2015 NHL Offseason

SportsDoc · Post by **SportsDoc** » Mon May 18, 2015 3:57 pm

mister d wrote:Sooo ... that's not quite Mike Babcock, huh Flyers fans?

I've heard Hakstol actually turned down Hextall twice before taking the job. This is definitely an "outside the box" move by Philly. No question Hakstol is a great hockey coach, but, he has no NHL pedigree. College programs practice more than they play, so one might suspect preparation will not be an issue for Hakstol. The first year will be critical to get players to buy into his methods. For the most part NHL people will tell you North Dakota was a program run as close to an NHL program as you'll find. He has turned out a few Super Stars in Toews, Oshie and Parise. I think it's more telling that the NHL players who played for him and are not stars pretty much to a man say he's the reason they are in the NHL. Does that mean he can coach and succeed in the NHL? Come back to me in a year. I know I wouldn't bet against him. Will he survive the Philly media and fans? I don't for a minute think that will bother him. Remember too that Holmgren was a college guy (Minnesota) who still has some say in Philly, though not as much as he used to. And, at least in the past, had success in the NHL in management.

Post by **brian** » Mon May 18, 2015 4:07 pm

I think the Grand Forks media can be every bit as demanding as the Philadelphia media.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Mon May 18, 2015 4:11 pm

mister d wrote:Pretty sure his deal is up. Might be in the summer or something and that's why teams are agreeing to compensation?

That makes much more sense than if he had a contract for another year, and it looks like you're right.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Mon May 18, 2015 6:46 pm

His deal is up July 1st, but the Wings are letting him speak to other teams.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon May 18, 2015 6:50 pm

SportsDoc wrote:The first year will be critical to get players to buy into his methods.

Feels like this would be a lot easier going to a team of kids like Edmonton or a ready-made tear down like Toronto. Philadelphia has a veteran roster with more than a couple contracts they would throw away in a second if allowed to. It just feels like this is a job for a coach who might get a bullshit one year bounce at best or teach them to play a more defensive game (or die trying (rhymes with Jorts)) and set things up for the next coach at worst. The disaster potential here is just so, so high for a guy who didn't need to take that sort of risk.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Tue May 19, 2015 9:29 am

govmentchedda wrote:Why isn't he getting more shit for this? Isn't he under contract with the Wings? I understand the Wings being ok with letting him go, assuming they get compensation, but I'm not used to a coach who has a job interviewing for jobs with other teams, some of whom have coaches as well.

sancarlos wrote:His deal is up July 1st, but the Wings are letting him speak to other teams.

Yes, his deal is up, but the Wings got any team who wanted to speak to him to agree to compensation of a third-round pick in one of the next three years if they were to take Babcock off the market "early".

The unwritten part of my post is that Babcock wants to go someplace where he can win soon and also move the salary bar very high (in part to help his coaching brethren). Not many teams are going to fit those qualifications and Babcock already met to some teams that clearly do not. Columnists prey on the stupid, which is only heightened in today's "clicks for cash" media world.

Post by **brian** » Wed May 20, 2015 11:15 am

Today's supposed to be D-Day for Babcock. Latest is that Buffalo and Toronto are in a bidding war and Detroit has upped it's offer to 5 years/$20M which would make him the highest paid coach in hockey by a wide margin. Guessing Buffalo's offer is probably a little higher. Just a question of what he wants at this point. Reports are it's 75-80 percent likely he stays in Detroit.

I like Babcock, but I don't think it's the end of the world if he goes. He's probably the best coach in the NHL, but in hockey especially players seem to benefit from new coaches every so often.

Post by **brian** » Wed May 20, 2015 11:53 am

...And just as I said that now reports are he's gone, but not to Buffalo. (So I guess that means Toronto?). At least it'll be a high 3rd rounder the Red Wings get as compensation.

Post by **brian** » Wed May 20, 2015 12:09 pm

It's apparently Toronto. MLSE has a plane headed to Detroit right now it appears.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed May 20, 2015 12:25 pm

Toronto is the center of the NHL universe, loads of cash and a long-time under-achiever. If Babcock succeeds, he'll be a national hero in Canada. I look forward to the impending battle of wills between Babcock and offensive-focused/defense-impaired forwards like Kessel, Kadri and Lupul.

Post by **brian** » Wed May 20, 2015 1:17 pm

The Leafs are apparently paying him DOUBLE the previous highest coaching salary in NHL history. So well played I guess.

SportsDoc · Post by **SportsDoc** » Wed May 20, 2015 1:29 pm

If Babcock can get Kessel to go into a corner or play defense he deserves anything they are paying him and more. My guess, Kessel is a healthy scratch before (U.S.) Thanksgiving, or else traded.

Post by **brian** » Wed May 20, 2015 1:37 pm

Glad I said it well before it was official, but I'm totally fine with Blashill taking over this team (I'm strongly assuming it's going to be him as DSafe said previously). This team could use some new blood and it won't hurt to have someone in Detroit who is familiar with all of the guys who came out of the farm system.

DSafetyGuy · Post by **DSafetyGuy** » Wed May 20, 2015 2:54 pm

Contract number I saw for Babcock was eight years, $50 million.

Regarding Blashill taking over in Detroit, a couple days ago, one of the articles on him in one of the Detroit papers said that part of the reason he was signed to a three-year extension last year was insurance with Babcock's contract coming to an end. Guess that was a pretty good idea.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed May 20, 2015 3:17 pm

I'm sure Terry Pegula has never used leverage in negotiations before. Whiner.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed May 20, 2015 4:01 pm

sancarlos wrote:Toronto is the center of the NHL universe, loads of cash and a long-time under-achiever. If Babcock succeeds, he'll be a national hero in Canada. I look forward to the impending battle of wills between Babcock and offensive-focused/defense-impaired forwards like Kessel, Kadri and Lupul.

He's already a hero in Canada, two gold medals. We don't care about the Leafs!

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Wed May 20, 2015 6:02 pm

degenerasian wrote:
sancarlos wrote:Toronto is the center of the NHL universe, loads of cash and a long-time under-achiever. If Babcock succeeds, he'll be a national hero in Canada. I look forward to the impending battle of wills between Babcock and offensive-focused/defense-impaired forwards like Kessel, Kadri and Lupul.
He's already a hero in Canada, two gold medals. We don't care about the Leafs!

You say that, but Toronto is pretty much the de-facto national team, anyway. By my unscientific polling, every over-50 Canadian who is not French pulls for the Leafs. And, your national media breathlessly reports on their every move.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed May 20, 2015 10:22 pm

sancarlos wrote:
degenerasian wrote:
sancarlos wrote:Toronto is the center of the NHL universe, loads of cash and a long-time under-achiever. If Babcock succeeds, he'll be a national hero in Canada. I look forward to the impending battle of wills between Babcock and offensive-focused/defense-impaired forwards like Kessel, Kadri and Lupul.
He's already a hero in Canada, two gold medals. We don't care about the Leafs!
You say that, but Toronto is pretty much the de-facto national team, anyway. By my unscientific polling, every over-50 Canadian who is not French pulls for the Leafs. And, your national media breathlessly reports on their every move.

yeah i know...

No team in the world is as important as the Leafs. No other team plays at a set time every week. 7pm ET on Saturday night. Even if they're playing in Vancouver, they make Vancouver play at 4pm.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 21, 2015 7:20 pm

Saw this on twitter...

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Wed May 27, 2015 2:55 pm

Rumor is that the Sharks have hired this guy at coach.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Wed May 27, 2015 7:22 pm

That's just sooooooo bad.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu May 28, 2015 10:31 am

Remarkable discipline on the part of the camera man.

I'll be interested to see how the De Boer hire works out. I think the key will be how Joe Thornton and Patty Marleau respond to his leadership.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu May 28, 2015 2:19 pm

Sounds like Bylsma to Buffalo. Pens get a 3rd Round pick!

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu May 28, 2015 2:33 pm

Compensation for fired employees is one of those things you can't even get mad about because it's so stupid.

rass · Post by **rass** » Thu May 28, 2015 2:38 pm

Even the Pens agree (to a certain extent). They were entitled to a pick from the Devils for Shero and passed.

degenerasian · Post by **degenerasian** » Thu May 28, 2015 3:44 pm

rass wrote:Even the Pens agree (to a certain extent). They were entitled to a pick from the Devils for Shero and passed.

It's not been a good summer for GM Murray.

Lost McDavid
Lost Babcock
Have to give the Pens a pick when they didn't give one to NJ.

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri May 29, 2015 6:22 am

On the Pens and compensatory draft picks, this article from when Shero was hired seemed to suggest the Pens actively passed on seeking a pick from NJD. That was the one I had in mind when I commented yesterday.

This more recent snippet from Pens' GMJR suggests they didn't know they could get a pick, until after they saw the Bruins pick one up from Edmonton for Chiarelli. Except Chiarelli was hired weeks before Shero. The Pens now say they will make it a policy of pursuing picks in the future.

So either the Pens were setting precedent, or they were asleep and whiffed on the pick, or the other theory being floated is that they weren't able to shake a pick loose from Lamoriello but wanted Shero off the books so badly that they just let him go rather than risking the Devils spiting themselves (not to mention the Pens would sort of look like dicks for keeping a fired employee from taking a new job).

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri May 29, 2015 9:54 am

"We thought it was a shithead rule but once other teams made it the norm, we'd be dumb not to join in." Easy, totally acceptable explanation, right?

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri May 29, 2015 9:56 am

You and your Penguins colored glasses.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri May 29, 2015 10:00 am

Its a shithead move by whoever was the first to use it. I get if your AGM is getting hired away or something, but for a dude you fired, its just a bad look.

(Although I wonder if a stronger PA would be able to leverage that into a collusion argument regarding the lack of offer sheets.)

travzilla · Post by **travzilla** » Fri May 29, 2015 10:15 am

Lamoriello being a hardass is a pretty believable story too.

Does sound like Edmonton/Chiarelli were the first to enforce it, and after that, it's probably hard to say to your boss you're foregoing assets that other people are taking because you don't want to be a dick.

Same thing with the ridiculous front-loaded 15 year contracts that became the norm before the last CBA. obviously against the spirit of the rule, but those who refused to do it out of principle (Brian Burke) were roasted.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri May 29, 2015 10:26 am

And yet 29 GMs won't have to explain to their bosses why they didn't offer sheet Brandon Saad when Chicago has put themselves on the cusp of salary cap death.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri May 29, 2015 12:47 pm

So, the Sharks get a third round pick from Edmonton for their signing McLellan, but lose theirs to New Jersey for signing DeBoer. Essentially traded their own third rounder for Edmonton's . Win!

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri May 29, 2015 1:15 pm

Doesn't quite make up for trading McLellan for DeBoer.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri May 29, 2015 1:20 pm

mister d wrote:Doesn't quite make up for trading McLellan for DeBoer.

I certainly wouldn't say DeBoer is the better coach of the two. But, I do think the Sharks needed a new voice behind the bench. Wish it had been Babcock, but that probably was never going to be the case, so I think I'm ok with the DeBoer hire.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri May 29, 2015 1:27 pm

He was either a complete Lamoriello puppet or an absolute terrible judge and developer of talent.

rass · Post by **rass** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 6:58 am

The Pens to get a third rounder from NJ after all.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Jun 02, 2015 7:05 am

I hope someone hires ... [goes to look up Hartford's coach's name] ... Ken Gernander.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:22 pm

Rumors of Sather calling it quits has me super aroused.

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 1:25 pm

Seeya-lis?

hahaha