The NHL 2004-2005 Season (LOCKOUT! now over) (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Pratt]

:frowning: :frowning: :frowning: Damn wish Crosby had gone to a Western Conference team where we might actually get to see him play. I would have loved to see him play in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver or even Ottawa. On the other hand with the rumours that have been flying around about Pittsburg moving to Winnipeg we might just come out alright after all (Hey we can dream right?) We had our chance at Wayne and blew that one good and proper

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

At least the Northwest gets to play the Atlantic division this year, so 1 game at least. I'm looking forward to how everything works out with all the free agents and roster dumping that will need to be done to get under the cap. Even looking at Vancouver, they need to lose 3 million from the last season, and there are a lot of players not under contract yet. I think there are going to be a lot of teams that are almost unrecognisable when everything settles.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Agreed the fun parts about to begin. Take a look at this list and see just how few players are actually signed...and which teams are going to have to dump some big names to fit under the cap.

 

[Joe Fisher]

Wow. Phoenix has 21 signed and is 10 Million under the cap. While the Islanders have 4 players signed for a total of 15.6 million. Time to dump Yashin.

Yep, this is where the fun starts.

 

[Trey Fletcher]

Yeah, we were really hoping that an 11th hour deal would get done last spring, as we were the best prepared of all the teams in the NHL. I would have been fun to watch the feeding frenzy.

I've read quite a few comments in this thread that cast Phoenix in a negative light as a hockey town. True, we're no Detroit, but the Coyotes have a very good following here. And that following was built while playing in the non-NHL friendly America West Arena, where approx. 30% of the seats were obstructed view. It was real fun catching half of the action on a jumbo-tron. We got one-half of a season in the brand new Glendale Arena before the plug was pulled, so we're definitely looking forward to the season!

Also, one thing that will be interesting to see, is the physical condition of the players. I know some have kept in shape playing in Europe, or skating here in the States. I've seen others *coughBrettHullcough* that have put on some weight.

TF

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

That list of unrestricted free agents has some pretty major players in it, but they will be taking some pretty big decreases in salary to get on a team this year I bet. Of course many of those great players are well past their prime, or are so injury prone now that it would be irresponsible to sign them.

Of the givens, I don't see Steve Moore coming to Vancouver, and I have a hunch Pittsburgh will be resigning Mario... other than that the rest is a crapshoot! There are a lot of players on the signed list whose reduced salaries will be a factor, since they are under the minimum now, and will need to go up. I'd hate to see the phone bills the GMs and owners will be racking up this year.

 

[RudyN]

I can't wait. Oct. 5th is my b-day. Hopefully the Sharks will be playing at home, or at least on tv so I can watch.

 

[Prentice Cotham]

I think it's time to start a new damn thread NHL 2005-2006 Season. Bury the past! Discuss FA's!

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I agree!

 

[Kwang Suh]

Word is that the NYI don't have enough money to buy him out. Yashin will be the one man team

I like the rule changes. Apparently, the two-line pass rule was put in because of Maurice Richard. Did you know that penalties used to have to be fully served, regardless if the opposing team scored on the power play? It was the Montreal Canadiens efficiency with this that made the NHL change this rule.

 

[PaulP]

I still don't like shootouts.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I'm glad this is only going to be used for the regular season and not the playoffs. I'm not a big fan of shootouts either, but it certainly beats a game ending in a tie.

I thought I heard today on FSR that the Red Wings have a payroll of about $80M...how in the world are they going to get that down under the cap? Talk about swiss-cheesing a team. That is going to be bloody for alot of teams.

Bruce

 

[Scott Merryfield]

That's not correct -- that was their payroll the last season they played. Many of those players are now free agents and no longer under contract. I think the Wings have around 12 players under contract for about $34 million. They will need to buy out some of those contracts so they can sign some of their younger free agents.

From what I understand, Colorado's cap situation is worse than Detroit's.

I still like a salary cap system, even though it's going to change a few teams quite dramatically. I've never liked a system where a few teams can buy whatever talent they want with absolutely no constraints. Teams should be placed on a more equally footing, where intelligence in the front office makes a difference, not just where your team is lucky enough to play so it can generate enough revenue to pay for any player the team wants.

If the NHL wants to place franchises in places like Raleigh, Atlanta, Nashville, Ottawa, etc. they need to give them a chance to compete.