First off is some reaction to the Filatov signing from the Globe & Mail:
Currently, the NHL does not have a transfer agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation, but both sides have stated publicly that it is everyone's best interests to respect signed contracts. The strength of Columbus's position is that even CSKA, in a statement circulated Wednesday, said: "With specific regard to Filatov, he was dismissed from CSKA, but the club continues to own the rights to the sports activities of the specified player under laws relating to the activities of the professional athlete in the Russian Federation."
Whatever that means …
In an e-mail statement, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said he was convinced that Columbus had a strong legal position: "We're confident both Filatov and Columbus followed all the rules and that the signing of the player was both legal and appropriate."
This will probably get uglier before it gets better. Some good news thoug is that it appears that the NHL and the new Russian Continental Hockey League have come to a transfer agreement. I have no idea how this will affect the Filatov signing but one would think its a positive step although it may cost the Jackets some transfer money.
I'm sure we'll hear much more on this later from the boys at the Dispatch.
Mike Commodore was deamed one of the 5 worst UFA signings by THN - he came it at #4:
4. Mike Commodore, D, Columbus (Five years, $18.75 million) Holland’s rule about paying stay-at-home defensemen applies here as well. Commodore is a serviceable second-pair blueliner – and on a genuine Stanley Cup contender, his deal might not stand out as much as it does with Columbus.
Here’s what I’m getting at: as it stands right now, Commodore will be the third-highest-paid player on the Blue Jackets, trailing only Rick Nash and newly-signed Kristian Huselius. Third-highest! Mike! Commodore! And people are seriously debating whether or not this is a playoff team?
I don't think anyone's debating that Commodore was overpaid -- that's the name of the game in UFA especially when you are trying to attract players to a losing team. What's funny about this article is that Wade Redden was #2 and Ron Hainsey was #1 on the list. Two players that we made offers to.
At the end of the day you have to pay a big premium on defensemen regardless if you are an orginal 6 franchise or an expansion franchise trying to make a mark.
Finally some fans have dug up the home schedule for the Jackets. Apparently if your a season ticket holders they are listed. The schedule will become official on Wed July 16th so keep in mind these dates are subject to change:
Predators Fri September 26, 2008, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Mon September 29, 2008, 7:00 PM
Sabres Thu October 2, 2008, 7:00 PM
Wild Fri October 3, 2008, 7:00 PM
Predators Fri October 17, 2008, 7:00 PM
Canucks Tue October 21, 2008, 7:00 PM
Rangers Fri October 24, 2008, 7:00 PM
Ducks Mon October 27, 2008, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Sat November 1, 2008, 7:00 PM
Oilers Wed November 5, 2008, 7:00 PM
Canadiens Fri November 7, 2008, 7:00 PM
Flames Sat November 8, 2008, 7:00 PM
Coyotes Wed November 12, 2008, 7:00 PM
Oilers Tue November 18, 2008, 7:00 PM
Coyotes Wed November 26, 2008, 7:00 PM
Capitals Sat November 29, 2008, 7:00 PM
Canucks Mon December 1, 2008, 7:00 PM
Predators Thu December 11, 2008, 7:00 PM
Islanders Sat December 13, 2008, 7:00 PM
Sharks Wed December 17, 2008, 7:00 PM
Kings Tue December 23, 2008, 7:00 PM
Flyers Sat December 27, 2008, 7:00 PM
Red Wings Thu January 8, 2009, 7:00 PM
Wild Sat January 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Avalanche Tue January 13, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blues Wed January 28, 2009, 7:00 PM
Senators Fri January 30, 2009, 7:00 PM
Stars Sat January 31, 2009, 7:00 PM
Bruins Wed February 4, 2009, 7:00 PM
Sharks Sat February 7, 2009, 7:00 PM
Avalanche Tue February 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Red Wings Fri February 13, 2009, 7:00 PM
Stars Mon February 16, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blues Wed February 18, 2009, 7:00 PM
Ducks Sat February 21, 2009, 7:00 PM
Kings Tue March 3, 2009, 7:00 PM
Devils Tue March 10, 2009, 7:00 PM
Penguins Thu March 12, 2009, 7:00 PM
Red Wings Sun March 15, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Wed March 18, 2009, 7:00 PM
Flames Thu March 26, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blues Sun March 29, 2009, 7:00 PM
Predators Tue March 31, 2009, 7:00 PM
Blackhawks Sun April 5, 2009, 7:00 PM
Wild Sat April 11, 2009, 7:00 PM
At first glance I see a few things.
First no New Year's Eve game. As a trade off though I count 10 Saturday games - that has to be some kind of record.
We also have home games against Washington, Pittsburgh, the Rangers, Bruins, Sens, Canadiens, Flyers and Islanders. Some nice Eastern Conference teams in the mix there.
I also see a total of 20 home games either on Fri, Sat or Sun. From what I'm told we will open the season on the road.
I'll have much more on the schedule once the full thing comes out on Wednesday of next week.
-LTL
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Thursday round up
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
Checking out that THN link, I have to wonder how in the hell the finger signing by toronto did not crack the top 5.
As for the schedule, I believe the first three games listed could be the exhibition games... just a thought.
Just curious...when is the trade deadline? Hitch says there are 3 "gears" that teams play in during the season...1)before Christmas, 2)before the trade deadline, 3)after the trade deadline. Looks like we have alot of home games in Feb/March which is frickin' sweet.
Pyle,
Since word is that we are opening on the road and the season starts at the beginning of the month and there is a total of 45 games on that schedule, I see the first 4 games as preseason.
That would go with how the CBJ jobed the season ticket holders into paying full price for four preseason games in the past as well.
With that said, I am stoked!
Regarding leClaire, this is an interesing read:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/36517-memo-to-nhl-gms-steal-pascal-leclaire-now
The article basically states that with the lack of goaltending quality and the cap space of some teams, why isn't anyone making a RFA offer to Leclaire... it's worth a shot...
Personally I am getting worried, it is starting to look an awful lot like the Foote situation where these talks are being dragged out week after week...
Personally I am thinking, that the agent knows that the CBJ will match any offer. I am thinking they are waiting for RFA offers to increase LeClaire's pay... What do you guys think ???
I think if someone signs Leclaire to an offer sheet, so be it. Sure, it would suck to lose Leclaire and all, but the compensation for such a high pick would be huge and, quite frankly, the jackets could use them to bolster their depth chart.
Ken Holland had an interesting article in the Hockey News last month and he talked about not spending huge dollars on goaltending, but pouring it into the blueline.
That said, if you have poor goaltending it makes your team look far worse than it is.
I, for one, am not worried about Pazzy getting signed.
Re: The Hockey News rankings:
Commodore, although not a flashy signing, will be a cornerstone in our defending and pk abilities. It sucks to pay a player 3.5 million who is a defending defenseman, but in Commodore I believe we are getting as much, if not more, off the ice as we are with him. That is worth something.
Post a Comment