Well, I go back pretty far, so here goes:

Tomas Sandstrom
Man, did I hate this chickencrap piece of poop in the eighties. When Brown crosschecked him in the face, I asked for seconds!!

Dale Hunter
One of the nastiest, cheap shot/late hit artists of all time.

Claude Lemieux
The pregame B.S., the unwillingness to drop the gloves, the annoying smirk. The fact that this piece of garbage has multiple cup rings is proof that the hockey gods suck large donkey nads!

Scott Stevens
Old Mr. headshot, he would be suspended for life under today's rules.

Matthew Barnaby
That franking smirk. As a fan, you just wanted to jump the glass and beat the crap out of him, it would be worth the jail time!

Darius Kasparitis
Old Mr. knee shot. One of the dirtiest players to ever lace em up

Ulf Samuelsson
Another complete and total piece of crap and lover of the dirty hit

Sidney Crosby
The constant whining and diving is just pathetic

James Neal
The worst cheap shot artist currently playing, I hope he blows out a knee!

Matt Cooke
This utter piece of dog poop should have already been kicked out of the league!

Just missed the cut:
The Plager brothers
Terry O'Reilly
Randy Holt
John Wensinck
Esa Tikanen
- BiggE

Oh Yeah, what a list

Scott Stevens was a coward in the 2000 semis doing his hit from the far side when the player was engage by another defensemen already
Daymond Langkow as well as Lindros.
I remember him hitting Ron Francis when he was with the Canes and giving him a concussion in the playoffs. I cant believe Francis forgave him for that.

I remember Browns suspension which was insane even by todays standards, for giving Sandstrom that stick, which is about 1/100 of what he deserved.

Funny how certain POS players stay in the league and are never fully punished
Matt Cooke

This scenario and other reasons (one being money) is one reason why some agents would love to do away with player drafts in all sports.

Players would simply go to the highest bidder in a perfect agent world.
- johndewar

Aren't ELC's limited in pay and term to begin with? Not to mention the cap considerations.

Aren't ELC's limited in pay and term to begin with? Not to mention the cap considerations.
- MunsterMike

Yes, they are. There are bonus you can include, but they are capped as well.

Aren't ELC's limited in pay and term to begin with? Not to mention the cap considerations.
- MunsterMike

Yes. These measures are supposed to act as a drag on player salaries.

Which agents hate.

I'm curious who has the greater value in your mind C-Nazim Kadri or C-Brayden Schenn?
- ManCity

I think Kadri's actually a better player right now, but I'd still take B Schenn long-term. He's almost a year younger than Kadri despite being from the same draft class.

Yes, they are. There are bonus you can include, but they are capped as well.
- jmatchett383

Hmm. It'd seem that if you're going to limit the amount of money one can earn anyway(there by not allowing a "bidding war"), then the option to pick your team would be available.

Hmm. It'd seem that if you're going to limit the amount of money one can earn anyway(there by not allowing a "bidding war"), then the option to pick your team would be available.
- MunsterMike

The draft throws a monkey wrench into that though.

I think Kadri's actually a better player right now, but I'd still take B Schenn long-term. He's almost a year younger than Kadri despite being from the same draft class.
- Tomahawk

I'd probably take Kadri, but it's close.

Kadri's CF% is a little lower this year, but he was a lot less sheltered than Schenn.

In the macro view, Kadri seems like a much more gifted player with the puck. With the current personnel on the Flyers, I'd take that over Schenn's "grit", for lack of a better term.

Yes. These measures are supposed to act as a drag on player salaries.

Which agents hate.
- johndewar

I would imagine, but I'm not taking their...er..."interests" into account here.

Oh Yeah, what a list

Scott Stevens was a coward in the 2000 semis doing his hit from the far side when the player was engage by another defensemen already
Daymond Langkow as well as Lindros.
I remember him hitting Ron Francis when he was with the Canes and giving him a concussion in the playoffs. I cant believe Francis forgave him for that.

I remember Browns suspension which was insane even by todays standards, for giving Sandstrom that stick, which is about 1/100 of what he deserved.

Funny how certain POS players stay in the league and are never fully punished
Matt Cooke
- Steelmanpa

Cooke took out Barrie's knee in the series against the Avs. Its what started to turn the tide in the favour of the Wild. He got suspended but came back to play against the Hawks.

The draft throws a monkey wrench into that though.
- FlyersGrace

That's what I'm getting at.

If all 30 teams can pay you the exact same amount, then why not allow the player an option to pick a team or enter the draft?

That's what I'm getting at.

If all 30 teams can pay you the exact same amount, then why not allow the player an option to pick a team or enter the draft?
- MunsterMike

Probably to stop top players from declining the draft and going to the top teams to play... It would open too many other holes if everyone wanted to play for a certain team.
I'm not an expert by any means.

I think Kadri's actually a better player right now, but I'd still take B Schenn long-term. He's almost a year younger than Kadri despite being from the same draft class.
- Tomahawk

Kadri is also a wiener

As as Schenn vs Phaneuf, I'd take Luke any day of the week, if we're including and taking into account their respective contracts.

7 mil over the next almost decade to Phaneuf is nuts. I'd rather have Schenn and see how he develops. Hopefully that will ensure his contract(s) won't turn into an albatross.

I'd probably take Kadri, but it's close.

Kadri's CF% is a little lower this year, but he was a lot less sheltered than Schenn.

In the macro view, Kadri seems like a much more gifted player with the puck. With the current personnel on the Flyers, I'd take that over Schenn's "grit", for lack of a better term.
- bradleyc4

I'm of the mind that Schenn's going to bloom a bit later, like Koivu/Kesler/Backes. I'm not sure how much more productive Kadri's going to get... I do think he gets way too much heat in TO.

Kadri is also a wiener

As as Schenn vs Phaneuf, I'd take Luke any day of the week, if we're including and taking into account their respective contracts.

7 mil over the next almost decade to Phaneuf is nuts. I'd rather have Schenn and see how he develops. Hopefully that will ensure his contract(s) won't turn into an albatross.
- Giroux_Is_God

I like Schenn better too, especially when you take the contract into account.

I think Kadri's actually a better player right now, but I'd still take B Schenn long-term. He's almost a year younger than Kadri despite being from the same draft class.
- Tomahawk

I think they are very close in value, maybe Kadri is a year further along in his progress though. I think agree, I would want Schenn long-term.

Since we're talking about Brayden a little bit- I'm going to go ahead and say for the 1000th time (between me and a few others on here, that is) that he and Jake would be dynamite together. I really think that.

I've always thought Schenn has good offensive instincts and a great finish. He can really snipe. Put him on a line where he doesn't have to be "the guy" or, at the very least, there's another player who IS "the guy" on his line, and I think he does damage.

Get Jake out there on his wing to drive the puck possession, let Schenner get to the open part of the ice, and plant Simmonds in front of the net. I really think that'd be a good line.

I want to see:

Hartnell-G-Read (There's our first line sniper, people. We don't have to trade for him. He's right (frank)ing there. Even makes that line respectable at ES, between Reader's solid 2-way play and G's decent and improving defensive game)

Simmer-Schenn-Jake (Well I just went out and talked about this one up there. Could be a little exposed 5v5 but we CANNOT have a second line rolled out there as inept as last year's)

Raffl-Coots-Akeson (Good speed, a good playmaker in Akeson and a talented 2 way player in Raffl. I'd like to see Coots see more of an offensive role- i.e. surrounding him with better wingers- but this line capable of being a shutdown line and, if Akeson can play how he did in the playoffs, this line could be nice to roll out there not only for D, but for some offensive production. Who knows...maybe Raffl will play a little looser and not choke so much on golden opportunities this season, not being a rookie and all )

Rinaldo-Laughton-Vinny (The Laughton age is upon us, folks. Let's see what he can do on the PK and with hopefully 7+ minutes each night at ES. The Vinny experiment on the 4th line, in my eyes, was deemed a success. So suck it up Vinny and play there, 4.5 mil or not. Still rather see him traded for a conditional third or some poop)

EDIT: Holy poop that's like the longest and most competent/relevant post I've made here since the playoffs I think

There's busts in every draft. I was referring to 1st overalls (i.e. Daigle and Stefan). Like I said, it's still an inexact science, but when it comes to the top players in the draft, I think there is much better prep work done by teams.

If you look at most of the recent drafts (let's say from 2005 on) and compare them to some of the mid-90's drafts, it seems like there's a lot less misses in the first round. I mean, really, look at the 1995 and 1996 NHL drafts. They're absolutely abysmal. Sure it has something to do with weak classes, but when you've got better players taken in the 2nd or 3rd round than the 1st round, it screams of not having enough information to fully evaluate.
- jmatchett383

That's a great point regarding first overalls. Since the 2000 draft there has only been one guy picked 1st overall that can be considered a "bust" and he still had an all-star season before becoming a giant hole his franchise is now throwing money into. Any guesses?

Like you said, there are busts in every draft but for whatever reason (onset of technology, more attention to detail, more money thrown into scouting, etc.) the first overalls since then have become at the very least solid contributors to the teams that picked them. Erik Johnson was questionable for awhile but he netted St. Louis a nice return and has become Colorado's best defenseman.

I think they are very close in value, maybe Kadri is a year further along in his progress though. I think agree, I would want Schenn long-term.
- ManCity

Speaking of 2009 draft picks... Evander Kane, yes please.

tl;dr shut up
- BulliesPhan87

That's a great point regarding first overalls. Since the 2000 draft there has only been one guy picked 1st overall that can be considered a "bust" and he still had an all-star season before becoming a giant hole his franchise is now throwing money into. Any guesses?

Like you said, there are busts in every draft but for whatever reason (onset of technology, more attention to detail, more money thrown into scouting, etc.) the first overalls since then have become at the very least solid contributors to the teams that picked them. Erik Johnson was questionable for awhile but he netted St. Louis a nice return and has become Colorado's best defenseman.
- TobyFlenderson

We'll have to see how RNH and Yakupov round out before we can declare the end of the 1st-overall bust.

We'll have to see how RNH and Yakupov round out before we can declare the end of the 1st-overall bust.
- Tomahawk

I think if RNH can stay healthy he'll be fine. Yakupov is a bit of a wildcard and could very well end up being a bust. But you're right, too early to declare them solid picks.

This Honka kid sounds like KT and could be a potential partner for Morin or Coburn.

Probably to stop top players from declining the draft and going to the top teams to play... It would open too many other holes if everyone wanted to play for a certain team.
I'm not an expert by any means.
- FlyersGrace

Without the possibility of teams improving themselves through the draft, competitive balance would become a pipe dream (see NBA joke of a league with basically two competitive teams and a bunch of dreck). Although there might be some allowance for guys who want to play immediately and make a mark going to less competitive teams. It would depend on when you'd be eligible for free agency after being essentially a free agent to start with.

- Giroux_Is_God

shutupshutupshutupshutup