2008-09 NHL Season Thread

[Arctic Blast]

Well, after a year of Brian "Blowhard" Burke spouting off, Kevin Lowe decided to finally reply. And WOW, did he reply!

After a year of enduring the wrath of Brian Burke, Edmonton Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe finally fired back at the Anaheim Ducks' executive on Friday.
In a candid interview with Edmonton's Team 1260, Lowe - who stayed relatively quiet each time Burke went after him over the last 12 months - finally let it all out.
"Where do I begin?," started Lowe. "He's a moron, first of all. Secondly, he really believes that any news for the NHL is good news. Thirdly, he loves the limelight and I don't think anyone in hockey will dispute that. Lastly, he's in a pathetic hockey market where they can't get on any page of the newspaper let alone the front page of the sports, so any of this stuff carries on."
Burke and Lowe have been at odds since the Oilers put forth a five-year, $21.25 million offer sheet to Group II restricted free agent Dustin Penner last summer - a contract that the Ducks did not match and sent Penner to Edmonton.
At the time, Burke explained he had no problem with a team putting an offer sheet forward, but the money involved was the issue. Lowe responded in kind on Friday, saying the standard for such contracts was set long before the Penner signing.
"I mean, if he wants to debate what our offer sheet did to them or to the salaries, anytime," he explained to Team 1260. "The reality is, Rick Nash's contract a number of years ago, (Patrice) Bergeron's and (Ilya) Kovalchuk's; that sets the standard - that's been going on for decades. I'm sick and tired of it. I know everybody in hockey is. I know our peers are like, 'Well, that's Burkie.' This guy is an absolute media junkie and I guess he's achieving what he wants because he gets his name in the headlines. But the reality is, I hate the fact that my name is linked to his. He's an underachieving wanna-be in terms of success in the NHL. He won a Stanley Cup? Great. I've won six Stanley Cups, you want to count rings? Who cares, it's just a little pathetic that he carries on."
The latest chapter in the feud came on Wednesday, after the Ducks signed restricted free agent forward Corey Perry to a five-year extension worth $26.63 million. Burke had some choice words about the new salary climate in the NHL after this week's high-profile signings, and blamed Lowe for eliminating the 'second contract' from team-player negotiations.
The long-standing rivalry between Lowe and Burke has also brought up whispers of a conspiracy theory that the two men are hamming it up for added exposure for the league.
"I remember (L.A. Kings general manager) Dean Lombardi last summer saying to me, 'You guys are (just) putting this on, you're not really feeling this way. The NHL likes this stuff, they want to create a little angst in the media and stuff and get some headlines?'" recalled Lowe.
"I said, 'No Dean, this is real.' He was shocked that this was going on but Burkie loves the limelight. He's all bluff and loud and Mac T (head coach Craig MacTavish) said it best - he's like the Wizard of Oz, you pull the curtains away and there's not much substance."
Burke, who joined the Ducks as general manager in 2005, helped build a championship contender in Anaheim that eventually won the Stanley Cup in 2007. That achievement didn't score too high with Lowe, who was quick to point out the other ups and downs of his time with the Ducks, along with the shortcomings of Burke's former team, the Vancouver Canucks.
"Here's a fact - he left (former Canucks GM) Dave Nonis nothing in Vancouver," he explained. "Nothing. He destroyed that team. If it wasn't for Nonis' incredible deals - to con Mike Keenan to get (Roberto) Luongo in Vancouver - that team was taking a nose dive two years ago."
"I mean, that's his M.O., but no one says anything. He goes into Anaheim and he inherits an incredible team. He gets Chris Pronger - not because of our relationship, it just so happened we had five or six teams and targeted their assets. We had Florida, Anaheim, Philadelphia, San Jose and Los Angeles. He just happened to throw enough assets our way to get the player. Kudos to him. He recognizes that at the end of the day, you throw enough assets, you get the best player and you get a good deal. You never know in this business if you're going to win at the end of the day. He could have just decimated the franchise forever. I'll tell you this, they have not much coming. Bobby Ryan has been a questionable pick at No. 2 (overall in 2005), and up until this draft, they tried to move down and did a nice job of trying to replenish their depth chart. They had nothing coming, and that appears to be his M.O."
Lowe even left an intriguing cliffhanger for the radio station's listeners.
"Don't even ask me about Scott Niedermayer, I've already lowered myself in terms of (talking about) how they acquired him," he said. "That's a story for another day, but they were able to bring Niedermayer and Pronger in and they won a Stanley Cup."
In closing, Lowe went so far as to send out a tongue-in-cheek message to his front office nemesis.
"Anaheim has decent players - Corey Perry is a hell of a player," he said. "What I really want to say about his bickering about parity and the salary cap is if you're unhappy about them, then trade him (Perry) our way, we'll be glad to have him."

Oilers' general manager Lowe rips back at Burke

[boilermaker]

Brian Burke is a genius. Kevin Lowe, well he's a defense man.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by Long_Long_Name

So really, unless Hossa had come, you'd have been disappointed? Yeah, well, Sorry if you have 97% odds of being disappointed, but it happened, so... there.

Steve Bernier was traded to the Canucks for 2nd and 3rd round picks. If he can get his game together, the Canucks will be glad to have him. Poor Canucks, their offense really sucks, and their defense isn't much better. Luongo must feel mightly lonely.

The Sabres then went and traded for Craig Rivet for a pair of 2nd rounders. Going back to the Campbell trade, I like what Buffalo have done the last few months, although I thought they had a good thing going with Vanek/Pominville/Bernier/Hecht as a strong core of wingers. I guess they can afford to move wingers though with Stafford and Paille still pretty young.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by boilermaker

Brian Burke is a genius.

HIs former team would probably disagree.

[Big Hugg]

Alexander Radulov is off to Russia

According to several Russian-based reports, right wing Alexander Radulov is leaving the Nashville Predators and is returning back home to his native Russia.

Radulov, 22, has reportedly signed a three-year contract with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the Russian CHL.

In an interview with Russian sports media outlet Sports Express, Radulov confirmed the signing and indicated that he plans on leaving the Predators.

However, Radulov has one-year remaining on his existing contract with Nashville.

Radulov told Sports Express that his mind is set on Salavat for "the next three years" and indicated that his contract is more valuable than the one he signed with the Predators. He claims he notified the Predators of the possibility that he will sign with a Russian squad.

"I repeatedly told in them that I had an offer from Ufa and had the enormous desire to play in Russia," Radulov said. "I warned them that I had been offered better conditions than I had in Nashville. They listened and said that they will get back to me. As of now, there was no call. It seems like they didn't really want me to stay, or probably - they did not think that take this step."

The Fourth Period :: Nashville Predators :: Report: Radulov leaving Predators for Russia

Would suck to be a Preds fan right now.

[Muppetus Galacticus]

Originally Posted by Big Hugg

Alexander Radulov is off to Russia



The Fourth Period :: Nashville Predators :: Report: Radulov leaving Predators for Russia

Would suck to be a Preds fan right now.

Didn't the NHL and KHL get an agreement together this week? And yes, poor Preds They still have a load of very good prospects and a dozen or more picks in next years draft, but Radulov was clearly the one they would hang their hats on. Although if he wants to return to the NHL, he'll have to play out his final Entry Level Contract year with Nashville.

If the KHL continue this way then I don't see them lasting for long. A lot of the teams don't have big arenas, so how will they make their money back? It'll be like the British Superleague when teams start going bust and then you're left with only a small amount of teams in the competition.

This news hasn't broken anywhere but the Russian source yet though...

[Big Hugg]

Yeah, we'll see about legitimacy, but that report I posted is from 2:25am, it's a time zone thing. The fact they have quotes from Radulov is the damning issue for me. Those are from Russia's top sports source, so it's highly unlikely it's just fabricated.

I imagine it'll become bigger news later today.

Stuff like this is why I'm glad we traded Nikolai Zherdev. His contract is up after 08/09 and I think he's as good as gone.

[Michael Hopcroft]

This is going to spread chaos in the hockey simulation eague I'm in for the 2009-10 season, when a lot of these players won't have cards because they played in Russia.

[Big Hugg]

Yeah, if anyone missed it, it's been confirmed.

Radulov the latest NHLer to sign in Russia

So lame.

[Long_Long_Name]

Vincent Lecavalier will sign for 85 millions, 11 years.

[Kekkonen]

Originally Posted by Muppetus Galacticus

If the KHL continue this way then I don't see them lasting for long. A lot of the teams don't have big arenas, so how will they make their money back?

They don't necessarily have to. Some of them are just playthings for their super-rich owners. There are also persistent rumors about the involvement of organized crime in the Russian sports leagues, so some teams may have, erm, 'unofficial' ways of increasing their cash flow.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by Kekkonen

They don't necessarily have to. Some of them are just playthings for their super-rich owners. There are also persistent rumors about the involvement of organized crime in the Russian sports leagues, so some teams may have, erm, 'unofficial' ways of increasing their cash flow.

Yes, no doubt if this league takes off and does well, the owners will have little trouble "finding" funds to build bigger areans.

Over the coming years, you're going to see some good Russian hockey players staying in Russia and playing for a few million a year rather than come to the NHL and accept a 3 year entry level contract.

[Tommysixfingers]

Originally Posted by Muppetus Galacticus

If the KHL continue this way then I don't see them lasting for long. A lot of the teams don't have big arenas, so how will they make their money back? It'll be like the British Superleague when teams start going bust and then you're left with only a small amount of teams in the competition.

Did you just compare the Russian league to the British one? It's about as relevant as comparing MLB to the swedish Elite League in baseball.

Seriously though, I think we are about to see a change of power in the world of Icehockey over the next years. The NHL won't die but the total dominance will be more balanced than before. Russia has got hockey culture, loads of talent, strong national pride and loads and loads of money. Russia is a big nation with a genuine hockey culture. The interest is there which is more than can be said about the bigger part of the american side of the NHL.

I think that the future of the KHL looks pretty bright if Russia keeps going the way it does right now. A couple of swedish and finnish teams has expressed interest in joining the KHL. I doubt that that will happen anytime soon though.

[Kekkonen]

Originally Posted by BruceM

Yes, no doubt if this league takes off and does well, the owners will have little trouble "finding" funds to build bigger areans.

Actually, I'm not sure building bigger arenas is a priority for all of those teams, for two reasons. First, if the owner is a super-rich sugar daddy who sees the team as a hobby and not a financial enterprise, it doesn't necessarily matter whether their attendance is 8,000 or 18,000 per game. Second, the bigger arenas are a money-making tool only if the community has a big enough middle class with disposable income, and I'm not entirely sure whether that holds true in every Russian town with a KHL team. They do have their super-rich elite, but the nation's economy is still very much in transition.

[Kekkonen]

Originally Posted by Tommysixfingers

Seriously though, I think we are about to see a change of power in the world of Icehockey over the next years. The NHL won't die but the total dominance will be more balanced than before. Russia has got hockey culture, loads of talent, strong national pride and loads and loads of money. Russia is a big nation with a genuine hockey culture. The interest is there which is more than can be said about the bigger part of the american side of the NHL.

True, but what the KHL lacks -- for the moment, at least -- is tradition, or at the very least, tradition that is known outside of the Russian-speaking world. They may in the future manage to keep a good share of domestic hockey talent in their own league, but what they will have a problem with is trying to attract young, top-caliber talent from other nations. The Finns who played in RSL/KHL teams haven't exactly been singing the praise of the organizations they've played in, and for guys who don't have a family or whose family elects to stay elsewhere during the season, life outside of the rink can be lonely and monotonous. Sure, e.g.Jussi Markkanen played there during the NHL lock-out and is now heading back there again, but he's a marginal NHLer who's looking to make some good money before retirement. I think that profile fits quite a few of the non-Russians who are considering going to the KHL.

Originally Posted by Tommysixfingers

I think that the future of the KHL looks pretty bright if Russia keeps going the way it does right now. A couple of swedish and finnish teams has expressed interest in joining the KHL. I doubt that that will happen anytime soon though.

You probably know more about the Swedish teams than I do, but the interest from Finnish teams just isn't there. I've read what the KHL PR folks say and I know their people have contacted some of our domestic league teams, but they have all denied having any interest in joining them.

[Tommysixfingers]

Originally Posted by Kekkonen

True, but what the KHL lacks -- for the moment, at least -- is tradition, or at the very least, tradition that is known outside of the Russian-speaking world. They may in the future manage to keep a good share of domestic hockey talent in their own league, but what they will have a problem with is trying to attract young, top-caliber talent from other nations. The Finns who played in RSL/KHL teams haven't exactly been singing the praise of the organizations they've played in, and for guys who don't have a family or whose family elects to stay elsewhere during the season, life outside of the rink can be lonely and monotonous. Sure, e.g.Jussi Markkanen played there during the NHL lock-out and is now heading back there again, but he's a marginal NHLer who's looking to make some good money before retirement. I think that profile fits quite a few of the non-Russians who are considering going to the KHL.

You are quite right. I wrote something similar in the KHL thread and I also think that the NHL, with it's tradition and high standard of play will keep on atracting many of the best players for a long time.

You probably know more about the Swedish teams than I do, but the interest from Finnish teams just isn't there. I've read what the KHL PR folks say and I know their people have contacted some of our domestic league teams, but they have all denied having any interest in joining them.

Don't know about that. You seem to know a lot about hockey. Frölunda and Färjestad has talked about the possibility to play in the KHL but how much substance there is to that I really don't know. Maybe it's all talk. The finnish team I heard some talk about was Kärpät.

[Kekkonen]

Originally Posted by Tommysixfingers

Frölunda and Färjestad has talked about the possibility to play in the KHL but how much substance there is to that I really don't know. Maybe it's all talk. The finnish team I heard some talk about was Kärpät.

As a matter of fact, when I read the KHL claims about Finnish interest and the responses of Finnish league team representatives, the first thing that came to my mind is this: if "There will be a cold day in Hell before we join you" is crouched in polite enough terms, in translation it may look like the other party is actually seriously considering your offer.

[Tommysixfingers]

Originally Posted by Kekkonen

As a matter of fact, when I read the KHL claims about Finnish interest and the responses of Finnish league team representatives, the first thing that came to my mind is this: if "There will be a cold day in Hell before we join you" is crouched in polite enough terms, in translation it may actually seem like the other party is seriously considering your offer.

I guess finnish teams playing in Russia doesn't sit very well with a lot of people in Finland.

Where in Finland are you from btw? I have relatives in Kotka and Helsinki. My father is from Kotka.

[Kekkonen]

Originally Posted by Tommysixfingers

I guess finnish teams playing in Russia doesn't sit very well with a lot of people in Finland.

No, especially since none of our teams have the financial means to be competitive with them. The $5 million Avangard Omsk pays to Jagr is more than the entire 2007-08 Kärpät player budget -- and they were not only the best team in the regular season but went 12-3 in the three-round, best-of-seven play-offs and won the championship.

Originally Posted by Tommysixfingers

Where in Finland are you from btw? I have relatives in Kotka and Helsinki. My father is from Kotka.

I'm from Turku (or Åbo, if you prefer). So if you face due North, I'm in two o'clock.

[Long_Long_Name]

Originally Posted by Kekkonen

I'm from Turku (or Åbo, if you prefer). So if you face due North, I'm in two o'clock.

So, is Saku Koivu as overrated in Turku as he is here?