sakiqc Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Parts of the interview with Grabovsky from Yahoo, where he talks about Québec and Montréal. I read one of your interviews you gave in Belarus where you said that the Avalanche "is the only team in North America you would gladly go to from Toronto." Where did this special love for Colorado come from?"I have loved this team since childhood, when Forsberg played for them, [and Val] Kamensky. I always followed them. I used to wake up early to check game scores. Back then they were still in Quebec. I was 8 or 10 at the time. And when they moved to Colorado my connection to the team remained. I always like playing against them. Unfortunately we only play them once a year. We only play in Colorado once every two years. And it's always special for me to play on the same ice that my role models played on, the guys I always liked like Forsberg, Adam Foote (notes) , Chris Drury (notes) ." Which one of them was your idol? "Forsberg. Not an idol, but someone who I really liked as a player, someone I always watched play. I learned from him. To me he was one of the best. Colorado's series against Detroit were always the ones I was really looking forward to. I couldn't wait to wake up the day after to see the score." I also read one of your interviews where you said that the Leafs are your favorite club and "are the team you gave you a chance when you were living through not the happiest of times." Were you talking about Montreal when you said "not the happiest of times?" "I don't think I said 'not the happiest of times,' I think I said 'not the best of times.' When you are not playing you always feel somewhat down. I have been playing hockey my whole life and, of course, I was upset that I spent so much time on the bench. The most important for any hockey player is to actually play. And in Montreal I wasn't given much opportunity to play. I kept waiting for the moment when I would be presented with a chance because I wanted to make the most of it." Montreal seems like an unhappy place for Belorussian players — you didn't cut it there, Sergei Kostitsyn (notes) was traded, and now it looks like his brother Andrei may be in hot waters. "I think that people who worked for Montreal treated me absolutely great including the general manager. It's just every coach has his own view of hockey. And unfortunately it just didn't work out between me and the coach I was working with there. We couldn't find the common ground. At the very least he didn't see the player who could make the team better in me. I know that the general manager and the other management were satisfied with the way I played. Also if you look at all the guys who are no longer with Montreal, the guys who won the Calder Cup with Hamilton, they are not playing for the Canadiens. A lot of those guys are playing somewhere else. Unfortunately we couldn't keep the core who won the Calder Cup in Hamilton together. But it is [Montreal's] business. They are always searching for something, trying to find something. And I have to thank Bob Gainey who gave me a chance and let me go to Toronto." You spent some time in the Canadiens organization from Hamilton to the big club. And now you're in Toronto — one of Montreal's fiercest rivals. Did it feel strange at first? Are games against Montreal still special for you? "Games against Montreal are always special for me. Especially when you're playing in Montreal because the arena is so much different from the rest in the NHL — there's some kind of special energy. It was especially special for me during the first year I was with Toronto. And right now that passion has subsided. A lot of players who motivated me a lot to play better against them, or the coach are no longer in Montreal. It's a different team there now. And to me they are just another opponent now. And at the same time, unfortunately for me, they are not a lucky opponent. That's because I don't think I scored any goals against them in the last two years. That's something to work on." Both Toronto and Montreal are cities crazy for hockey. Where is it more difficult to play? "I don't think it really depends on the city. It's difficult in either. But it is actually a quite difficult question. I just really like playing in Toronto because everything worked out for me here. At the same time I still have a lot of friends in Montreal and I think it would have been easy for me there if I actually played. I think I would have been able to establish communication with anyone there. The most important thing is to play. And if you're playing everything else is different." Particularly interesting when he's talking about the Bulldogs edition who won the Calder Cup in 2007 not being with the Habs anymore. Here I have pulled out the name of those players: Andrew Archer Ajay Baines Andre Benoit Mathieu Biron Kyle Chipchura Matt D'Agostini Jonathan Ferland Mikhail Grabovski Danny Groulx Dan Jancevski Michael Lambert Maxim Lapierre Francis Lemieux Corey Locke Eric Manlow Duncan Milroy Ryan O'Byrne Carey Price Zack Stortini Cory Urquhart Seriously, we still have Carey Price, and with all respect to the others, he's about the only player that we'd want to have to play for the Habs this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I'd be able to find a spot on today's team for both Grabovski and D'Agostini (I still think we'll end up winners of the D'Agostini trade, though). The rest would be in the AHL or a spare. Well, Lapierre would probably be in the lineup, but not with Grabbo and D'ago on the team as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chicoutimi Cucumber Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I thought Grabovski was a good player and one we should have worked with rather than jettisoning. Too many talented players were run out of town for being immature during the Gainey years - including two rather useful offensive centremen in Grabs and Ribeiro, precisely the area of organizational weakness that has haunted us for at least a decade. Interesting that he blames Carbo for the problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueKross Posted September 4, 2011 Share Posted September 4, 2011 I thought Grabovski was a good player and one we should have worked with rather than jettisoning. Too many talented players were run out of town for being immature during the Gainey years - including two rather useful offensive centremen in Grabs and Ribeiro, precisely the area of organizational weakness that has haunted us for at least a decade. Interesting that he blames Carbo for the problems. I can't agree with you more. I would say this, to a large extent this is a cultural change in the thinking of NHL teams. When the new CBA came in, and even starting before that, it became apparent that developping from within was a must for teams to compete. Also I believe with the new media, across the board fans are more aware of minor leaguers and press for options when things don't go as expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Notable tryouts in training camps so far: Ryan Johnson - DET Jordan Hendry - MIN Anton Stralman - NJ Steve Bernier - NJ Petr Sykora - NJ (yes, that Petr Sykora who played there before) Chris Clark - BOS Adam Mair - PHI Brad Winchester - SJ Troy Bodie - WPG David Koci - WPG David Aebischer - WPG (just for remembrance' sake) Trent Hunter - LA Steve Begin - VAN Manny Legace - VAN Sounds as if Columbus will have an invite or two tomorrow. I'm sure there are others I'm missing, I didn't start keeping track of the invites on my free agent list until recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 15, 2011 Author Share Posted September 15, 2011 Lots of re-signings in the last 24 hours or so: Teemu Selanne in Anaheim, 1/4 John Tavares with the Isles, 6/33 Tyler Myers with Buffalo, 7/38.5 (includes a $10M signing bonus, curious to see the structure on this deal) Brad Marchand in Boston, 2/5 Zack Bogosian with the Jets, 2/5 (a lot lower than I expected) On the rumour mill, one of Paul Mara or Steve Staios is expected to join the Islanders on a tryout for training camp. Still with the Isles, tomorrow appears to be a team-imposed deadline for them to re-sign Josh Bailey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbp Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 Zack Bogosian with the Jets, 2/5 (a lot lower than I expected) I am interested too see how the team manages things compared too Atlanta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 I am interested too see how the team manages things compared too Atlanta. They're officially on the clock. I'll forgive the Schiefele pick as they used the same scouts that helped get a franchise relocated, but from now on it's all on Chevy and True North. I assume Bogosian just wanted to see what the uniform would look like before he comitted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 They're officially on the clock. I'll forgive the Schiefele pick as they used the same scouts that helped get a franchise relocated, but from now on it's all on Chevy and True North. Hey, no Colt bashing. That said, even I was baffled by him going that early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenadian Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Colt bashing.............you guys deserve (a little bit anyway) since IIRC last year was the 1st time they missed the playoffs. And you got Ekblad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Just when you thought the Wade Redden saga couldn't get any worse, it did as he has not been invited to the Rangers' training camp. The reason is, they don't want to risk him getting hurt as it would prohibit them from sending him down right away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Tyler Myers with Buffalo, 7/38.5 (includes a $10M signing bonus, curious to see the structure on this deal) One thing is sure. Players that sign right now or in the near future (before the CBA ends up) will want to secure as much money as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Anyone think like McKeen's mag ? That Buffalo will win the East with 106 points ?!?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbp Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Anyone think like McKeen's mag ? That Buffalo will win the East with 106 points ?!?!?! It isn't unimaginable... but I really do not see it happening, they got better and should have had a better season last year, but something about Buffalo doesn't seem too click Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 I too found that interesting but it's not impossible. They're a low scoring team which just got two pretty big shots in the arm on defence. They'll need to play a lot of 2-1, 3-2 games to get there but if Miller returns to top form, they'll contend for the division at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goalerexpert86 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Why are no teams well under the cap signing Doughty to an offer sheet? Hell the Jets have $12 mil in cap space. Sign him. You'll lose a ton of picks, but I figure Winnipegs will be mid 1st picks anyways. And Doughty is only 21. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Doughty would have to want to sign with the other team, he may not want to go to Winnipeg (where the last thing they need is another d-man). I forget which got one and which didn't but one of Stamkos or Doughty had one casual inquiry for an offer sheet, the other one had nothing. Teams don't want to give up that many picks it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Doughty would have to want to sign with the other team, he may not want to go to Winnipeg (where the last thing they need is another d-man). I forget which got one and which didn't but one of Stamkos or Doughty had one casual inquiry for an offer sheet, the other one had nothing. Teams don't want to give up that many picks it seems. Doughty isn't just another d-man, though. He'd be a #1 or #2 on every team in the NHL right now, and aside from like, Nashville, would look in line to take over #1 duties on all the other teams within a year or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 Doughty isn't just another d-man, though. He'd be a #1 or #2 on every team in the NHL right now, and aside from like, Nashville, would look in line to take over #1 duties on all the other teams within a year or two. You're right, he's a top end defender. Would Winnipeg, a non-playoff team, be wise to blow four first rounders on Doughty who may just help them make the playoffs? The only time I could possibly see that making sense (to give up that many firsts plus cap space) is for a team where that player would be the final piece to a long-term puzzle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbp Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 You're right, he's a top end defender. Would Winnipeg, a non-playoff team, be wise to blow four first rounders on Doughty who may just help them make the playoffs? The only time I could possibly see that making sense (to give up that many firsts plus cap space) is for a team where that player would be the final piece to a long-term puzzle. He is no question a incredible talent, but 4 1st rounders can do a lot, losing 4 would limit other moves in the future, I wouldn't do it. Maybe for Stamkos but... not Doughty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saskhab Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I don't know if there ever is a bad time to pick up a Doughty. Four Mark Schiefele's aren't as good as a single Drew Doughty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 24, 2011 Author Share Posted September 24, 2011 We're nearing the end of the offseason since we're technically in pre-season but I'm not starting off the official season thread with "Happy Waiver Day." Yes, today is the first day players can be waived and so far, I've seen about 40 names listed. Here are the notables: Eric Godard (DAL) Cristobal Huet (CHI) Ales Kotalik (BUF) Shaone Morrisonn (BUF) Wade Redden (NYR) Pavel Valentenko (NYR) No real surprises among the bunch other than Valentenko who some thought was going to stick with the Rangers. If he goes unclaimed, I wonder if he once again will bolt for back home. Morrisonn got waived as I figured he would. He can still play in the league but I'm skeptical someone will pick him up now and will hope that Pegula will let the Sabres put him through re-entry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlbalr Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Not too many notables on today's list. The headliners include: Luca Caputi (TOR) Matt Pelech (SJ) J.T. Wyman (TB) Mike Zigomanis (TOR) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbp Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I don't know if there ever is a bad time to pick up a Doughty. Four Mark Schiefele's aren't as good as a single Drew Doughty. I also wouldn't use Atlanta's scouting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueKross Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Anyone think like McKeen's mag ? That Buffalo will win the East with 106 points ?!?!?! I don't know about the points, but I like Buffalo's chances Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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