Posts tagged Mitchell
The Kovalchuk Signing and YOU!
Jul 19th
Wake up everybody something has finally happened in the NHL, and it’s not the Oilers naming another crappy old defenseman to a leadership position (that was last week, Congrats Steve Smith). Instead, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The most exciting thing to happen in pro hockey ever, Kovalchuk announced he’s going to re-sign in New Jersey. WOOOOOO! Since it was just a two horse race the only team dealing with disappointment today should be the L.A. Kings. Sadly any hope of Kovalchuk becoming a Leaf waved goodbye to Toronto fans a long time ago. I mean, why would the Leafs be interested in a 40 goal scorer, he’s Russian! The fact that I will see my 4 month old nephew go off to college by the time his contract ends doesn’t make this any less of a bitter pill to swallow. Unless, somehow there was another player capable of scoring 40 goals available, short term and cheaper. Enter Simon Gagne. More >
Defending Burke and the Kessel Trade! Part 2 of 3
Jun 24th
As I stated in Part 1 of “Defending Burke and the Kessel Trade”, the biggest reason that I was okay with Burke trading away the #2 overall selection in this year’s draft was because of the sniper we got back in Phil Kessel. The second reason that I am not mad about the trade isn’t about somebody that Burke traded for, it’s actually about a trade he didn’t make! Last year at this exact time, Burke was being pressured to make a huge move, which a lot of Leafs fans wanted to be done. The rumoured deal was apparently Toronto’s #7 overall selection, L. Schenn, and T. Kaberle, to move up to the top 2 selections and get either V. Hedman, or possibly J. Tavares. Now for argument’s sake let’s say Toronto does end up getting a top 6 forward and a prospect for Kaberle; such as D. Roy (Buff), M. Savard (Bos), etc. (and I refuse to include Bobby Ryan even in a hypothetical situation, because those rumours just really need to stop lol). So in essence we would have traded, a top 6 forward (which we could get for Kaberle), a potential franchise defenceman in Schenn, and whoever would be drafted with the 7th pick, all just to have either Tavares or Hedman. And it is the player who we drafted with that pick, who happens to be the 2nd biggest reason I am okay with the trade, and that reason is Nazem Kadri.
Leaf RFAs Not Named Kulemin
Jun 17th
These are from posts I did in early May on YakovMironov. Since almost no one was reading the posts I had there and they seem somewhat relevant again after Burke announced his intent to sign both John Mitchell and Christian Hanson, here they are. I have a hard time arguing against bringing them back, but would have to say both are on their last chances to define themselves as anything more than bottom six filler. More >
Nikolai Kulemin is an Urban Legend
Jun 7th
Over the past few months, Leafs Nation has become obsessed with an exciting 23 year old gent who honed his skills with Metallurg Magnitogorsk until 2 years ago. Now the longest serving leaf forward (and they say the roster hasn’t been blown up), Nikolai Kulemin has come off of a year that has left many people excited. But now they’re worried.
Kulemin’s contract expires at the end of the year, making him a restricted free agent. And a lot of people are worried. July 1st is in 3 weeks, meaning he’s close to be able to look at offer sheets, the Kontinental Hockey League, and arbitration. So everybody’s in a rush to sign him. But the thing is, for how much? And are the Leafs as rushed?
Well, the general consensus around the fanbase is they’d be content with anywhere between 2.25-3 million dependant on the length of his contract (less years = less money). Kulemin’s agents like that last number, and have been using it in negotiations. Of course, Burke isnt a fan of it, meaning negotiations have been rather slow, with nothing really being done on the matter in a few weeks.
So I figure I’ll play arbitrator. We’ll take a lot of factors throughout the league, and figure out what his worth is. And it may surprise a lot of you.
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