August NHL News

tmracht

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Aug 19, 2009
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So odd to see this kind of stuff happening in late August. Kapanen has 2 more years at 3.2m and put up a stat line of 20-24-44. Toronto really need to shed some salary with Ceci and Barrie UFAs and only ~4.6m cap space heading into next year. So it makes sense to move a contract about this size.
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory

Silverdude2167

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A first is a good return, but Pitt is old and really needs youth. Why are they trading away a 1st?

Are they planning on tanking again after Sid and hoping they land another generational talent as is apparently there birth right...
 

kenneycb

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Because they also need guys who can help win now given Letang, Crosby, and Malkin are all on the wrong side of 30. A first round pick probably won't be ready for 2-3 years.
 

cshea

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Full deal:

Toronto trades Kasperi Kapanen, Jesper Lindgren, Pontus Aberg for 15th pick in 2020, Evan Rodrigues, David Warsofsky, Filip Hallender

I assume Toronto will non-QO Rodrigues so they essentially dump all of Kapanen's $3.2 million. Hallender looks like a real prospect. 2nd round pick from 2018. Pronman at the Athletic just started doing his organizational rankings, and he had Hallender as Pittsburgh's #4 prospect, albeit in a system he ranked #30. I think this is pretty good work for Dubas, but their depth is really going to be tested as they clear the middle class paychecks out to accommodate the stars.

Pittsburgh is obviously all in for the end of the Crosby/Geno/Letang window. They have no first this year or next year (Zucker trade) and a pretty barren farm system. I would've probably used assets to upgrade the defense, especially if Schultz is leaving as a UFA. Rutherford also said he was likely going to move one of Murray or Jarry so we'll have to see what he does there.
 

tmracht

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For the box Toronto put themselves in cap wise with Marner/Tavares/Matthews/Nylander making just about 40m next year, this is a pretty good outcome, they don't have a ton of good ELC contracts to help ballast the big contracts, so maybe Hallender can fill a role soon. Capfriendly has them at about 7.8m in free space with 16 players under contract. They probably still have some work to do, but this trade probably was a win for them if they are married to the stars taking up over half the cap.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Getting a first and Hallender for this package is great work by Dubas. Still think the Leafs are in cap hell for the next 2-3 years, but this is a good start for them.
 

RedOctober3829

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NEW YORK (August 26, 2020) -- The National Hockey League has sanctioned the Arizona Coyotes for violating the NHL's Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 season, directing the forfeiture of the Club’s 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and 1st-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.



The sanctions were announced by Commissioner Gary Bettman, who convened a hearing on the matter August 6 that included testimony from representatives of the Coyotes and the NHL. At the outset of the hearing, the Club acknowledged that it had violated the Policy by conducting physical testing on 2020 draft-eligible players prior to the Combine.

https://media.nhl.com/public/news/14263
 

Lose Remerswaal

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I can't find any stats on if Home Ice advantage (last change, anything else?) has any measurable factor in the playoffs this year, so I put this together:

Higher Seed is listed in ALL CAPS Lower Seed is listed in lowercase

Qualifying Round:

montreal 3/PITT 1 "home team" W 1 L 3
CAROLINA 3/rangers 0 "home team" W 3 L 0
ISLANDERS 3/fla 1 'home team" W 3 L 1
columbus 3/TORONTO 2 "home" W 2 L 3
chicago 3/EDM 1 "home" W 3 L 1
arizona 3/NASH 1 "home" W 3 L 1
VANCOUVER 3/minn 1 "home" W 1 L 3
CALGARY 3/winnipeg 1 "home" W 1 L 3

So Home team in the qualifying rounds won 17 games and lost 15

First Round:

PHILLY 4/mont 2 "home" W 1 L 5
TAMPA 4/columbus 1 "home" W 2 L 3
islanders 4/WASH 1 "home" W 1 L 4
BOSTON 4/carolina 1 "home" W 2 L 3
VEGAS 4/chicago 1 "home" W 4 L 1
COLORADO 4/arizona 1 "home W 4 L 1
DALLAS 4/calgary 2 "home" W 3 L 3
vancouver 4/SL 2 "home" W 1 L 5

Home teams in Round 1 won 18 games and lost 25 (East was 6 Wins and 15 Losses, West was 12 Wins and 10 Losses)

Overall Home teams have 35 Wins and 40 Losses in the NHL playoffs through the first round
 

cshea

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Seems about right, I would've expected close to a .500 winning percentage. Last change is a nice-to-have but I don't think it adds a ton of value to win probabilities. Even in a normal year, i'd put it relatively far down the list of advantages. Staying at home, less travel, using your on facilities, having the crowd behind you and perhaps influencing officials is much more important.
 

cshea

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Nobody, it’s probably the worst contract in the league.

They tried the JAG backup the past few years but haven’t had any success. It’s probably in everyone’s best interest to get a real backup and limit Price to 50-55 starts in a season as opposed to 65.
 

McDrew

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Price has played ~60 games a season for the past 4 seasons. I think next season, with the compressed schedule, he plays closer to 48 or so with Allen getting a lot of back-to-back starts. If Allen was making half of what he is, this would be an outstanding move.
 

kenneycb

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One thing I didn’t realize until reading LeBrun’s article in the Athletic is Montreal had 14 picks in the draft, including 5 picks in the second and third rounds, so using that draft capital for actual NHL players makes sense. Probably more to come from them with that war chest.
 

Salem's Lot

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Jul 15, 2005
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Can someone who' more clued in than I am explain why Minnesota would do this?

View: https://twitter.com/BuffaloSabres/status/1306352268833419265?s=20
The only thing I can come up based on Bill Guerin’s comments is they just want to get the leadership group out of that room.

It makes zero sense to trade for a less productive player that makes more money. Staal was reportedly a big voice in that room though, and I guess the thinking is culture change? Let Koivu walk and trade Staal?
 

mwonow

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The only thing I can come up based on Bill Guerin’s comments is they just want to get the leadership group out of that room.

It makes zero sense to trade for a less productive player that makes more money. Staal was reportedly a big voice in that room though, and I guess the thinking is culture change? Let Koivu walk and trade Staal?
Thanks - I hadn't gotten past the "zero sense" bit.