1. There are others who are much more versed in the world of college football. I'm sure the usual suspects will be able to break things down a lot better than I. That said, I can't help but be absolutely thrilled with the outcome to this coaching search--thank you Mary Sue Coleman. Rich Rodriguez is one of the top coaches in the game. He's pioneered an offense that many of the top programs use. He's built West [freaking] Virgina into a kind of sort of national power. And now he's here, to take our offense out of the stone age. As offensive coordinator, he went 12-0. At Tulane. With Shaun King at QB. Read those last 3 sentences again. He made Shaun King the most prolific passer in college football history. It's hard to not get excited about this one. Especially when Terrelle Pryor might follow him to Ann Arbor.
2. I really feel for Les Miles. There have been rumblings that he was still interested in the job, and I believe it. Ironically, if West Virginia hadn't choked on applesauce against Pittsburgh, Miles would probably be our coach, with Rodriguez in the title game. People can say what they want, but anyone who loves this school enough to flirt with it, even with his damn strong football team in the national title game is someone that I will always root for. Beat those Buckeyes, Les.
3. The loss to Pitt will no doubt get brought up by Sparties trying to justify to themselves that this was a terrible hire or that he'll "fit right in". That game doesn't bug me so much. Les Miles lost to Arkansas at home with a chance at the title game hanging in the balance. Same with Tressel's team losing to Ron Zook and Illinois at home. Those two still ended up getting in. But Bob Stoops and the Sooners dropped a game to Texas Tech. Lloyd Carr and company lost to App State. St. Nick and the Crimson Tide lost to a team from Louisiana not named LSU. Urban Meyer lost at home to a ho-hum Auburn team that got beat by Mississippi State. Pete Carroll and USC lost to Stanford. Georgia lost at home to a 6 loss South Carolina team. Mack Brown's Longhorns got blown out at home by Kansas State. It was a weird year.
4. It takes a special play to get me to mention an NFL happening before talking about my Packers, but one happened today. Brian Westbrook, my hat is off to you. For those who didn't see it, the Eagles were up 10-6 on Dallas just before the two-minute warning at the end of the game. Westbrook ripped off a run for a first down and had clear sailing to the end zone. He stopped at the one yard line and took a knee, knowing that they'd be able to run out the clock with Dallas out of timeouts. It was the most heads-up play I've seen in a long, long time. Most players wouldn't have had the awareness to pull it off, and some would've been selfish enough that they would've scored the TD anyway. If there are two things that I'm strongly in favor of in football, they're a) not going for 2 before it's necessary and b) letting the other team score if tackling them means you lose. The latter is hardly ever practiced (or it's not practiced correctly, Mike Holmgren). While I don't think Dallas was trying to let Westbrook score, he was smart enough to pass up the sure TD anyway.
5. I can't wait to hear all the stories about people who lost their fantasy football playoff games because of Brian Westbrook's heads up play.
6. Congrats to the greatest quarterback in history on breaking another of Dan Marino's records, this one, the all-time passing yardage mark. That record came en route to leading the Packers to a 12-2 record, clinching a first round bye. They've got a real shot to come out of the NFC, and I think they can give any AFC opponent a game (and I'm not at all convinced that it's going to be New England).
7. It's amazing to me that after not having a return game since Allen Rossum left a few years ago, it appears the Packers have 4 guys that can get the job done. Koren Robinson gave them great field position all game today and is an ex-Pro Bowler at KR. Tramon Williams has also done well in that role, and took a punt back for a TD against Carolina. Will Blackmon has shown some sizzle on punts, including a punt return for a TD against Oakland last week. And Charles Woodson is solid as well.
8. I really do feel for Lions fans. That team is an absolute disaster, and the city deserves a lot better. It's a testament to the quality of football fans in the Motor City that they continue to show up for games after the crap that Matt Millen has put on the field for the last 6-7 years (not to mention the pre-Millen suckfests).
9. Amir Johnson: 15 minutes, six points, seven boards, three blocks. The other night he had 5 blocks in under 10 minutes. It still blows my mind that he wasn't active for the playoffs last year. No, you're not going to play him 30 minutes or anything, but his energy and ability to create exciting plays could have been the ticket to get the crowd back into a game or gain some momentum. I love Jason Maxiell as well.
10. Another great move by Joe D with the Nazr Muhammad trade. He gets two players he liked, sheds a ton of salary, creates cap flexibility in the future, acquires expiring contracts for if he feels so inclined to deal again, and lands a 7'1" player who was starting as well as a guy who was dropping 20+ a night at the end of last year when he got a chance to play. That's a good move in my book.
11. They said it's a first in team history, but I wonder if it's ever happened where an NHL team has had 2 penalties shots in a game, let alone a period. That was pretty cool for the Wings last night. That team is simply amazing. I still think they need another scorer for the playoffs, but they're playing amazing hockey right now. I'm pretty convinced that no one in the world is better at their job than Nick Lidstrom is at his.
12. I still believe in Beilein but this is hard to watch right now.
13. Congrats to the Michigan volleyball team. They were eliminated in the Sweet 16 by #1 Penn State, but that's the farthest the team has ever made it and the future is bright. Thanks to the outgoing seniors, Katie Bruzdzinski, Stesha Selsky, Sarah Draves, and Lyndsay Miller. Bruzdzinski was a pleasure to watch, and I think she could make a strong case for being the best player to come through our program. I also loved Miller's energy and how happy she seemed to be out there all the time. They're a fun group.
14. I'll get to the hockey point projection analysis hopefully sometime on Monday.
Showing posts with label Amir Johnson man-crush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amir Johnson man-crush. Show all posts
Monday, December 17, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Potential College Hockey Rule Changes
USCHO has an article up about the potential rules changes that have been discussed at their annual meeting. There are a few very interesting--some radical--changes that have been discussed.
Two Referee, One Lineseman: I'm against this, simply because I feel that there aren't enough good officials in college hockey to have a ONE referee system, let alone two. I posted a few weeks ago about the sorry state of CCHA officiating now that Steve Piotrowski has hung up the whistle. And now we want to double the number of refs? Let's concentrate on finding two or three that don't suck before we double the ranks.
One thing that I wonder about--and it doesn't get addressed in the article--is if one/both of the referees will be allowed to call offsides? There has to be a linesman on each side of the blueline. And it would make things horribly tough for that single linesman in transition if the refs don't help out.
A Crackdown on Delaying The Game: Like it. Especially for the positional players. It drives me bonkers when a player just reaches out, pulls the puck underneath him, and there's no Delay of Game call.
Embellishment: Everyone should know by now that I hate players who dive. Anything that works to get it out of the game is fine by me. Hopefully the NBA is next.
Overtime: I also typically hate ties. And they've discussed a variety of methods to eliminating them. One being the standard 4 on 4 OT. One being 4 on 4 and then a shootout. Those are my two favorite options. I could take or leave the shootout. They're fun to watch, but I also get that it's vastly different from the game as a whole, and I don't like that part of it (similar to how I hate soccer penalty kicks).
One option that was discussed, which is clever but far too radical in my opinion, would be to implement a "college football" type overtime. Teams would alternate 2 minute powerplays until someone was ahead at the end of a rotation. Again, I think that's too different from the game as a whole. It's definitely creative though.
Hand Passes: I don't see a need to change this rule. Don't let em close their glove on the puck, but it's ok to hand pass in the defensive zone. I don't think it'd be a positive for the game to allow it in the offensive zone. If they want to get rid of it altogether, I'd be ok with that.
Changes to the Icing Rule: I'd be fine with them adopting the "no line changes if you ice the puck" rule that the NHL put into place. But under no circumstance should they eliminate the ability of the short handed team to ice the puck, even if they did allow line changes after that. It would make killing a penalty way too difficult. Especially with the no-touch icing in place.
Moving Faceoffs to Center Ice After an Offsides: What dude? I see no logic to doing that. Implement the NHL's new system of requiring faceoffs to be on one of the nine faceoff dots, but there's no reason that you need to go to center after an offside call.
Other stuff:
Amir Johnson is signed, sealed, and delivered for three years. Now umm...Flip? Do us all a favor and play the guy. Maxiell too.
But Did We Sign Molly? The Red Wings have signed Mark Hartigan to a two-way contract. Michigan fans will remember him from his days at St. Cloud State. I will say this about his college career. Since I started consistently watching college hockey seven years ago, there has been no player that put the fear of God in me as much as Mark Hartigan. In that Regional game at Yost, I was convinced that he was going to score every time the puck was on his stick. He's got an absolute bomb for a shot. I'm still kind of surprised that we made it out of that game.
So About That Top-Six Forward: According to Jimmy Devellano (and if you've ever heard him talk, you understand why I italicized the last syllable of his name), the Red Wings have "zero" interest in signing Alexei Yashin. He says that they still want a top-six forward, but there's "nobody" out there, so they're going to carry the money into the season.
This means one of a few things:
They're dumb.
They know that the Central is going to be a cakewalk this year, so they're going to try and make a splash at the deadline and use the money then.
Or what I think is the most likely scenario: They have their eyes on Peter Forsberg. There's obviously interest on Detroit's part. If November or December rolls around and Forsberg is healthy, they would then use this money on him. And as much as it would pain me to see Forsberg in a Wings jersey (I would throw up in my mouth seeing it), it would be great for a couple of reasons: 1) It would drive the Avs fans crazy--provided there are any left after they missed the playoffs. 2) He could really help us if he was in the lineup.
Forsberg seems the most logical, because there's no way that they're going to burn $6 or 7 million at the trade deadline. That'd be enough to trade for two, if not three, marquee players. It's just not going to happen. And if they're looking to acquire that top-six forward at the deadline, they better be prepared to pay a premium, unless they've got a line on someone that could be had cheap, like Bertuzzi, due to one reason or another. Look at what even guys like Bill Guerin fetched last year. I just don't see Holland acquiring multiple players at that price.
Personally, I think it's stupid to not have any interest in Yashin. He had 50 points in 58 games last season. Yes, he has a reputation as a lazy player, but he matched Robert Lang's stats despite playing 20-25 less games. Additionally, he was a +6 on the year, which wasn't bad at all if you look at the Islanders team as a whole. I believe that playing for a team with a shot to win the Cup for the first time in a long time could be just what the doctor ordered for him. He'd also be in a veteran-laden locker room. They could get him to buy into the team game. Think about the guys that he's played with in his career. You think that playing with Datsyuk wouldn't invigorate him? I do. And if the internet report that it might only take $2 million--or slightly above--to sign him is accurate, they are 100% loony to not go for it.
And signing him would still likely leave enough room to take a run at someone at the deadline. If they're going to sign Forsberg, this makes sense. If not, then I think it's extremely dumb to bank that much cap room.
Two Referee, One Lineseman: I'm against this, simply because I feel that there aren't enough good officials in college hockey to have a ONE referee system, let alone two. I posted a few weeks ago about the sorry state of CCHA officiating now that Steve Piotrowski has hung up the whistle. And now we want to double the number of refs? Let's concentrate on finding two or three that don't suck before we double the ranks.
One thing that I wonder about--and it doesn't get addressed in the article--is if one/both of the referees will be allowed to call offsides? There has to be a linesman on each side of the blueline. And it would make things horribly tough for that single linesman in transition if the refs don't help out.
A Crackdown on Delaying The Game: Like it. Especially for the positional players. It drives me bonkers when a player just reaches out, pulls the puck underneath him, and there's no Delay of Game call.
Embellishment: Everyone should know by now that I hate players who dive. Anything that works to get it out of the game is fine by me. Hopefully the NBA is next.
Overtime: I also typically hate ties. And they've discussed a variety of methods to eliminating them. One being the standard 4 on 4 OT. One being 4 on 4 and then a shootout. Those are my two favorite options. I could take or leave the shootout. They're fun to watch, but I also get that it's vastly different from the game as a whole, and I don't like that part of it (similar to how I hate soccer penalty kicks).
One option that was discussed, which is clever but far too radical in my opinion, would be to implement a "college football" type overtime. Teams would alternate 2 minute powerplays until someone was ahead at the end of a rotation. Again, I think that's too different from the game as a whole. It's definitely creative though.
Hand Passes: I don't see a need to change this rule. Don't let em close their glove on the puck, but it's ok to hand pass in the defensive zone. I don't think it'd be a positive for the game to allow it in the offensive zone. If they want to get rid of it altogether, I'd be ok with that.
Changes to the Icing Rule: I'd be fine with them adopting the "no line changes if you ice the puck" rule that the NHL put into place. But under no circumstance should they eliminate the ability of the short handed team to ice the puck, even if they did allow line changes after that. It would make killing a penalty way too difficult. Especially with the no-touch icing in place.
Moving Faceoffs to Center Ice After an Offsides: What dude? I see no logic to doing that. Implement the NHL's new system of requiring faceoffs to be on one of the nine faceoff dots, but there's no reason that you need to go to center after an offside call.
Other stuff:
Amir Johnson is signed, sealed, and delivered for three years. Now umm...Flip? Do us all a favor and play the guy. Maxiell too.
But Did We Sign Molly? The Red Wings have signed Mark Hartigan to a two-way contract. Michigan fans will remember him from his days at St. Cloud State. I will say this about his college career. Since I started consistently watching college hockey seven years ago, there has been no player that put the fear of God in me as much as Mark Hartigan. In that Regional game at Yost, I was convinced that he was going to score every time the puck was on his stick. He's got an absolute bomb for a shot. I'm still kind of surprised that we made it out of that game.
So About That Top-Six Forward: According to Jimmy Devellano (and if you've ever heard him talk, you understand why I italicized the last syllable of his name), the Red Wings have "zero" interest in signing Alexei Yashin. He says that they still want a top-six forward, but there's "nobody" out there, so they're going to carry the money into the season.
This means one of a few things:
They're dumb.
They know that the Central is going to be a cakewalk this year, so they're going to try and make a splash at the deadline and use the money then.
Or what I think is the most likely scenario: They have their eyes on Peter Forsberg. There's obviously interest on Detroit's part. If November or December rolls around and Forsberg is healthy, they would then use this money on him. And as much as it would pain me to see Forsberg in a Wings jersey (I would throw up in my mouth seeing it), it would be great for a couple of reasons: 1) It would drive the Avs fans crazy--provided there are any left after they missed the playoffs. 2) He could really help us if he was in the lineup.
Forsberg seems the most logical, because there's no way that they're going to burn $6 or 7 million at the trade deadline. That'd be enough to trade for two, if not three, marquee players. It's just not going to happen. And if they're looking to acquire that top-six forward at the deadline, they better be prepared to pay a premium, unless they've got a line on someone that could be had cheap, like Bertuzzi, due to one reason or another. Look at what even guys like Bill Guerin fetched last year. I just don't see Holland acquiring multiple players at that price.
Personally, I think it's stupid to not have any interest in Yashin. He had 50 points in 58 games last season. Yes, he has a reputation as a lazy player, but he matched Robert Lang's stats despite playing 20-25 less games. Additionally, he was a +6 on the year, which wasn't bad at all if you look at the Islanders team as a whole. I believe that playing for a team with a shot to win the Cup for the first time in a long time could be just what the doctor ordered for him. He'd also be in a veteran-laden locker room. They could get him to buy into the team game. Think about the guys that he's played with in his career. You think that playing with Datsyuk wouldn't invigorate him? I do. And if the internet report that it might only take $2 million--or slightly above--to sign him is accurate, they are 100% loony to not go for it.
And signing him would still likely leave enough room to take a run at someone at the deadline. If they're going to sign Forsberg, this makes sense. If not, then I think it's extremely dumb to bank that much cap room.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Odds and Enz
It's time for one of my famous "I haven't written in a few days so it's time to catch up on everything, even if some of it is out of date" posts:
-The Red Wings signed Dallas Drake to a one-year deal. A lot of people aren't thrilled with the move, citing his age, his cheap shot on Lebda last year, and the fact that we've got roughly 13 players to play on our 3rd and 4th lines. That said, I like the idea of him coming back. As I mentioned in my Steve Yzerman tribute, my brother and I were in Toronto, wearing our Wings jerseys when Detroit was in town, and Drake came up to say hello to us, before we had a chance to approach him. He was really nice to us, and I don't forget stuff like that. It'll be interesting to see where he fits in. I wonder if this signing isn't a vote of confidence for Daniel Cleary--or at least a sign that they think he'll have to be in the "top 6" next year by default.
-My next move would be to sign Yashin. He's getting $2.2 million or something from the Islanders to not play for them, so he might come cheap. He's always put up pretty decent numbers, even if he is lazy. But who has he ever played with? Tell me he wouldn't look really nice riding shotgun with Datsyuk. That'd be the top 6 forward that we need.
Edit: This link has a quote from Yashin, which indicates that there may actually be something to my "Yashin to Detroit" idea.
-The Detroit News has indicated that the Pistons are close to signing Amir Johnson. The rumored contract is 3 years for around $10 million, which I think is going to be an absolute bargain. He'll play some more minutes this year, and then by next year, look out. This kid's a stud. I've been saying it from day 1, and I can't wait to watch him in action this year.
-It also sounds like the three Pistons draftees have been very good in summer league play. In the above link, McCosky had some kind words about Arron Afflalo and Stuckey. It sounds like Maxiell has been a beast as well, losing some 30 pounds as well to give him some more explosiveness. I wonder if that means they're thinking of him as a 3 and Johnson as a 4?
-As the anonymous commenter below confirmed, Dwight Helminen has indeed signed with JYP Jyvaskyla in Finland, the same team that his brother Lars signed with. According to this link, however, the contract allows him to still sign with an NHL club this month if he'd like. So this would be more of a fallback contract. I still could see Dwight making the league as a third or fourth liner. He's small, but he's fast, he's great on faceoffs, and he's a very good penalty killer. He had a really good year point-wise two years ago in the AHL as well.
-A music tidbit. My favorite band, Crowded House, just released their first cd in 14 years today. You all should buy it. They rule.
-Michigan has switched to adidas jerseys. I guess that would be a reasonable explanation for why our hockey jerseys were on sale at MDen cheap. Since it's been like 2 whole years, and we signed on with a new apparel company, I have to believe that we'll be changing the jersey styles again this year.
-Lastly, not that I'm worried about Sam McGuffie visiting Texas A&M, but it gives me an excuse to post the following clip. Sam, do you really want to go there and have them pull out one of dem ill beatz on you?
-The Red Wings signed Dallas Drake to a one-year deal. A lot of people aren't thrilled with the move, citing his age, his cheap shot on Lebda last year, and the fact that we've got roughly 13 players to play on our 3rd and 4th lines. That said, I like the idea of him coming back. As I mentioned in my Steve Yzerman tribute, my brother and I were in Toronto, wearing our Wings jerseys when Detroit was in town, and Drake came up to say hello to us, before we had a chance to approach him. He was really nice to us, and I don't forget stuff like that. It'll be interesting to see where he fits in. I wonder if this signing isn't a vote of confidence for Daniel Cleary--or at least a sign that they think he'll have to be in the "top 6" next year by default.
-My next move would be to sign Yashin. He's getting $2.2 million or something from the Islanders to not play for them, so he might come cheap. He's always put up pretty decent numbers, even if he is lazy. But who has he ever played with? Tell me he wouldn't look really nice riding shotgun with Datsyuk. That'd be the top 6 forward that we need.
Edit: This link has a quote from Yashin, which indicates that there may actually be something to my "Yashin to Detroit" idea.
"Some think my move to Detroit is a settled thing but I can say only that they want to see me in the squad as well as a number of other clubs, yet I can's say anything more definite."Interesting. Then again, who knows what that actually said before the translation, purple monkey dishwasher.
-The Detroit News has indicated that the Pistons are close to signing Amir Johnson. The rumored contract is 3 years for around $10 million, which I think is going to be an absolute bargain. He'll play some more minutes this year, and then by next year, look out. This kid's a stud. I've been saying it from day 1, and I can't wait to watch him in action this year.
-It also sounds like the three Pistons draftees have been very good in summer league play. In the above link, McCosky had some kind words about Arron Afflalo and Stuckey. It sounds like Maxiell has been a beast as well, losing some 30 pounds as well to give him some more explosiveness. I wonder if that means they're thinking of him as a 3 and Johnson as a 4?
-As the anonymous commenter below confirmed, Dwight Helminen has indeed signed with JYP Jyvaskyla in Finland, the same team that his brother Lars signed with. According to this link, however, the contract allows him to still sign with an NHL club this month if he'd like. So this would be more of a fallback contract. I still could see Dwight making the league as a third or fourth liner. He's small, but he's fast, he's great on faceoffs, and he's a very good penalty killer. He had a really good year point-wise two years ago in the AHL as well.
-A music tidbit. My favorite band, Crowded House, just released their first cd in 14 years today. You all should buy it. They rule.
-Michigan has switched to adidas jerseys. I guess that would be a reasonable explanation for why our hockey jerseys were on sale at MDen cheap. Since it's been like 2 whole years, and we signed on with a new apparel company, I have to believe that we'll be changing the jersey styles again this year.
-Lastly, not that I'm worried about Sam McGuffie visiting Texas A&M, but it gives me an excuse to post the following clip. Sam, do you really want to go there and have them pull out one of dem ill beatz on you?
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Free Agency Thoughts
We're a few days into the NHL's free agent period, and there have been a lot of interesting happenings around the league. Christy over at Behind the Jersey did a pretty excellent job of breaking down the winners and losers so far.
I completely agree with her that the Kings have done an excellent job. Could they end up being the new Vancouver Canucks? A scary, scary team to face, but without a quality goaltender that could pull everything together and make them a real contender? With Blake, JMFJ, Stuart, and Preissing, that's a great group they've got back on the blueline. And four guys that can play on the PP to boot.
I have to laugh at the Buffalo Sabres. I know that's not nice, because they're a small market team with extremely loyal fans--and with me being a diehard Packers fan it's almost hypocritical for me to do so--but screw em. I hate Ryan Miller, I hate that fucking arena that was the site of one of the worst days of my life, and I hate those douchebags in the Anchor Bar that told me the Wings just bought their Cups. So there.
One guy I do feel bad for, however, is Jed Ortmeyer, who deserves SO much better than the sinking ship that is the Nashville Predators. And he deserves better than the "Hey, a guy named Jed signed with a team in Tennessee" jokes that are sure to come. At least I'll get to watch him play 8 times a year now! One positive of this asinine unbalanced schedule.
As for the Red Wings, thusfar they've lost Kyle Calder, Todd Bertuzzi, and Mathieu Schneider, and signed Brian Rafalski and Jiri Hudler.
I'm still not sure what to make of the Rafalski signing. I really want to like it. I think he's an upgrade from Mathieu Schneider. Even if he doesn't have Schneider's shot from the point (maybe he can put HIS on goal sometimes), he's a better passer, and a better all-around defenseman. He's good enough that if Lidstrom hangs it up in the near future, we've still got a guy that could be a legit #1 defenseman (even if he's not Nick). He was an all-star last year, has been durable (82 GP the last two seasons) and he averaged 25+ minutes of ice time.
And because of that, $6 million a year isn't an unreasonable salary. Especially if the report is true that he turned down a 6 year/$40 million offer to play for his hometown team (he's from Dearborn).
The only thing that scares me is that if the cap doesn't go up much higher and Lidstrom hangs around for a few more years, we're going to have quite the money crunch when Zetterberg's raise comes due. You're going to have Z making $7.5 or so, Datsyuk making $6.7, Rafalski making $6 million and Lidstrom making $7.5ish. That's almost $29 million on four players (which would leave $21 million for the other 22 guys). That puts an insane amount of pressure on Jim Howard to be for real, because it really wouldn't leave a buffer to go sign a high-end goalie.
And after putting that down on paper, I have to wonder if they don't have a pretty decent idea of how much longer Lidstrom is going to play.
I'm not really upset that Bertuzzi left. Anaheim overpaid for him, and for Detroit to match that and give up another second round pick? No thanks. I'm disappointed that we couldn't land Kozlov though. I was really liking the idea of seeing him in red and white again, flanking Datsyuk.
I wish things had worked out with Kyle Calder. He looked so good when he got to Detroit. I remember writing "I'd be working out a contract extension with him right now" two weeks or so into his tenure. Then something happened. He ended up in Babcock's doghouse, and his play dropped off big-time. I don't know which happened first. Still, he was cheap, and he was the kind of player we need. I would've brought him back.
It's puzzling that Hasek isn't signed yet. Based on the reports in the media, it seems that he's asking for a raise, they're close, but he and the Wings haven't come to terms yet. There have also been rumblings that LA made him and offer of 2 years/$10 million that he turned down. I'm wondering if he hasn't said something along the lines of "I'd like $2.5 million, but if taking less would allow us to get another player, I'm willing to do so--or at least take a lower base salary" but since contracts can't be renegotiated, they have to wait to sign him until we know for sure how much money we're going to have at the end of the free agency period. That's the only thing that makes sense to me.
As for the Pistons, it seems like the free agent market is shaping up nicely for them. Chauncey will get signed. There aren't any other suitors out there. Additionally, there is an unsubstantiated rumor that Amir Johnson will sign a 3 year/$12 million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets. If true, I can't imagine that Detroit doesn't match that offer sheet. You can't let a player with that much talent get away. Sign him, and MAKE Flip play him. I view that offer sheet (if it's true) as a good thing, as it gets the deal done. I can't see Detroit letting him go for $4 million a season. Additionally, I believe it's going to come down to Detroit and Phoenix for Grant Hill, and I think the Pistons have more money to offer (even if they use $4 million on Johnson). I don't know a ton about the NBA cap, but that seems to be the gist of what I read. If they could land all three of those guys, this offseason is a success in my eyes. If they can move Nazr and Flip for a center, all the better.
Edit: Forget what I said about Grant Hill. ESPN is reporting that he'll sign with Phoenix when this dead period is over.
I completely agree with her that the Kings have done an excellent job. Could they end up being the new Vancouver Canucks? A scary, scary team to face, but without a quality goaltender that could pull everything together and make them a real contender? With Blake, JMFJ, Stuart, and Preissing, that's a great group they've got back on the blueline. And four guys that can play on the PP to boot.
I have to laugh at the Buffalo Sabres. I know that's not nice, because they're a small market team with extremely loyal fans--and with me being a diehard Packers fan it's almost hypocritical for me to do so--but screw em. I hate Ryan Miller, I hate that fucking arena that was the site of one of the worst days of my life, and I hate those douchebags in the Anchor Bar that told me the Wings just bought their Cups. So there.
One guy I do feel bad for, however, is Jed Ortmeyer, who deserves SO much better than the sinking ship that is the Nashville Predators. And he deserves better than the "Hey, a guy named Jed signed with a team in Tennessee" jokes that are sure to come. At least I'll get to watch him play 8 times a year now! One positive of this asinine unbalanced schedule.
As for the Red Wings, thusfar they've lost Kyle Calder, Todd Bertuzzi, and Mathieu Schneider, and signed Brian Rafalski and Jiri Hudler.
I'm still not sure what to make of the Rafalski signing. I really want to like it. I think he's an upgrade from Mathieu Schneider. Even if he doesn't have Schneider's shot from the point (maybe he can put HIS on goal sometimes), he's a better passer, and a better all-around defenseman. He's good enough that if Lidstrom hangs it up in the near future, we've still got a guy that could be a legit #1 defenseman (even if he's not Nick). He was an all-star last year, has been durable (82 GP the last two seasons) and he averaged 25+ minutes of ice time.
And because of that, $6 million a year isn't an unreasonable salary. Especially if the report is true that he turned down a 6 year/$40 million offer to play for his hometown team (he's from Dearborn).
The only thing that scares me is that if the cap doesn't go up much higher and Lidstrom hangs around for a few more years, we're going to have quite the money crunch when Zetterberg's raise comes due. You're going to have Z making $7.5 or so, Datsyuk making $6.7, Rafalski making $6 million and Lidstrom making $7.5ish. That's almost $29 million on four players (which would leave $21 million for the other 22 guys). That puts an insane amount of pressure on Jim Howard to be for real, because it really wouldn't leave a buffer to go sign a high-end goalie.
And after putting that down on paper, I have to wonder if they don't have a pretty decent idea of how much longer Lidstrom is going to play.
I'm not really upset that Bertuzzi left. Anaheim overpaid for him, and for Detroit to match that and give up another second round pick? No thanks. I'm disappointed that we couldn't land Kozlov though. I was really liking the idea of seeing him in red and white again, flanking Datsyuk.
I wish things had worked out with Kyle Calder. He looked so good when he got to Detroit. I remember writing "I'd be working out a contract extension with him right now" two weeks or so into his tenure. Then something happened. He ended up in Babcock's doghouse, and his play dropped off big-time. I don't know which happened first. Still, he was cheap, and he was the kind of player we need. I would've brought him back.
It's puzzling that Hasek isn't signed yet. Based on the reports in the media, it seems that he's asking for a raise, they're close, but he and the Wings haven't come to terms yet. There have also been rumblings that LA made him and offer of 2 years/$10 million that he turned down. I'm wondering if he hasn't said something along the lines of "I'd like $2.5 million, but if taking less would allow us to get another player, I'm willing to do so--or at least take a lower base salary" but since contracts can't be renegotiated, they have to wait to sign him until we know for sure how much money we're going to have at the end of the free agency period. That's the only thing that makes sense to me.
As for the Pistons, it seems like the free agent market is shaping up nicely for them. Chauncey will get signed. There aren't any other suitors out there. Additionally, there is an unsubstantiated rumor that Amir Johnson will sign a 3 year/$12 million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets. If true, I can't imagine that Detroit doesn't match that offer sheet. You can't let a player with that much talent get away. Sign him, and MAKE Flip play him. I view that offer sheet (if it's true) as a good thing, as it gets the deal done. I can't see Detroit letting him go for $4 million a season. Additionally, I believe it's going to come down to Detroit and Phoenix for Grant Hill, and I think the Pistons have more money to offer (even if they use $4 million on Johnson). I don't know a ton about the NBA cap, but that seems to be the gist of what I read. If they could land all three of those guys, this offseason is a success in my eyes. If they can move Nazr and Flip for a center, all the better.
Edit: Forget what I said about Grant Hill. ESPN is reporting that he'll sign with Phoenix when this dead period is over.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Pre-Draft Stuff on Patch
A couple of stories about Max Pacioretty from NHL.com and Hockey's Future have come out in the last couple of days. Thanks to the posters at The Wolverine for pointing them out.
The one from NHL.com has a couple of things that I just love hearing. It says that Patch is great in the faceoff circle and that "he models his game after his favorite player, New York Rangers' forward Jed Ortmeyer, 'because he does all the little things right on both ends of the ice.'" Gotta love a kid like that! If you have to model your game after someone, might as well model it after the best captain Michigan has had in a long, long time. Jed was awesome.
Patch sounds like a really good kid. I just hope he doesn't go Trevor Lewis on us and get drafted too high.
Here's the article from Hockey's Future.
A couple other things:
As a follow-up to my vent-session last week about ESPN ruining the IRL race at Texas by putting the results on the Bottom Line, I got an email back from ESPN's Ombudsman:
Lastly, Detroit Bad Boys points out that not everyone in the organization is as enthused about Amir Johnson as I am. Dumars and Hammond think that he's going to be a special player, but there are those on the coaching staff that don't think he'll ever be more than an "end of the bench role player".
If there was anything that makes me have less faith in our coaching staff than I already had after that whole "playing Flip Murray and Lindsey Hunter together at the start of the fourth quarter in a tied elimination game" thing, this is it. If you can't find a use for a 6'11" player who is faster than Rip Hamilton (per Dumars on 1270 last week), who can jump out of the gym, block shots, energize the crowd and his teammates with dunks, makes his free throws, and actually shoots the ball better than he's given credit for, then you need to be in another line of work. How can you not find minutes for a guy like that? Hell, one of the worst coaches in the NBA can deploy a no-talent assclown like Anderson Varejao in a strangely effective manner. There's no way he's a better player than Johnson will be. Every time Johnson has gotten significant minutes, he's risen to the occasion. A guy goes for 20-12-3-4 in 37 minutes on 10-14 shooting but you don't think he'll ever be more than an end of the bench role player? He's also gone for 8 and 6 in 13 minutes, 12-10-3-6 in 35 minutes, and was only 18-22 from the field in the preseason when he got to play. Not to mention his performances last year.
Flip, you're a moron.
The one from NHL.com has a couple of things that I just love hearing. It says that Patch is great in the faceoff circle and that "he models his game after his favorite player, New York Rangers' forward Jed Ortmeyer, 'because he does all the little things right on both ends of the ice.'" Gotta love a kid like that! If you have to model your game after someone, might as well model it after the best captain Michigan has had in a long, long time. Jed was awesome.
Patch sounds like a really good kid. I just hope he doesn't go Trevor Lewis on us and get drafted too high.
Here's the article from Hockey's Future.
A couple other things:
As a follow-up to my vent-session last week about ESPN ruining the IRL race at Texas by putting the results on the Bottom Line, I got an email back from ESPN's Ombudsman:
"I received many complaints like yours and forwarded them to ESPN's Viewer Response team to get an explanation. Here is what they said:
"The result was added to the other Bottom Lines when the race ended, but also mistakenly networked to ESPN2, thereby allowing it to show under the coverage until the mistake was caught. Production has been alerted and addressed the issue to make sure this doesn't happen again."
I sincerely hope that is the last time a race will be ruined in that way.
Le Anne Schreiber"
Pretty much the response I expected. Hopefully they got enough emails this time that it actually will be the last time a race is ruined like that. As I said last week, it's at least the third time in the past two years that it's happened. And there's really no excuse for it. What's the hurry to get the results up on the Bottom Line anyway? It's the fricken IRL. Anyone who cares about it is watching the damn thing. Still, I appreciate the response, and hopefully they're going to be more on the ball in the future.
Charles Woodson came to the last week of the Packers' organized team activities. Packers.com had an article about him and how he gives a lot of the credit for his resurgence to Al Harris, the guy on the other side. I love Chuck, and I love how he's basically shoving it in the face of anyone who hated on him when the Packers signed him. It sounds weird, considering the Packers pass defense wasn't anything to write home about last season, but both of our corners deserved Pro-Bowl berths. Football's coming!Lastly, Detroit Bad Boys points out that not everyone in the organization is as enthused about Amir Johnson as I am. Dumars and Hammond think that he's going to be a special player, but there are those on the coaching staff that don't think he'll ever be more than an "end of the bench role player".
If there was anything that makes me have less faith in our coaching staff than I already had after that whole "playing Flip Murray and Lindsey Hunter together at the start of the fourth quarter in a tied elimination game" thing, this is it. If you can't find a use for a 6'11" player who is faster than Rip Hamilton (per Dumars on 1270 last week), who can jump out of the gym, block shots, energize the crowd and his teammates with dunks, makes his free throws, and actually shoots the ball better than he's given credit for, then you need to be in another line of work. How can you not find minutes for a guy like that? Hell, one of the worst coaches in the NBA can deploy a no-talent assclown like Anderson Varejao in a strangely effective manner. There's no way he's a better player than Johnson will be. Every time Johnson has gotten significant minutes, he's risen to the occasion. A guy goes for 20-12-3-4 in 37 minutes on 10-14 shooting but you don't think he'll ever be more than an end of the bench role player? He's also gone for 8 and 6 in 13 minutes, 12-10-3-6 in 35 minutes, and was only 18-22 from the field in the preseason when he got to play. Not to mention his performances last year.
Flip, you're a moron.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Czarnik Is Good
A few quick things as we head into the weekend:
Max Pacioretty was invited to the NHL Draft Combine.
The USA U-17 team swept Alpena in the NAHL playoffs. Robbie Czarnik currently leads the NAHL playoffs with 5 goals and 6 points. Our other commit on the team, David Wohlberg is second with 5 points.
Detroit Bad Boys points out that the Pistons have recalled Amir Johnson to the big club. Given that the Pistons have clinched the East's #1 seed, seems reasonable that Amir is coming up to play in the Show, and not ride the pine. He's been extremely impressive in his limited minutes thusfar (When he got extended playing time he scored like 19 points and didn't miss a shot). As someone who has been on the Amir Johnson bandwagon going all the way back to his first Summer League game as a Piston, I'm geeked.
Bruce MacLeod of the Macomb Daily has a Red Wings blog now. He's got some great stuff in there. Did you know that game one against the Flames brought about Detroit's biggest "hit" total of the season? Do you know what percentage of faceoffs each of our centers has won against Calgary's centers over the last two seasons? This is the stuff that people like me want to know during the playoffs. Love it!
Great performance by the Wings yesterday. It's so huge that Pavel Datsyuk got that goal out of the way early on. Hopefully now that that monkey is off his back, he'll play like we know he can. Kipper played outstanding--the Wings really could've scored 7 or 8 in that game--but Hasek was equally good, just with less shots against him. Dom gives this team a chance.
Very impressive performance...it was especially nice to see the Wings hitting like that, even without Bertuzzi in the lineup. This isn't the same Calgary team from 2004. I can't believe how piss-poor they played defensively.
The other thing that was great to see was Zetterberg looking like he hasn't missed a beat, despite missing 19 straight games. Couldn't even tell he had been gone. That's huge for our chances.
I'm not very happy with the NHL right now. A couple of weeks ago, I shelled out $50 for the remainder of the season + playoffs of Center Ice. Then what happens? Versus picks up every damn Detroit game so Center Ice can't show it. They aren't showing a single Red Wings playoff game according to the schedule. Unbelievable. So I had to upgrade my dish package to the highest one, just so I can get the Wings games on Versus that I should've be getting on Center Ice.
Max Pacioretty was invited to the NHL Draft Combine.
The USA U-17 team swept Alpena in the NAHL playoffs. Robbie Czarnik currently leads the NAHL playoffs with 5 goals and 6 points. Our other commit on the team, David Wohlberg is second with 5 points.
Detroit Bad Boys points out that the Pistons have recalled Amir Johnson to the big club. Given that the Pistons have clinched the East's #1 seed, seems reasonable that Amir is coming up to play in the Show, and not ride the pine. He's been extremely impressive in his limited minutes thusfar (When he got extended playing time he scored like 19 points and didn't miss a shot). As someone who has been on the Amir Johnson bandwagon going all the way back to his first Summer League game as a Piston, I'm geeked.
Bruce MacLeod of the Macomb Daily has a Red Wings blog now. He's got some great stuff in there. Did you know that game one against the Flames brought about Detroit's biggest "hit" total of the season? Do you know what percentage of faceoffs each of our centers has won against Calgary's centers over the last two seasons? This is the stuff that people like me want to know during the playoffs. Love it!
Great performance by the Wings yesterday. It's so huge that Pavel Datsyuk got that goal out of the way early on. Hopefully now that that monkey is off his back, he'll play like we know he can. Kipper played outstanding--the Wings really could've scored 7 or 8 in that game--but Hasek was equally good, just with less shots against him. Dom gives this team a chance.
Very impressive performance...it was especially nice to see the Wings hitting like that, even without Bertuzzi in the lineup. This isn't the same Calgary team from 2004. I can't believe how piss-poor they played defensively.
The other thing that was great to see was Zetterberg looking like he hasn't missed a beat, despite missing 19 straight games. Couldn't even tell he had been gone. That's huge for our chances.
I'm not very happy with the NHL right now. A couple of weeks ago, I shelled out $50 for the remainder of the season + playoffs of Center Ice. Then what happens? Versus picks up every damn Detroit game so Center Ice can't show it. They aren't showing a single Red Wings playoff game according to the schedule. Unbelievable. So I had to upgrade my dish package to the highest one, just so I can get the Wings games on Versus that I should've be getting on Center Ice.
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