General Hockey Talk - Injuries, signings, factoids + other news from around the league

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

Ev wrote:

Lagoon wrote:Sounds like there will be no lockout this time around. I was thinking and hoping the NHL would try and control the advantage that rich owners (all owners except for Melnyk) have by being able to give massive signing bonuses. No lockout only hurts Ottawa.

Maybe no lockout means a sooner sale and not as much need for up front signing bonuses for Chabot

The NHLPA still has an opportunity to mess this up and opt out don't they?

The NHLPA has until the 15th of September to opt out of they choose to

The way I see it is if the NHL likes the way I is than the NHLPA won’t. I really hope they don’t opt out.

Hockeyhero22000 wrote:

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

Ev wrote:

Lagoon wrote:Sounds like there will be no lockout this time around. I was thinking and hoping the NHL would try and control the advantage that rich owners (all owners except for Melnyk) have by being able to give massive signing bonuses. No lockout only hurts Ottawa.

Maybe no lockout means a sooner sale and not as much need for up front signing bonuses for Chabot

The NHLPA still has an opportunity to mess this up and opt out don't they?

The NHLPA has until the 15th of September to opt out of they choose to

If the NHLPA had any inkling that they may want to opt out, they would have taken the 5% cap inflator option they had for this season first. They didn’t. Therefore, in my mind, they are fine with this CBA.

I'm cautiously optimistic. Cap went down and that spooked a few people. Now is not the time to slam on the brakes but, rather, take your foot off the gas and see what develops before taking action.

Doing nothing at this time only means status quo for 3 more seasons. If the cap goes down again both sides will lose and both will want to negotiate - in opposite directions. They need to with together now to make sure that does not happen.

Just read Bettman's statement and it's pretty much what he's saying:

Based on the current state of the game and the business of the game, the NHL believes it is essential to continue building upon the momentum we have created with our Players

"Current state" is declining revenues, even if only a small blip. Working together if there only thing that makes sense for now.

Lagoon wrote:

PTFlea wrote:What's his deal?

He’s moody. He’s the bad kind of cocky. Selfish on the ice. Has anger issues and can’t control his emotions. Lastly, nothing is ever his fault. The weird thing is, all these things only come out when he enters the arena.

Peterborough just told Merkley to not even come to their city. They are having trouble trading him because nobody wants him.

Coyotes broke the ice and paid Keller 7.15AAV on a 8 year deal.

Lagoon wrote:

Lagoon wrote:

PTFlea wrote:What's his deal?

He’s moody. He’s the bad kind of cocky. Selfish on the ice. Has anger issues and can’t control his emotions. Lastly, nothing is ever his fault. The weird thing is, all these things only come out when he enters the arena.

Peterborough just told Merkley to not even come to their city. They are having trouble trading him because nobody wants him.

Geez.

Did they break the ice with Keller? I think they set the bar and to me he was on the lower end of the RFA holdouts. This scares me with Chabot, Tkachuk and Batherson. They're each going to make $7M+

And add in Brannstrom to that mix. Wolanin you may be able to lock up on the affordable

Lagoon wrote:Coyotes broke the ice and paid Keller 7.15AAV on a 8 year deal.

Seems like a good deal to me.

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Did they break the ice with Keller? I think they set the bar and to me he was on the lower end of the RFA holdouts. This scares me with Chabot, Tkachuk and Batherson. They're each going to make $7M+

Batherson is not going to make close to that on his next deal IMO. He's not even in the NHL yet. Chabot yes. Tkachuk, debatable, depends on his stats next year.

Fair. But they are all aware of the Sens' situation. Or at least their agents are. The players have ownership by the balls

Ev wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Did they break the ice with Keller? I think they set the bar and to me he was on the lower end of the RFA holdouts. This scares me with Chabot, Tkachuk and Batherson. They're each going to make $7M+

Batherson is not going to make close to that on his next deal IMO. He's not even in the NHL yet. Chabot yes. Tkachuk, debatable, depends on his stats next year.

Batherson has 2 full seasons before he's eligible for reneg. I woulnd't at all be surprised if he puts up numbers warranting a long, big $$ contract.

Tkachuk is a shoo in as well IMO.

Batherson and Tkachuk are both RFA's after next season. If they put up 50+ points on the worst team in the NHL, they demand big money. Keller averaged 56 points over the last two seasons.

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Batherson and Tkachuk are both RFA's after next season. If they put up 50+ points on the worst team in the NHL, they demand big money. Keller averaged 56 points over the last two seasons.

I agree, if batherson lives up to the hype he's right in the wheel house of a big, long contract like keller.

Also, I think tkachuk is legitimately worth 5 plus million to clubs right now, imagine in two years time?

I have trouble with dorion a lot, but this was an exceptional draft pick. Faced some backlash from fans too

PTFlea wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Batherson and Tkachuk are both RFA's after next season. If they put up 50+ points on the worst team in the NHL, they demand big money. Keller averaged 56 points over the last two seasons.

I agree, if batherson lives up to the hype he's right in the wheel house of a big, long contract like keller.

Also, I think tkachuk is legitimately worth 5 plus million to clubs right now,  imagine in two years time?

I have trouble with dorion a lot, but this was an exceptional draft pick.  Faced some backlash from fans too

It’s all about upside though. Keller is a C and a much higher ceiling than Batherson. Batherson has a couple of years to prove his case but he’s gonna have to put up close to40 G to get near that and I don’t see it happening. Let’s see if he can get to 30 first.
Tkachuck has all the intangibles and could see him being a 30-35 goal guy if he’s playing with the right linemates. But willadd a lot more to the table. He could be in the 7mill LT range.

Getting young guys locked up to 7 or 8 year deals isn't a bad thing if they're pretty safe bets.

Flo The Action wrote:

PTFlea wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Batherson and Tkachuk are both RFA's after next season. If they put up 50+ points on the worst team in the NHL, they demand big money. Keller averaged 56 points over the last two seasons.

I agree, if batherson lives up to the hype he's right in the wheel house of a big, long contract like keller.

Also, I think tkachuk is legitimately worth 5 plus million to clubs right now,  imagine in two years time?

I have trouble with dorion a lot, but this was an exceptional draft pick.  Faced some backlash from fans too

It’s all about upside though. Keller is a C and a much higher ceiling than Batherson. Batherson has a couple of years to prove his case but he’s gonna have to put up close to40 G to get near that and I don’t see it happening. Let’s see if he can get to 30 first.
Tkachuck has all the intangibles and could see him being a 30-35 goal guy if he’s playing with the right linemates. But willadd a lot more to the table. He could be in the 7mill LT range.

Brady will want to make what Matthew makes. But I think he'll get a little less personally.

Flo The Action wrote:

PTFlea wrote:

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Batherson and Tkachuk are both RFA's after next season. If they put up 50+ points on the worst team in the NHL, they demand big money. Keller averaged 56 points over the last two seasons.

I agree, if batherson lives up to the hype he's right in the wheel house of a big, long contract like keller.

Also, I think tkachuk is legitimately worth 5 plus million to clubs right now,  imagine in two years time?

I have trouble with dorion a lot, but this was an exceptional draft pick.  Faced some backlash from fans too

It’s all about upside though. Keller is a C and a much higher ceiling than Batherson. Batherson has a couple of years to prove his case but he’s gonna have to put up close to40 G to get near that and I don’t see it happening. Let’s see if he can get to 30 first.
Tkachuck has all the intangibles and could see him being a 30-35 goal guy if he’s playing with the right linemates. But willadd a lot more to the table. He could be in the 7mill LT range.

I have two small issues with this.

1.Why is Keller's ceiling much higher than Bathersons? Is it because of pedigree - where Keller was drafted vs where Batherson was? Because Batherson has done everything right in terms of development. Stepped into the pros and put up a PPG in the AHL and a ~.5 PPG in the NHL - and that's without starting the year in the NHL and getting the benefit of playing top six minutes. It's possible I'm overrating Batherson and underrating Keller, but I could see a strong season coming for Batherson where he's at least in the vicinity of Keller's stats.

2.Again with Tkachuk, I really think teams would pay him 5+ million RIGHT NOW, let alone when it's time to reneg in 2 years. I think 7 is an absolute easy target for him and I could see more personally.