Sun 22 Jun 2008
In case you missed it, the NHL Draft came and went fairly quickly. Unfortunately, I couldn’t be home to watch the anticipated first round which saw top Canadian prospect Steven Stamkos go No.1 overall to Tampa Bay.
However, it wasn’t the 18 year-old local Ontario native which was the biggest story. Instead, this draft became more about some of the big names which moved to new NHL homes. Olli Jokinen, Alex Tanguay, Mike Cammalleri and R.J. Umberger all were dealt Friday night as the first round was taking place.
In a three-team trade, the 26 year-old Cammalleri went from the Kings to Calgary with the Ducks also involved. Preparing to trade Tanguay across Canada to Montreal which had been rumored since last year, the Flames sent their 17th overall selection plus a 2009 second round pick to rebuilding Los Angeles for Cammalleri. Instead of retaining No.17, the Kings then swapped it along with their 28th overall to Anaheim for No.13 overall to select defenseman Colten Teubert.
The 28 year-old Tanguay was then shipped to the Canadiens with a 2008 fifth round pick (Maxim Trunev) in exchange for No.25 overall (Greg Nemisz) plus a 2009 second rounder.
The wheeling and dealing wasn’t done though as the biggest name to find a new home was Jokinen. The 29 year-old Finnish pivot who captained the Panthers couldn’t get along with former coach turned GM Jacques Martin. Despite a terrific seven-year career in the Sunshine State which saw him score 188 of his 208 career goals along with 231 of 253 career helpers for an impressive 439 of 461 points, the former Kings’ 1997 third overall selection is moving to the Desert to play with the Coyotes.
Amazingly, Phoenix only parted with defensemen Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton off their roster while also including No.49 overall (Jared Staal).
In an attempt to save cash to re-sign potential Group II Jeff Carter, the Flyers sent impressive 2008 playoff performer Umberger to the Blue Jackets along with the 118th pick overall (Drew Olson) for No.19 overall (Luca Sbisa) and No.67 (Marc-Andre Bourdon).
Amazingly, the 26 year-old Umberger will be on his fourth NHL club. Originally drafted in the first round seven years prior 16th overall, he didn’t sign instead getting dealt with minor league defenseman Martin Grenier to the Rangers for Martin Rucinsky. Following a 10-day tryout with Hartford, the Blueshirts passed on signing the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native allowing him to wind up with the Flyers four years prior.
In three seasons with Philadelphia, the two-way center developed into a solid player posting career bests in assists (37) and points (50) this past season. His postseason performance was even better as he tallied 10 goals and five assists for 15 points during the Flyers’ run to the Conference Finals. Eight of those goals came at the expense of the Canadiens in a five-game second round upset.
Instead of having to deal with his asking price, the Flyers opted to get what they could now netting a solid return. Columbus, who still has yet to make the second season will need to get him signed if they’re to challenge for the playoffs next year.
There were a couple of more deals as well with Philly acquiring veteran D Steve Eminger from the Capitals along with No.84 overall (Jacob Deserres) for the 27th overall pick (John Carlson).
Nashville also resolved their goalie issue by trading away Chris Mason to the Blues for a fourth round choice which wound up going back to the Rangers in another deal which saw the Preds get a seventh rounder (Jani Lajunen). The Blueshirts tabbed right wing Dale Weise with their original 111th pick back.
The Preds inked Dan Ellis to a multi-year $3.5 million deal. In 44 games last season, the 28 year-old original Stars’ 2000 second round pick exceeded expectations by posting a 23-10-3 record with a 2.34 GAA, .924 save percentage along with six shutouts. Before the surprise season, he was essentially a career minor leaguer with just one game of league experience coming before the lockout. They better hope it wasn’t a fluke.
As for how the locals did Friday, the Islanders twice traded down from No.5 and No.7 before grabbing center Josh Bailey at No.9 overall. The 18 year-old Bowmanville, Ontario native ranked third in the OHL with 67 assists while pacing Windsor with 96 points (29-67-96).
“Josh was the player we targeted from the beginning,” Islander GM Garth Snow acknowledged to reporters. “He’s a center who makes other players around him better - the type of center we need in our system.”
At 20th overall, the Rangers selected defenseman Michael Del Zotto, making him the third blueliner the club has taken in three of the last four first rounds. In 2005, it was Marc Staal while in 2006, they tabbed American Bobby Sanguinetti. Last year was the exception when they patiently waited for Russian forward Alexei Cherepanov to fall into their lap at No.17.
They went with a player player personnel director Gordie Clark felt had “good hockey sense.” Despite questions about how strong he is in his end, the organization likes the fact he was the first defenseman since Scott Niedermayer to rack up 120 points in two seasons with Oshawa of the OHL. No player in Canadian junior hockey had done it since.
As for the Devils, they traded down from No.21 to No.23 eventually to 24 before nabbing Swedish winger Mattias Tedenby. Despite his small 5-10, 176-pound frame, President and GM Lou Lamoriello was said to be enamored with the Swede’s speed referencing successful past picks such as Brian Gionta and Zach Parise.
In 2007-08 in the Swedish Elite League’s HV 71, Tedenby tallied three goals and three assists for six points in 23 contests. He’s expected to return for another pro season.
Also noteworthy from Draft Weekend was that the Blueshirts gave up on Alex Bourret after one year. Instead, the once highly thought of former Thrashers’ first round pick was traded to former assistant GM and current Phoenix executive Don Maloney for a 2008 third rounder (Tomas Kondratek).
The 21 year-old Bourret was acquired in 2007 from Atlanta for Pascal Dupuis. In 54 games last season with the Wolf Pack, he notched nine goals and 24 helpers for 33 points. Like former top goalie prospect Al Montoya, he’ll look to break into the Coyotes’ lineup and finally make his NHL debut.
It’s amazing how different talent evaluators can be. Maloney always touted his guys to the highest ceiling making you believe the sky was the limit. Wasn’t Hugh Jessiman also under his watch in 2003? The only first round pick from that draft never to play a game in the NHL. Never mind.
Hossa rejects Pens’ offer: Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t note that according to various sources including the reliable TSN, Marian Hossa rejected a seven-year $49 million contract offer from the Penguins to stay prior to becoming a UFA July 1st. It’s amazing to think the Slovak could turn that down. What the heck does he think he can get on the open market?
While it’s true he made six million this past season playing with both Atlanta and Pittsburgh, the 29 year-old shouldn’t get much more than that average. Or at least in my eyes, he doesn’t deserve better than what the Pens offered. He had the ideal situation playing third fiddle behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who still must be re-signed by the club before some Russian teams swarms the Hart runner-up with a giant sized offer. Hossa’s never proven to be a superstar who could carry a team which is why remaining a Pen makes sense.
Unless some idiotic team blows him out of the water, he should wise up and return to Pittsburgh. Besides, they lost to Detroit for all the marbles. They’re going to be a large Stanley Cup contender again and for years to come. Hossa needs to stop listening to his agent and get his head out of the clouds.
