Derrico

I hope ur right but I think the longer this drags out the more likely he's going to be a Yote.

Not that this is the thread for this discussion but I think the Hoff deal is excellent. If we can have a top 2 or 3 Dman eating 22+ minutes a game with offensive upside for a cap hit of only 4 mil then that's an excellent deal. The guy is still only 30 years old and can play at a high level. If there is a serious injury where he doesn't retire and can't play at the same skill then the 9 more years comes back to bite us. Looking at the cap hit per year, I loved that deal when it occurred and still do.

Nothing much about us. A little disappointing as I thought once Parise and Suter signed we would see a bit of trade action in the couple days following. I understand though that the Ducks in particular would want to wait a bit and see if they can get more teams interested. Knowing Darcy, a trade may come and likely with a team/player that wasn't overly discussed.

Slow day on the trade front today....

It's obviously all just rumors at this point but prohockeytalk.com has report: Flyers, Penguins, Red Wings, Sens amoung teams after Bobby Ryan. Then in the report they also mention the Lightning and Leafs. Not even a mention of us....

Gerbe sucks.

Now that the top D are all off the board in terms of free agency could this entice a team that was in the Suter and especially Carle running to look to the trade market? Just as we are looking at teams loaded at center, a team looking for help on the back end will see us with 9 nhl d-men. I'm just curious if maybe this signing will result in more calls to Darcy.

Thats a little steep for Carle, but that's what needs to be done in free agency I guess.

I know, but because of the way that worked out last year you wouldnt think Darcy/Lindy would try that again. But knowing them, anything is possible....As for my wish list, I want: Ryan, Nash, Stasny.

I don't know, as has been reported, Ott is a winger, not a center. I would be shocked if we don't add another center before training camp but we shall see.

I'm not sure the Sabres management are willing to roll two 22 year olds and 2 18 year olds out there as our four centres. We need atleast one more experienced guy. Not to mention weve got like 9 nhl defensemen.

I agree with part of this, although I have seen times (certainly not consistently though) were he does take over games. As for your last point, Im not saying trade away our junk, but McNabb I believe is a damn good prospect to most teams. Pysyk should be regarded as a nice trading piece. We have the flexibility to move a Sekera as well. Those are all decent pieces especially if you start packaging them together. To me, if we're just trading Vanek for a centre of an equal talent level I would rather keep us pretty stacked at wing and wait the two years for Ennis, Hodgson, and the two 1st (I don't have their spelling down yet) to develop.

I'm with ya on this. He was great with Adam to start the year. If we can get a legit guy to play with Vanek and Pommers then that line could be very dangerous and a legit top line for a stanley cup contending team. That's why I think it would be crazy to include our best scorer in any deal. We have a ton of young D assets that I hope Darcy can use to his advantage and get us a good centre in here within the next couple of days.

What's the point in bringing back a great centre if Vanek is part of the deal? Say we get a Stasny, who will play the top line with him? Pommers and Ott? The appeal to me about a top line centre is actually seeing what Vanek is fully capable of. I think we should be looking to deal some of our top D prospects to get that #1 centre in here and leave Vanek out of any discussion.

Weve got approximately 7 mil left (after Kaleta and Ennis) with pretty well everyone signed don't we? No way Doan is getting over 7 mil per and with Pegs deep pockets we could front load any contract. Although I'm not sure how long of a deal should be signed considering his age. We may be a long shot getting him wiht the thin market this year but we've got enough money to sign almost anyone outside of the top ufa's.

I thought it was an 8.7 mil cap hit. I was listening to TSN radio and they were sayign that Crosby is overly superstitious and could be a reason why the cap hit was 'only' 8.7.

I don't think I ever thought we'd land one of them this offseason based on our cap figures. However, there are some tough guys and tier two players that I'm interested in signing/acquiring. Doan would be at the top of my list for someone to sign as well. Get him for a couple years and bridge the gap between now and when our two young draft picks are ready to go. He's a beast come playoff time....

Goin to see Aerosmith tonight at the ACC!!

N Not sure about down there. For you Canadian viewers, I've checked ahead and TSN is carrying the draft. I checked for Saturday and can't find anyone who is showing it. Maybe NHL Network?

I think we should have a thread to discuss something none of us really want to discuss....the expiration of the NHL CBA. Negotiations are not expected to take place until June 1. Will there be another labour stoppage? I can't see this happening due to the lost season in 2004-2005. How will the new CBA affect the cap? There is significant talk of an amnesty clause where a contract can be bought out without affecting the salary cap (cough Lenio). Will this be negotiated? Here is a link to get you thinking about one of the uglier sides of professional sports. http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2012/3/26/2896744/nhl-cba-salary-cap-2012 Discuss.....

So your argument is to only have what average sized players on your team? Come on, if your point is that you don't want to invest too much in Ennis because he's small and small players tend to get injured more then I think that's weak. You must be pretty upset in the investment we made in Tyler1.

Haha, good point.

Despite his tough effort and love from this board, Gerbe is a very boarderline NHLer as he's just too small. Yes, Ennis having a freak ankle injury proves that small players are more prone to injury. Bigger guys have those tougher ankles I guess....

Give him time to get use to his new wingers. The kid is only 22 and has been playing very well lately IMO. A center with 3 goals and 4 assists in the past 5 games with the games being of high importance is someone I badly want on my team. Well what small guys are more likely to get hurt? I've never noticed that.

:blink: I've never seen that before. Martin St. Louis is one of the smallest guys in the league and he hasn't missed more than a couple games in the 10 seasons he's been playing regularily in the league. Obviously the amount of the offer sheet plays a big roll in if you match but I'd be pissed if we lose him and only get back a 1st and 3rd.