eva unit zero

Being good at hockey doesn't mean you 'know' hockey in any particular sense.

I wouldn't have traded either, honestly.

If they don't suspend him, his contract expires at the end of the season. If he is suspended, precedent and NHL rule state that he will "owe" the Islanders one year of service at $570k with all the same terms. Nabokov likely still won't want to play for them, and we see a trade. It wasn't stupid because he either loses Nabokov by not suspending him, or suspends him and keeps him. It wasn't a dick move because Nabby knew the rules going in, and most likely understands that he will be starting out in New York next year. The only dick move was for Nabby to not report after the Isles' waiver claim.

Garth Snow made a decision to add a very good goaltender whose cap hit is $570k, and would cost him absolutely nothing in assets. This was a very unpopular decision with Red Wings fans as it was a waiver acquisition and took said goaltender away from the Red Wings. The goaltender has since refused to play for the Islanders, which has resulted in his being suspended by his team. If he remains suspended his contract will be pushed over into next season, as the Islanders had a player signed to an NHL contract who then refused to honor that contract and play for them. This simply gives Snow a high value tradeable asset to improve his team with, something he was able to acquire for nothing. I said even before the Isles claimed Nabby that I thought a team might claim him with the hope that he doesn't report, and after the Isles picked him up I have said that I believe that to be the case here. While the Isles certainly had every legitimate reason to want to add a guy like Nabby, you need 90+ points to make it into the playoffs nowadays and the Isles are sitting at 37 points of 49 games. That means they would need to take 53 of a possible 66 points remaining to make the playoffs. They'd need a minimum of 20 wins, and then would need to get 13+ points in the other 13 games. Nabokov might be up to it if he's having a great run. Kipper had one of those for Calgary and kept it on right into the playoffs. Mason had one for Columbus and the hype got him the Calder, as well as very high in Vezina and Hart voting. But more than likely Snow was betting on Nabokov sitting out and going into the summer without having played a minute.

I can think of Benoit Pouliot, Blake Wheeler, Cal Clutterbuck, Taylor Pyatt, Martin Hanzal? There might be a few I missed, and there were some who were in the $4m-$5m range. I also left out players on entry-level contracts because there are restrictions on how much those contracts can be for.

Fischer was everything teams look for in a defenseman. He was big. He was a GREAT skater. He was strong defensively. He had good puck skills. He could hit HARD. He had one of the league's hardest shots, and the offensive side of his game was coming together nicely. Fischer would be a top-10 defenseman in the NHL and Lidstrom would be retired or at least playing in a reduced role if Jiri did not have his heart issue.

The thing is, Bailey was an employee of an NHL team, not the ECHL team.

Who cares if the Isles picked him up because they needed a goalie now, didn't want Detroit to have him, or even if (as I actually believe) Snow thought Nabby would refuse to play, and therefore walk into being a cheap, tradeable asset with high value (he wants to be moved, so the Isles will trade him and he'll waive his clause) none of those reasons should cause Nabby's contract to be void. The only reason would be if the Isles suspended Nabokov without cause specifically so they could trade him later this summer.

Radulov and Yashin both held out on the final year of their contract; Yashin on a five year deal which he was holding out trying to renegotiate the final year for what was basically a double in pay from about $3.6m to about $7m. Radulov signed a three year KHL deal while he was already under contract to Nashville, and hasn't been back. Hudler signed a 2-year KHL deal while waiting for arbitration, and his arbitrated NHL deal was pushed back a year. Nabokov is an Islander next year if Snow doesn't move him.

Snow's actions on the Nabokov move were slick. He has not been stellar as a GM, but a lot of that is due to this man: Think about the difficulty the Lions have attracting free agents nowadays compared to ten or fifteen years ago. Teams with a history of bad management, consistent losing, and low playoff chances don't get good free agents. Just like how Brady Hoke and University of Michigan football will not get the same level of recruits they were getting five years ago under Lloyd Carr, simply because Rich Rod spent a few years doing nothing but sucking ass.

Joni Pitkanen.

Yep, it's a genius move by Holland to attempt to pick up Nabokov as a backup for nothing on a near-minimum contract. But when Snow actually does get him for that amount on waivers, Snow is an idiot. Even though with Nabokov not reporting and suspended, he ends up as Islanders property for next year. Wow, now Snow has a very good goalie on a low one-year deal that he can trade in the summer to a team looking for goaltending. Worst case, he gets a pick or two. Snow sure is stupid to get free draft picks or prospects, or even better, contributing roster players.

Nabokov and Streit? Nabokov and Okposo? Nabokov and NYI 1st and 2nd? Surely they don't mean JUST Nabokov.

So he owns the business then? He couldn't fire himself, obviously. And you wouldn't want to lose your job. Kind of changes the dynamic. I'm not claiming this kid should be in the NHL. He certainly hasn't shown that. But he was barely given the chance to play when he was in the ECHL. He played one season in the Ducks' system, seeing two games at the AHL level, and then he was traded before the next season. Sort of like they chose the bigoted coach over the Jewish kid. The fact that they effectively traded him in response to his complaining only adds credibility to his suit regarding how far the bigoted comments went.

Chris Phillips.

What if A) that person was supervisor where you work, B)it was during work hours while both of you were on the clock, and C) the apology only came after you contacted the human resources department with a complaint. This isn't just someone mentioning a dislike of Jews while a Jew is present. It's a professional hockey coach saying he doesn't like Jews while a player of his he knows is Jewish is present. That kind of conduct will get you fired immediately from most jobs.

Dallas Drake was a legit top six forward in his prime. He played with Roenick and Tkachuk in Phoenix, and was a top-six forward on his team all but three seasons. His final year, in Detroit, where he played fourth line on a stacked team. His last year in St. Louis, where he was demoted to the third line due to the emergence of young forwards. And his second year in the league, where he was ousted from the top-six spot he had held in his rookie season by Keith Primeau. Even then, Drake was immediately the best forward on Winnipeg's second line, playing for the second year in a row with Paul Ysebaert, who had been traded there early in the year by Chicago. A list of the better fourth line grinders in the league is not a list of "Drake" type players. If you want a player who plays like Drake in his prime, you're going to be hard pressed. Figuring the prime as the best years of a player's career, usually 5-8 years somewhere between 25-35 years old, Drake's prime would be the 350 games he played between 93-94 and 98-99. He was a guy who scored about 20 goals and 50 points, and one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL. Hard hitter, very effective pest, key PKer. Had he been used on the PP, he might have been in the 70-80 point range. But he rarely saw that time, instead going to guys like Roenick, Tkachuk, Janney, Ronning, Emerson, Tocchet, Zhamnov, Selanne, Doan, and even Travis Green over the years. He saw some early on in St. Louis, but his offensive skills were waning then, so his scoring was headed down and he was soon replaced. Find an elite defensive forward who scores 20 goals and 30 assists (probably more like 25-40 now with clutch and grab gone), and is a physical force; someone who can fill any role up front, either wing , and you have a guy who fits the Dallas Drake model. Mike Fisher is about as close of a fit as I can think of, and he's not much of a fighter. Abdelkader is like a B-grade version of Drake; if you set up a league of 30 teams and used no players who were legit top-six forwards, top three defensemen, or starting goalies then Abdelkader would probably be a pretty good copy of Drake relative to the league.

So it's ok if Calgary's coaching staff uses the 'n' word in practice drills to refer to Byfuglien when the team is preparing for Atlanta? After all, it wasn't directed at Iginla, right? Maybe you should punch yourself in the mouth. EDIT: Furthermore, maybe the coach's racist views of Jews (only in it for money, etc.) affected his opinion of Bailey, and therefore affected Bailey's chances of any advancement.

Larsson started the season playing in Europe, but he is doing so on an NHL contract on loan to a European club. Nabokov was playing in the KHL on a KHL contract. Larsson could be brought up to the Wings without having to clear waivers.

Two linesmen. When there is a player in the defensive zone, the linesman at that end has his hand up. This signals to the other linesman the offsides status. Once all skaters clear, the linesman drops his arm and offsides is no longer a danger. This is the kind of thing linesmen are, you know, FOR. No, because if they interfered with the play by contact with the puck, or by affecting a player's movement, they would count as 'in the play' and therefore the team would have too many players on ice.

You're right. Jiri doesn't have the speed to be like Marty. I'll instead compare Sheldon Kennedy to St. Louis. Maybe I'll toss in Stacy Roest for the Fleury comparison. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Isn't that what I just said? A team signs a player and loans them to a European club and it's not a cap violation, so long as the pass through any necessary waivers. Alternatively, they pass through entry waivers as Nabokov would have had to if he were joining the Wings. There's no "hiding" players in Europe because they have to pass through waivers somehow unless they are NHL-contracted, waiver exempt, and specifically assigned there instead of the AHL. Larsson, for example, would not have to pass through waivers.

She has talent, just look at her! Oh, you mean other talents.

Punching people and being punched...that does not make you tough. A goon with no skill might be tough, but not because he fights. Toughness is being able to overcome adversity in the forms it manifests itself as. For the Wings, it often seems to be an opponent where many of you guys start flipping out because we don't have an enforcer. But the Wings get through, because they have tough players like Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Draper, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Osgood. You can have your team full of Colton Orrs and Derek Boogards. I'll take a team full of Zetterbergs, Datsyuks, Lidstroms, or Kronwalls.

What exactly is the "Hide players in Europe to circumvent the cap" angle. Is that about Huet? Because Huet could be recalled without having to pass through the same waiver system Nabokov did. Huet would have to pass through recall waivers due to his contract size and experience, however.