The 2012 NHL Draft was held this past weekend in Pittsburgh. Of all the hockey games and events I attend during the season the draft is one of my favorites because it's a who's who of hockey all located in one place.
Kids who have been playing hockey since they were Pee-Wee's get a chance to realize their lifelong dreams while NHL teams not only have a chance to set their core of talent on their roster for years to come but trades are made that can help out a franchise immediately.
I was planning on going to Pittsburgh for the draft but real life intervened and I wasn't unable to make it out there. I was able to watch and here were a few things that caught my attention.
Edmonton select Nail Yakupov 1st overall:
This one isn't a big surprise since Yakupov was the top ranked player going into the draft. For any other team this would have been a no-brainer.
However, while Edmonton has a wealth of talent at forward they are pretty thin on defense. There was speculation before the draft that Edmonton would trade down to select defenseman Ryan Murray from the Everett Silvertips or defenseman Griffin Reinhart from the Edmonton Oil Kings.
While I do believe the Oilers did shop the top pick around they decided in the end to take the best player in the draft. Murray or Rinehart would have filled a need but with adding Yakupov to a core of forwards that includes, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and Sam Gagner Edmonton has the makings of two top lines that can score at will.
Rick Nash and Roberto Luongo stay put, for now:
Going into the draft I felt there was a good chance that Rick Nash would be dealt because Columbus needs an infusion of talent and extra draft picks would be valuable for the Blue Jackets.
Instead the only deal Columbus GM Scott Howson made was trading three draft picks to Philadelphia for Sergei Bobrovsky. The addition of Bobrovsky gives the Blue Jackets a slight upgrade in goal however the bigger issue is that Nash still remains on the roster.
Nash has six years left on his deal so there is no rush for Howson to deal him. However when a player requests a trade it is in the best interest of the team to resolve this as soon as possible. With Howson holding out for a king's ransom it doesn't look like a deal for Nash will happen anytime soon.
My guess is once Zach Parise decides where he is playing next season whatever team misses out on him will begin making a play for Nash.
As for Luongo the team that has shown the most interest in is the Toronto Maple Leafs. A deal has yet to be reached though because Vancouver and Toronto can't agree on compensation.
It should also be mentioned that Vancouver GM Mike Gillis and Toronto GM Brian Burke don't exchange Christmas cards if you know what I mean.
What you have here is a classic case of gamesmanship here where Burke says he's in no rush to get a goalie until October while Gillis says he will make a hockey deal not a CBA deal when he trades Luongo.
If that is Gillis's intention he better sign RFA goaltender Cory Schneider before another team signs him to an offer sheet. If that happens it will be very pricey to keep both and it could force Gillis to make a CBA deal instead of a hockey deal.
Jordan Staal traded to Carolina:
One day before the draft Staal turned down a 10 year extension to stay with the Penguins. Speculation was he would leave Pittsburgh at the end of the season and sign with Carolina.
Instead of losing Staal for nothing Penguins GM Ray Shero was proactive trading Staal to Carolina for forward Brandon Sutter, defenseman Brian Dumoulin and the 8th pick in the 2012 draft which turned out to be defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
When this deal was announced the analysts at the NHL Draft praised this as a great hockey deal. While it is a good hockey deal this move was made only because Staal turned down the extension.
Shero didn't want to make this trade but with Staal forcing his hand I thought he did a great job in getting Sutter who will fill Staal's role on the team and two young defenseman on a team that really could use an upgrade on defense.
Meanwhile Staal gets a chance to not only break out of the shadow of Crosby and Malkin but he gets an opportunity to play with his brother Eric as well in Carolina.
The last couple of months the Hurricanes were always mentioned as one of those teams to keep an eye on when July 1st comes around. Now that they have Staal I'm not sure how active they will be when free agency starts. I do know that by acquiring Jordan Staal it will be easier to sell potential free agents about playing hockey in Raleigh, North Carolina.
One more thing that needs to be mentioned about this deal. By trading Staal the Penguins have about $14 million in cap space to work with when free agency starts.
That could be enough to make a run at Zach Parise or Ryan Suter. Just something to keep an eye on.
Flyers trade van Riemsdyk to Maple Leafs for Schenn:
One day after Jordan Staal was traded to Carolina to play with his brother Eric, Philadelphia and Toronto decided to get into the act when the Flyers acquired defenseman Luke Schenn from the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward James van Riemsdyk.
This was a deal that was rumored back as early as January and at the time it was thought that a combination of draft picks/prospects/players from either side would have to be added for this deal to occur. Instead it turns out to be a straight up player for player trade.
With the future of Chris Pronger in doubt because of a concussion Philadelphia has been looking for ways to fill that void on the blueline. Schenn, who was the 5th pick in the 2008 draft, is a defensive defenseman who is a big hitter and he patterns his game after Pronger. Being reunited with his brother Brayden in Philadelphia this is a good pick up for the Flyers.
In return Toronto gets van Riemsdyk who was the 2nd pick in the 2007 draft. He is a big power forward that brings much needed size up front to the Maple Leafs. He is the type of player Brian Burke loves. The hope is van Riemsdyk can do for Toronto what Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf did in Anaheim when Burke was the GM.
Personally I think the Maple Leafs got the better of the deal only because I think van Riemsdyk is a better hockey player than Schenn. However this is a good trade for both teams as both players should flourish with their new hockey club.
Bobby Ryan leaving Anaheim?:
For about the last year there have been rumors about Ducks forward Bobby Ryan being available via trade. Those rumors started to resurface again over the weekend only this time we heard from someone about these rumors that we hadn't heard from yet.
Ducks forward Bobby Ryan.
Frustrated with his name being floated around Ryan had this to say.
"I take things personally, Anaheim to me has been a team
over the past year that really has shown me nothing to prove that they
want me here, unfortunately. Obviously, it's not the ideal situation.
When you get drafted, you want to win championships with that team and
every time they look to add a piece to the puzzle, I'm the piece going
the other way."
Ryan then went on to say.
"I gotta be honest with you. At this point, I don't care. Move me …
because it's just tough going to the rink every day knowing that if
something goes wrong, you're going to be the guy moved."
As for possible destinations the one team Ryan mentioned he would like to go to is the Philadelphia Flyers. That's not a surprise. Ryan grew up a Flyers fan in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and his dad is good friends with Flyers great Bobby Clarke.
Whether Ryan ends up in the City of Brotherly love remains to be seen but with Philadelphia trading James van Riemsdyk they do have a need for a power forward.
The Flyers were mentioned as a possible destination for Rick Nash. With van Riemsdyk being traded Nash to Philadelphia looks unlikely. However I think Ryan to the Flyers is a strong possibility.
One thing here looks certain, Ryan days as a Duck appear to be numbered.
No comments:
Post a Comment