...because I punked out on a draft blog due to it being bloody nice out.
Here's Kent, making short work of Boo Boo's mock draft (2 correct out of 30 -- score!)
Some quick thoughts on the Entry Draft:
Not terribly exciting, and not a lot of surprises (which the exception of a couple of trades, but we'll get to that later). Why are all of those Staal kids going to teams I can't stand? Did I do something previously in my Lakehead life to deserve this? After Pittsburgh selected Jordan Staal with the No. 2 pick, I told The Driver that Jared Staal (the youngest, and rumoured to be the best of the four) was going to end up in Toronto. Naturally, I immediately regretted saying it.
Okay, so Pittsburgh now has three young, big-name centres (two of which will play this year), and 12 players tying up just over $15 million in salary. Now might be the time to start worrying about what's going on behind the Penguins' blueline instead of in front of it.
As for Ottawa, I imagine most will be happy with the selection of LW Nick Foligno from the Sudbury Wolves. Grit is an essential addition, but it's also important to take note of the Foligno's position. People are obsessed with the Senators' centre position woes, and sometimes the team's LW weaknesses get lost in the shuffle. It's nice to see the team attempt to bulk up the left side.
There was one other event that held my interest at the draft, and that was the trade between Boston and Toronto that sent Andrew Raycroft to the Leafs in exchange for Tuukka Rask.
Can we have John Ferguson Jr's IQ tested? You know, just for comedic purposes?
Ooh, but Andrew Raycroft won the Calder Trophy! So did Jim Carey -- what's your point? Meanwhile, Tuukka Rask's play was one of the biggest stories at the World Junior Championships this year. Goalies are an odd breed, and there's no guarantee that Rask would pan out, but posters at the HFboards are saying that the Leaf fans in attendance had their faces in their hands when the trade was announced.
It should also be remembered that the Toronto was rumoured to be going after Evgeni Nabokov before the trade was announced. Rock that spin, Toronto.
More later.
P.S. If you're looking for more comedy, check out the Tolstoy-esque Chris Pronger thread at the HFboards -- currently at 37 pages and counting. Their misery isn't amusing, but their ideas for an equivalent trade are (e.g. Dany Heatley and Martin Havlat, or Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Whitney).
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What a weekend to go camping on.
Not only did I miss all the draft intrigue, but missed out on all the trading action too.
I'm pretty pissed about the Toronto move. My buddy tirelessly defends everything Ferguson does, because he thinks carping endlessly about the team's woes is being a bad fan, which he accuses me of being on a regular basis. I wonder what he'll say tomorrow at work.
But man - Erin is right. Rask was the talk of the Junior tournament. Was this really the asking price for Raycroft?
The argument that young goalies are the toughest players to project doesn't hold much water with me, either, because Raycroft is essentially unproven now, too. If Rask is involved in a trade for Luongo, you trade any hotshot prospect for the established superstar ANY time. But Raycroft? Acquiring this guy is just as big a gamble. More so, because now the future is Pogge or bust. I can just imagine the ridicule if Rask turns out to be another Kiprusoff, and Pogge is exposed as a goalie who succeeded in junior thanks to the team in front of him.
It had to be over the price tag. Raycroft must have been one of the cheapest quasi-NHL goalies available, and maybe Ferguson, that ASS, decided going for guys like Gerber or anybody else would be too much.
And maybe this means, maybe, that with the money saved in landing Raycroft over anyone else, Ferguson is about to introduce Elias as Toronto's new top winger.
And maybe it all means, that oh yes, Ferguson really DOES have a plan, that he's been right all along, and that any heart surgery looks like a murder halfway through, and that Toronto will be making noise in the playoffs again next year.
And maybe I should go top up my voddy-and-orange, because I still don't believe any of it.
-A
Wardo
8:55 p.m.
What is imminent about next season? Ferguson's contract expiry. The fact is, he's a lame-duck GM, and he'll do anything he can to get some quick wins. The future of the franchise takes a back seat to his own ass.
I hope I get to get a big plate of crow over Raycroft.
-The Wardster
Wardo
10:14 p.m.