Archive for June, 2006

Eric Duhatschek on economic realities in the NHL

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Good read about the two big deals at the draft yesterday but I like the last two paragraphs the best, especially this part:

The Oilers won’t be in any hurry to accommodate Pronger’s wishes until they get the right deal in place (how about Pronger to Florida for hometown boy Jay Bouwmeester?) ….

After thinking more about that trade request, I’m becoming more and more glad that there’s no chance of the guy coming to Detroit. If requesting to be traded, whatever the reason, is all the thanks the Oilers get for putting Pronger in a position to win the Cup for the first time in his career, maybe they ought to send him where he’ll have no chance of getting that far for as long as his contract lasts (four more years). Maybe his wife would like Miami. (link via. James Mirtle)

Red Wings Draft Pick Profiles

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The Wings took 18-year-old Cory Emmerton 41st overall as their first pick of the draft. Emmerton scored 90 points (26G, 64A) in 66 games for the Kingston Frontenacs this past season, had an assist in the OHL All-Star Game and scored two goals in six games in the postseason.

Hockey’s Future has this to say about him:

A talented playmaker with offensive flair and a nose for the net, Emmerton is the type of forward that makes those around him better. He has a knack for finding the open man, or hitting a teammate in full-stride for an offensive chance.He has elite playmaking and passing skills and is solid on his skates. He could benefit from some extra attention on the defensive side of the game, but he projects to challenge for the OHL scoring title should he remain in the league next season, and could be a solid point-producer for years to come no matter what level he plays at.

He’s 5’11″, 177 pounds, shoots left, and plays center. A playmaker, evidentally, not a goal-scorer, and yet another center in the system.

The Wings’ second pick was Shawn Matthias, another 18-year-old center. Matthias played 67 games for the Belleville Bulls, notching just 13 goals and 21 assists over that span. He scored three goals in the first round of the OHL playoffs in six games.

Hockey’s Future has this to say about him:

He can skate and handle the puck, but he still needs to work on his two-way play. Never one to shy away from hard work, Matthias is considered to have NHL potential.

At 6’3″, 211 lbs., Matthias definitely has some size so he brings something the Wings could use if he really is NHL material.

For their third pick, the Wings took the 19-year-old Swede Dick Axelsson 62nd overall. Axelsson split his time between the Huddinge J20 team and the Huddinge main roster, scoring 19 goals and 34 points in 28 games with the former and 17 goals and 19 points in 23 games with the latter.

Elite Prospects has this to say about him (translated from Swedish):

Axelsson has great size and is an aggressive and physical player. He has good timing in his hits. His skating, the intensity he plays with and his forechecking is quite good. Axelsson’s main asset is his hockey sense and he is good at finding passing openings. At the same time he is a good scorer. Technical skills and hands are good. There is room for improvement when it comes to his defensive game and his acceleration.

Axelsson, at 6’2″, 176 lbs, has some good size as well. He’s listed as a forward so maybe he’s not a center.

That’s all I have on these guys for now but I’ll post more as I see it.

Three picks, three forwards. So much for bolstering the defensive depth of the system.

Update (11:11 PM): Christy has more here.

Red Wings Draft Update

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Just after the 28th pick, the Wings completed a trade with Phoenix, handing the Coyotes the 29th and 152nd picks in exchange for the 41st and 47th. So, although they’ve only had two first rounders in the last 7 years, the Wings traded it away for two second-round selections. They now have three picks in the second round (41st, 47th, and 62nd).

Phoenix used the pick to select a defenseman, Chris Summers, a smooth-skating American U-18 gold medal winner, according to TSN’s draft tracker and James Mirtle.

Pretty disappointing the Wings only did such a minor deal. I’ll be honest: visions of Shane Doan in the Winged Wheel went through my head when they mentioned the Wings were talking a trade over with Phoenix. Paul Kukla says the Wings are uncomfortable drafting in the first round. It sure seems like it!

Guess we’ll have to wait and see who they pick with what they got. Since OLN is no longer broadcasting the draft, if you’re in the States, you’ll have to watch it online with NHL Network’s live stream (via. Kukla’s Korner). If you’re like me and on a slow connection, try refreshing Mirtle’s liveblog or NHL Draft Net’s tracker.

Update (10:04 PM): The second round picks are in:

41st – Cory Emmerton – C/LW
47th – Shawn Matthias – C
62nd – Dick Axelsson – W

More to come.

6/24 Notes

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… James Mirtle addresses the surprising news out of Edmonton involving Chris Pronger’s trade request. Apparently, “family issues” meant “my rich wife from St. Louis hates Northern Alberta.” Although Pronger did request a trade earlier in the season due to his wife, he obviously didn’t make a big stink about it and was honorable enough to play through the season, becoming the Oilers’ most dominant player through their playoff run.

As Mirtle says, Pronger’s stock is incredibly high now so Kevin Lowe will be able to get a lot in return if a trade does in fact happen. Of course, that fact just makes Brian’s rumor that much more unlikely but it’s still a nice dream, eh?

… Ansar Khan reports that there has been progress made in contract negotiations with Nick Lidstrom. He quotes Ken Holland as saying,

“We had good conversations. We’ve gone back and forth the last couple of weeks with different ideas and numbers. I’m trying to convince Nick on a number, he’s trying to convince me on a number. We’re trying to find a compromise. I’d like to get something done (next) week.”

It sure would be nice to know just how far apart they are (i.e. $8.8 million versus $8 million or $8.8 million versus $7 million, etc.).

No talks will take place this weekend but they will pick up again on Monday.

Khan also reports that Holland doesn’t have a lot happening on the trade front, which isn’t all that encouraging. Perhaps that’ll change today after all the GMs get together for the draft.

… IwoCPO has a further reaction to last night’s big Luongo trade, posted from the Richmond airport today:

Yes, it would have been a move that re-kindled the excitement in Detroit. Yes, it seems that if it were to occur Pavel Datsyuk, at least, would have been sent to Florida in return. Yes, Luongo was the best goalie available, is going to be a great playoff performer and is a franchise player.And if goaltending was the only problem the Wings had against Edmonton, the deal may have been made. But, in the heat of the discussion over whether Holland should have mortgaged the offensive talent pool in favor of Luongo let’s recall a few happy moments. Remember Ryan (Jason, Smith, Smyth) with continued access to the crease, untouched. …

Basically, the Wings need grit, speed, and heart more than they need a big-name goalie. The equation “Luongo=the Wings’ savior” was always a false one (Luongo≠the Wings’ savior). Holland needs to focus on acquiring players that bring those qualities to the team and on losing players that don’t.

Be sure to check out Iwo’s classic timeline of his experience at the airport here.

… Of course, the draft is tonight and, as I posted yesterday, we’ll have whatever information we can find on the Wings’ two picks (29th and 62nd) in today’s rounds (1st and 2nd). Be sure to stop by James Mirtle’s liveblog of the event and checking Kukla’s Korner for updates is always a good idea. Hockey’s Future and Red Wings Central are also good resources for information on draftees (they’re basically where we’ll be going for it).

I should have thought of this earlier, but Hockey’s Future has a Red Wings draft preview here. Their section on draft tendencies is very interesting, noting,

New CBA rules, however, put heavy transfer fees on European players chosen after the second round and force NHL teams to sign European draft picks with two years of their draft date. Consequently, look for the Red Wings to reprioritize the draft and lessen their emphasis on European talent.

I had missed that little fact. It will be interesting to see the impact that will have on the Wings in the future. Their reliance on European talent was made necessary by their success over the years. It has to be easier to find overlooked and unknown players at the isolated rinks of Russia and Sweden than in the well-publicized arenas of the North American systems.

Update (2:58 PM): Christy also will be updating throughout the draft.

Update (4:10 PM): Looks like Luongo was caught off-guard by the trade, since, apparently, he thought he and Florida had a tentative agreement on a four-year contract. I guess that means there was no pre-negotiated long-term deal that the Canucks can count on simply because Luongo was not involved in the trade negotiations. For now, apparently, Luongo is too emotional to think about signing a long-term contract with Vancouver so Nonis will have to wait.

Update (6:50 PM): BoA has a reaction to the news about Pronger here. Definitely sucks for those fans.

More on Luongo, and Big News with Pronger and Brind’Amour

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On the eve of the NHL draft, the Vancouver Canucks have traded Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alexander Auld to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek. Rumors of Vancouver moving Bertuzzi for Luongo had been circulating this week, but it comes as a surprise that they also gave up Bryan Allen and Auld. This was a tough offer for the Wings to beat, the approximate equivalent of a Datsyuk, Osgood, Lebda trade.

I would not have liked that if Holland had gone that far. Both Bertuzzi and Luongo will be UFA’s next summer, so I’d have a hard time giving as much up as the Canucks did. Jes Golbez agrees with me. Also, check out the Vancouver Canucks Op Ed reaction here and Mirtle’s reaction here. And if there was a Florida Panthers blog I could link to, and this non-existent blog had a reaction, it would be linked here. Someone start a Panthers blog or drop a link, eh?

The one thing I like about the deal is that Bryan Allen is going to be in the Eastern Conference. If you remember, he was the player who broke Zetterberg’s leg with a dirty slash and caused Derian Hatcher’s torn ACL off incidental contact. Good riddance, you punk. Bertuzzi being in the Eastern Conference is also great.

If I was a Colorado Avalanche fan, I would be very worried with Luongo joining the Northwest Division. But the Wings only face the Canucks four times during the regular season, so it isn’t as big of an issue for us, until the playoffs at least. It looks like the Wings will have to go after Giguere now, as A2Y says.

A shocking report out of Edmonton. Chris Pronger has asked the Oilers for a trade, after he helped lead them to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The reasons are based on “personal, family considerations.” Granted, some are saying Al Strachan has a hand in this rumor, so take it with a grain of salt. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe reacts:

“I think they’re more rumblings than anything. I’m pretty focused on the draft right now I don’t want to get too much into player personnel stuff.”

On whether Pronger has said anything to him:

“He hasn’t asked me. I’ll just leave it at that…We just got over a seven-game series in the Stanley Cup finals and there seems to be a lot of discussion about this and I’m not sure where it’s coming from. Let’s put it this way. Why would we want to trade Chris Pronger? One thing I’ve learned in my five or six years as a manager is that stuff tends to out of right field for whatever reasons. It can be agendas, hidden agendas, certain motivations, so nothing surprises me.”

You’ve heard it first, here. I’m going to start a rumor and say Chris Pronger will become a Red Wing and his $6.25 million salary will be offset when Nick Lidstrom signs for $1 million in reaction, Paul Kariya style! It’s a great dream, anyways.

Oh, I’d also like to mention that the Canes signed Rod Brind’Amour to a five year deal. It’s a bit surprising to me to see them lock Brind’Amour, 36 in August, up for such a lengthy deal. He is the captain and all, but I would’ve signed him for three years max if I was the Canes GM.

Update (24. Jun, 12:01 AM, Matt): In spite of this trade, Ansar Khan still won’t let go of the idea of Luongo in the Winged Wheel, posting the following to his blog tonight:

Well, is it too soon to start writing about how the Red Wings need to sign Roberto Luongo as a free agent in 2007?

Ansar, the Canucks are going to sign him in the next couple days. Okay? I’m sorry.

Khan wraps up the post with comments on possible Plan B’s such as Biron, Raycroft, Giguere, Aebischer, Gerber, Roloson, etc, etc. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see which one of them, if any, it’ll be. – Matt

Red Wings Central draft preview

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Because I’m no expert on prospects and the immediate draft needs of the Wings’ minors system, I’m deferring the draft preview to Red Wings Central. All I’ll say is maybe they should think about bolstering their defensive depth because it’s pretty weak beyond the main roster. Based on what Matt Wuest says, that could be what they’ll do:

It’s just the fourth time in the past 10 years that the Red Wings have held their first-round pick. Each time, the Red Wings have looked to the blue line — selecting defensemen Jakub Kindl (19th in 2005), Niklas Kronwall (29th in 2000) and Jiri Fischer (25th in 1998).

OLN is broadcasting the draft tomorrow beginning at 6:00 ET. Be sure to stop by GlobeandMail.com to catch James Mirtle‘s special feature live-blog of the event. Update (24. Jun, 11:31 AM): Here’s a more direct link to the live-blog, which James reports will start in the hours before the draft begins. – Matt

We’ll have the Wings’ picks posted along with any information we can find on them, of course.

Also, my Dad is out of the hospital. The scare was that he had had a stroke on Sunday but it turns out he just had a TIA (transient ischemic attack), which amounts to a mini-stroke. He’s doing a lot better but will have to undergo therapy and hopefully he’ll be able to recover fully. It’s been a rollercoaster of a week, to be sure.