Comments on: Analysis: July 1

By: kamullia

kamullia — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 17:03:22 +0000

Just on Sabourin: This is not an issue of insurance, but an issue of development.

Sabourin was the year-round backup to Roberto Luongo in Vancouver, and was let go by Shero on waivers. This was a huge mistake by Shero, as I pointed out at the time in an article, and now Shero has come full circle and re-signed Sabourin. Dany even held the fort in overtime, facing elimination in a playoff game, while Roberto's equipment was being fixed, and he looked great doing it. The year before he was selected as the best goaltender in the AHL, and the best in the AHL is at least typically a worthy backup in the NHL. And Sabourin proved that last year playing behind Luongo, but more than that, he proved he could come in cold and do a good job, because Luongo, like Brodeur and Fleury, loves to play as many games as possible, and hence Sabourin is a good fit as a backup in Pittsburgh from that point of view. Sabourin is certainly capable of as a minimum the same showing Thibault had last year, and that was not considered bad by the Pens.

Therefore the problem with Sabourin being the backup for Fleury, is not on the fact if he is capable of doing the job, because he is. The problem roots from the fact that Fleury has only played one full season in the NHL and that was last year, and that more than likely means he still needs veteran direction, other than coaching. And Sabourin has played even less than Fleury in the NHL, therefore if Fleury needs any veteran goaltending direction, he simply will be without help or will have to call someone on the phone. And not knowing many NHL goalies, it will probably be Thibault.

P.S. Mi so pisciato addosso quando ho letto "buyout-able." I loved that. Also, I would not be surprised if the next goaltender signed by Shero to headline in the AHL will be an old NHL veteran. He almost has to, so that the kids in the NHL can have someone to bounce ideas against.

By: wingerxxx

wingerxxx — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:18:07 +0000

Yep, just noticed that. Washington is obviously going to be much kinder to him than Edmonton, stat-wise.

By: wheresthesoda

wheresthesoda — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:16:06 +0000

Well now that it appears as Nylander is going to be playing with Ovechkin in DC, he can duplicate last seasons success.

By: wingerxxx

wingerxxx — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:03:40 +0000

Considering how well he played with Doug Weight in Edmonton, yeah, I think that Smyth is going to do very well in Colorado playing with Joe Sakic. Sakic is much more of a shooter than Weight, but there aren't many centers that are better at setting up their wingers. And when Sakic retires, Smyth will probably be next in line to be the next Avs captain.

Hannan...well, I don't know. He got about, what, the same amount of money per season as Jay McKee? I'd take Hannan over McKee, personally. Can handle more minutes.

And yeah, Nylander has great chemistry with Jagr. But...a few things to consider. Jagr made Nylander better, not the other way around. And there is no way you are going to convince me that Nylander is going to duplicate last season's success, no matter who he plays with in Edmonton. The Rangers also needed to get younger, and Gomez has played with a Stanley Cup winner. Considering that Jagr consistently makes his linemates look awfully good (Jan Hrdina and Kip Miller in Pittsburgh), I highly doubt that Scott Gomez is going to into much of a funk playing with Jags on a top line. Especially if Straka is still there.

The Rangers really need Shanahan back. Not just for depth on the wing. If anything, to be a peacekeeper in the locker room, because there are some pretty strong personalities in there now...as said in the article...Drury is in there now, Jagr, and Sean Avery. Drury is another Cup winner like Gomez. And assuming Shanahan returns, it gives the Rangers two very clutch players.

What I really like about these acquisitions, is that although Sather spent a lot of money...he spent it on players that are used to winning and know what it takes to win. These guys are also not over the hill, ala Val Kamensky, Theo Fleury, John MacLean, Kevin Stevens, Brian Skrudland, Mike Keane, Vladimir Malakhov, Kevin Hatcher....the list goes on and on...and on...

I think that Leafs fans are really going to like Jason Blake. Hopefully his wheels won't go on him, because if that happens, it's going to get ugly. His game is built on speed. The Islanders are really going to miss him too.

If Yashin doesn't come to Washington, then it means the Viktor Kozlov gets to play with yet another super-skilled Russian winger. This could be absolutely dynamite for the Capitals, because Kozlov and Pavel Bure made each other look pretty good some years back. And Ovechkin will finally get to play with a skilled playmaker (Zubrus doesn't count).