Hi everybody, **** you.

Here are the ground rules:

1) NO POSTING UNLESS YOUR TEAM IS MATHEMATICALLY ELIMINATED FROM STANLEY CUP CONTENTION. This is not negotiable. If you are down 3-0 in a series, you are still alive and I don't want to read your ****ty posts about how you're "checking in early *sadface*," or whatever you think might sound witty and self-depricating. AT LEAST YOU MADE THE ****ING DANCE.

2) NO POSTING ABOUT HOW AWESOME [enter playoff series] IS/HAS BEEN. Once again, this is not negotiable. There will be playoff threads for said discussion, so keep 'er there, pal. The last thing I want to read about is how great the Stanley Cup playoffs are. I KNOW HOW ****ING AMAZING THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS ARE, IT'S THE BEST EVENT IN SPORTS, SO LEAVE ME THE **** ALONE.

3) NO UNNECESSARY TROLLING. Look, I get it, my team sucks...THAT'S WHY I'M IN THE ****ING THREAD TO BEGIN WITH. You had 82 games to troll the **** out of everyone else when their teams were still in contention, even if that only lasted for 2 weeks in some cases (sorry Blue Celery ), so don't think for a second we're going to tolerate weakass efforts to turn $ad posters into mad posters. Let's maintain the extremely high standard of posting quality that we've established in the NHL threads over the last 3 seasons.

4) THE FIRST PERSON TO POST A RUMOUR FABRICATED BY EKLUND WILL RECEIVE A VISIT FROM MY GOOD FRIEND MR. BILL BERG AND WILL BE PERMA-SHANABANNED FROM 2P2. THIS DOES NOT REQUIRE FURTHER ELABORATION.

5) AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, IF YOU ARE A FAN OF THE TEAM THAT ACQUIRES JAROME IGINLA IN THE OFFSEASON, YOU ARE NO LONGER MY FRIEND AND DON'T YOU DARE ****ING TALK TO ME, PM ME OR TRY TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM.



05/19/04 NEVER FORGET





Happy ****ing offseason everybody, I hate you all.

Rat doing it right.

Jarome's a 2 handicap iirc, any wonder why?

That is a quality OP right there.

five star thread

I'm excited for the WANGZ regular season to start, this offseason is taking so long.

HE HATH RISEN



2012. THE YEAR OF RECKONING. THE YEAR OF REDEMPTION. THE YEAR OF JUDGMENT.

BRIAN "JESUS" BURKE, PREACHING TOLERANCE, ACCEPTANCE AND UNIVERSAL LOVE TO ALL.

IMPLEMENTING HIS NEW "YOU CAN PLAY!" STRATEGY WITH OFF SEASON UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT ACQUISITIONS.


Josh Harding, perennial, unproven, untested backup goaltender for the Minnesota Wild. We need a new starting goaltender. Offer $30mil, 5 year contract. YOU CAN PLAY!

Bryan Allen, career 5th or 6th depth defenseman. We need veteran presence and leadership on our blueline. Offer $25mil, 5 year contract. YOU CAN PLAY!

Paul Gaustad, American, 3rd line center, career 12 goal scorer. After Tim Connonly did not work out, we need ANOTHER former Buffalo Sabre center with passing finesse and hockey sense to complete the all-star duo of Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Offer, $21mil, 3 year contract. YOU CAN PLAY!

Were you born in the USA, can pick up a stick and put on skates? THEN YOU CAN PLAY TOO!


ALL HAIL TO THE EVER LOVING BRIAN BURKE. LORD AND SAVIOR.

PLAYOFFS 2013 HERE WE COME.

Players under contract

FORWARDS
Scott Gomez ($7.357m): 38 GP, 2 G, 9 A, 11 PTS, -9, 59 S, .519 Fenwick %, .524 Corsi %

I believe that he is 100% gone this summer. I'm not sure if we bury him in Hamilton (soon to be Laval), trade him to some team trying to reach the salary floor, amnesty him (depending on the new CBA) or just straight up buy him out (please don't do this, the penalty on the cap isn't worth it), but he's the goat who will have to pay for this miserable season. Adios, Scott!

Brian Gionta ($5.000m): 31 GP, 8 G, 7 A, 15 PTS, -7, 75 S, .512 Fenwick %, .504 Corsi %

Our little captain with a big heart battled injuries before being shutdown for good in January. In his 3 years with us, he has averaged about 30 goals per 82 games played (65 / 174 x 82 = 30.6) with a shooting % that is in line with his career average. I think he can still contribute a lot to a 2nd line even as he's getting in his mid-30s.

Tomas Plekanec ($5.000m): 81 GP, 17 G, 35 A, 52 PTS, -15, 220 S, .459 Fenwick %, .467 Corsi %

I'm of the opinion that Plekanec is still our best player. He does all the heavy lifting and dirty work on the team while others get more favorable scoring situations. Plekanec played the whole year with bad linemates against the top lines of every team, he played a ****load on the penalty kill (2nd in the NHL) and he took most of his faceoffs in the defensive zone. I think that pairing him with legit top 6 wingers (like Gionta) will have a big positive effect on his stats next year.

Erik Cole ($4.500m): 82 GP, 35 G, 26 A, 61 PTS, +11, 241 S, .508 Fenwick %, .509 Corsi %

He has been amazing for us. His 2nd straight season playing all 82 games so it appears that his injury woes are behind him (I probably just jinxed him). He showed no signs of slowing down even though he too is nearing his mid-30s so I expect another quality season for him next year (anywhere from 28 to 35 goals).

Rene Bourque ($3.333m): 38 GP, 5 G, 3 A, 8 PTS, -16, 67 S, .437 Fenwick %, .452 Corsi %

He was total AIDS for us, but he replaced cancer that was getting 2x his salary and landed us some additional assets. If he plays anywhere above the 3rd line next year, we're in trouble. I expect him to play a little better than what he showed with us though because he has been scoring a lot of goals since '08 and he's still in his "prime" years.

Max Pacioretty ($1.625m): 79 GP, 33 G, 32 A, 65 PTS, -2, 286 S, .511 Fenwick %, .514 Corsi %

He's great and he's only 23. After getting his neck broke by some goon last year, he picked up right where he had left off and I look forward to seeing him crush again next year.

Louis Leblanc ($1.170m): 42 GP, 5 G, 5 A, 10 PTS, +3, 58 S, .447 Fenwick %, .453 Corsi %

Louie, Louie, Louie. He's not strong (spent the whole offseason rehabbing a shoulder injury so he couldn't really add much muscle), he's not terribly fast, but goddamn that kid is HOCKEY SMART. Playing in his 6th different league in 5 years, he had to get some time to adapt, but he still showed me some good things. With a healthy offseason and NHL experience under his belt, I expect him to be a good 3rd liner next year.

David Desharnais ($0.850m): 81 GP, 16 G, 44 A, 60 PTS, +10, 98 S, .489 Fenwick %, .485 Corsi %

A great passer who benefits greatly from being put in offensive situations thanks to the underappreciated work of Plekanec. He has great chemistry with Cole and Pacioretty and they should play together next year.

DEFENSEMEN

Andrei Markov ($5.750m): 13 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS, -4, 17 S, .457 Fenwick %, .503 Corsi %

The General. After only playing 7 hockey games in the previous 500 days, he made a successful comeback to the ice. I say successful because he was still left standing at the end and didn't blow out his knee again. He looked slow and hesitant at times and terribly out of synch with his teammates but I think a regular offseason with no rehab and a good training camp will do wonders for his game.

Tomas Kaberle ($4.250m): 43 GP, 3 G, 19 A, 22 PTS, -6, 49 S, .468 Fenwick %, .476 Corsi %

Top 20 d-man Tomas Kaberle was a big mistake by Pierre Gauthier (R.I.P.) because Spacek was going to turn UFA and give us a lot of cap flexibility. On the ice though, he was surprisingly not horrible. He's still very good in the offensive zone and I wouldn't mind him being on our 3rd pairing next year, getting "soft minutes", as long as he has a defensive minded partner to babysit him.

Josh Gorges ($3.900m): 82 GP, 2 G, 14 A, 16 PTS, +14, 59 S, .493 Fenwick %, .477 Corsi %

Great defensive defenseman. Has a lot of heart and GRIT that you look for in Good Old Canadian Boys. Him and Subban were great together this year playing against top lines and on the penalty kill. I'm glad we extended him though I'm sure we overpaid by a little.

Yannick Weber ($0.850m): 60 GP, 4 G, 14 A, 18 PTS, -7, 88 S, .448 Fenwick %, .454 Corsi %

He got jerked around more than anyone on the team. In and out of the lineup, on defense, on the 4th line, on the powerplay, on the penalty kill. I'm not sure what will happen of him but as a depth guy we could do a lot worse I guess.

GOALTENDERS
Peter Budaj ($1.150m): 17 GP, 5 W, 7 L, 5 OT, 2.55 GAA, .913 SV%, 0 SO

He did a great job for a backup. I have no complaints.

Current lineup heading into next year

1st line:2nd line: 3rd line: 4th line: Reserves:
1st pairing: 2nd pairing: 3rd pairing: 7th and 8th:
Goalie #1: Goalie #2:
Total cap hit: $38,480,000
Cap space: $25,820,000

That's assuming the cap stays around the same.

Restricted free agents

FORWARDS
Lars Eller: 79 GP, 16 G, 12 A, 28 PTS, -5, 129 S, .470 Fenwick %, .474 Corsi %

Good third line center (for now). He's still pretty young and has shown great skills of puck handling/puck possession. His playmaking abilities are questionable which may prevent him from ever being a 1st/2nd line center, but he's gonna score some ****ing goals in this league. I hope they can re-sign him to a Pacioretty-like contract.

Judgment: Re-sign him for 2 years at $1.5M.

Blake Geoffrion: 13 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 PTS, +2, 17 S, .426 Fenwick %, .458 Corsi %

He has size but he sucks. Keep him in the AHL as a depth guy but nothing more.

Judgment: AHL.

Aaron Palushaj: 38 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 PTS, +1, 37 S, .529 Fenwick %, .558 Corsi %

Palushaj is actually an interesting case. There are not a lot of players who at his age are point-per-game players in the AHL, so obviously he can play hockey. It's quite evident when he actually manages to get on the ice that this kid is good, but he didn't really get to play with quality linemates at all this year. Even though I'm not sure where he fits in the lineup next year, he's worth qualifying and holding onto, as a reserve forward for now at least.

Judgment: Qualifying offer of $826,875.

Ryan White: 20 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 PTS, -7, 12 S, .401 Fenwick %, .414 Corsi %

Kid's got heart, god bless him. He's not very good and really replaceable though. He should be on a 2-way deal or not be on the team at all.

Judgment: AHL.

Mike Blunden: 39 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS, -1, 34 S, .428 Fenwick %, .417 Corsi %

He's a plug. Either let him go or put him in the AHL.

Judgment: AHL.

Petteri Nokelainen: 51 GP, 3 G, 3 A, 6 PTS, -5, 34 S, .446 Fenwick %, .443 Corsi %

He's our only centerman who can win over 50% of his faceoffs (53.4%) so for that he has value. We have an opening at center for our 4th line, so if he comes cheap I wouldn't mind having him back.

Judgment: Qualifying offer of $605,000.

DEFENSEMEN

PK Subban: 81 GP, 7 G, 29 A, 36 PTS, +9, 205 S, .499 Fenwick %, .494 Corsi %

Started the year playing terribly but finished strong. He plays a ton of minutes in all situations and plays very well. He'll cost a lot of money this summer. Best case is he'll make around $4M next year.

Judgment: Re-sign him for as many years as we can for ~$4M.

Alexei Emelin: 67 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 PTS, -18, 62 S, .476 Fenwick %, .483 Corsi %

He started the year hitting everything in sight but started fading as the season wore on. Not sure if it's because he was out of shape or injured. I'd love to have him back though.

Judgment: Re-sign him for ~$1.25M.

Raphael Diaz: 59 GP, 3 G, 13 A, 16 PTS, -7, 61 S, .473 Fenwick %, .477 Corsi %

Another rookie who adapted quickly to the NHL game before getting a season ending injury. I think he plays well, but I'm not sure where he fits with all our d-men. If he's re-signed, I think Weber has to be traded.

Judgment: Re-sign him for ~$1M.

Frédéric St-Denis: 17 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS, +3, 11 S, .457 Fenwick %, .492 Corsi %

He's like a lite version of Josh Gorges. He can play on both sides and in all 3 situations. I'd like to see him back too, maybe as Kaberle's babysitter on the 3rd pairing.

Judgment: Qualifying offer for $665,000.

GOALTENDERS
Carey Price: 65 GP, 26 W, 28 L, 11 OT, 2.43 GAA, .916 SV%, 4 SO

Kind of a down year after the incredible year he had in 2010-2011. He's reportedly asking for a contract like Rinne which would be a massive mistake. Hopefully we get him for a maximum of $5M.

Judgment: Re-sign him for a couple of years at $5M max.

Projected lineup with RFAs signed

1st line:2nd line: 3rd line: 4th line: Reserves:
1st pairing: 2nd pairing: 3rd pairing: 7th and 8th:
Goalie #1: Goalie #2:
Total cap hit: $52,225,708
Cap space: $12,074,292

Unrestricted free agents

Travis Moen: 48 GP, 9 G, 7 A, 16 PTS, -3, 45 S, .462 Fenwick %, .446 Corsi %

Good grinder, great penalty killer. I'd like to have him back on our 4th line at his current salary.

Judgment: Re-sign him for $1.5M per year.

Mathieu Darche: 61 GP, 5 G, 7 A, 12 PTS, -4, 77 S, .487 Fenwick %, .489 Corsi %

Another good 4th liner/reserve forward. He's a hometown boy and he's cheap so I expect him to be back for the same salary.

Judgment: Re-sign him for $700,000 per year.

Gone:
Chris Campoli
Brad Staubitz

Projected lineup with UFAs signed

1st line:2nd line: 3rd line: 4th line: Reserves:
1st pairing: 2nd pairing: 3rd pairing: 7th and 8th:
Goalie #1: Goalie #2:
Total cap hit: $54,425,708
Cap space: $9,874,292


This leaves us with one big hole, a top 6 left winger.

We have a ton of money to invest in that player, like around $8M.


For a final lineup of:

1st line:2nd line: 3rd line: 4th line: Reserves:
1st pairing: 2nd pairing: 3rd pairing: 7th and 8th:
Goalie #1: Goalie #2:

parise to the habs would mean another midget for the small team ^^

Montreal needs to draft Grigorenko.

Perfect fit for the team.

6'3" centre who is playing in the Q.

He's 3rd overall, so assuming he's drafted third, Montreal has a 70.3% chance of 3rd or better.

You have to assume Columbus would draft Yakupov, and Edmonton will draft a dman, that being #2 ranked Ryan Murray.

So long as the Isles, Leafs, Ducks, or Wild don't jump above Montreal we're getting a great draft pick.

Worst case we get 6' Galchenyuk, but I think Grigorenko is a better fit.

how did you guys manage to suck worse then the Islanders?
not trolling, legitimately curious.

Although I'd like to get Parise but not sure he solves our problems.

Other ufa LWs

Semin (obv rather parise)
Huselius
Smyth
Hudler

I think we could get one of those guys for cheaper than Parise and be in a better spot in a year or two to be able to offer another ufa the type of money we'd have to give parise.

Yes! He's from Ontario.

i imagine that this is how the nhl lottery process goes

For one, they led the league in man games lost to injury.

Also, I'm pretty sure we lost every single 1-goal games. Despite being 31-51, we only had a -14 goal differential. If you take out all empty net goals (5 for, 10 against), we have a -9 goal differential which isn't all that awful.

For comparison's sake, the Capitals* (-6) and Panthers* (-29) both made the playoffs.

Islanders* were -54.

* - adjusted for empty nets.

rat, you're also forgetting this:

http://didgomezscore.com/

The Colorado Avalanche!!!

From...



to...



To....



To....



Then....



And now....



Will ship....



And maybe...



Can win a....



one day...

Maybe even...



Can win a....



Oh yeah, and go ahead and can this guy...



So maybe they can bring this back...

terrific OP, would read Iginla

lol


most 18 year old girls write better apology letters to their boyfriends who they just cheated on.

Easy. They got rid of the wrong goalie. With Halak they would have sucked slightly less than the Isles.

dont get fooled, the habs will make the playoffs for the next 10 years

They opened the golf courses here in late March, maybe a record. That was a hint.

Hoping for a long winter next year.

The lottery is on TSN @ 8:00pm EST.

Lars Eller is terrible, watching him play is reminiscent of the annoying asfk 11 yo Bulldogs AAA at the outdoor rink who don’t know how to make a pass.

The 4-goal game got to his head and made things ten times worse.

All of you are cordially invited to hop on the WANGZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ regular season bandwagon. Come bask in the light of rooting for the classiest franchise with the best fans in all of sports as they try to bring all WANGZZZZZZZZZZZZ fans' birthright back to Hockeytown.