Brian Willsie scored the 100th point of his career last night. Good for him.
This whole "sign guys before they hit restricted free agency" thing is getting a little insane, isn't it? Where is the team's upside to the Mike Richards deal, which pays him $5.75 million for 12 years? If he becomes one of the top 10 players in the NHL for the length of the deal then it's worth it, but that's pretty much it. If he's just good then he's not really worth $5.75 million, plus they're tied to him for 12 years. I thought you were supposed to trade money for security, like Dustin Brown did? Where's the upside for the Washington Capitals in Ovechkin's deal, other than they have him? It's the teams getting the security, not the players. And really, did they have to worry about someone offering him a deal if they were willing to give him that deal? Nobody is going to offer someone an offer sheet after they see what happens to the Oilers this summer because it completely decimates your team in order to get someone good. I love it; the owners won the lockout and the only concession they gave the players was that they'd let them hit free agency sooner. Basically, they overestimated their ability to not be idiots.
This is completely unfair and stupid and petty, but:
Anze Kopitar: 117 games played, 37 goals, 65 assists, 102 points.
Jordan Staal: 124 games played, 34 goals, 21 assists, 55 points.
Oh, but Staal is still leading in shorthanded goals, 7-2, so I guess he's better. Funny, though, that he doesn't have any this year. You'd think they were primarily a function of luck or something. Huh.
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This whole "sign guys before they hit restricted free agency" thing is getting a little insane, isn't it? Where is the team's upside to the Mike Richards deal, which pays him $5.75 million for 12 years? If he becomes one of the top 10 players in the NHL for the length of the deal then it's worth it, but that's pretty much it. If he's just good then he's not really worth $5.75 million, plus they're tied to him for 12 years. I thought you were supposed to trade money for security, like Dustin Brown did? Where's the upside for the Washington Capitals in Ovechkin's deal, other than they have him? It's the teams getting the security, not the players. And really, did they have to worry about someone offering him a deal if they were willing to give him that deal? Nobody is going to offer someone an offer sheet after they see what happens to the Oilers this summer because it completely decimates your team in order to get someone good. I love it; the owners won the lockout and the only concession they gave the players was that they'd let them hit free agency sooner. Basically, they overestimated their ability to not be idiots.
***
This is completely unfair and stupid and petty, but:
Anze Kopitar: 117 games played, 37 goals, 65 assists, 102 points.
Jordan Staal: 124 games played, 34 goals, 21 assists, 55 points.
Oh, but Staal is still leading in shorthanded goals, 7-2, so I guess he's better. Funny, though, that he doesn't have any this year. You'd think they were primarily a function of luck or something. Huh.