dlbalr

D Josh McFadden apparently has signed a tryout contract (I assume with Hamilton) though there has been no confirmation from the Bulldogs yet. http://www.sudburywolves.com/article/mcfadden-earns-tryout-contract

Belle split time last year between Colorado and Edmonton, he was at no time affiliated with the Habs last season. Henry's NHL days are more than done, he's a 3rd pairing AHL guy now and that's it. St. Denis was certainly a stabilizer on their blueline last year. Carle by no means played bad down there, but he didn't exactly turn anyone's heads either. He won't be an NHL'er with the Habs and with each year that passes, he won't be one anywhere else. I think he'll be overseas before too long; if not next season, then the one after that for sure.

Nash didn't just struggle with the Habs, he struggled big time down the stretch in Hamilton. He simply ran out of gas and would have even more so with Montreal. He was actually scratched periodically late in the year with the Bulldogs. And why is that? Not every player wants to play for the Habs; he and Arnott were a package deal as well and Montreal didn't have the cap space for both. And at $2.8 million, the Blues can have him.

I find this funny - next year, the NHL is reportedly looking at changing to the AHL style of standings (4 divisions, 2 of 8 and 2 of 7). Today, the AHL announced they're switching to the NHL's system of 6 divisions. Here is Hamilton's new division: North Division: Grand Rapids Griffins (DET) Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL) Lake Erie Monsters (COL) Rochester Americans (BUF) Toronto Marlies (TOR) No more Abbotsford in the division, I like that.

The Habs helped to establish the market rate for an offensive type defenceman, the Habs could've maybe got a 2nd round pick for him at the deadline with some sort of low level prospect. Considering they were 3 points out of 5th at the deadline, that wouldn't have gone over too well. I understand the reasoning behind your idea (though Nash was a rookie pro last year, he clearly still needs AHL seasoning) but in a playoff race, that would have set the Habs back for sure, especially with the injuries to Markov and Gorges.

Until he shows he can play a top-6 role, I see him on the 4th line with some PP time. That's not terrible by any stretch to start.

Yep, because of his age/pro experience.

It's probably time to close down the season thread since it's the summer. Here's a look at the offseason so far: New players: F Alain Berger (Oshawa, OHL) F Michael Blunden (Springfield, AHL) D Olivier Dame-Malka (Lewiston, QMJHL) F Philip DeSimone (New Hampshire, H-East) D Raphael Diaz (Zug, SUI) G Nathan Lawson (NY Islanders) F Louis Leblanc (Montreal, QMJHL) F Phillipe Lefebvre (Montreal, QMJHL) (also has junior eligibility) D Mark Mitera (Syracuse, AHL) F Joonas Nattinen (Hameenlinna, FIN) F Brock Trotter (Riga, KHL) F Brian Willsie (Hershey, AHL) D Zack Fitzgerald (Charlotte, ECHL) (Plus a full season from late season addition Joe Stejskal) Confirmed/potential departures, not including free agents: D Sebastien Bisaillon (Graz, Austria) F Dustin Boyd (Barys Astana, KHL) D Mathieu Carle (Anaheim) F Nigel Dawes (Barys Astana, KHL) D Kyle Klubertanz (Djurgarden, SEL) G Drew MacIntyre (Buffalo) F Ryan Russell (Columbus) G Curtis Sanford (Columbus) F J.T. Wyman (Tampa Bay) F Ryan White (likely a full-time Hab) F Paul Zanette (Rockford, AHL) Free Agents: AHL Free Agents: F Jimmy Bonneau D Neil Petruic D David Urquhart Approximate Depth Chart: Forwards: Willsie - Leblanc - Palushaj Trotter - Engqvist - Fortier Conboy - Nattinen - Blunden Berger - Dumont - Avtsin Schultz/Masse/Bishop/DeSimone/Lefebvre Defence: Nash - Diaz Mitera - St. Denis Henry - Fitzgerald Stejskal/Dame-Malka Goalies: Lawson Mayer Delmas I'm going on the assumption that D Jeff Woywitka will crack Montreal's roster out of training camp.

Just to piggyback off this, the contract is for $550,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the AHL meaning re-entry waivers will not be required.

Most of the guys Winnipeg signed have a connection as they played for the Moose last season. So far, this management group seems to be doing everything it can to get as many guys they're familiar with around above all else which isn't a smart way to go. Since Trotter hasn't played for Manitoba in the past, I don't think they'd be interested.

Maybe with it being a slow offseason, they want to make news by announcing individual invitees? The fact there's no Bulldogs currently suggests they want to go a different route than they did with this camp last year.

I put that one in about a month ago.

Correct. On an unrelated note, with the popularity of the term 'revenue sharing', you would think that said term would be visible somewhere in the CBA. I wanted to look it up before I answered to be sure, I learned that revenue sharing is called 'Player Compensation Cost Redistribution System' - they must have had a syllable quota to come up with that name.

It's not about cap space for Nashville, it's about the cap floor. They're not spending 64 million, they'll be lucky to spend 50. Sure, they can afford Gomez or any other highly paid player on the cap, but not on the budget. With what they have left to sign, they'll be within a million or two of the floor and will find a plugger to make up the difference; they won't be taking on extra long-term deals to reach the floor.

I'm guessing they plan to go with a veteran 3rd stringer, Mayer, and Delmas. As this is only a camp for draftees and tryouts, that's why the latter 2 aren't there.

Some contract info as it comes through: Cole received a $3 M signing bonus when he signed and will earn a $3 M salary this season. In 2011-12 (the possible lockout year), he gets a $2 M signing bonus and a $2 M salary. The final 2 years of the deal, he gets $4 million. His NTC is also a full one for the duration of his contract.

We seem to have a theme every offseason, makes the time go by faster I guess.

There is a degree of subjectivity to hitting as well, each team statistician has their own definition of what constitutes a hit. 5 or so years ago, the Habs were atop the league every year by a long shot; if a Hab blinked at a player, he was credited with a hit. Now, the pendulum has swung the other way, the Habs are (rightfully) toward the bottom in this department. This makes it hard to compare hit stats from other teams. Were the Sharks, Ducks, and Rangers teams that had inflated hit totals? Deflated? Actually accurate? I seem to remember from a study I read a few years back that the Rangers like the Habs had inflated totals but I'm not sure about recent years. Cole will be an interesting one this year too, will he stay at that total, rise, or drop significantly, even if his style doesn't change? I suppose a true measure would be to compare hit stats from home and away, it would at least identify home biases which would clear up a bit of the uncertainty. Though I thought I knew of a site that had these breakdowns, it escapes me at this time; I know the NHL site just has total hits and not the home/away split. Regardless, I don't think just looking at a players' hit total can accurately paint a full picture because of the subjectivity associated with real-time stats.

They made the move not for cap reasons but for money reasons. Because of Lombardi's injury history, his contract is uninsurable. Whether he plays or not, he gets paid by the Preds. With the uncertainty surrounding his health, they didn't want to pay $3 million per year to a player where legitimate concerns exist over whether he plays again or not. The Leafs, who have plenty of money, could afford to take on such an obligation, as long as they had incentive to. Franson was that incentive for them. The Leafs win the deal hockey wise, the Preds win money wise. As Trizz also notes, they have a key RFA to re-sign long-term (Weber), plus they're the team with the QO snafus that is heading to arbitration on July 8th (the other 4 RFA's he noted). If an arbitrator deems them as UFA's, they'll have to do like Chicago and overpay to keep them. Gomez isn't going to Nashville, Brian Wilde simply speculated as such. Who they have left to sign will get them close to the floor and if not, they'll find a $1-2 million guy to get them there.

I don't get the hate that this deal is getting from most writers/fans around the league. It's a short-term deal which means if he gets hurt, they're not stuck with him for years. Yes, he's not a true #1 C but with all that cap space, they can justify overpaying a bit to get a short-term deal. If he stays healthy, he's a 60+ point C so it's a low-risk, high-reward deal. Good move in my books.

That deal is looking better and better for Washington who basically replaces the 1st they gave up for Troy Brouwer (which was a bit of a head scratcher itself). The Varlamov to the KHL reports can be set aside though as he signed a 2 year deal with the Avs, the exact structure of the deal that Carey Price is playing on right now.

I don't think the Habs made him an offer. From the praise that Martin has heaped on Engqvist, I think he's more than comfortable penciling him onto that 4th line role where his size and faceoff skills (though not as good as Halpern) would be useful. I feel the Habs should still look to bring in a replacement as there are some good depth guys out there still but Engqvist's presence is what I think allowed them to let Halpern go.

I'd have to disagree with that somewhat. Moen has been 2nd on the team in hits for each season he has been with the club; his cumulative total is tops over that span as well. I think we all fell guilty of hearing 'hitter' and expecting him to run down everyone in the opposite coloured jersey which as we know now, isn't really his game. What he gives you is some physical play and mostly good defence. A full season of White (if he plays like he did in his second stint as his first one earlier in the year was a joke) will help Moen notably as it will take more of the physical load away from him. They can be complementary players on a newly styled physical 4th line, I don't think Moen needs to go because White will be there full time. Moving him could free up a little cap space but with what's left out there (I'll have an article on that tonight by the way), freeing space up for this year right now is becoming less of a priority as there isn't much left to spend on.

He overpriced himself big time figuring one of Colorado/Phoenix would be desperate for him. He gambled wrong and with most of the backup jobs locked up too, he didn't have much choice.

If it's a guy like Weiman or MacIntyre, it won't be. Guys in their late 20's/early 30's don't go to these camps.