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sherwood921

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Everything posted by sherwood921

  1. sherwood921
    This looks interesting. Seems like the type of thing some people here would be interested in. It's also free. https://bwbchi.eventbrite.com/?nomo=1
  2. sherwood921
    He has no bargaining power right now. If he'd have initially told the Hawks he'd sign for $2mil for 1-year I'm sure they're have brought him back. Instead, Zito tried to get a big payday and lost. He'd better hope Niemi has a good year.
  3. sherwood921
    Looks like Niemi's going to the Sharks and Wilson's plan of attack on getting Hammer or Niemi worked out in the end. Link
  4. sherwood921
    Looks like Huet will be loaned to a Swiss team, but only for one year. This means that we'll need to loan him again next year, or potentially just buy out the contract since it will be the last year. Link
  5. sherwood921
    Then just make it a rule that the highest and lowest annual salaries in a multi-year contract cannot be X percentage in difference. I just think its funny that they sign these "career" contracts, which have large salary drops during years when a players talent falls off. So they are still being paid what they are worth most likely. If they retire the rest of the deal is off. I understand the fact that it's obvious they are trying to circumvent the salary cap, but I can't believe the Devils couldn't win with the argument that they are signing a contract that guarantees the player will remain a Devil for life whether he plays until 35 or 45. The issue with that type of contract is that Kovalchuk won't be playing 17 years from now for any of it to matter. He'll have already gotten his money and he'll be in his mid 40s. Signing him "for life" isn't nearly as important as being able to average in 6 years of sub $1mil salary so that his cap hit is only $6.5mil instead of the $10-11mil that he'll be making during his prime years. What would the argument be, "We are paying him peanuts in 2026 because we want him to retire a Devil?"
  6. sherwood921
    Umm...the contract has already been voided and the decision upheld by an arbitrator and all parties have publically moved on. I'm gonna say it's been voided. Sorry, I was referring to the Hossa deal in the 2nd paragraph.
  7. sherwood921
    I call farce. I do believe that NJ knew this contract wouldn't hold up when they signed him initially. See here. There's no way the NHL voids Hossa's. The little loophole in the CBA was a way for the large market teams to have a leg up on the smaller market teams while all abiding by the same cap. The Nashville's of the world aren't out there handing out front loaded contracts because they can't afford them. It's Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Philly, etc (aka teams the NHL needs to succeed to rake in more $$$). I really think all this little "investigation" does it provide some lip service to those teams who aren't/can't afford these huge front loaded deals.
  8. sherwood921
    I think Kyle Beach just made this team. Very interested to see what happens with Niemi now. I still think he goes to San Jose, especially since Setoguchi signed for such a small deal.
  9. sherwood921
    Stan Bowman announces a press conference for 6pm Central time...
  10. sherwood921
    That stinks, I thought it was 90%. You're right, I could see San Jose/Philly offering him at least 81% of the award should the Hawks walk away. I know the Arbitrator gets 48 hours and then the Hawks get 48 hours, but does anyone know if it's typical for the arbitrator to take that much time? This weekend's convention presents the possibility of some interesting questions.
  11. sherwood921
    I still think we'll get Niemi for somewhere between $2.5-3.25mil and will be able to squeeze him in. Don't think this team will be carrying Beach, as some have assumed previously. i'm not assuming that we're carrying beach at all. i would like to, though. Yeah, I think he'd definitely be interesting. I think he for sure gets carried if they go with Crawford/Toivonen, but otherwise I could see him getting the Skille treatment since his cap hit is so high. The best part of all the competition among the bottom 6 forwards is that guys like Dowell, Bickell, Skille had to be thinking "If I sign for less, there's a better chance I'm on the Hawks getting paid rather than sitting in Rockford making $60k."
  12. sherwood921
    This is where things are interesting. There's really not a huge market for him out there. My best guess would be maybe San Jose clearing space for him, but I'm fairly certain there is a rule that if he signs for a deal that is something like 90% or less than the arbitrator awards, the Hawks can match that deal. So for example, he gets awarded $3.5mil and the Hawks walk away. He becomes a UFA and gets offered a $2.75 mil deal with San Jose. According to something I read the other day, I think the Hawks could match that. Unfortunately, I can't find where I read that.
  13. sherwood921
    I still think we'll get Niemi for somewhere between $2.5-3.25mil and will be able to squeeze him in. Don't think this team will be carrying Beach, as some have assumed previously.
  14. sherwood921
    Great point. Didn't realize the Angels had struggled so much.
  15. sherwood921
    Hawks dealt Marty Reasoner to Florida for Jeff Taffe today. Saves about $500,000. Every penny counts. I still think Niemi's staying...
  16. sherwood921
    well, that's gotta all but seal it that the hawks will fit under the cap and probably be able to bring back niemi. unless someone signs him to a nice offer sheet. i'd still be shocked if we could end up getting niemi at around 2 mil Niemi can't sign an offer sheet anymore. At this point there are 3 options: 1) They come to an agreement before arbitration 2) The Hawks accept the arbitrators decision and sign Niemi to a 1 year deal at that amount 3) The Hawks reject the decision and Niemi is a UFA
  17. sherwood921
    But PIM is always cited for the guys that have a lot of them. I think it might be largely a media thing, but it's definitely a thing. right, it's 100% a media thing. They use it to try to show the casual fine why some guys who don't contribute anything offensively are still useful. For example - If they didn't put the penalty minutes, no one would understand why he's there. It's a quantitative way to say "John Scott is a fighter."
  18. sherwood921
    Seriously, what a cheap shot to begin with. Why is stuff like that going on in a team's camp? i have no idea, i watched another video of beach fighting brannon and no one really made any effort to break it up. maybe they see it as part of camp and the evaluation process, which would be idiotic. They definitely do, and talked about it not being uncommon to see a fight a day, or maybe more. I still think it's absurd that they talk about players with high penalty minutes in a positive light, given the importance of power plays. It's a very odd mindset. I see wanting your chippy guys to be a little chippy, but crosschecking from behind and fighting serves very little purpose. If a guy needs to learn to fight, he can do it during the season. I've never understood, for the life of me, why teams put a great deal of emphasis on individual penalty minutes. Just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. They don't. They may care that a guy is willing to drop the gloves, but you're never going to see a team sign someone because they took a lot of penalties.
  19. sherwood921
    the sharks already signed a finnish goaltender to start for them. niemi would be pointless since he's the same exact goalie. It makes no difference where a goaltender is from or what style he plays when looking at the tandem. It's not like they're playing at the same time where their styles would make any difference. Wilson said they signed him to start, but I have no doubt he'd make a run at Niemi if we can't pay his awarded salary. Do you think Wilson is going to come out and say "We like Nittymaki, but we also are planning on screwing over Chicago to get Hjalmarsson or Niemi. If we don't, he'll be our starter. Otherwise, we're only paying him $2mil and he'd be a great backup to Niemi, the guy who stoned us in the playoffs." ?
  20. sherwood921
    I think San Jose is actually going after either Nik or Niemi here. It's win-win. If the Hawks don't match, they get a very good young defensemen at about market value. They lose two late round picks, not a huge loss. If the Hawks match, they likely can't afford Niemi and he becomes a UFA when there are really no other teams out there looking for a starting goaltender anymore. Philly needs to shed cap space, and I have no doubt San Jose would be the favorites to sign him (even though they claim to be fine with Nittymaki as their starter). That said, I would love to see Niemi back on a cheap 1 year deal with a gentleman's agreement that he will cash in after another good year...however unlikely that may be.
  21. sherwood921
    My, oh my. This is one helluva commercial.
  22. sherwood921
    Not a chance in hell.
  23. sherwood921
    Kirkwoods is my favorite beer garden with pretty decent flatscreens. I've watched Bears games there in the early fall. Justins is another beergarden with TVs, but the TVs are not that great there. They are small and all situated at the actual bar and not really easy to see from most of the outdoor seats. There's also a ton in just the immediate Wrigleyville area. Murphy's for one has a huge semi-outdoor area, also that place right next to the Cubby Bear has a big outdoor section. With the weather the wya it is, many of those bars have huge windows that slide open and make it feel like your outside even though you're still inside. Duh - Kirkwoods is a great beer garden. Forgot about that big TV back there. I have a feeling that's where I'll be.
  24. sherwood921
    High of 82 on Sunday in Chicago. Anyone know of any good patios/rooftops to watch the game at? Preferably in the Wrigleyville/Lakeview area. Watching hockey outside in Chicago means something special is happening.
  25. sherwood921
    i've always wondered why the majority of forwards in the nhl shoot left-handed, while it's the opposite in baseball. i very seriously doubt most are left-handed. are they just given left-handed sticks when they start playing? I am right handed but (used to) play hockey left handed. I think there a many reasons why young players do this, not just better shooting angles against RHed goalies. I am not sure of all the reasons why I played LHed except that is how my dad started me and I was capable enough with my LH to do it. I always thought I was a better defensive player because I could one hand the stick with my dominate hand, which is harder to do if you shoot with your dominate hand. I'm left-handed for athletics, and I shot RH and found the same defensive benefit. I'm a righty thrower, batter, etc...but I also play hockey righty. I agree with you, as when playing with one hand on the stick, it is my weaker hand (left)...which seems to be a little detrimental.
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