yave1964 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Post Free agnet frenzy: my power rankings for each of the 30 clubs. 1. KINGS. Champs TCOB resigning Gaborik and retained everyone they wanted to. 2. BLACKHAWKS Added Richards to fill gaping hole at 2nd line center, resigned cornerstones Toews and Kane. 3. BLUES signed Stastny brought in KHL star Lehtera. Tough club going forward, found some offense. 4. DUCKS Added Kesler to fill 2nd line center hole for spare parts. Two young and hungry netminders battling it out. 5. SHARKS for all the talk of blowing up the roster they did minor tweaking and Niemi is set for a bounce back season. 6. BRUINS lost iginla still looking to deal Boychuk for a winger but very solid. Hoping for bounce back from Eriksson 7. WILD tremendous offseason, netminding a concern but if they get average goaltending they are set. 8. AVALANCHE lost Stastny, added Iggie, kids are a year older and hungrier. 9. PENGUINS Lost two d-men, hoping Erhoff can step into the void and Maatta avoids the sophomore jinx. 10. STARS mat be rated too low. Spezza and Hemsky for nothing, team is going somewhere. 11. CANADIENS resigned who they wanted, young exciting team 12. LIGHTNING again, may be rated too low. Adding Drouin to the young forward mix 13. RANGERS lost several key players, up against the cap, added Boyle and still has the King. 14. FLYERS Status quo, the cap is killing them, still looking for a home for Vinnie. 15. CAPITALS two top 4 d-men added. Yes they overpaid but a good coach and a defense makes them a playoff team. 16. BLUEJACKETS up and coming team well built. 17. CANUCKS underrated offseason, right back in the thick of it for a lower playoff seed. 18. DEVILS Again, under the radar offseason makes them a low end contender. 19. RED WINGS fun bunch of young forwards, very boring defense. 20 PREDATORS Ribiero, warts and all can play as can Roy. Rinne back healthy but West is soooo deep. 21. LEAFS did nothing at all this offseason. 22. SENATORS Hard to believe how hard they have fallen in two years. 23. OILERS solid young nucleus but still searching for an identity. 24 FLAMES in full rebuild but doing it right 25. HURRICANES might be rated too low, need to figure out the Cam Ward situation 26 JETS solid pieces but hard to take any team with Pavelec as the starter serious. 27. COYOTES Lost Ribiero and Vrbata and only added Gagner. Yuck. 28. ISLANDERS Trying desperately to move out of the lottery so that the Sabres do not get McDavid because of their pick. 29. PANTHERS Okay young forwards developing slowly, added Ekblad to the porous defense. no identity. 30. SABRES. Hapless. hopeless. McDavid in their radar. That is about it, of course I am wildly wrong with a bunch of them. But there it is open for your comments and opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I can't assume to know what Doug Doubletalk Wilson is doing, but he is definitely going to be playing Mueller and trying to develop him quickly. Hopefully the kid can adapt and not lose his confidence. Stalock will be the starter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 21, 2014 Author Share Posted July 21, 2014 I can't assume to know what Doug Doubletalk Wilson is doing, but he is definitely going to be playing Mueller and trying to develop him quickly. Hopefully the kid can adapt and not lose his confidence. Stalock will be the starter I believe Niemi will start, and that hands down he is better than Stalock. It is also a version of the golden rule, Niemi makes 5 million a year, he makes the gold so he rules the crease. No GM wants to admit a mistake by having that type of contract for a backup and nobody needs a goalie after the carousel quit spinning (excepting Winnipeg who exasperatingly still have faith in Pavelec for some ungodly reason). I think Niemi is due for a bounce back season, he reminds me a lot of Fleury in Pittsburgh, a former cup winner who is berated because he has ups and downs. He will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J0e Th0rnton Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I believe Niemi will start, and that hands down he is better than Stalock. It is also a version of the golden rule, Niemi makes 5 million a year, he makes the gold so he rules the crease. No GM wants to admit a mistake by having that type of contract for a backup and nobody needs a goalie after the carousel quit spinning (excepting Winnipeg who exasperatingly still have faith in Pavelec for some ungodly reason). I think Niemi is due for a bounce back season, he reminds me a lot of Fleury in Pittsburgh, a former cup winner who is berated because he has ups and downs. He will be fine.We shall see I guess. I honestly think they are going to platoon evenly, but the idea is Stalock takes over. The team played much more confidently with him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 @J0e Th0rnton Losing a 3-0 lead like that, you can never feel safe with Nemi in the nets in the playoffs after that travesty. It happened to Rask...and he bounced back fine, but there is light years of difference between Rask and Nemi. It's quite possible Nemi could just start to suck after that confidence shaker. San Jose is best to move on and let him get a fresh start with another team. Stalock seemed capable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammer2 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 21. LEAFS did nothing at all this offseason. Ya know....it was not earth shattering by any means, but a very nice under the radar signing by the Leafs was Mike Santorelli. He had 28 pts in only 43 games for the Nucks last year. If you look at his stats, historically, he has never scored much....BUT, he was stuck in the quagmire known as Florida. The minute he switched teams....to Vancouver, his points started pouring in. All this with limited 3rd line minutes....very impressive. The guy is 28, which is usually well past the point where a forward is still showing upside/promise....but I'm thinking the combo of his being stuck in the putrid Panthers offense AND the fact he never really clicked with his FLA linemates (at least offensively) might have directly led to Mike being a very late bloomer....PLUS, he played 3 full years at Northern Michigan and then played 3 years in the minors....so he has paid his dues, and *really* has only been in the league for a few years now. It appears that Bozek and Kadri should be the 1-2 punch down the middle (trade of Kadri is possible), but after that, it's wide open. I see Mike getting the 3rd line duty and Holland getting the 4th line job. As far as Santorelli's potential linemates....at least one will be Komorov....the hard hitting but light scoring Euro....and perhaps a rejuvenated Clarkson? Clarkson is a proud guy, he reads the paper, calling him a bum (and based on last year, it was deserved) etc....look for this guy to WORK his ass off to get back to where he once was. They badly need solid play and pts out of the 3rd line, and Santorelli and Clarkson could make a nice duo...with Kommer working the corners to dig out the puck...could work!! Really like what the Leafs paid for Santorelli also....1.5 mill for one year. This might just be one of the very best signings this summer.....terrific bang for your buck!!! This should be McClement's replacement....who played great walked away from the Leafs....smart guy....lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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