Sunday, June 23, 2013
#ThruwayPuck - Episode 10
In this episode, Dan and and Otto welcome the AHL back to Utica with the Utica Comets. An AHL wrap up and an update in the Bruins and Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. Other topics hit on this Sunday morning episode include coaching moves, the Olympics, the draft among other things. Subscribe the the podcast on Itunes by searching Thruway Puck.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Watch out for these "Compliance" Buyouts....(Save the teams from these awful contracts clause)
While we await the winner of the Stanley Cup Final I would like to look forward to next year when the cap drops to $64.3 million and the teams get a life preserver called the "compliance buyout"
Here's a list of guys each team should consider buying out before the 2013-2014 season.
Anahiem- Now that The Ducks have signed Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry to long term heavy $ contracts the Ducks are getting tight to the cap. That being said, I would buyout Sheldon Souray or Francois Beauchimen. Both played extremely well in the shortened season but both are set to earn over $3.5 mill through the 14-15 season, as well as getting older and slower. Not that they aren't NHL caliber d-men but they are not worth that money. The Ducks also have Jonas Hiller and Bobby Ryan inked to long term high dollar deals so look for one if not both of them to be on the trade block.
Boston- The Bruins went on a spending spree right before the lockout began and locked up Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand to long term deals, placing them right up next to the $ 70 million cap. Their buyouts are pretty obvious. Marc Savard ($4 mill) who is retired, but his contract still counts against the cap. But the one I would seriously look into buying out is Zedeno Chara. Think about it, he is now 35 years old, and has a contract through the 2017-18 season that is worth $6.9 million now and changes to $ 4 million in 17-18. Yes, he is presently one of the best defensemen in the NHL but will he continue to be that at age 37, 38, 39 and 40? It might hurt now but could be a huge benefit to have that 6 million dollars in cap space down the road.
Buffalo- The Sabres have a couple of options, some that will be popular with fans and some not so popular. I'll start with the popular choice.... Ville Leino. $4.5 million a year through 2016-17 for a 2nd/3rd line winger (not center) is way to much to be shelling out.
The not so popular choices are Thomas Vanek $7mill next season, Drew Stafford who makes $4 million for the next 2 seasons. Both of these guys are over paid for what they actually bring to the team.
I highly doubt that they buyout Erhoff or Meyers. Both are young and are solid point producers from the back end. GM Darcy Regier said publicly that he has not decided on whether to use a buyout on any players.
Calgary- The Flames are quite possibly the worst at giving out these terrible contracts. So take your pick from Dennis Wideman, Matt Stajan, Mark Giordano, Curtis Glenncross, Alex Tanguay. My picks for the buyouts are Wideman and Stajan. Both of these guys are way over paid and overrated. Stajan has never been worth the money he's gotten and Wideman is an offensive d-man who forgets that he's a d-man.
Carolina- The Canes have a ton of cap space going forward and do not need to use the buyout, but if they did...... Tuomo Ruutu ($4.75mill through 2015-16) and Tim Gleason $4 million for the same time span. Again both are solid players but are they worth that money?
Chicago- Rusty Olesz is getting paid $2.2 mill in the minors so he's an obvious pick. The other has to be Marian Hossa who is injury prone and has a contract that goes on forever.
Colorado- The Avs also have loads of cap space and really don't have anyone that would be worth a buy out. Paul Stastny? Maybe, he does collect $6 million and didn't produce at that level but he is their top line center and again they are not in cap trouble. Patrick Roy is in control so who knows what will happen
Columbus- Though the Blue Jackets have a lot of cap space, it doesn't mean they don't have some bad contracts Fedor Tyutin is getting paid $4.5 million through 2018. Really? They also have James Wisniewski getting $5.5 million through 2017. They could also look into Nick Folingo at $3 million and RJ Umberger at $4.6 million through 2017.
Dallas- The Stars have over $16 million in cap space so they also do not have to use the buyout option. But if they did I would pick Alex Goligoski and his $4.6 million dollar hit.
Detroit- The Wings have about $8 million in cap pace now but over $20 million next year so they don't have to use it but if they did.....I would think about Johan Franzen and his $3.9 million through 2019.
Edmonton- The Oilers have a very young nucleus so it's kinda tough to pick two buyout options but the first is very easy. Shawn Horcoff made it big by signing a $5.5 million dollar contract after a big playoff run back in 2006. He hasn't done much since other than be injured and on the DL.
Florida- The Panthers could look into buying out Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanoski. Campbell is still in his prime but not worth $7 mill and Jovanoski is often injured and older for over $4million.
Los Angeles The Kings have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to RFA's and UFA's but none really when it comes to buyouts. The kings have good contracts with their core for the future.
Minnesota- The Wild went crazy signing Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to mega deals last summer but other than those two and Jason Pominville, the team is young and relatively cheap so they have limited choices when it comes to buyouts other than Dany Heatley. Heatley is no longer a $7million player and possibly never was. Clearing him off the cap and the bench will allow the Wild to give younger players more opportunities.
Montreal- The Habs already used one of their buyouts on Scott Gomez who is pretty much the poster boy of this clause. Now that he's gone they don't really need to use the other.
Nashville- The Preds lost Suter but kept Weber and Rinne. They still have a lot of cap space, so they don't need to use a buyout but they could send Paul Gaustad on his way. He's a nice player but is he really worth 3.25 mill?
New Jersey- According to Capgeek.com the Devils are already going to use their buyouts on Eric Boulton and Trent Hunter.
New York Islanders- Be honest, who remembered that the Islanders still had Rick DiPietro and Alexi Yashin on their roster? Yeah.... didn't think so. Well those two will be bought out and things won't change on the island.
New York Rangers- Brad Richards, Brad Richards, Brad Richards. Can the Rangers really risk keeping him on for the remainder of that contract? Maybe a new coach in Alain Vingault will help him out but he looked slow this postseason.
Ottawa- The Sens are a young and relitively cheap team, so there really aren't many options for a buyout.
Philadelphia- The Flyers have already made their plans clear. They will buyout Danny Briere this season and give Ilya Bryzgalov a season to prove his worth, if he doesn't he will be bought out after next season.
Phoenix- The NHL owns the teams so there is no way that they use a buyout. No way they spend extra money to pay someone not to play for them.
Pittsburgh- The Pens have already signed Malkin, Crosby and Neal to long term deals. The two options I see on their roster are Paul Martin $5mill and Marc-Andre Fleury $5mill. After watching this postseason, both are an option.
San Jose- The Sharks should look into buying out Martin Havlat. At $5mill he is not worth it, especially being so injury prone and enigmatic.
St. Louis- The Blues have plenty of space because their best players are still young and pretty cheap. There really aren't any options for buyouts.
Tampa Bay- The Bolts have plenty of options for this because they have over paid players all over the place. Vinny Lecavalier has a lot of term left at $7.7 and just doesn't produce enough. Mattias Ohlund at $3.6 and Matt Carle at $5.5 are overpriced on the back end.
Toronto- The Leafs have already listed on capgeek.com that they will use their buyouts on Darcy Tucker (isn't he retired?) and Colby Armstrong. Keep in mind they have Mike Komisarek in the minors making $3.25mill
Vancouver- The Canucks have a couple options if they are unable to move contracts during the trading period. Roberto Luongo told the world that his "contract sucks" at the trade deadline, and looks like a prime suspect for a buyout. The other is injury prone LW David Booth who at $4.25mill is stealing money from the team.
Washington- The Caps have a lot of room under the cap, but if they were to use a buyout the choice might be Brooks Laich. Laich is a solid two way center and leader but at $4.5 mill he might be overpriced.
Winnipeg- The Jets have a ton of space so a buyout is not needed financially. However, the team might be growing tired of Dustin Byfuglien being out of shape and lazy with his conditioning. Dropping his 300+ lbs and $5.2 mill contract could help out more ways than one.
Here's a list of guys each team should consider buying out before the 2013-2014 season.
Anahiem- Now that The Ducks have signed Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry to long term heavy $ contracts the Ducks are getting tight to the cap. That being said, I would buyout Sheldon Souray or Francois Beauchimen. Both played extremely well in the shortened season but both are set to earn over $3.5 mill through the 14-15 season, as well as getting older and slower. Not that they aren't NHL caliber d-men but they are not worth that money. The Ducks also have Jonas Hiller and Bobby Ryan inked to long term high dollar deals so look for one if not both of them to be on the trade block.
Boston- The Bruins went on a spending spree right before the lockout began and locked up Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, and Brad Marchand to long term deals, placing them right up next to the $ 70 million cap. Their buyouts are pretty obvious. Marc Savard ($4 mill) who is retired, but his contract still counts against the cap. But the one I would seriously look into buying out is Zedeno Chara. Think about it, he is now 35 years old, and has a contract through the 2017-18 season that is worth $6.9 million now and changes to $ 4 million in 17-18. Yes, he is presently one of the best defensemen in the NHL but will he continue to be that at age 37, 38, 39 and 40? It might hurt now but could be a huge benefit to have that 6 million dollars in cap space down the road.
Buffalo- The Sabres have a couple of options, some that will be popular with fans and some not so popular. I'll start with the popular choice.... Ville Leino. $4.5 million a year through 2016-17 for a 2nd/3rd line winger (not center) is way to much to be shelling out.
The not so popular choices are Thomas Vanek $7mill next season, Drew Stafford who makes $4 million for the next 2 seasons. Both of these guys are over paid for what they actually bring to the team.
I highly doubt that they buyout Erhoff or Meyers. Both are young and are solid point producers from the back end. GM Darcy Regier said publicly that he has not decided on whether to use a buyout on any players.
Calgary- The Flames are quite possibly the worst at giving out these terrible contracts. So take your pick from Dennis Wideman, Matt Stajan, Mark Giordano, Curtis Glenncross, Alex Tanguay. My picks for the buyouts are Wideman and Stajan. Both of these guys are way over paid and overrated. Stajan has never been worth the money he's gotten and Wideman is an offensive d-man who forgets that he's a d-man.
Carolina- The Canes have a ton of cap space going forward and do not need to use the buyout, but if they did...... Tuomo Ruutu ($4.75mill through 2015-16) and Tim Gleason $4 million for the same time span. Again both are solid players but are they worth that money?
Chicago- Rusty Olesz is getting paid $2.2 mill in the minors so he's an obvious pick. The other has to be Marian Hossa who is injury prone and has a contract that goes on forever.
Colorado- The Avs also have loads of cap space and really don't have anyone that would be worth a buy out. Paul Stastny? Maybe, he does collect $6 million and didn't produce at that level but he is their top line center and again they are not in cap trouble. Patrick Roy is in control so who knows what will happen
Columbus- Though the Blue Jackets have a lot of cap space, it doesn't mean they don't have some bad contracts Fedor Tyutin is getting paid $4.5 million through 2018. Really? They also have James Wisniewski getting $5.5 million through 2017. They could also look into Nick Folingo at $3 million and RJ Umberger at $4.6 million through 2017.
Dallas- The Stars have over $16 million in cap space so they also do not have to use the buyout option. But if they did I would pick Alex Goligoski and his $4.6 million dollar hit.
Detroit- The Wings have about $8 million in cap pace now but over $20 million next year so they don't have to use it but if they did.....I would think about Johan Franzen and his $3.9 million through 2019.
Edmonton- The Oilers have a very young nucleus so it's kinda tough to pick two buyout options but the first is very easy. Shawn Horcoff made it big by signing a $5.5 million dollar contract after a big playoff run back in 2006. He hasn't done much since other than be injured and on the DL.
Florida- The Panthers could look into buying out Brian Campbell and Ed Jovanoski. Campbell is still in his prime but not worth $7 mill and Jovanoski is often injured and older for over $4million.
Los Angeles The Kings have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to RFA's and UFA's but none really when it comes to buyouts. The kings have good contracts with their core for the future.
Minnesota- The Wild went crazy signing Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to mega deals last summer but other than those two and Jason Pominville, the team is young and relatively cheap so they have limited choices when it comes to buyouts other than Dany Heatley. Heatley is no longer a $7million player and possibly never was. Clearing him off the cap and the bench will allow the Wild to give younger players more opportunities.
Montreal- The Habs already used one of their buyouts on Scott Gomez who is pretty much the poster boy of this clause. Now that he's gone they don't really need to use the other.
Nashville- The Preds lost Suter but kept Weber and Rinne. They still have a lot of cap space, so they don't need to use a buyout but they could send Paul Gaustad on his way. He's a nice player but is he really worth 3.25 mill?
New Jersey- According to Capgeek.com the Devils are already going to use their buyouts on Eric Boulton and Trent Hunter.
New York Islanders- Be honest, who remembered that the Islanders still had Rick DiPietro and Alexi Yashin on their roster? Yeah.... didn't think so. Well those two will be bought out and things won't change on the island.
New York Rangers- Brad Richards, Brad Richards, Brad Richards. Can the Rangers really risk keeping him on for the remainder of that contract? Maybe a new coach in Alain Vingault will help him out but he looked slow this postseason.
Ottawa- The Sens are a young and relitively cheap team, so there really aren't many options for a buyout.
Philadelphia- The Flyers have already made their plans clear. They will buyout Danny Briere this season and give Ilya Bryzgalov a season to prove his worth, if he doesn't he will be bought out after next season.
Phoenix- The NHL owns the teams so there is no way that they use a buyout. No way they spend extra money to pay someone not to play for them.
Pittsburgh- The Pens have already signed Malkin, Crosby and Neal to long term deals. The two options I see on their roster are Paul Martin $5mill and Marc-Andre Fleury $5mill. After watching this postseason, both are an option.
San Jose- The Sharks should look into buying out Martin Havlat. At $5mill he is not worth it, especially being so injury prone and enigmatic.
St. Louis- The Blues have plenty of space because their best players are still young and pretty cheap. There really aren't any options for buyouts.
Tampa Bay- The Bolts have plenty of options for this because they have over paid players all over the place. Vinny Lecavalier has a lot of term left at $7.7 and just doesn't produce enough. Mattias Ohlund at $3.6 and Matt Carle at $5.5 are overpriced on the back end.
Toronto- The Leafs have already listed on capgeek.com that they will use their buyouts on Darcy Tucker (isn't he retired?) and Colby Armstrong. Keep in mind they have Mike Komisarek in the minors making $3.25mill
Vancouver- The Canucks have a couple options if they are unable to move contracts during the trading period. Roberto Luongo told the world that his "contract sucks" at the trade deadline, and looks like a prime suspect for a buyout. The other is injury prone LW David Booth who at $4.25mill is stealing money from the team.
Washington- The Caps have a lot of room under the cap, but if they were to use a buyout the choice might be Brooks Laich. Laich is a solid two way center and leader but at $4.5 mill he might be overpriced.
Winnipeg- The Jets have a ton of space so a buyout is not needed financially. However, the team might be growing tired of Dustin Byfuglien being out of shape and lazy with his conditioning. Dropping his 300+ lbs and $5.2 mill contract could help out more ways than one.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
#ThruwayPuck Episode 9
After a week off due to busy schedules the guys return to the Podcast. In this episode, Dan and Otto get fired up about a couple topics they are passionate about. Other hits include coaching vacancies and hires from around the league and stories from the conference championships. The podcast is closed out with updated pick standings from the AHL and NHL playoffs as well as picks and pucks for the Championship round. Be sure to check out the blog at barrelofsports.blogspot.com and subscribe on ITunes by searching Thruway Puck.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
#ThruwayPuck Calder Cup Finals Predictions
As Syracuse rolled into the finals and Grand Rapids held off a pesky Oklahoma City team, the two match up in what should be a very entertaining series. Here are the guys picks and the standings as they currently sit.
Dan - Syracuse in 6 - As much as it hurts to say, they are too deep and just know how to win.
Jay - Syracuse in 6. Final score of game 6, 5-2
Otto - Syracuse in 5 - The Crunch are an experienced team who knows what it takes to win, and simply put, they are on a roll. They get even more of an advantage from taking care of W/B Scranton in 5 while Grand Rapids played the full 7 against OKC.
Standings:
Dan - Total (3 gained in the conference finals)
Otto - Total (1 gained in the conference finals)
Jay - Total (4 gained in the conference finals)
Dan - Syracuse in 6 - As much as it hurts to say, they are too deep and just know how to win.
Jay - Syracuse in 6. Final score of game 6, 5-2
Otto - Syracuse in 5 - The Crunch are an experienced team who knows what it takes to win, and simply put, they are on a roll. They get even more of an advantage from taking care of W/B Scranton in 5 while Grand Rapids played the full 7 against OKC.
Standings:
Dan - Total (3 gained in the conference finals)
Otto - Total (1 gained in the conference finals)
Jay - Total (4 gained in the conference finals)
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