Random Thoughts with Jay, NHL Draft Edition

As soon as the Boston Bruins hoisted the cup I already missed hockey.  While in The States, hockey is probably the 4^th most watched sport (unless that disaster MLS has surpassed it); it’s my second favorite sport behind baseball.  Although the season has ended, there’s still plenty to follow before training camps start in September.  Tracking free agents is a favorite pastime of mine as well as the NHL Entry Draft which took place this past weekend.  Obviously I have an opinion about it.

Winnipeg Has A Name!

Prior to making their first pick in the draft (seventh overall), Winnipeg announced the official name will be the Jets.  This is a relief to all Jets fans who have been doing nothing but speculating since True North purchased the team.  I’ve read a bunch of message boards and the speculation of a name was insane.  I heard the Falcons (which didn’t sound terrible), the Moose (that stuck me as pretty lame considering that was the name of the AHL team that played in Winnipeg), and the Polar Bears (which is totally retarded and reminded me of the defunct IHL Orlando Solar Bears, which is really stupid).  Overall consensus was that the team should be named the Jets, which has been my stance since Day One.

The logo still has not been released and when they made their first pick, center Mark Scheifele, he wore a black “NHL” sweater and hat, so that can be the next thing for the message boards to speculate on.

Winnipeg’s management got this one right.  As you all know the Winnipeg Jets are an official Riot! team and the only option for a name were the Jets.

The New Look Flyers

Thursday afternoon the Flyers made two blockbuster trades.  First they sent captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for forwards Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds.

As much as I liked Richards, I love this trade.  Schenn was the Kings top prospect and I’m surprised the Kings parted with him.  Teams have been trying to pry him from LA for the past couple seasons and the Kings refused.  Wayne Simmonds is a good player, who while not an offensive juggernaut, is a good hitter and likes to mix it up. Oh, and Simmonds is black, which never hurts.  Always bet on black.

The second trade was sending Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2011 first round pick (number eight overall), 2011 third round pick, and right wing Jakub Voracek.

I also love this trade.  First off I never liked Jeff Carter.  While he had some good offensive seasons, he’s a pussy who constantly gets hurt (on a side note after I hear of this trade I was talking to some dude at a bar and he disagreed with Carter being a pussy and actually said “well Wayne Gretzky wasn’t a physical player.”  First off, you can’t compare Carter to Gretzky, and Gretzky didn’t need to be physical considering he had the likes of Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley playing the roll of bodyguard.), and checks out during the playoffs.  I never liked him and I’m happy to see him go.  Aside from my dislike of Carter, the return the Flyers got for him is epic.  I’ll get to the draft pick later (which was a total steal), but I dig Voracek.  He’s a former seventh overall pick, who has good size and natural talent.  In his second full season in the NHL he finished with 50 points (that would place him sixth on the Flyers).

These trades also freed up enough money for the Flyers to sign goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.  While I think a nine-year deal is excessive, especially since in the final year of the deal Bryzgalov will be 40, it’s refreshing to know the Flyers will actually have a top tier goalie (over the past two season no other goalie has had more wins in the NHL).  The last time that happened was when Ron Hextall was between the pipes.

The Picks

Look, I don’t claim to know much about hockey prospects, but I do try and do my homework before the draft starts.  Here are a few observations:

-          As I predicted Edmonton took Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the first pick.  Although this was a deep draft, Nugent-Hopkins was clearly the top dog in the draft.  I envision him playing along side Taylor Hall (the 2010 first overall pick), for many years to come.

-          The Devils snagged Adam Larsson with the fourth overall pick.  Larsson was the best defenseman in the draft and rumors swirled that he might have been the first overall pick.  It was a bit of a surprise that Colorado or Florida passed on him.

-          With the eighth pick in the draft I was hoping the Flyers would grab Dougie Hamilton.  Chris Pronger and Kimmo Tinnamen are both aging, and the hard hitting Hamilton could be on the blue line for years to come.  Instead they went a different route and drafted the best available player, center Sean Couturier.  I was surprised he was available at when the Flyers picked at eight.  Couturier was the top rated draft pick (ahead of Nugent-Hopkins), this past winter until he missed a chunk of the season with mono.  Even with the missed games Couturier had he still finished fourth in QMJHL scoring with 96 points and won the MVP.

-          With the twelfth pick the Hurricanes drafted defenseman Ryan Murphy.  Murphy is small for a defenseman, but he knows how to move the puck.

Additional Trades

The Sharks acquired All-Star defenseman Brent Burns for former 30 goal scorer Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a 2011 first round draft pick. The Sharks gave up a lot for Burns, but as shown in the playoffs the Sharks need defense.

The Blackhawks dealt defenseman Brian Campbell for forward Rostislav Olesz.  Chicago looks like the winner here.  Campbell has five more years on his contract and it’s a real bloated (he’s not that good and isn’t remotely worth the money he’s getting paid).  It works for the Panthers who need to add payroll to meet the salary floor (which is another complete joke.  The Panthers are a shit-run franchise and should be relocated, preferiblely to Quebec City.  Hockey in Miami is embarrassing).

The Sabres got physical defenseman Robin Regehr and forward Ales Kotalik and a 2012 second round pick for Chris Butler and Paul Byron.  I’m confused on this trade from a Flames perspective as they gave up a lot for a couple of young players.  Oilers and Canucks fan have to be happy they won’t have to see Regehr punishing their forwards throughout the season.

Columbus sent Nikita Filatov to Ottawa for a third round pick.  Filatov struggled last season and soured in Columbus, so a change of scenery could really bring out his talent.

The Oilers re-acquired Ryan Smyth for Colin Fraser and a seventh round pick in 2012.    This is a good deal for Edmonton.  With the Oilers being the youngest team in the league, a seasoned veteran can really be a leader these kids need.

The next big date in the NHL is July 1^st when free agency begins.  It’ll have to do until training camp.