Crazy speculation intensifies as D-Day nears

When I was back in Ottawa for the holidays I got the new black t-shirt with player names on it, and the hardest one to find was Volchenkov (only one in the entire Sports Experts store). And I was working a call-in show with Santa here in Brampton and a young boy called in and they got on the topic of hockey and he said his favorite player was Volchenkov. He's clearly appreciated by the fans.

Next year's lineup would look pretty good like:

Bouwmeester*/Lee-Volchenkov
E. Karlsson-Hedman*
M. Karlsson-Picard

*Assuming we manage to sign J.B. and are lucky enough to draft V.H.

what happened to Phillips?

I traded he and Smith.

DashRiprock wrote:
Next year's lineup would look pretty good like:

Bouwmeester*/Lee-Volchenkov
E. Karlsson-Hedman*
M. Karlsson-Picard

*Assuming we manage to sign J.B. and are lucky enough to draft V.H.

I like your thinking Dash. Here is hoping that we can land both of them. I am also hoping that M. Karlsson will be ready for the team next year. He looked good in Bingo.

DashRiprock wrote:Philly is trying very hard to rid themselves of the mistake that is/was Daniel Briere.

Wonder if he'd be at least a starting point for Florida's demands of a $1 center, if they are still searching for one (cause Horton's been since moved back to C).

I know you meant something else, but Briere certainly isn't that.

asq2 wrote:

DashRiprock wrote:Philly is trying very hard to rid themselves of the mistake that is/was Daniel Briere.

Wonder if he'd be at least a starting point for Florida's demands of a $1 center, if they are still searching for one (cause Horton's been since moved back to C).

I know you meant something else, but Briere certainly isn't that.

:lol!:

DashRiprock wrote:When I was back in Ottawa for the holidays I got the new black t-shirt with player names on it, and the hardest one to find was Volchenkov (only one in the entire Sports Experts store). And I was working a call-in show with Santa here in Brampton and a young boy called in and they got on the topic of hockey and he said his favorite player was Volchenkov. He's clearly appreciated by the fans.

Next year's lineup would look pretty good like:

Bouwmeester*/Lee-Volchenkov
E. Karlsson-Hedman*
M. Karlsson-Picard

*Assuming we manage to sign J.B. and are lucky enough to draft V.H.

3 to 4 rookies on the back-end and a 2nd year defenceman in Picard and we're looking good?

Erik Karlsson barring a steroid-filled off-season should not be NHL ready next season.

Also, why would Bouwmeester ever sign here? The team sucks, the fan-base is fickle, the media is brutal, the taxation is bad and the city and weather aren't great.

Even when we were one of the top teams in the league, we weren't attracting top-flight UFAs.

asq2 wrote:
3 to 4 rookies on the back-end and a 2nd year defenceman in Picard and we're looking good?

Erik Karlsson barring a steroid-filled off-season should not be NHL ready next season.

Also, why would Bouwmeester ever sign here? The team sucks, the fan-base is fickle, the media is brutal, the taxation is bad and the city and weather aren't great.

Even when we were one of the top teams in the league, we weren't attracting top-flight UFAs.

To be fair though, we never really tried to bring in UFAs, like really tried. Last year was the year where we missed out because we weren't willing to match term for Campbell.

I agree unfortunately, J-Bo has other places in mind I'm sure. Colorado, West Canada. The list goes on. Here? I wish.

Tukker wrote:

asq2 wrote:

DashRiprock wrote:Philly is trying very hard to rid themselves of the mistake that is/was Daniel Briere.

Wonder if he'd be at least a starting point for Florida's demands of a $1 center, if they are still searching for one (cause Horton's been since moved back to C).

I know you meant something else, but Briere certainly isn't that.

:lol!:

Dash, where did you read that Philly thinks Briere is a mistake?

common sense

davetherave wrote:

Tukker wrote:

asq2 wrote:

DashRiprock wrote:Philly is trying very hard to rid themselves of the mistake that is/was Daniel Briere.

Wonder if he'd be at least a starting point for Florida's demands of a $1 center, if they are still searching for one (cause Horton's been since moved back to C).

I know you meant something else, but Briere certainly isn't that.

:lol!:

Dash, where did you read that Philly thinks Briere is a mistake?

LOL, did I really put the $ instead of the #?

I had read somewhere that they were looking to unload his fairly big salary, seeing as how both Richards and Carter are now the franchise players there. Much like Ottawa, they've invested way too much money upfront, thus their dire needs for a top defenceman, which of course takes money. Also, they assigned him to Phiily of the AHL for a conditioning stint (another issue is his durability) as a means of keeping him off the salary cap.

Briere is the leading playoff point getter since the lock-out.

Obviously you don't keep him over Carter or Richards, but that's an impressive stat.

Just for clarity: The word on M.Karlsson is that his foot work/speed is nowhere near NHL ready.
I don't think we should be holding our breath for either Karlsson...

Certainly not as immediate saviours.

I'm hoping M. Karlsson gets a few games with the big club next season though. Sort of a Regin or Zubov type deal.

Well I'm not suggesting a lineup like the one I proposed is Stanley Cup contender, but I'd much rather give our youth the ball then (over)pay slow, aging defenceman. I have a hard time believing that Matthias Karlsson is a worse off choice than Phillips and Smith. We used to have Luke Richardson out there not too long ago. Speed isn't everything, it's all about being able to give and receive a pass.

Without HUGE changes, and even then, our team is nowhere near a SC contender, so I see no harm in developing players who could very well be a huge part of our future.

get on the treadmill Matty

asq2 wrote:Certainly not as immediate saviours.

I'm hoping M. Karlsson gets a few games with the big club next season though. Sort of a Regin or Zubov type deal.

Ummm, I would be willing to bet that Karlsson may see a game or two this year... they seem to be rewarding the hard workers in Bingo this year which is great. I hope he gets a call after the deadline when some players on the back end may not be here.