff // non-playoff team, and I'm thinking the additions they've made this season -- Derek Roy, Ray Whitney, Jaromir Jagr -- will improve the quality of this club in the short-term.
The defense worries me a touch, but they do have a number of skilled blue line prospects waiting in the wings, and I'd be hesitant to bet against Kari Lehtonen in a big game. He's like Ondrej Pavelec, except a lot, lot better.
@MikeRiz09 explain icing in under 140 characters.
Icing is an act perfected by former Habs // current Avalanche blue liner Ryan O'Byrne, where the puck is treated like a live grenade.
Pretty simple. Hope that helped.
@marcod24 from what your hearing, are #Sens in the mix for BRyan? What would it take? Is Murray saving $ 4 next yr FA Perry/Getzlaf?
Think pretty much every team is in the mix for Bobby Ryan right now, and if they're not, they're missing the boat. Ryan's an incredibly skilled winger that feeds off of fantastic playmakers down the middle. On Jason Spezza's wing, Ryan could have a field day.
The issue is that Anaheim's really killed the Bobby Ryan trade rumors on the surface, having reportedly patched things up with the twenty-five year old recently. I still wouldn't rule out a move here, especially if Philadelphia -- a team I suspect is seriously, seriously interested in his services -- swoops in with a mega-deal. The Flyers don't have much of anything to offer when it comes to prospects, but they can offer a number of already-established NHL'ers, and there's always a draft pick or ten to move in today's NHL.
Regarding Perry and Getzlaf, that's going to be a waiting game. I don't see why Anaheim wouldn't retain either - perhaps Getzlaf could hit the market if the Anaheim front office believes that his fluky-poor season in 2011-2012 is actually the beginnings of skill regression. I don't buy it, though, and expect him to perform well next year.
If Getzlaf pieces together two poor seasons, and Anaheim's out of the race, one has to wonder if they'll shop him at the trade deadline.
How much would you give up for Getzlaf? About the same as Bobby Ryan? For teams needing a 1LC, the price may even be higher.
@_morningtheft Why was Alfie's return not given blog status by Eklund? Not Selanne or a Flyer?
This actually goes back to a long-standing beef between Eklund and the Ottawa Senators front office during the Stanley Cup run in 2007.
Few actually know this, but the main reason Daniel Alfredsson took a
slap-shot into Scott Niedermayer was due to a wager placed by Eklund in a major Las Vegas, Nevada casino.
Eklund had the scoop on an agreement between the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators -- Ottawa would be handed the victory by Anaheim, a roll-over // match-fixing of sorts, and all of this was green-lighted by the NHL front office. More games, more interest, more playoff revenue.
When Ek got word, he absolutely unloaded on Ottawa. The bet was reportedly so large, the ticket handler had to call for two separate managers to key in the bet.
Fast forward to the game, and Anaheim didn't roll over. Eklund -- extremely close to many in the Ottawa front office -- called in to voice his displeasure with an organization that couldn't even win a fixed game. Word trickled down to the equally-frustrated Daniel Alfredsson, who decided to let one off into Scott Niedermayer's rib cage.
The Ducks weren't happy with his actions, and decided to bust it even harder in the third period, winning the game 3-2.
Down on his luck and finances, Eklund decided he had no choice but to hire me to increase his bottom line. Now, he's living in a beach house in Turks and Caicos, thanks mostly to
my advanced statistics blogs Julie Robenhymer's auto-play videos.
I'll never forget his last words of advice before jumping the country: "Travis -- don't ever go cash. Ladies love the black card."
He still holds a grudge, though. He still holds a grudge.
Alternatively: I have no idea why Eklund didn't write a Daniel Alfredsson blog. Feel free to e-mail him -- I'm sure he has a valid reason. My story's a lot better than his is going to be, though.
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