Joe Sakic is back at it for one more year according to TSN.ca. This will mark the 20th season for the Avalanche's best ever player.
So my question is is this a good or a bad thing for the Jackets?
The good news is that with his 6 million dollar salary that takes the Avs up to over 51 million and likely finishes off their offseason. If he plays like he did last season which is to say he didn't play much (only 44 games) due to a hernia - then he won't be nearly as effective for the Avalanche thus handcuffing their offense and push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
That bad news is that if he returns to his 2006-2007 form where he played in 82 games and racked up 100 points that could spell trouble for the rest of fringe playoff teams in the west including the Jackets.
I think Sakic is a great player and has had an unbelievable career but here's to hoping his body doesn't hold up for an 82 game stretch!
Former Jacket and 2nd round pick Joakim Lindstrom has signed a 1 year deal with the Anaheim Ducks according to their web site.
If you recall the Ducks acquired Lindstrom this offseason for a conditional 2010 draft pick.
I would assume this deal is a 2-way but I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
According to hockeyfights.com former Crunch tough guy Brandon Sugden's bid to return to the NHL/AHL has been blocked by 3 NHL clubs.
Travis Sugden called me on Wednesday morning with some stunning news about his son, Brandon, the former Syracuse Crunch enforcer. Travis said he just found out three NHL teams have objected to Brandon returning to pro hockey this season. Brandon had planned on attending camp with the Islanders. If he did not make New York, he said he was eager to explore playing for the Crunch again.
Travis did not yet know which teams blocked Brandon. But the denial means he can’t play in the NHL or AHL until next year. Brandon needed to clear this odd technicality because after leaving the Crunch two seasons ago, he announced it as a “retirement.’’ Because he “retired’’ then came back to play pro hockey (in the LNAH) within one year, every other NHL organization had to give him a thumbs up to return.
I posted yesterday from the Crunch blog that if Sugden failed to catch onto a NHL team that the Crunch would be his first choice in the AHL -- now if the Jackets would have enterained that thought is another story -- especially with John "Nasty" Mirasty already in the fold.
So my question is is this a good or a bad thing for the Jackets?
The good news is that with his 6 million dollar salary that takes the Avs up to over 51 million and likely finishes off their offseason. If he plays like he did last season which is to say he didn't play much (only 44 games) due to a hernia - then he won't be nearly as effective for the Avalanche thus handcuffing their offense and push for a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
That bad news is that if he returns to his 2006-2007 form where he played in 82 games and racked up 100 points that could spell trouble for the rest of fringe playoff teams in the west including the Jackets.
I think Sakic is a great player and has had an unbelievable career but here's to hoping his body doesn't hold up for an 82 game stretch!
Former Jacket and 2nd round pick Joakim Lindstrom has signed a 1 year deal with the Anaheim Ducks according to their web site.
If you recall the Ducks acquired Lindstrom this offseason for a conditional 2010 draft pick.
I would assume this deal is a 2-way but I haven't been able to confirm that yet.
According to hockeyfights.com former Crunch tough guy Brandon Sugden's bid to return to the NHL/AHL has been blocked by 3 NHL clubs.
Travis Sugden called me on Wednesday morning with some stunning news about his son, Brandon, the former Syracuse Crunch enforcer. Travis said he just found out three NHL teams have objected to Brandon returning to pro hockey this season. Brandon had planned on attending camp with the Islanders. If he did not make New York, he said he was eager to explore playing for the Crunch again.
Travis did not yet know which teams blocked Brandon. But the denial means he can’t play in the NHL or AHL until next year. Brandon needed to clear this odd technicality because after leaving the Crunch two seasons ago, he announced it as a “retirement.’’ Because he “retired’’ then came back to play pro hockey (in the LNAH) within one year, every other NHL organization had to give him a thumbs up to return.
I posted yesterday from the Crunch blog that if Sugden failed to catch onto a NHL team that the Crunch would be his first choice in the AHL -- now if the Jackets would have enterained that thought is another story -- especially with John "Nasty" Mirasty already in the fold.
Kramer has some more fallout from this story here. He's got some really good points and at the end of the day -- its just silly that any team would block him from returning.
With Sakic's future now decided it will be interesting to see if anymore dominos fall. There are still plenty of unsigned guys out there including the "Sundin Saga". Forsberg news is starting to bubble up again as well. Parrish and Murray are still hangin out on the market and we have the 5 or 6 teams that still sit above the cap let alone the two under it (Phoenix & LA). There are also a slew of RFAs left to be signed in Stoll, O'Sullivan and Meszaros to name a few.
The season doesn't start until October but the pressure is starting to mount for some of the GMs to make a couple of moves. I don't think Howson will be involved in any of the cap casualties unless a rash of injuries hit in camp.
-LTL
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3 comments:
For him, I am glad that he is playing and will get 20 years in the league.
From the jackets standpoint I kind of wish they would have lost his leadership and would have been in a state of flux with the new coach. Regardless, I think we will finish ahead of the Avs this year. Foote is going to rip Granato apart.
It'll be interesting to see how the Avalanche do this season. I won't say I hope that he gets hurt. He's one of my favorite players ever. I was an Avs fan before the Blue Jackets came. Joe Sakic is a class act and I'm thrilled to see that he's returning to showcase his skills and share his attitude with the league. Now when he rolls into town, you can bet I want the Jackets to cream the Avs.
The leadership point is a great one. You can't underestimate the boost they will get from getting their captain back.
Then again they do have Foote to fall back on *snicker*.
Max - I know what you mean. I don't want him to suffer a career ending injury or anything of the sort as he is just one of those players you be proud to have your kids look up to. But should age catch up to him again this year and he misses alot of games from a Jackets standpoint that is a good thing :)
Traverse City tournament rosters just announced - post forthcoming!
-LTL
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