The big question in Montreal going into the draft was, ''If Angelo Esposito is available at #12 will the Canadiens draft him?'' I thought the answer to that would be Yes; that being said I didn't think Ryan McDonagh would be available at #12. The majority of teams had MacDonagh in their Top 10. He is the best puck moving d-man in the draft and he has NHL size and strength. Those are 3 key attributes. I am not surprised the Canadiens selected a defenceman and a forward in Round 1. Thats the direction I thought they would take. But like I said, since I thought MacDonagh would be selected early; I thought Montreal would take Esposito at #12 and defenceman Tommy Cross at #22. The Canadiens scouted Cross a lot and he was on their list. But their #1 choice was Ryan McDonagh and I agree with their pick.
As for Angelo Esposito; my heart went out to the kid when the Canadiens passed on him at 12. There were a lot of reasons to draft him: local kid, habs fan, wanted to play here, already 6ft1 185, centre, talented, etc....etc...Once again, I wont blame the Canadiens for passing at 12; but I believe they should have done everything possible to make a move to grab him right after. We're hearing the Canadiens tried to make a move but couldnt find a partner. I think they waited too long. I will give you an example. Edmonton had the #15 pick. They selected d-man Alex Plante from the WHL. The Canadiens could have offered Pick #22 and #43, in exchange for Edmonton's #15. Chances are Edmonton would have made the trade. Why? Because Plante was rated #28 by ISS; chances are he would have been there at #22. One day, if Esposito has success the Canadiens will tell you that he wasn't available at #22. The fact of the matter is the Canadiens didnt want him bad enough. If they did, they could have swung a deal. What's funny is Esposito wasn't good enough for Montreal, but he was for Pittsburgh, who already has Crosby, Malkin and Staal. Angelo, congratulations! Going to Pittsburgh will be great for your career. One day, you will win a Stanley Cup. Good Luck.
On another note, the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to make the wrong choices. The Leafs were looking for a goalie. They swung a deal with San Jose and obtained goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell. In return, they gave up their 1st round pick and other picks. Think of this: Toskala makes 1.4 this year and is UFA after that. Mark Bell, is a problem player and expensive at 2.2. Thats a total of 3.6 for a problem player and a goalie you might only hold on to for 1 year. Later in the day, the Florida Panthers obtained goalie Tomas Vokoun, in return they gave up a 1st round pick in 2008 and 2 other picks. Whats important here is that Nashville didnt want a 1st round pick in the O7 Draft. Vokoun, is one of the best goalies in the league. He has a contract for the next 4 years at a cap hit of 5.7 per season. Basically, instead of picking up 3.6M in Salary; Toronto could have traded for Vokoun, only costing 2.1M more per season. Toronto, would keep their #13 pick and could have selected Russian winger Alexei Cherepanov. Think of it: Toskala and Bell or Vokoun and Cherepanov. Toronto blows it again!
Speaking of Cherepanov. This kid has unbelieveable skill and the NY Rangers got an absolute steal at #17. This kid will make a lot of teams regret their selections.
Im filling in for Mitch Melnick on Monday, June 25th between 4pm and 7pm; we'll talk more about the draft then.
Enjoy your day...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Stanley Cup and Canadian Grand Prix....
I went against the Ottawa Senators for the first 3 rounds of the playoffs. In the Final, I paid them the ultimate respect by saying they would lose to Anaheim in 7. To be honest, I am not surprised that Anaheim won as easily as they did. For one I was not sold on Spezza and Heatley; they made me eat my words for 3 rounds and when the going got tough; they collapsed. Im not surprised. The two players are talented but the jury is still out on them. To be honest, I am not surprised that Anaheim won as easily as they did....Don't believe me? Checkout my playoff hockey pool. www.officepools.com (login: team990)(password: montreal).I have believed in Anaheim for a long time. They had all the right ingredients and elements. They worked hard and stuck to the gameplan. The 2nd line of Getzlaf, Perry and Penner is so good and they'll be together for a while...The year Pittsburgh won the Crosby Sweepstakes; Anaheim got the 2nd pick and drafted Bobby Ryan. Imagine if they would have won the Draft Lottery? Think for 1 second....Crosby on Anaheim,,,,scary isn't it. Speaking of Crosby, I think his Penguins will be a force in the East for the next 2 years. In the West, I think Anaheim will be the best team for the next two years as well. Message to Teemu Selanne: Congrats on the Cup; well deserved. If thats your last game its fitting that you go out a Champion.
On the show today; Pj and I debated whether F1 Drivers are athletes. PJ said they weren't; I disagreed. Of course they are. Their fitness is impeccable; their eye-hand coordination is unreal; their focus is superb; their mental toughness is tremendous. For all those reasons and more; F1 Drivers are definitely athletes.
After the show; I went to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre Dame to take in the 2nd free practice session....I saw Michael Schumacher; he was visiting. Tried to get a quote or two from him; he's not a jovial guy...at least not with the media...other celebs included: Max, who supposedly plays the role of Tony Soprano's driver. Former Habs GM Serge Savard visited with Ferrari as well....
As much as I appreciate F1...its not fun working this event. We get extremely little cooperation from the teams. For one; Ferrari only spoke to Italian and Brazilian media at Pit Lane. And, over at Mclaren there was 50 reporters tackling each other to get a few clips...I got hit in the head from a few television cameras and it wasn't fun. Not too mention the 38 degree temperature making it tough....Im hoping for a good race on Sunday....not expecting any surprises...it will be McLaren or Ferrari again....
In ending, last week I was given an assignment by our GM at the station. He asked me to write a piece titled, ''If I were Bob.'' referring to Canadiens GM Bob Gainey and what moves I would try to make to revamp the Habs over the next month. The article will be posted on www.team990.com
On Monday, I am filling in for Mitch Melnick between 3pm and 7pm. It will give us a chance to discuss the article and talk about the Canadian Grand Prix. Enjoy the race everybody. Talk to you then.
On the show today; Pj and I debated whether F1 Drivers are athletes. PJ said they weren't; I disagreed. Of course they are. Their fitness is impeccable; their eye-hand coordination is unreal; their focus is superb; their mental toughness is tremendous. For all those reasons and more; F1 Drivers are definitely athletes.
After the show; I went to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre Dame to take in the 2nd free practice session....I saw Michael Schumacher; he was visiting. Tried to get a quote or two from him; he's not a jovial guy...at least not with the media...other celebs included: Max, who supposedly plays the role of Tony Soprano's driver. Former Habs GM Serge Savard visited with Ferrari as well....
As much as I appreciate F1...its not fun working this event. We get extremely little cooperation from the teams. For one; Ferrari only spoke to Italian and Brazilian media at Pit Lane. And, over at Mclaren there was 50 reporters tackling each other to get a few clips...I got hit in the head from a few television cameras and it wasn't fun. Not too mention the 38 degree temperature making it tough....Im hoping for a good race on Sunday....not expecting any surprises...it will be McLaren or Ferrari again....
In ending, last week I was given an assignment by our GM at the station. He asked me to write a piece titled, ''If I were Bob.'' referring to Canadiens GM Bob Gainey and what moves I would try to make to revamp the Habs over the next month. The article will be posted on www.team990.com
On Monday, I am filling in for Mitch Melnick between 3pm and 7pm. It will give us a chance to discuss the article and talk about the Canadian Grand Prix. Enjoy the race everybody. Talk to you then.
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