It's been 35 years since Team USA's "Miracle On Ice".
The Rochester Red Wings minor league baseball team is celebrating in style! Team USA Hockey Miracle on Ice Celebration/Post-Game Fireworks/Pre-Game Autograph Booth.
Remember to wear your red, white and blue to tonight's #MiracleOnIceNight! Details: http://t.co/2HjpDtql0m pic.twitter.com/B1zNVepd7X
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) August 1, 2015
Are you ready for Miracle on Ice Night? 1980 Olympians John Harrington (L), Mike Ramsey (M) and Ken Morrow (R) are! pic.twitter.com/YPKwfQc0uY
— Rochester Red Wings (@RocRedWings) August 1, 2015***
The Winnipeg Jets find themselves in a bit on a predicament right now.
Their current roster is good enough to get them to the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, or deeper if they remain healthy this season.
However, there are questions on the immediate horizon for the Jets who will enter training camp in September with ten defensemen, four of whom will become unrestricted free agents next summer. In their forward ranks, their captain and moral compass Andrew Ladd will become unrestricted next July 1. Their budding superstar, and future 35+ goal scorer Mark Scheifele will be restricted next July. In my opinion, The Jets should be fixated on locking up Ladd to a long term contract extension. Ladd has earned the right to end his career in Winnipeg. It shouldn't be difficult to get Trouba and Scheifele inked to bridge deals. I see all three players as being imperative to future success in The Peg. The Jets may just want to avoid future drama and sign Ladd, Trouba and Scheifele to lengthy extensions in the now rather than wait.
When push comes to shove in Winnipeg, I can see the Jets holding on to Ladd, Scheifele and Trouba. All three are cornerstone pieces who will play large roles in the future success of the Jets. The 29 year old Ladd scored 24Gs and added 38 assists in 81 games played in 2014-15. can get Scheifele and Trouba signed to relatively affordable bridge contracts.
Dustin Byfuglien is the biggest name on the Jets’ D pending UFA list which also includes Grant Clitsome, Adam Pardy, Jay Harrison. “Big Buff… will be commanding a hefty pay raise that frankly, the Jets may not be willing to offer him. Byfuglien will be looking for a Dion Phaneuf comparable contract in the upscale, exclusive 7 years/$49 million neighborhood. Personally, I cannot see the Jets paying that amount of money. Not at 30 years of age. You have to love Byfuglien’s 18 Gs and 27As from last season, however, I cannot see him sustaining or upping his production as he enters his 30s. That’s when most NHL D-men begin to show age and wear-n-tear. Byfuglien will earn $5.2M next season and that is where I see his salary ceiling. The Jets are not a spend-to-the-cap team nor will they be in the near future. I can’t see Byfuglien offering Jets management a hometown discount in the $6 million per year range to stay and finish the job that he started in The Peg.
The Jets currently have $12.5 million in available cap space for 2015-16. They have only 12 forwards under contract for 2015-16. They have UFA’s Jiri Tlusty, Lee Stempniak, and Jim Slater to consider re-signing. They have the option of signing a couple of their UFA’s to round out their forward depth. They also have the option of trading away Byfuglien in order to land a top six forward and a lefty D who can add immediate value to the Jets roster.
Including Byfuglien, the Jets are stacked with right-handed defensemen in Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba, and Paul Postma. They would like to take ownership of a left-shooting D.
The Montreal Canadiens can help Winnipeg to secure a lefty should they partner on a trade for Byfuglien. The Habs have lefties to use as bait to land the big fish.
Montreal currently have $28,712,500 committed to their blue line and $39,795,833 their forward group.
Marc Bergevin has only $2.8 million in available cap space for 2015-16.
The Habs are loaded down the middle of their roster with pending UFA Tomas Plekanec set to earn $5 million next season. David Desharnais (2 years remaining and Lars Eller (3 years remaining) will earn $3.5 million next season. Alex Galchenyuk just signed his to year bridge deal this week that will pay him $2.8M AAV. Torrey Mitchell and Brian Flynn are also key cogs as Mike Therrien’s bottom six pivots.
The Habs are looking for Galchenyuk to make huge strides in his point production this season. The only way to achieve that goal is to give the kid top six minutes with better wingers surrounding him. That’s on Therrien to manage bigger minutes for the former Sarnia Sting sniper who has shown glimpses of brilliance in his first three seasons in the NHL. Galchenyuk has the tools and the skill to light the lamp and have his name written on the score sheet on a nightly basis. He is every bit as talented as his fellow Sarnia alums Steven Stamkos and Nail Yakupov. Now he has to show that he can take his game to the next level. I can’t see Bergevin trading Desharnais, Eller or Galchenyuk to Winnipeg. However, I can definitely envision a scenario where the Habs would send Plekanec (31 on October 31) and Alexei Emelin to Winnipeg in exchange for Byfuglien.
The current Habs D-corps consistes of:
Norris Trophy candidate P.K. Subban, who is a $9 million cap hit until 2022. The oft-injured, aging Andrei Markov who will earn $5.75 million this and next season. Recently re-signed Jeff Petry who will be a $5 million cap hit until 2021. Heavy hitter Alexei Emelin will earn $4.1 million for the next three seasons. Journeyman Tom Gilbert will earn $2.8 million this season and will be UFA next summer. Youngsters Nathan Beaulieu and Greg Pateryn who have two and three years respectively remaining on their contracts. Jarred Tinordi will be RFA next summer.
Subban, Petry, and Beaulieu are righties while Markov, Emelin, Pateryn and Tinordi are lefties. Imagine a Montreal PP with Subban at one right point and Byfuglien at the other. Opposing PKers would want to wear Kevlar body armor and think twice about stepping into point the shot lanes of Subban, Byfuglien and Markov. Talk about video game power play production!
NHL legend Rick Dudley played a huge role in drafting Byfuglien with the 245th overall pick (8th round) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Dudley and Byfuglien won a Stanley Cup together in Chicago in 2009-10. In 2010-11, Byfuglien also thrived (20Gs, 33As in 81 games) in Atlanta where Dudley was his GM. Dudley is now the senior vice president, hockey operations. It would not surprise me in the least if Byfuglien and Dudley were reunited for a third time in Montreal.
Byfuglien has averaged 18 goals and 28 assists in Winnipeg his past four seasons. There are no signs of a slowdown in his game. I think he would be better served by moving out of Winnipeg.
Byfuglien is also a marquee name being considered by the Minnesota Wild, Edmonton Oilers, and Boston Bruins.