Colaiacovo Re-Ups for Three

With potential Restricted Free Agent, Carlo Colaiacovo signing a new deal for three years yesterday and the trade this morning, they're in pretty fair shape, much like the Flyers are, for the opening face-off in October. Colaiacovo, 24, is slowly becoming the dependable defenseman that the Maple Leafs envisioned him to be when they drafted him back in 2001. Although he isn't a big numbers kind of defenseman, it only looks like a matter of time before the reigns are handed to him to do something with his career in Toronto and with McCabe and Kaberle to learn from, he'll be learning from two key players who each play important roles with the club.

Should he be considered for my pool team, you ask? In a fairly deep draft, he should be. Colaiacovo put up 17 points in 48 games last season and if he can stay healthy, he has the capability to reach 30 points this coming season. 30 points is nothing to sneeze at... that would be the same number that Marek Zidlicky put up this season in Nashville.

Alexei Ponikarovsky	Mats Sundin	Darcy Tucker
Nikolai Antropov	Kyle Wellwood	Alex Steen
Jon Pohl	Matt Stajan	Chad Kilger
Mark Bell	Boyd Devereaux	Wade Belak

Tomas Kaberle	Bryan McCabe
Ian White	Pavel Kubina
Hal Gill	Carlo Colaiacovo

Andrew Raycroft

Vesa Toskala

That would be the line-up of the Leafs if the season would start today... and they are ALL signed up for this coming season. Quite amazing really.


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Toskala Becomes a Leaf

This morning, the Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell from the San Jose Sharks for three draft picks, including a first and second round pick tonight and a fourth rounder in 2009.

In Toskala, the Leafs get a potential full-time number one goalie and a motivational piece for Andrew Raycroft to work a little bit harder. Toskala is familiar with this role as he sparked on Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose to be a much better goalie down the stretch.

Mark Bell comes to the Leafs after somewhat of an off-year for the big forward. He dropped several positions in the pool point race after moving to San Jose from Chicago last year. Bell was supposed to fill out the line with Joe Thornton and Jonathon Cheechoo, but he never really materialized as that guy.

Pool-wise, Toskala and Raycroft are going to quite possibly share duties in Toronto, which will bring Raycroft's numbers down from his 37 wins last season and Toskala will more than likely still hover around the 26 wins he had. Now, that's saying that both keepers are going to platoon the role of netminder... one or the other could very well win the job and run with it until a cold streak or injury. The Maple Leaf camp will be a little more interesting in September... especially with Justin Pogge moving through the ranks.

Bell will add some size and should increase his point totals from his woeful 21 points in 71 games last season. He could very well be a bit of a steal come next season as the picks aren't exactly a sure thing for San Jose.


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Giguere Locked In

The Anaheim Ducks has made a decision to spend some money and yesterday, they gave a bundle to Jean-Sebastien Giguere. A 4-year, $24 million deal was handed to the Stanley Cup winning goalie, which was batted around, which leads me to believe that either Teemu Selanne and/or Scott Niedermayer will retire.

Giguere finished the regular season in 35th place with 80 points. He was just a little bit more clutch in the playoffs though, finishing with the ever-popular Cup ring. Depending on the defenseman situation come September, it could very well sway the position of where you want to take Giguere in your pool draft.


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Horton Signs For A Few...

Well, it's more like six. Nathan Horton signed a 6-year, $24 million contract before becoming a Restricted Free Agent on July 1. Horton, who finished in 79th in pool scoring with 62 points, has quickly become a go-to-guy in Florida behind Olli Jokinen. This is a big long-term deal which will keep the 22 year-old forward around through 2014.

For the pool, the young forward has progressed to being a bit of a sleeper each year. He should probably be considered as a third or fourth round pick for your pool team, but if you decide to pick him in the late second or early third, you may not be disappointed... especially if you are in a big pool.

The Panthers themselves have a lot of work to do this off-season. Horton is only the 6th regular forward to have signed on and they don't have a starting goaltender with a contract as of yet. The blueline is almost sorted out, as they have five of their top six defensemen slots already signed up... with the understanding that they'll make it through camp, of course.


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My Mock Draft

Draft day is definitely one of the more exciting days of the off-season calendar. Sadly, I'll be at a ball tournament all weekend and won't have a chance to watch the opening round on Friday night. This won't stop me from giving my two cents, as I've started already on who I think is going to go where. So, here's my first round prediction:

First pick:
Patrick Kane, RW... I don't think it's any more obvious than this. All the scouts and pundits have pretty much pegged Kane to go number one, even if he isn't the number one choice of some scouting outlets. The Blackhawks need Kane, since he is a top talent that could possibly make the immediate jump.

Second pick:
Kyle Turris, C... if the Flyers are to actually make this pick, which my actual prediction would be that they move it, Turris would be the best bet. A young centerman is more inclined to be a Flyers' pick, since they really haven't found someone to centre Simon Gagne. If Turris can take the next year to bulk up to NHL size, he'll fit right into the Flyers' plans.

Third pick:
Jakub Voracek, RW... scoring, scoring and more scoring is the theme of all the Coytoes' top prospects and they do like their Europeans as well. Voracek, from the Czech Republic, is ranked quite high as a playmaker and he should bode well in the Coyotes system. New GM Don Maloney does have a flair for picking Euros, so this one may fit in well into Coach Gretzky's system.

Fourth pick:
James VanRiemsdyk, LW... will bring a solid North American presence to the Kings organization who has a lot of flair in European draft picks already. VanRiemsdyk should be a good fit in Los Angeles and in my guesstimation, should fall down to fourth for the Kings to snap up. His speed and ability would match up well with any of the Kings top forwards.

Fifth pick:
Karl Alzner, D... will be the first defenseman taken in 2007 and he'll be going to a team in need of a top rated blueliner. Alzner will be required to be that defensive defenseman who will be leaned upon when the firepower gets caught on the other end of the ice making their fancy-dancy plays. He'd be a great big boost to Washington's chassis of young players and the organization can take one step further towards the playoffs when Alzner cracks the line-up.

Sixth pick:
Sam Gagner, C... will be hard to pass up for the Oilers. The Oilers have a history in recent years on taking small, but talented centres that have a long development waiting time. Gagner is quite young and quite skilled, but is quite a ways from making that jump into the NHL, which fits the bill of GM Kevin Lowe to a tee. There's no question of what this kid can do and if he develops well enough, he'd be a great fixture on a line with Ales Hemsky.

Seventh pick:
Logan Couture, C... is touted as a safe pick and that's exactly what new Columbus GM, Scott Howson, will look for. With Zherdev possibly on the way out and Brule still not quite meeting expecations, there is no reason as to why Columbus will try and hit a home run this year. Howson, however, does bring some Edmonton Oiler experience with him and for Columbus' sake, they hope that he's learned from Lowe's mistakes.

Eighth pick:
Angelo Esposito, C... was supposed to be the first overall pick in this draft class some time ago, but his play somewhat fell off, or maybe it was his development. Anyways, this won't deter Boston from making him the 8th pick and adding him to a list of young talent down the middle that should help out their talented wingers.

Ninth pick:
Alexei Cherepanov, RW... fell down to ninth because of the risk in drafting him (because of the Russian transfer agreement not being signed) and uncertainty of his desire, but St. Louis could hit a home run with Cherepanov, as he has exceptional talent and would be able to give him the environment he might need as a budding superstar. His flash could be quite marketable in a city that hasn't had a lot to cheer about in recent years.

Tenth pick:
Brandon Sutter, C... should lend his family name to a Florida team for the first time. Sutter, a hard working kid, would have a major impact to a Panthers team who really hasn't seen a player with as much speed and grit in previous years. When the model of the Anaheim Ducks gets studied, Sutter's name will pop up in more lists than not for a kid to play one of those roles.

Eleventh pick:
Keaton Ellerby, D... will replace the hole left behind when the Hurricanes dealt Jack Johnson to Los Angeles, a big young defenseman with an offensive upside. If chosen, Ellerby should give the Hurricanes an easier time to sign him up, unlike Johnson, who wished to stay in school... until being dealt to LA. Ellerby's hard shot and big frame should come in handy for the Hurricanes, since the 'Canes don't really have a marquee defenseman coming up the ranks.

Twelfth pick:
Maxim Mayorov, LW... is yet another Russian taken in the pro-European stylings of the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs really try to swing for the fences when it comes to these European kids and you'd have to go back to 2001 when Alexander Perezhogin was taken before you can find a drafted Russian that has even made the line-up for any extended period of time. Mayorov has turned some heads and should give the Habs some hope if he ends up there.

Thirteenth pick:
Nick Petrecki, D... would be something just a little different in Maple Leaf drafting standards. A great big American defenseman would actually be something quite different... especially as an early round pick. I looked back at the Leafs' history and they really haven't drafted big men in the first round. This could be a good idea.

Fourteenth pick:
Zach Hamill, C... a smaller centre with great hands and vision could draw some comparisons to the team captain and may have a chance to skate with Sakic in camp. Hamill will have to step up and be a bigger scorer to have any chance of comparison, but he would fit in the spot with his frame.

Fifteenth pick:
Ryan McDonagh, D... is a big, mobile defenseman and has a lot of the qualities that the Oilers traded away to Anaheim last summer. McDonagh, highly rated by TSN and the CSB, would be a pretty big steal down in 15th, but it's certainly possible. This high schooler will go to University next year and will take some time to bulk up and become a bigger defenseman, which will bode well for his NHL club.

Sixteenth pick:
Colton Gillies, C... is the Randy Carlyle kind of kid who fits the mould that won them the Cup. A good skater, a big kid and he's touted as more of a character player. He'd more or less resemble a guy like Chris Kunitz... or should be better. Gillies looks like a guy who also needs some really good coaching and Carlyle should be the guy to do it. Burke likes his big kids, so Gillies should be in the crosshairs.

Seventeenth pick:
Kevin Shattenkirk, D... is my best guess in a position where there are a lot of short statured defensemen with good offensive abilities. Drafting the home state kid may drive him to excel a little bit more in the US National Team Development Program. He's being listed as an offensive defenseman, which may serve the Rangers well when looking for a defense partner for Marc Staal.

Eighteenth pick:
Alex Plante, D... seems almost too obvious, which makes this a hesitant pick, but all the signs point to Plante. A great big defenseman who can skate and works hard for the Calgary Hitmen. All the scouting seems to show that he's the kind of kid that works hard and does nothing flashy, something that the Sutter brand of hockey would look good upon.

Nineteenth pick:
Jonathon Blum, D... could be the tonic for the blueline that Minnesota needs to break out of their own zone a bit faster. The Wild is a team who is need of a mobile, puck moving defenseman and Blum was doing just that for the Memorial Cup champions. He may be rather small in stature, but with a little bulking up, he could be what the Wild are looking for in the 19th pick.

Twentieth pick:
Joakim Andersson, C... is a defensive forward who could line-up a little bit better in a checking role than Jordan Staal or provide a second penalty kill forward. Excellent along the boards, he can provide a little bit more grit and responsibility for the Penguins. A lot of outlets have him pegged as a second rounder, but I don't think the Pens could afford to take that chance.

Twenty-First pick:
Mikael Backlund, C... will be added to the stockpile of European forwards that the Coyotes are harvesting for the future. Backlund, an up-and-down player over the last year, has rebounded to become a pretty good prospect. Scouts are quite pleased with his skating and good vision and could be the kind of player Gretzky would like to mould into his team. Another good player down the middle is what they need in Phoenix and Backlund could fit the bill.

Twenty-Second pick:
Keven Veilleux, C... is a big centreman from Quebec should appease both the coaching staff and the fans there in Montreal. Veilleux has received some mixed reviews about his scoring and competitiveness, but there's a consensus about how well he uses his size and reach.

Twenty-Third pick:
Thomas Hickey, D... could follow in the footsteps of Dan Hamhuis, Ryan Suter and Shea Weber as great Predator draft picks who developed into a top end defender. Having a plethora of good defensemen should be a benefit to a team, rather than a hinderance. The Predators can bulk up on good D and maybe move them in time to improve other areas of their team.

Twenty-Fourth pick:
Oscar Moller, F... seems to me to be a typical St. Louis Blue prospect... a tremendous upside, but lacking in something. Moller, in this case, is quite diminutive, which is his major flaw, but he does have a good hockey sense and puck skills. He seems to be the kind of player that will be rushed to the forefront, as the Blues' organization does like to see kids among men and assess their talents then.

Twenty-Fifth pick:
Michal Repik, RW... played for the Giants and could be a sleeper in the Draft according to some scouts. He has been compared to Milan Hejduk in the way that he plays and if the Canucks have the opportunity to snag him here, I think they will. There is the chance that they'll trade up, but if they still have this pick, don't be surprised if Repik dons the Canucks jersey.

Twenty-Sixth pick:
Mark Katic, D... is slated to be a very reliable defenseman if and when he makes it to the NHL and the Blues would do very well to have him on their side. There is an indication that the Blues may look for more defense in this draft, either by picks or by trades and since this is their third pick in the first round, it wouldn't be surprising if they didn't even make this pick.

Twenty-Seventh pick:
Bill Sweatt, LW... is a speedy winger who can create chances with his skating. The Red Wings will like what this kid can do and will want to have him develop at Colorado College for a couple more years at least. The Red Wing program for their youth is so comprehensive and I'm sure they'll give Sweatt the observations to be a great Red Wing player in the future. This is almost a no-brainer if he's still available at 27.

Twenty-Eighth pick:
Max Pacioretty, LW... is already pegged as a potential power forward, since he is already 203 lbs. on a 6'1" frame. The Capitals could use a kid like this to come up the ranks, becuase the re-emergence of power forwards will be coming sooner rather than later and if he can become a much better skater, he should be a force in a training camp a year or two from now and will earn himself a spot on his NHL club.

Twenty-Ninth pick:
Joel Gistedt, G... could very well be the first goaltender taken in the draft at the 29th position. With the goaltending situation not looking too stable before the draft, a little more depth could be first on the agenda. Gistedt has already been a starter in Sweden and the Swedes have been doing a good job harvesting goaltending talent. With Emery being a free agent, shopping Martin Gerber around to other clubs and the farm system struggling for wins... it looks quite apparent that we'll see a keeper go to Ottawa.

Thirtieth pick:
David Perron, RW... impressed at the Memorial Cup tournament with Lewiston and should have much consideration for the first round. This being the 30th pick and if the Oilers make all their picks, then we'll all be sick of seeing Kevin Lowe at the podium. Picking Perron though could be a very wise decision, however... his quickness could be a good compliment to another up and coming Oiler forward, Andrew Cogliano.


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Flyers Could Already Line-Up

Barring any major explosion in regards to their line-up, the Flyers only have a couple Restricted Free Agents to sign and they could have the puck drop in a week or two. Do we really think that's the case though? Probably not. Here's a look at what the Flyers would look like with a couple Restricted Free Agents yet to be signed (signified by the *).

Mike Knuble	R.J. Umberger	Simon Gagne
Scott Hartnell	Mike Richards	Jeff Carter
Sami Kapanen	Scottie Upshall	Geoff Sanderson
Dimitri Afanasenkov*	Stefan Ruzicka	Ben Eager

Kimmo Timonen	Joni Pitkanen*
Derian Hatcher	Lasse Kukkonen
Randy Jones	Alexandre Picard

Martin Biron

Antero Niitymaki

Looking over this apparent squad, there is a couple of things worth noting: 1) With the arrival of Kimmo Timonen yesterday, the rumours will be ramped up even more that the Flyers are going to shop Joni Pitkanen. The young Finnish defenseman will look good most anywhere in the league and could very well come at a reasonable price. 2) This squad as of right now is roughly going to cost $38 million (plus filling the two restricted free agent voids). If the Flyers, who have been a cap hitting team before, choose to push the limits this season, look for them to fill the number one centre role with a high-priced free-agent. Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Michael Nylander could very well get top dollar from a team like Philly.

With the goaltending issue of the past couple seasons (seemingly) resolved in Martin Biron, the Flyers will be able to build from the back out this season. The acquistion of Timonen and signing him long-term, shows the rest of the team that there is a foundation behind them and confidence will grow in the offensive zone. The Flyers may contend for a playoff spot this season and make for another interesting race for that 8th spot in 2008.

What impact does this have on your hockey pool picks? Timonen will make the Flyers better on the power play, there's no question of that. Saying that Gagne could improve to where he was in 2007, finishing 33rd in pool scoring (or a 2nd round draft pick). Mike Knuble will need to play more than 64 games next season to improve his numbers and Scott Hartnell should get a boost with increased play in Philadelphia.


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Bit of a Shocker

Not long before the draft or the free agency market opens, the Philadelphia Flyers made a huge splash trading for the rights of Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell from the Nashville Predators for the first-round pick they acquired from Nashville in the Peter Forsberg deal.

Nashville looked to have resigned themselves to the fact that they could re-sign Timonen or Hartnell when they became unrestricted free agents on July 1 and the Flyers knew they could... and did. Timonen and Hartnell both signed 6-year deals worth $37.8 and $25.2 million respectively.

By my list, the Flyers have almost the entire core group of players signed up for next season before any of the major off-season festivities get started... and they shouldn't suck as much as they did last season. A big boost to that team that suffered dearly in 2006/07.

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Countdown to Draft Day (Part 3)

This will be the final installment of the draft day preview, finishing up with the last ten picks of the first round.

Picks 21 through 30 were shuffled quite a bit around the trade deadline or before, with only three picks of these last ten actually belonging to the teams that finished in the corresponding position in the standings.

A lot of these picks will be used as youth depth, but there will be some expectation as they are still first rounders. There shouldn't be any marquee names left in this section of the draft, as the Draft Combine, held last week, showed a lot of these top athletes to be in peak shape and then their athletic prowess should be all that's considered.

The Phoenix Coyotes will pick 21st (as well as 3rd) and they'll be looking for yet another talented young player, probably in the best available category. At pick 21, the Coyotes may look towards some good goaltending talent at this point, especially if they nabbed a top scorer with their third pick. I would be really surprised to see them move this pick, as they are firmly in the middle of rebuilding their organization.

Montreal acquired the 22nd pick from San Jose in the Craig Rivet deal. This will be another chance at getting another young scorer or rugged defenseman. It's pretty clear how deep they are in goal coming into the draft that they are highly unlikely to pick another one from this position.

Depth is one thing the Flyers are in desperate need of and with the Predators pick (acquired in the Peter Forsberg deal), they should be able to pick a depth kind of player with some talent. However, the Flyers are in need of some help right away, as they probably won't attract many fans with their ability to finish second-to-last in the league for many more seasons. Don't be too surprised if they can move this pick for a mid-level veteran.

The first of two quick picks and the second of three picks in the first round, the St. Louis Blues will have a little more opportunity to add a bit more talent. I project that with their 9th pick, the Blues would probably get Sam Gagner, so I would also imagine that a top goaltending prospect would be next on the list. This the 24th pick would also be worth moving as they would have the 26th pick and probably wouldn't miss out on a goaltender if they had their eye on one.

The Canucks will be picking 25th... or will they? With an immediate need for some scoring, there is some rumblings that the Canucks will move their pick, either up or out. If it's up, they'll be looking to try and get the 3rd, 4th or 5th pick to get one of the top Canadians as the rumour goes. I have a feeling that they have their eye on a Gagner or Esposito and will move a player and a pick to do so.

The 26th pick came from Atlanta in the Keith Tkachuk trade and it really sort of depends what they do with their 24th pick that you can get a good feel of what they'll do here in 26th.

The Red Wings have stockpiled a lot of picks in recent years, but there have only been three picks in the last four years to play for the big club. They are in no big rush to move on any of their prospects, especially since they've done so well with free agents. Watch Detroit make their picks and there shouldn't be much for surprises in their picks. Safe and steady.

With a pick to help Ovechkin in the top five, the Capitals will probably look to upgrade their blueline with their second first rounder. Without a glutton of defensive prospects, the Capitals will probably look to a big defensive defenseman to make their splash with. A scoring forward and defensive defenseman would look really good in their new colours, don't you think?

The Eastern Conference champs hold the 29th pick in the draft after finishing in the Cup Finals. It was a new rule mandate for teams who finished in the Finals to pick 29th and 30th, instead of only the Cup winner moving to the last pick. The last pick to successfully crack the Sens line-up was Andrej Meszaros, who made a pretty big impact in the Sens' Cup run. With the 29th pick, the Senators will need to make some depth selections on the belief that Heatley, Redden, Spezza and Emery can hold down the fort for a few more years.

The Oilers last pick of the first round was given to them by the Ducks as a part of the Chris Pronger deal. If the Ducks were to make the Finals this season, they would get this first round pick. Not only did the Ducks make it... well, you know the rest. A third first-rounder is a big benefit to any team, so the Oilers will have to choose wisely.

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