Oh, how wrong I was.

I thought, what’s the point?  Why pay attention to the draft?  What could possibly happen that’s all that intriguing? I went to skate for a bit before running home, and then to the Mile High Hockey party, and that’s when things got interesting.

Liles traded to Toronto:

You know what?  I’m OK with this.  The Avs had to do something, and Liles has been the 800-pound trade gorilla in the room.  I will miss him when he was good.  But I will not miss other aspects of his game.  Every player has trade-offs.  Liles seemed to have consistency issues.  Some days, he was your main guy on the power play, others he was sucking wind trying to backcheck back into position.  Now, with Shattenkirk and Liles gone, the Avs need to do something.  And Eric Johnson?  You had better be ready.  I will be chewing this one over with Jay on the next Avs Hockey Podcast, that’s for sure.

Setoguchi to the Wild:

Burns, sure.  Fine.  But Setoguchi?  For those who thought Carter got hosed in Philadelphia, how about being signed to a three-year deal the day before you are traded to Winnipeg Lite?  If I were Setoguchi, I would be circling the dates the Sharks play Minnesota, and talk to Andrew Brunette about how to make your former team regret their transgressions.

Campbell to the Panthers:

Dale Talon gets his man, and the Florida faithful have to be wondering what the he sees in Brian Campbell.  Campbell won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks, yes, but he was less effective than most of the defensemen on that team.  If there is a place a contract like Campbell’s can be buried, it’s in Florida.  And Talon can say he is doing something to improve the team (Campbell improves the Panthers, which should say something about the defense in Florida).  But if this is the change the Panthers are looking for, they are worse off than I thought.  Also, they still need a goalie. They have a ton of cash to spread around, but still, what a move.

Avs take a winger instead of the best available defenseman:

I’m not going to pretend that I know what the best thing for the Avs will be in a few years when this pick starts to really pay out on the ice (even Duchene wasn’t perfect when he started his NHL career).  But man, is there ever a need in the Avs defense.  Maybe this is looking ahead and writing off other players that haven’t worked out so well.  Or maybe there’s just too many centers right now.  Whatever the rationale, the field was wide open, and the Avs got their man.  I just don’t know if I should be excited about him.

Siemens:

Somewhere, Alexander Semin is smiling, because he doesn’t have to be the target of stupid name jokes soon (as though he cares).  I must have been looking away when Siemens was picked by the Avs, because everyone says he looked quite upset when his name was called.  Then again, if ever there was a time to read too much into the facial expressions of a seventeen-year old, the draft is it.

A good night for USA Hockey:

Three players from the US NTDP (National Team Development Program) were selected in the first round, out of five total US born players.  Pretty good outing, USA Hockey.

Ryan Smyth:

How the hell was anyone taking the Ryan Smyth to Calgary trade seriously?  Sure, they are dumping salary with the potential (most likely as I write this) trade of Robin Regehr, but come on.  The Flames have $7 million in cap space, and Smyth is a $6.25 million cap hit.  Would it be worth dumping that much cap space for a player like Smyth.  No.  Come on, son.

So yeah, day two.  Meh.  It’s going to go fast, not like this long and dragged out event.  Even Versus couldn’t switch to bicycle racing fast enough.  Congrats to all the draftees.  I’m sleeping in.