Winners, losers, sister-kissers.
Mar 19, 2002 18:36:54 GMT -5
Post by BadCompany on Mar 19, 2002 18:36:54 GMT -5
Here is how I see TD-Day breaking down. Feel free of course, to disagree! 
In order:
Winners
1) New York Rangers.
The Rangers, in my opinion, are huge winners this week. They upgraded themselves with every deal they made, and the only thing they lost was some future. But for a team with $70 million to blow every year, who needs a future? They gave up Mike York, Manny Malhotra, Igor Ulanov, a couple of prospects, and a couple of picks. In return, they get Pavel Bure, Tom Poti, Martin Rucinsky, Rem Murray and Roman Lyashenko.
Offense - Bure is a major upgrade over Mike York. Say what you will about the character of York, but the self-destruction of the Ranger's locker room did not hinge on the presence or non-presence of Mike York. They also got Martin Rucinsky. So offensively then, they get Bure and Rucinsky for York. Huge win for them.
Grinders - They gave up Malhotra, and get Lysashenko in return. I think Malhotra is a better player than Lyashenko, both now and in the future, but we're talking 4th liners here. The fact that the Rangers also picked up Rem Murray is pure gravy. Slight downgrade at worst, tie, or even a win if you consider the depth issue.
Defence - They give up Igor Ulanov and get Tom Poti. Ulanov was on waivers for crying out loud! Poti is not as good as he was hyped last year, but he is also not nearly as bad as Edmonton fans are making him out to be this year. He is suffering from "Patrice Brisebois Syndrome", in which everything and anything that goes wrong in Edmonton is Tom Poti's fault. Bad weather on the weekend? Must be Poti's fault. I would have loved to have gotten Poti, as I see him as a bigger Andrei Markov. Fairly good upgrade for them.
Rangers are this week's big winners, and I am afraid the Habs are in serious, serious trouble. All these moves, after all, only have to bring the Rangers two more points than they would have gotten otherwise. Bure should be able to do that all by himself.
2) Atlanta Thrashers.
Anybody else notice what the Thrashers did this week? Talk about maximizing their assets. Kiril Safronov and Ruslan Zainullin for Darcy Hordichuk and a 5th?? Safronov is an excellent d-man prospect (who I wanted Montreal to draft) and Zainullin ain't bad either. For a goon who has had trouble making the THRASHERS for gawd's sake! They got their 5th rounder back by trading away Bob Corkum, so they don't lose there. They also got Yuri Butsayev for depth, and a 3rd rounder, for UFA Jiri Slegr.Two assets for a guy they will lose for nothing. They might have done better than a 4th for Ray Ferraro, but again, Ferraro doesn't fit into their plans, and he wasn't exactly tearing it up anyways.
They only trade the Thrashers blew, in my opinion, and which stops them from beating out the Rangers, was the total overpayment they made for minor league goon Francis Lesard. Harlock, a 3rd AND a 7th??
3) Montreal.
Little bit of a homer pick, but Montreal added two assets for nothing. I like the Lidsay acquisition, and Fiset won't hurt. Unlike some of Savard's other acquisitions, Montreal isn't tied into them long term if they don't want them.
To be continued...
In order:Winners
1) New York Rangers.
The Rangers, in my opinion, are huge winners this week. They upgraded themselves with every deal they made, and the only thing they lost was some future. But for a team with $70 million to blow every year, who needs a future? They gave up Mike York, Manny Malhotra, Igor Ulanov, a couple of prospects, and a couple of picks. In return, they get Pavel Bure, Tom Poti, Martin Rucinsky, Rem Murray and Roman Lyashenko.
Offense - Bure is a major upgrade over Mike York. Say what you will about the character of York, but the self-destruction of the Ranger's locker room did not hinge on the presence or non-presence of Mike York. They also got Martin Rucinsky. So offensively then, they get Bure and Rucinsky for York. Huge win for them.
Grinders - They gave up Malhotra, and get Lysashenko in return. I think Malhotra is a better player than Lyashenko, both now and in the future, but we're talking 4th liners here. The fact that the Rangers also picked up Rem Murray is pure gravy. Slight downgrade at worst, tie, or even a win if you consider the depth issue.
Defence - They give up Igor Ulanov and get Tom Poti. Ulanov was on waivers for crying out loud! Poti is not as good as he was hyped last year, but he is also not nearly as bad as Edmonton fans are making him out to be this year. He is suffering from "Patrice Brisebois Syndrome", in which everything and anything that goes wrong in Edmonton is Tom Poti's fault. Bad weather on the weekend? Must be Poti's fault. I would have loved to have gotten Poti, as I see him as a bigger Andrei Markov. Fairly good upgrade for them.
Rangers are this week's big winners, and I am afraid the Habs are in serious, serious trouble. All these moves, after all, only have to bring the Rangers two more points than they would have gotten otherwise. Bure should be able to do that all by himself.
2) Atlanta Thrashers.
Anybody else notice what the Thrashers did this week? Talk about maximizing their assets. Kiril Safronov and Ruslan Zainullin for Darcy Hordichuk and a 5th?? Safronov is an excellent d-man prospect (who I wanted Montreal to draft) and Zainullin ain't bad either. For a goon who has had trouble making the THRASHERS for gawd's sake! They got their 5th rounder back by trading away Bob Corkum, so they don't lose there. They also got Yuri Butsayev for depth, and a 3rd rounder, for UFA Jiri Slegr.Two assets for a guy they will lose for nothing. They might have done better than a 4th for Ray Ferraro, but again, Ferraro doesn't fit into their plans, and he wasn't exactly tearing it up anyways.
They only trade the Thrashers blew, in my opinion, and which stops them from beating out the Rangers, was the total overpayment they made for minor league goon Francis Lesard. Harlock, a 3rd AND a 7th??
3) Montreal.
Little bit of a homer pick, but Montreal added two assets for nothing. I like the Lidsay acquisition, and Fiset won't hurt. Unlike some of Savard's other acquisitions, Montreal isn't tied into them long term if they don't want them.
To be continued...
