Rambling about Dan Boyle’s lip, Steven Stamkos’ blood, Brayden Schenn’s hit, and some prospect talk

***

WELL! Should I be offended that more than half of the DobberHockey Pool prize winners don’t read my Ramblings during the postseason? Details on the DobberHockey Hockey Pool winners and prizes – find out here if you won, and how to claim your prize. Monday a couple more people reached out, but still only nine out of 20 have reached out to me and claimed prizes – tell your friends to check this link if they finished near the Top 20! One jersey and the autographed stick are still unclaimed, among the prizes…I have a list of names, but nothing further in terms of user names or mailing addresses, etc. Contact me! If you know Brad Robar, Shayne Van Leeuwen, Mark Sikorski, Mike Halbany, Deric Walberg, Barry Boyd, Matthew Gustafson, Jono Brody-Felber, Peter Zanchettin, Brett Forsyth, Hughs Ng or James Leo – have them read these Ramblings! Monday coming up will be the last time I ask, I think

*

Dobbernomics BETA players – don’t forget to make your swaps. Due by Friday each week. Next season, the value adjustments and roster changes will be daily (right now it’s weekly) and the trades become cumulative. It’s my understanding that they are not cumulative right now: five trades per week and you have to use them all or you lose them. But next year they will accumulate, because that’s how Small World did it. And I loved that game, and am trying to re-create it. Any other suggestions you have, use the Dobbernomics contact links that are all over that site.

*

So now to recap the Tuesday games:

Ugh.

Now that’s out of the way. Onto some news and thoughts…

*

Geez, give me a full slate of Tuesday games and I could rip out a 2000-word Ramblings in three hours. Give me zero games and I battle for four hours to get half as much content. But I persevere! We don’t miss a day for Ramblings. And hey – my whining about it just padded 50 words into this.

*

The Bruins have signed prospect goaltender Daniel “Darth” Vladar to a three-year ELC. He was Boston’s third-round pick last summer and played last season in the USHL. You can read up on him here, but as for his fantasy future let me put it this way: if Malcolm Subban has taken four years since being drafted just to make the team as a backup, you can safely assume Vladar is still four more years away at best. And that assumes Subban will be the backup in the fall. Which is far from a guarantee. (read up on Subban here)

*

The Panthers placed Greg McKegg on waivers in an effort to sneak him down to the AHL to help their affiliate Portland in their series against Hershey. McKegg was acquired in the trade that sent the rights to Zach Hyman to the Leafs. You can read up on Hyman here and on McKegg here. I’m a big fan of Hyman. It will be tough to make the Leafs next season if they sign a couple of big-name forwards (I think they will), but after William Nylander I think Hyman gets in. Next year we’ll be able to tell for sure if he can eventually top out as a second-liner at some point in his career. I believe he can.

*

The Islanders sent goalie Chris Gibson to the minors where he will join Bridgeport in their series against the Toronto Marlies. The Marlies are up 2-0 in the series. But the fact that the Isles sent down means that Jaroslav Halak is getting closer. Halak is back skating and is with the team down in Tampa. Also with the team – Ryan Pulock and Josh Bailey.

*

I don’t know what to make of this…but Steven Stamkos was back in practice, albeit non-contact. He remains on blood thinners. I can’t believe Stamkos is risking his life this way – I have to believe he’ll give this another two or three weeks. I certainly hope that when he returns to action that it is at 0% risk. But he was, in my estimation, looking good to return late in the third round. That’s aggressive, but I figured it’s hockey – players are always aggressive. But to return in the middle of the second round?

 *

The NHL suspended Brayden Schenn for three games, so he’ll sit those out in October and the most he will play in 2016-17 are 79 games. Terrible timing for that. Next season I was ready to boldly call a 65-point career high. Take three games away from him right off the hop like that and I’m not quite as certain.

*

The Canucks signed Markus Granlund to a two-year contract extension. The contract was a really good one (just $900,000 per season). Granlund is lopped into a Vancouver group that includes Linden Vey, Emerson Etem and Sven Baertschi as players with great upside – but not looking as though they’ll hit is or even come close to it. I guess the Canucks figure that if you gather up some prospect castoffs, maybe the odd one will pan out. It seems to have worked in the case of Jacob Markstrom…

*

The Avalanche signed prospect JT Compher to a three-year ELC. Compher had a massive breakout campaign for Michigan with 63 points in 38 games. You can read more about him here. He’ll compete with Mikko Rantanen for a roster spot in the fall. Compher is older (21) and is a highly regarded prospect in the Av’s system, so don’t write him off. Maybe there will be room in Colorado for two rookies in the fall?

*

Keep your eye on Pittsburgh prospect Jake Guentzel. Drafted 77^th overall in 2013 he just finished his three-year college career with 46 points in 35 games for U. of Nebraska-Omaha. He had 119 points in 108 career college games. After a modest start to his pro career with six points in 11 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Guentzel has been on a tear in the AHL playoffs. He has seven points in three playoff games to lead the league.

FYI Daniel Sprong is also with the AHL club now and he has four points in three playoff games.

*

Dan Boyle didn’t announce his retirement yesterday, but he certainly hinted that he was leaning in that direction. Also, an interesting rant on a couple of the journalists he doesn’t like (i.e. Larry Brooks):

 “Boyle again indicated he was leaning toward retirement because of family concerns. He said he believes he can still play and his agent has indicated there will be interest in him this summer. Boyle’s final moments in the Rangers’ dressing room were marked, however, by him cursing at selected media members and trying to cherry pick who could be involved in his media scrum. Boyle made clear his objections to the way he’s been treated in the media during his tenure with the Rangers.”

Here is the transcript of the exchange:

BOYLE: “I don’t want him here."

BROOKS: “What? You know, the feeling’s mutual, man.”

BOYLE: “Nobody likes you. Nobody respects you. Just so you know."

BROOKS: "OK."

BOYLE: “At least I’m leaving here with the respect of my teammates. … I have no respect for you. I want you to get the [expletive] out.”

BROOKS: “I don’t care what you think."

BOYLE: "I can tell you to get the [expletive] out if I want to!"

BROOKS: “You can, but I don’t have to listen to you."

BOYLE: “Yeah, ya do! I want him out. And that other [expletive] clown, Brett, or whatever the [expletive] his name is. Everyone else is fine. I want him out. It’s my right.”

Update – the video is here! Thanks to our friendly commenter for that

*

Tyler Seguin, as of Tuesday, is still not back on the ice skating. With news like that I think you can safely remove games one through three from him in the second round.