Axe to Grind – Season Opener Edition
Chris Pudsey
2014-10-08
This week the Axeman tackles the Islanders defensive pickups, Johansen’s new contract and the Oilers’ final cuts.
Welcome to this weeks Axe To Grind! Today's the day we have all been waiting for, looking forward to and counting down to for months now. It's opening day for the 2014/15 NHL hockey season and it couldn't come fast enough. Before we start to get too excited about this season, I still have a couple axes to grind from some events this past week.
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The Islanders acquire Boychuk and Leddy.
Axeman's Grind
You really have to like what Garth Snow is finally doing in Long Island. He knew he had to forfeit a first round pick, either in the 2014 or in 2015. Maybe Snow had this vision or something but he kept the 2014 pick and decided to forfeit the pick in the deep and talented 2015 draft. Many were surprised by this move, including myself to be honest. I thought the smart move was to give up the '14 pick and go after the better pick/prospect in 2015 but Snow figured he had a chance to build something for this upcoming year and come hell or high water, he wasn't going to be in the lottery section of the draft for 2015. Well, after some pretty savvy moves this off-season, I think he may have actually found a roster that will not only be out of the lottery, but could have worked its way into the playoffs.
After upgrading his forwards and goaltending, Snow knew he had to improve on his backend. He targeted two teams who he knew was looking for some cap relief and he used that to his advantage.
He acquired a top-four offensive defenseman in Nick Leddy (along with AHL goalie Kent Simpson) for Ville Pokka, TJ Brennan and the rights to Anders Nilsson. Leddy is still only 23 years old and still has room to grow, offensively. Pokka is the bigger name heading to Chicago but I think the real gem in the deal is Anders Nilsson, assuming they can lure him back to North America. I have said for some time now that Nilsson is the best goalie prospect in the Islanders system and I think he is now the best one in the Blackhawks system. The former 2nd round pick bounced between the AHL and the Islanders before heading overseas to the KHL where he has put up some quality numbers.
Also heading to New York is Johnny Boychuk. It cost Snow two 2nd round picks (one in 2015 and one in 2016) and a conditional 3rd in 2015 if the Islanders trade Boychuk to any other Eastern Conference team this year. I thought this was a weird conditional pick. They are saying, don't trade him to another Eastern Conference team because we don't want him to play against him on some teams, but it's OK that we play against him when we play you. Maybe there is something I am missing (and please let me know if I am) but I find this really strange. I think the Islanders are safe in adding that additional, conditional pick as I don't see them wanting to trade him anyway. If anything, I can see Snow trying to re-sign Boychuk before his deal expires this year. For Boston, this is a smart trade for them as well. They had to know it would be tough to re-sign him when his contract expires at the end of this year and got a good return for him. Win-win for both teams here. I own Boychuk in the UHL fantasy league and I am big fan of his game. I have always found him to be underrated and normally overshadowed in Boston's deep defensive system. It seems that a few out there think his numbers will take a hit but I disagree. If anything, I actually think he will flourish in his new environment. These aren't the same ole, same ole New York Islanders.
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Finally!
Well, he may have missed all of training camp but he is signed, sealed and ready to roll for the regular season. Sometimes people put too much stock into training camps. It's not like he was going to play in every pre-season game anyway. As long as he's been skating back home (and that's the rumor) and his conditioning is good, it shouldn't take him long to get back into game shape. Let's be honest, this is a 22-year-old kid, how out of shape can he be?
The deal will pay him 3M in each of the first two years and then 6M in the final year. He will still have one more year of restricted free agency when this deal ends and that is probably why the weird jump in salary in the deal in the final year. It will mean that the Blue Jackets qualifying offer at the end of the 2016 season will have to be at least 6M and if Johansen files for salary arbitration when this deal ends, he will qualify for a 1 year deal and then be able to jump right into free agency. So while it may appear like the Blue Jackets win this deal short term, don't think Johansen isn't looking long term in his plan. This is why this deal may end up being a winner for both sides. It's still a cap friendly deal for the Blue Jackets and for the first couple seasons his actual salary is decent. The last year of this deal is all about Johansen planning for his next deal, and beyond. If Johansen plays the way the Blue Jackets are expecting him to (and he's capable of), I won't be one bit surprised to see some sort of long term deal being discussed before arbitration even comes around. Here's hoping those negotiations go a heck of a lot smoother than these ones did. I am just glad all this foolishness is over.
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So there were a lot more cuts this week as teams trim down their rosters for the regular season. No major surprises except for one; the Oilers demotion of Martin Marincin.
Axeman's Grind
I am not going to lie, the move by the Oilers management to send Martin Marincin to the AHL as part of their final cuts really left me scratching my head. Marincin was probably the Oilers best defenceman most of last year (especially at the end) and looked like he was ready to take the bull by the horns this year with his play in the pre-season. The decision to keep Klefbom up and demote Marincin is nothing short of criminal. I realize the whole waivers thing with him and that he will be back sooner than later due to injuries and what not but I just can't see how the Oilers management, who should be trying to put their best lineup out there to start the season and get off to a strong start, honestly thinks this is a good move. The big issue right now, the Oilers are swimming in defencemen. That's right; the Oilers have too many defenceman who are NHL quality. Darnell Nurse will get his 9 games while they wait for Nikita Nikitin to return from injury and then he will most likely be sent back to Junior for one more season.
Ideally, I'd love to see the Oilers make a trade and ship out one of these good young defencemen in some sort of package for what they REALLY need; more depth down the middle. Petry is a definite possibility with him only signed for this year and UFA status looming. I loved what I saw from Bogdan Yakimov in the pre-season and believe me, this kid is the real deal. Big, strong and plays hard. What a great draft pick for them a couple years ago. Give him another year in the AHL to round his game out and then look out. The problem is, he's their man depth guy to get recalled if an injury occurs to one of the centers up in Edmonton.
Either way, this is once again another mess up by Oilers management. Marincin should have made this roster on opening night. Then again, this is the Oilers and I have come to expect nothing but disappointment from them on a regular basis. Until Katz clears out the "Old boys club" who is running this team, I am having a hard time visualizing success for this group.
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Well, thanks again for taking the time to read. Comments are always welcome. Enjoy the games tonight and the start of another glorious season.
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