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Picks for Goalies can be a Good Thing

June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Hot off the presses, Blue Jackets Scott Howson just traded three draft picks to the Flyers for goaltender Sergei Bobrobsky.

Good move, Blue Jackets.  Really.

I know, it’s weird, that the Blue Jackets and GM Scott Howson can make a good trade.  It doesn’t seem possible, like Phoenix drawing a sell out crowd, or the Kings winning a Stanley Cup.  I know, that sounds like I’m picking on these teams, but I’m really not.  Narratives are being rewritten all the time, and the story in Columbus could be taking an turn, starting now.

The Blue Jackets have an immediate need.  They have had this need for a long time, as Steve Mason wasn’t the goalie he was cracked up to be.  It was pointed out (I think by Justin Bourne of Backhand Shelf, but I could be wrong) that Mason was given the starting job in Columbus not after a good season, but a good half season.  Considering the goalie woes they suffered through previously, any ray of light was going to look like the clouds parted and the hand of God had reached down and touched the netminder on the shoulder.  Instead, it turned out to be foot of God from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Foot Of God squashes goalie

In the situation the Blue Jackets are in, they had an immediate need, and only two assets they could trade to get that need filled, draft picks and Rick Nash.  So why not just trade Rick Nash for the sweetest goalie ever, one with rocket launchers built into his blocker, and a few hockey cards in the spokes of his bike wheels?  Because Rick Nash, with his no trade clause, controls his own destiny.  You would be limited to where the big guy was willing to go to for trading partners.  That’s just not acceptable.

I’m all for trading picks for goalies, within reason.  If you have the number one draft pick, you probably shouldn’t trade it away for a goalie.  That is, if you knowingly have the number one pick.  But sure, throw a first rounder out there.  Worried that you are overpaying?  You tell me, would you rather have Angelo Esposito or a starting  goalie?

In fact, let’s go to the draft in Columbus in 2007.  Name the draft position you would feel comfortable with dealing away for a starting goalie.  And don’t forget, you don’t have a starting goalie in your system.  I would start at pick ten (inclusive), and that’s with the benefit of hindsight.  Now look at this draft class.  Where would you start?

I wrote about it when the Avalanche traded a first and a second round pick for the rights of Semyon Varlamov.  I thought it was the right move for the Avs, and I feel that it’s the right move for the Blue Jackets.  They have enough players in their minor league system to be able to spare a few lower draft picks in this draft.  What they don’t have enough of are puck stoppers.  Find a need, fill a need.

Strangely, the Blue Jackets did just that today.  It just looks weird because it happened in Columbus.

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Draft: Oh, What a Night

June 25, 2011 By

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.

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Draft Day Decisions

June 24, 2011 By

Draftpreview

Like the Cylons in Battlestar Galactica, I had a plan.  Unlike the Cylons, it didn’t involve wiping out an entire species, but hey, if it happened, then whatever.  I was going to be prepared for the first round of the draft.  I picked up the draft issue of The Hockey News at the airport for my flight home, and was going to read it.  I’ve had it in my bag ever since game seven of the Finals, and that’s where it stayed.  And now, it’s draft day, and I am totally unprepared.

In fact, I may not even watch the draft.  I’m thinking about going to stick and puck time at 3:00PM at the local rink (the draft starts locally at 5:00).  There are gatherings and draft parties hosted by the Avalanche and Mile High Hockey, and I’m not sure I’m going to either one.  I could have gone to the draft in Minnesota (like I did in 2007 and 2010), but decided to save my money this year and stay home.

I know, bad hockey blogger, right?

I went to the 2007 draft in Columbus, and had a great time.  It was my first draft, and it seemed really special.  At least, day one was pretty special.  I got to meet several bloggers face-to-face for the first time, watched Angelo Esposito’s draft position tank, and enjoyed the hell out of the night in general.  Day two dragged on, and took forever to get through.  At least, from the buzz of the first day, it seemed to take forever.  The picks were chosen at a quick pace.  When the Ottawa Senators asked for a time out (who knew you could do this) in a later round, the crowd booed them for holding things up.  I was at a loss with what to do after the draft.  At least half the media hadn’t stuck around, and the crowd in the stands made it feel like and endurance test.  No one was on the streets in downtown Columbus.  You wouldn’t have known there was anything going on that weekend.  It was a huge contrast to the previous day.  Still, for my first draft, it was fun, and completely worth it.

In 2010, I went to the draft in LA.  On my way to the Staples Center for the first round, I saw this sign outside a bar a block from the draft.

Filmfest

So you can see what the priorities are in LA.  Was the evening less magical than in 2007?  A little, but that’s to be expected when you do something for the second time.  I was at the draft to see people I knew from the blogging circles more than anything else.  But most of the people I wanted to see were busy doing media things.  I still had a good time overall, and it was great to meet people I had talked to online or over the phone.  But for the outlay of money, and the dud that is the second day, I just couldn’t justify it this year.

But that doesn’t really excuse why I’m not paying much attention to the draft this year.  And I should pay at least a little attention, because the Avalanche have the 2nd and 11th overall picks. Two years ago, they picked up Matt Duchene with the third overall pick, and I don’t know any Avs fans who have been disappointed with that choice.  This is a huge draft for them.

The reason I can’t get into the draft this time is that nothing I do is going to change anything that happens.  I could study, gnash my teeth, spout off with a few barely educated predictions as to who will get taken, what the Avs strategy should be, and in the end, they are going to pick who they pick, plug him into the system, and see what happens.  I’m excited for the Avs having a high pick (after last season, there isn’t much else to be excited about), but what happens is what happens.  I don’t need to be able to change it, but it’s not much to get worked up about.  I know that isn’t the point; nothing I do would change the outcome of a game either.  But this year doesn’t seem as exciting as the last few.

It’s more interesting to see what trades happen at the draft.  Put the GMs together right before free agency with plenty of bargaining chips (draft picks), and something is bound to happen. When Tomas Vokoun was traded to the Panthers at the 2007 draft, the Panthers contingent stormed past us, looking like a very determined bunch.  Even to someone on the outside like me with no experience in these things, we knew something was up.  It was fun to know something was going on, but even when the trade was announced, all we had was a story to tell.  It was fun, and it was interesting, but the same news could have been had at home watching TV.

So I may watch a little bit of the draft, and undoubtedly laugh as people harumph and get all twitter-pated at the choices made, how a certain choice was wrong, or how a pick doesn’t fit into a team’s system.  But in the end, I’ll let the experts weigh in and inform me.  That’s what this great big internet is for, isn’t it?

Down And Out

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Draft Day and Happy B-Day, JAHL

June 20, 2008 By 8 Comments

It’s time for the NHL Draft, and I am woefully unprepared. Luckily, since the Avs traded away their first round pick – if they even had one (I told you I was unprepared) – there is little I have to know today.

For anything I really need to know about the Avalanche and their draft, I can turn to the excellent blog Colorado Avalanche Prospects. Jori keeps us updated on all the action around the leagues pertaining to players in the Avs system. I don’t know how many other teams have a blog like this, but it’s unique as far as I have seen. If you are interested in Avalanche prospects, go check it out.

Last year, I was able to attend the draft, so I had all my reading material ready. This year, I busted ass on the drive from Tampa to Washington DC, just to get here in time. Aside from XM Radio, I have very little idea of what to expect, other than the obvious conclusion that Samkos is going to be selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Either that, or they wasted a lot of money in web development.

As a side note, and to stoke my own vanity, today is also the second anniversary of Jerseys and Hockey Love. Two years in blogging years feels like about 14 in real life (any real connection between blog years and dog years is strictly coincidental), and if I were to have an honest assessment of this past year of blogging, it would be a little disappointing on my end. I feel like I had things I wanted to say, but felt I shouldn’t, and that, as necessary as it was at the time, took too much time off from writing. if I had kept the pace, I feel like JAHL would be a little better place, and the quality of writing would have been better. I also miss some of the humor that I used to bring to the blog, that has fallen by the wayside (aka, I used to be funnier).

For what it’s worth, I plan to do more. By more, I mean that I have a new (hockey related) project in the making, and it’s going to need some help. I should be ready to announce what I plan on doing in about a month (hey, that’s better than Battlestar Galactia).

I do want to thank the people who read this blog, and especially the people who comment. I started Jerseys and Hockey Love to talk about hockey, and even though a blog is more of a one way conversation, it’s the commenters that make it fun. If you haven’t commented here before, take the ten seconds to say hi, and make sure to comment on other blogs. It makes the bloggers feel like they are fighting the good fight.

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