NHL Notes and Thoughts By: Andrew Wadden The Chicago Blackhawks are once again the Stanley Cup champions, giving the Boston Bruins a taste of their own medicine after scoring twice in 17 seconds in the dying minutes, going on to win a second cup in four-years. Congratulations to the fans from the Windy-City. Now, let the fun begin! Day one of the NHL off-season got off to a roaring start with the news of the Philadelphia Flyers using its second compliance buyout to scrap Ilya Bryzgalov and his terrible contract. This is not a huge surprise. Bryzgalov’s “adventures in goaltending” were notorious since he arrived in Philly. The question now is - are the Flyers ready to hang their hat on former Calder winner/turned backup, Steve Mason? Speaking of goalies, the Toronto Maple Leafs now have two starting goalies after acquiring Jonathan Bernier from Los Angeles Kings earlier in the week. Could we see the Leafs and Flyers wheeling and dealing once again? The Leafs want a top six forward, preferably a centre and Philly has a stockpile of good forwards. Mason lost the net in Columbus and certainly can’t be relied on to lead a Flyers team that was a huge disappointment last season. Would James Reimer be a good fit in Philadelphia? At this point they need somebody to play goal and unless they can sway UFA Mike Smith to sign in Philly or can wheel a deal with Vancouver for Roberto Luongo, Reimer might be the Flyers best option. (Here’s a quick thought. Who is the best goalie to play for the Flyers since Ron Hextall?) Keeping with the Maple Leafs. Big decisions are to be made by GM Dave Nonis and they’re going to have to be made quickly. Top-line centre Tyler Bozak is a UFA as of July 5th and the consensus is that he wants Mikhail Grabovski dollars, which is a laughable cap-hit of $5.5 million. Grabovski’s contract I’m sure is one that Nonis would love to take back (it was Brian Burke’s contract after all), and that could happen via a buyout. If that were to happen, then maybe I could see the Leafs digging into its pockets to re-sign Bozak, but is he even worth that kind of dough? The toughest decision for Nonis to make is what to do with Dion Phaneuf, who is a UFA in 2014; the same time Phil Kessel becomes a UFA. Kessel will command $8-million/season easily, which basically leaves the Leafs strapped for cash in re-signing Phaneuf. Don’t be surprised if the Leafs deal Phaneuf this off-season to avoid the risk of flat-out losing him after next season. With the Flyers looking for more defencemen and a goalie, maybe Dion could be packaged with Reimer for say, Wayne Simmonds and Sean Couturier? That might be wishful thinking, Leafs fans, but it does give both sides what they need. My last thought is centered around Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis and the John Tortorella dog-and-pony news conference that happened Tuesday afternoon. Canucks beat-writer Ed Willes wrote an article in last week’s Province newspaper, stating that the Tortorella hiring reeked of the Canucks ownership having its hands all over it. When pressed on that idea, Gillis - in his usual smug, I’m better than you manner – claimed, and I’m paraphrasing, that he has no idea how that idea came about. However, Gillis did say that he invited the Aquilini family - the owners of the team - to help with the search for a new head coach. So what he meant was, though the idea is ridiculous, it’s also, basically, true. Mike Gillis’ entire tenure at the helm of the Canucks mothership has always had the Aquilini’s hands on the steering wheel. This hiring proves that. It’s commonly known that every GM in the NHL at least gets their shot to hire their own coach. I guess in the case of Gillis that did not apply.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 00:39:22 +0000
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