T1B

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 5:14 pm**

NHL is back.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 5:54 pm**

holy shit

Florida moved up to take Mario Van Peebles

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:27 pm**

With the 24th pick the St. Louis Blues select T.J. Oshie ?

BWAHAHAHAH!!

:lol:

The Organ could have made a better selection than that.

He's not even ranked in the top 40 by central scouting.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:33 pm**

Adelpiero wrote:holy shit

Florida moved up to take Mario Van Peebles

I realize he's Canadian born but it is good to see more black players in the NHL.

UnRACK the all sports except hockey network for not showing the draft
RACK NHL.com for having TSN's feed over the 'net...good stuff!

As a Michigan fan, I didn't realize that the Wolverines had two highly touted prospects in the draft coming in as freshman. I'm excited to see Johnson and Cogliano wearing the maize and blue this coming season. The guys on TSN were making it sound like Johnson might only play one year of college or jump right to the pros but it would be great if he did play for Red Berenson and company this year. They're going to need to replace Al Montoya in net, who signed this week with the Rangers and thus he'll forgo his senior season at Michigan. The Wolverines should still be a loaded team regardless.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:34 pm**

Otis wrote:With the 24th pick the St. Louis Blues select T.J. Oshie ?

BWAHAHAHAH!! :lol:

The Organ could have made a better selection than that.

He's not even ranked in the top 40 by central scouting.

only thing to say is, that jarmo knows what he is doing

half of the first round players wont ever suit up in nhl, so its a wait and see

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:35 pm**

Jeff O'Neill's a Maple Leaf

For a conditional pick in the '06 draft

Very nice pickup by JF Jr.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:38 pm**

Otis wrote:Jeff O'Neill's a Maple Leaf

For a conditional pick in the '06 draft

Very nice pickup by JF Jr.

Nice trade for the Leafs. The future of Nolan is looking very cloudy and Roberts is probably not coming back...O'Neill should fit nice on the first line and on the power play.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:39 pm**

shoalzie

draft is on NESN and fox sports chitown and csnma

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:41 pm**

Adelpiero wrote:shoalzie

draft is on NESN and fox sports chitown and csnma

I don't get those channels...the web feed works just fine, thanks.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 11:03 pm**

Otis wrote:Jeff O'Neill's a Maple Leaf

For a conditional pick in the '06 draft

Very nice pickup by JF Jr.

You had better pray that Roberts comes back--otherwise, you're skroobed.

Posted: **Sat Jul 30, 2005 11:41 pm**

AcidQueen wrote:
Otis wrote:Jeff O'Neill's a Maple Leaf

For a conditional pick in the '06 draft

Very nice pickup by JF Jr.

You had better pray that Roberts comes back--otherwise, you're skroobed.

I'm sorry but I can't see the downside to acquiring O'Neill for what is now being reported to be a 4th round draft pick in 2006
Leafs have also signed O'Neill to a two-year, $3-million deal ($1.5-million each season).

I'm a big fan of the style of play and intensity that Roberts brings and wouldn't be disappointed if the Leafs did resign him.
But that said, if it's time to build for the future then signing O'Neill makes the team younger.

Take it for what it's worth but the local sports radio station here is now reporting a rumour that Naslund, Naslund's agent and JF Jr are close to an agreement to sign Naslund to a 3 year/$7.5M deal.
Personally, I'll believe it when it's a signed deal.

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:30 am**

Otis wrote:I'm sorry but I can't see the downside to acquiring O'Neill for what is now being reported to be a 4th round draft pick in 2006
Leafs have also signed O'Neill to a two-year, $3-million deal ($1.5-million each season).

You don't know Jeff O'Neill like I and the rest of the Caniac Nation does (well, those that aren't all bunny'd out over him anyway). I'm trying to be up front with you about what you're getting, so bear with me.

O'Neill let himself go to hell over the lockout. He packed on the pounds and has been spotted at numerous local watering holes drinking himself into near-oblivion. He's been busted for DUI at least twice before the debacle earlier this year, had fans give him lifts home on plenty of other occasions so that he WOULDN'T get busted for DUI, and he's got a reputation as a lazy bastard whose idea of conditioning is (to borrow a quote from Ron Francis) "not putting ketchup on his fries". The only person who's ever been able to keep a handle on him is Gary Roberts--if you want O'Neill to be any good for the Leaf, you had better hope that Roberts re-ups. Otherwise, the outlook is not promising.

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:45 am**

AcidQueen wrote:
Otis wrote:I'm sorry but I can't see the downside to acquiring O'Neill for what is now being reported to be a 4th round draft pick in 2006
Leafs have also signed O'Neill to a two-year, $3-million deal ($1.5-million each season).
You don't know Jeff O'Neill like I and the rest of the Caniac Nation does (well, those that aren't all bunny'd out over him anyway). I'm trying to be up front with you about what you're getting, so bear with me.

O'Neill let himself go to hell over the lockout. He packed on the pounds and has been spotted at numerous local watering holes drinking himself into near-oblivion. He's been busted for DUI at least twice before the debacle earlier this year, had fans give him lifts home on plenty of other occasions so that he WOULDN'T get busted for DUI, and he's got a reputation as a lazy bastard whose idea of conditioning is (to borrow a quote from Ron Francis) "not putting ketchup on his fries". The only person who's ever been able to keep a handle on him is Gary Roberts--if you want O'Neill to be any good for the Leaf, you had better hope that Roberts re-ups. Otherwise, the outlook is not promising.

Well if that's the case then I agree with you, signing Roberts would be a good motivating factor.
That said, O'Neill might also benefit from playing in his home town where the media spotlight won't allow him to get away with shit like that.
As far as the DUI goes... I'm guessing his brother's tragic death last week might drive some sense into him about driving while impaired.
Or else he could also look at the case of two drivers here who are now facing the possibility of 60 years in jail for their combined 37 counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm charges and dangerous driving causing bodily harm charges because of their actions last Saturday night.

Either way, for a 4th round pick.. it's a gamble that has huge upside with zero downside to it.

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:08 am**

Everyone here is pretty shocked the Habs choosed a goalie on their first pick. At first I was a bit disapointed but Gainey still has all my confidence. Quite frankly I don't see Theo play for MTL for too long, there's just too much shit revolving around him.

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:47 am**

Smoked Meat wrote:Everyone here is pretty shocked the Habs choosed a goalie on their first pick. At first I was a bit disapointed but Gainey still has all my confidence. Quite frankly I don't see Theo play for MTL for too long, there's just too much shit revolving around him.

Why would you be surprised that they took the goalie that the Leafs had their eye on...

Freak'n Habs... :x

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:41 pm**

Otis wrote:Freak'n Habs... :x

The exact same words you'll say after the first HNIC

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 7:07 pm**

Otis wrote:Take it for what it's worth but the local sports radio station here is now reporting a rumour that Naslund, Naslund's agent and JF Jr are close to an agreement to sign Naslund to a 3 year/$7.5M deal.
Personally, I'll believe it when it's a signed deal.

Considering that it's tampering to even be talking to Naslund until tomorrow at noon, I'd throw that rumour into the garbage pail if I were you.

But at some point, the Leafs going to have to start dumping players rather than acquiring the whole freakin' world.

Posted: **Sun Jul 31, 2005 9:59 pm**

JD wrote:
Otis wrote:Take it for what it's worth but the local sports radio station here is now reporting a rumour that Naslund, Naslund's agent and JF Jr are close to an agreement to sign Naslund to a 3 year/$7.5M deal.
Personally, I'll believe it when it's a signed deal.
Considering that it's tampering to even be talking to Naslund until tomorrow at noon, I'd throw that rumour into the garbage pail if I were you.

But at some point, the Leafs going to have to start dumping players rather than acquiring the whole freakin' world.

Like I said... take it for what it's worth..
But tampering or not, it's no big secret that it does happen, you only hear about it when someone gets caught.
I know that the Leafs Steen has the same agent as Forsberg but whether or not he also represents Naslund, that I'm not sure of.
It's also no secret that Sundin and Naslund have also said they'd like to play together much like Forsberg and Naslund or Forsberg and Sundin.
There was a report yesterday that the Avalanche will resign Forsberg but for a much lower price because of his injury this past season.

As for the Leafs not acquiring the whole freak'n world...

Well, that was the one thing about this whole salary cap that some franchises should have been careful for what they wished for... with the salary cap, it negates the issue of who has the most money to buy players.
Which then leaves the elite players to choose which market is the best hockey market and offers them the lifestyle that they'd most want to live in...
To that end... the Leafs are in the top 3 markets.

Rutherford understands the Toronto mystique

Although nothing has been said publicly, some of the teams in the National Hockey League are a bit worried that, as life evolves under the new collective bargaining agreement, a few of their partners will have an advantage over the others.

They aren't really worried about internal economics. Every team has to be under the $39-million US salary cap, so in theory, there is a level playing field.

It's more a matter of circumstance -- of geography and mystique.

The feeling is that the new CBA will be so effective in reducing the bargaining power of players that they will start to consider other factors when deciding where they want to perform.

For instance, the Los Angeles Kings might fare well simply because of the attractions of living in southern California. A number of players, ex-players and even players from other franchises live along the Los Angeles beaches.

On the other coast, the New York Rangers might get more than their share of good players because as the corporate centre of the United States, a player would be better poised to attract endorsement contracts.

In Canada, the theory went, Toronto and Montreal would be able to draw upon their mystique with players from Ontario and Quebec, still the most populous group in the National Hockey League. They would want to play for the teams that captured their fantasies when they were growing up.

But even though yesterday's acquisition of Jeff O'Neill by the Maple Leafs might seem to be the first indication that the hypothesis is sound, there is a lot more to the deal than that.

It is true that O'Neill mused publicly that he wanted to be a Maple Leaf long before his brother was killed in a traffic accident on July 21.

But it was the tragedy, not the whim, that cemented the deal.

When the Leafs acquired O'Neill yesterday, he was a $2.8-million US player. Even that was something of a bargain.

In his most recent season, he was a $3.7-million player, but like everybody else, he had to take a 24% pay cut.

But O'Neill so badly wanted to be in Toronto that he agreed to renegotiate the one-year, $2.8-million deal for two years at $1.5 million.

"Prior to the family loss," explained Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford, "Jeff and I and his dad, Paul, talked about the possibility of what was going to happen if we had to qualify him at $2.8 million."

It was no secret to Rutherford that O'Neill wanted to play for the Leafs, as he himself once did.

"When they had the loss in the family,"Rutherford said, "Paul called me and said Jeff would really love to play in Toronto and they would appreciate anything I could do to make it happen."

So Rutherford, who has a long history of fairness in his dealings with everyone in his organization, made the move and shipped O'Neill to the Leafs for the bargain-basement price of a fourth-round draft pick.

As he deliberated over his team back in early July, Rutherford had been considering giving O'Neill the $2.8-million qualifying offer that would have kept him on the Carolina roster for another year.

But when the plea came from the O'Neill family, he knew which way he had to go.

"That made it a little easier for us to make it happen," Rutherford said.

He also knew that O'Neill would not have renegotiated a two-year, $1.5-million deal with the Hurricanes. That deal was available only to the Leafs.

But he bears no animosity and has nothing but good wishes for O'Neill.

"I think he'll do very well there," he said. "He's a very good player." Link

Posted: **Mon Aug 01, 2005 6:11 am**

Heh.. Otis, what's the fuckin difference?

Player A signs with the Leafs because the Leafs spend stupidly to get him or Player A signs with the Leafs because of that t-dot "mystique". (or is it the smog masquerading as "mystique"??)

Either way, Player A plays in Toronto.

The difference this time is that non-traditional markets won't be able to buy bunches of top-tier players, if we assume your "mystique" theory is correct.

All that's pretty funny to me. But if true, I'll probably like the consequences, as Alberta has been producing some pretty decent talent lately too. Maybe Calgary has some "mystique" too. But it's probably not related to smog, as we've got none. :?

Out of curiosity, what are the other two markets you're speaking of when you say Toronto is one of the top 3?

If the "mystique" theory is correct, I'd have to submit to the fact that the Big Smoke is the #1 market in the league. Plenty of Ontario boys just begging to wear that proud mis-coloured Leaf!!

Posted: **Mon Aug 01, 2005 11:17 am**

If the trends from the other major sports hold true, then factoring geography into it, the top 3 markets should probably be,

Toronto
New York
LA

Either way, the small market teams in cities like Nashville will continue to struggle to attract top flight free agents simply because they have nothing to offer except perhaps, more money if they have a larger amount of cap room.
It's exactly what happens in the NBA... why would an NBA free agent want to sign with the Raptors or Milwaukee Bucks when if the money is equal, they could sign with a 'mystique' Lakers or Knicks, Celtics or the geographically friendly Miami Heat...

Posted: **Tue Aug 02, 2005 12:59 pm**

Players might be willing to play in Toronto for less, because in Toronto a star hockey player has the best chance at making the most money in sponsorship deals. They would be able to make up any lost salary with side endorsements, no question.

That being said, I don't see the Leafs making a huge splash in free agency. Not only do they not have a lot of cap space, but IMO the NHL revenues will be a lot lower than projected this year, and the max. cap number may only be $34 million next season. You don't want to be at $39 million then, as buyouts will still count against the cap.

T1B

Rack NHL Draft

Rack NHL Draft