September 03, 2010
Jeff Angus
2010-09-03
The Pool Guide will be UPDATED and re-released tomorrow with the Comrie signing and the Kovalchuk signing.
Per Darren Dreger, the NHL and NHLPA have struck a deal with regards to long-term contracts. I’ll have more when it is released. The Kovalchuk deal WILL be approved. Welcome to New Jersey (officially, again), Ilya!
I have David Jones outscoring Milan Hejduk next season. Jones is a great sleeper pick – doesn’t get much hype, but still young and he brings size and speed alongside Duchene on the second line.
Comrie analysis is up.
Ramblings will be updated throughout the day. I just finished writing my own projections for myself, and I’ll share some of my general thoughts here.
Buy the 2010-11 Pool Guide (if you haven’t already).
Carey Price re-signed with the Canadiens. My comment yesterday regarding the fan base and media turning on him if he were to hold out is now moot. The contract is for $2.75 per season. I like Price a lot, but I don't really like Montreal's roster. One-year leagues I have him far below where I'd have him in a keeper league.
Got this question on my twitter account yesterday (recently passed 800 followers, hold the applause) – Price or Steve Mason? I'd take Carey 10 times out of 10. Not a huge fan of Mason's. Perhaps a goalie coach in Columbus will help him out… like most young goalies he has been incredibly inconsistent thus far as a professional.
Sticking with young players being re-signed, the Avalanche locked up Chris Stewart to a two-year deal. Peter Mueller is still without a contract. Stewart was one of the biggest surprises in the league, scoring 28 goals this past season. I have him scoring 24 in my own projections, but he'll pick up more assists so the point total should remain the same or even increase a bit.
Mentioned this yesterday – Jordan Staal will miss the beginning of camp with his foot issue. I had pegged Staal for a breakout season as it sounds like he’ll get a steady dose of second line minutes… but this news may temper my optimism a bit.
I’d take Niitymaki over Niemi if I had the choice in a one-year league.
Dobber has mentioned O’Sullivan as a guy who could step in and play with the Penguins… but how about Ryan Potulny? Was more consistent and quite frankly a lot better than O’Sullivan with the Oilers last season.
Paul Ranger won’t play with the Lightning this season. I hope whatever he is going through gets worked out, as it is a shame to see such a talented young defenseman put his career and/or life on hold.
Vinny Lecavalier returned to the ice only nine days after getting his knee scoped. The injury will have no effect on his game and I see a return to the 80-90 point mark for the former Rocket Richard winner.
Cody Hodgson is reporting to the YoungStars tournament featuring Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, San Jose, and Anaheim in two weeks in Penticton, BC. Any DobberHockey readers or members making the trek to Penticton to check this thing out?
Edmonton's roster is obviously stacked up front.
Former Montreal 1st round pick/bust David Fischer has been invited to Vancouver's prospects camp. After getting drafted back in 2006, Fischer scored six goals in 157 games with the University of Minnesota. No wonder he couldn't get a contract…
Friday reading – if you aren't already checking out Justin Bourne's blog on a daily basis, do so now.
NHL 11 is less than a week away… I’ll be rewarding myself with a brand new PS3 to play this bad boy for hours on end.
Jeff Tambellini is intent on making Vancouver as a depth scoring option. He’s got a great shot and fantastic wheels, but is easily muscled off the puck and simply looked a step behind the game mentally whenever he suited up with the Islanders over the past few years.
Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson is dumping the Svensson on his jersey this season. The most important question – will PAAJARVI be on the back of an NHL or AHL jersey?
My Canuck lines without Alex Burrows:
Sedin-Sedin-Samuelsson
Raymond-Kesler-Torres
Hodgson-Malhotra-Hansen
The fourth line will be a mixture of about six or seven players (Rypien, Oreskovich, Glass, etc). Tambellini, Shirokov, and Schroeder are also in the mix.
I still have no idea how Kane got this shot off – simply disgusting (in a good way, of course):