The Ditch part deux

Yeah Skinny , ate ribs with the dude , is nothing sacred....Hail Nothing!

 

Ribs lol, watch how they stretch his 15 minutes for as much as possible.

 

That was probably the best hero interview I've ever listened to.

Sullenberger has nothing on Charles Ramsey. I'm hoping Charles is able to cash in a little bit. Maybe a year of McDs breakfast or something and some cash for more interviews.

 

my friend in KC, MO sent me the Charles Ramsey interview and that 4 minutes had 3 golden moments. 1: "I was eatin' my McDonold's..." 2. ... ate BBQ with the dude..." and 3: when he was doing the interview and the cop cruiser drives up and hits the siren (probably to clear the media out of the way), Ramsey flinches and his eyes go "buckwheat"... i instantly thought "Pavlov's dog". i do agree though. i hope Mr. Ramsey can cash in on this episode. West Cleveland (well, ok, most of Cleveland) is a s**thole and if he can get out of there because of this, then he has the blessings of Pope Frank. <raises rolled up $50 bill in honor of Charles Ramsey>

 

STL in some serious trouble now, and not just for the postseason. I think their budget is linked to total revenue, a first round loss may eat millions from Armstrong's budget. I think Shattenkirk and Berglund are good candidates for offersheets. Stewart's ceiling may make for a crazy scenario.

I have a feeling Vancouver is going to go to franchise hell on a slow decent. They have lots of valuable pieces, but with a declining cap, it's going to be especially hard to justify pulling off the overpayment to acquire younger price controlled (expiring RFA contracts) players. I think Vancouver is going to keep going with the same group. If Gillis wasn't going to trade Luongo the last 18 months, I can't imagine an Edler, Bieksa, or Kesler type trade. Maybe one core player, but I can't imagine 2 or more. Their pool sucks, and their cap condition is terrible. Gillis is going to have to trade off an expensive player just to acquire cost effective depth to round out the 3rd and 4th lines and bottom group dmen. I'm not sure that happens. I think dark days are ahead for the Canucks after next year. Trading 2 of Schneider, Kesler, and/or Edler would probably put them on a more sustainable trajectory, I don't see that happening.

Doug Wilson is a good NHL gm.

The trade of Pominville really has me guessing. Gave up a bunch or excellent assets for a declining asset on an expensive contract when Min has to answer for Cullen and Backstrom this summer. I'm thinking the overpayment was part of another plan to bring in another player later. Heatley may be bought out which would help, in a way. Losing Cullen, Heatley, and thse 2 name guy will be a huge dropoff in offensive talent. Scoring has been really tough for them most of the time. Fletcher and the boss had Parise and Suter lined up well ahead of time, I can only imagine the Pominville pickup was part of a similar plan, otherwise it just seems stoopid. The group they have doesn't stand to gain enough just with Pominville on his own, and losing that mid-first and quality prospects will sting.

Minnesota, STL, and SJ are going to be among the most interesting franchises to watch the next few years. All sorts of moving parts involving significant players. Too bad hardly any of the hockey media will cover them tightly.

 

very perceptive thoughts on StL and Van. i don't think Minnesota losing the Heater will hurt that much, as it appears he has hit his productive ceiling. with the additions of Parise and Suter, you would think his production would've made a significant jump... and it didn't. Minny would be smart to move Heatley while he still has the visible comet trails of success from the previous years' performances. StL IS going lose some key players and Vancouver will continue to beat their dead horse into a bloody pulp.
Meatballs, anyone?

 

Meatballs are a great appetizer. Heatley is steaming garbage, but he's still somebody you keep your 4th line away from in an important game, similar to Semin. If he's interested, he can influence a game. Not much use in the postseason but he helps get you home ice or a higher seed for a round, that's worth it. He's a buyout candidate, and he'll probably be moved. Minnesota doesn't have the firepower to give up Heatley and Cullen. Without 2 good/effective (which Heatley contributes to) scoring lines, we'll see Min limp around for extended periods of time again. Granlund and the other young forwards are still more than a year away from being reliable. That's my opinion I'm trying to pass off as fact.

I normally don't consider meatballs before 10 am central. good thinking Frank.

 

Big shock, no WC finalists for the Lindsay.

If the SE could stop a beachball, I wonder if that would have been the case.

 

The lost revenue of possibly no 2nd round games hurting StLouis is a good thought. Unfortunately their RFAs are hitting the market at the worst time, tough luck for them. The shrinking cap might lead to short term deals for Shattenkirk, Stewart, and Bergland. And what will they do w/ Pietrangelo? Id think that he would want Doughty-type money. Might all be part of Garth's (master) Plan! to swoop in and grab one of those players for the Brooklyn move. Probably not though unless Wang hits the MegaMillions.

Can Van just dump Luongo? Essentially ask for 1 late end pick or a weaker prospect in return instead of expecting big assets coming back. Will Sedins ever be broken up? That would be very interesting to see how they would do separately. I think they would still put up good numbers individually.

 

He has to pass unconditional waivers. A team on a budget wouldn't hesitate if they wanted a goalie. Even with the recapture provision, he only stands to carry less than 7 in recapture penalties. Vancouver already on the hook for more than 8. He's still an excellent goalie, I think he carries good value, just not as much as Gillis thinks he carries because of all the goalies hitting the market. Too many WC teams finding good GA/G success with a system, they aren't looking to spend big on goalies overall I think.

I do believe STL will have money that they didn't spend this year, probably a few million. Sale of Peoria, internal promotions (guessing the pay raise lags, haha), and dumping Davidson's 2 million probably gives Armstrong a bigger budget in the neighborhood of 5-7 more than he would have had. I'm think STL has 54-57 million for payroll next year. Anything over 58 is going to hurt my head thinking, and anything over 60 will shock me. Also to note, that will be the year end number, not the daily number.

I think Pietrangelo stays no matter what. I think he'll get a mix of Doughty and Yandle money. Armstrong really seems to get value on contracts. I've thought Shattenkirk was on the way out no matter what this year. He's arbitration eligible too. We might see some interesting CBA exercises there or with Berglund. Both of them are potential offersheet targets. Berglund is a little better than STL fans tend to think he is and probably a little better than his stats. I wouldn't mind if Bowman stuck it to Armstrong and forced his hand on a long significant contract.

Stewart most likely to be traded. He has huge up and down sides. Somebody will offer stupid money to him. Since he'll be so tough to price effectively, I think he's the first significant player Armstrong considers moving. Elliot may be a curious trade target too. McDonald is gone. Steen has too cheap of a contract to move imo. He's redundant with they young skill guys coming up. STL not dead yet. Love the team on paper. Ownership will hold them back. Stillman has a group of wealthy business people to keep in line. He's a hockey fan, can't imagine his coowners all are.

Also about STL. They haven't added new blood to the front office. If there are any holes in scouting or development, it's going to be tough to fix and Armstrong would probably have to sacrifice payroll to fix the problem based on what I've seen so far. I have many thoughts on STL.

I'm still trying to figure out the Minnesota plan. I smell something.

 

big article on Lindros in ESPN magazine (i know i know but one of my daughters bought the subscription for me so i gotta let it slide)

 

by dump Luongo I mean trade him for pennies on the dollar. Im sure Toronto would still listen if the price was small enough. Would think getting out of that contract would make it a win for Vancouver also.

Good insight on StLouis as always bob. I think you're a closet Blues fan.

Does Shattenkirk still hold the same value he did a year or 2 ago? Wonder what a trade for any of these guys would look like. Draft picks as opposed to roster players...unless they're cheap roster players. If the Blues are trying to cut costs Id think Halak would be a trade candidate. Stick w/ Allen and Elliott and they still have other good goalie prospects that can marinate in the AHL or CHL.

 

is Lebron in it? 10000/1 says yes.

 

forgot to mention, great shot from Bigfat last night, hit Fraser right in the face. Nice skill set.

 

Will Sedins ever be broken up? That would be very interesting to see how they would do separately. I think they would still put up good numbers individually.

i could be wrong, but i think separating the Alien Twins is the 7th Sign of the Apocalypse

 

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/good-sports/201305/sens-owners-amazing-gift-girl-and-her-family

funny story from the Great White North (or South, if your name is Lulz)

 

Without question you are correct. It would be the end.

 

Yes, I think if Vancouver ate 2 million on the contract they could move it. But if they were going to eat more than 1.3 million (difference between the 2 of them), I think trading Schneider becomes the better move with a better return. There will be nice quality floating around when it comes to backup goalies for a couple years, gamble cheaply there.

Thanks...I think. I'm not a closet Blues fan. The first reason is because they have a stupid name. If it weren't for the "Blues" we wouldn't have teams named wild, lightning, heat, etc. They started it, they made it work and I hate them for it. I don't care how cool the uniforms look. STL has been one of my "OCD franchises" where I waste way too much of my life reading about them. It's been going on since they hired Davis Payne.

I think the reason Shattenkirk will remain so valuable is that he's still a restricted free agent, he's only 24, and he's an incomplete dman. The league has decided it hates scoring goals so anybody that can help offensively carries tremendous value. I think it means his contract will really sting the Blues if they keep him. He's already been traded once and spent considerable time at your favorite NCAA program so unlike many young players, I don't think he has some of the franchise loyalty many young players foolishly have. He's knows he can get paid and he's going to know a team on a budget may not provide the best opportunity to win. If he doesn't know, his agent will make him aware I think.

I'm speculating heavily, where lulz is afraid to gaze into the crystal ball, I stare at it for hours. Stillman, Shattenkirk, Armstrong, etc. may prove me wrong. My opinions are not grounded in any tangible evidence.

I agree Halak is a good trade candidate. Elliot has never proven to be a true starter and I think they want Allen to anchor their affiliate (if Chicago allows it, Armstrong lost control of his AHL affiliate) before bringing him up to stay for another year. Halak or Elliot will hold value at next year's deadline. I don't think Armstrong wants to gamble on an Elliot/Allen combo unless money is really, really tight.

 

I loved Lindros, anything worth mentioning on here?

 

my man George