The Official NHL Thread

[Romeo Delight]

Keenan is a genius.

He got Bertuzzi and McCabe for Linden years ago

[Romeo Delight]

Is Bryan Allen going to Edmonton?

Nonis won't be pleased.

[POJO_Risin]

On with the draft...

Johnson goes with the first pick...

Staal with the second...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Draft is underway....

Erik Johnson to the Blues...

Pens grab Staal..... A bit surprised, I thought they'd make a deal for a D-man...

Blackhawks take Toews (the Steelers' Loren Toews' son)...

Caps take Backstrom...

Boston takes Kessel...

A now, the rest of the draft will be a jumble....

[POJO_Risin]

Forget my post...

anyways...

there still could be a deal in the air...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Two trades so far today....

- Atlanta sent former number one overall pick Patrik Stefan and defenceman Jaroslav Modry to the Stars for Niko Kapanen and a 7th round pick.

- The Calgary Flames made a move to get more offence next season, acquiring forward Alex Tanguay from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenceman Jordan Leopold, a 2006 second round pick, and a conditional second rounder in 2007 or 2008.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Another big rumor for Pronger...

Ottawa trading Havlat, Phillips and #1 for Pronger...

[Romeo Delight]

Looks like Florida was about to sign Luongo, so that his trade value would be more...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=169602&hubname=nhl

'We made great strides yesterday. I thought we were going to get something long term. I was surprised this whole deal went down.''

The Canucks acquired Luongo, 27, from the Florida Panthers Friday night in a blockbuster trade. Vancouver sent forward Todd Bertuzzi, defenceman Bryan Allen and goaltender Alex Auld to Florida in exchange for Luongo, defenceman Lukas Krajicek and a sixth-round pick.

Luongo said he had reached a tentative four-year deal with the Panthers - he wouldn't say for how much money - hinged on three conditions.



He wanted the team to make a public statement they would not trade him, Florida would hire Francois Allaire as his goaltender coach, and the Panthers would sign goaltender Jamie McLennan as his backup.

''They did not want to meet my three expectations which I thought were not that big a deal,'' he said.


Luongo has married a woman from Florida and recently purchased a new home. He said he would rather stay in Florida but is looking forward to playing in Vancouver.

''I think I'm excited because Vancouver is a great hockey city and they have a great team,'' he said. ''I'm really looking forward to the opportunity of making a run at the Stanley Cup, something I never had a chance to do in my prior seasons in Florida.''

[Full Bug]

A general rundown.....

Blues take Johnson with top pick Erik Johnson

6/24/2006

(TSN.CA with CP files) - The St. Louis Blues selected American defenceman Erik Johnson with the first pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft on Saturday.

The 6-4, 220-pound American emerged as a force at the 2006 World Junior Championship and was the consensus pick as the top player available. He is the fifth American to go first overall.

Blues general manager Larry Pleau had been busy all week fielding calls from other clubs that wanted to trade into the top spot, but did not get the blockbuster he required to give up the first ever number one selection in franchise history.

In the end, he opted to stick with Johnson, a franchise defender. The product of the U.S. National Team Development Program has committed to play for the University of Minnesota next season, but has a good chance to make the Blues instead.


The International Scouting Service notes that Johnson's "tremendous physical skills combined with his great frame and his ability to understand the game make him the best prospect available for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He has excellent feet that he can use in both offensive and defensive capacities and is nearly impossible to beat in 1 on 1 situations."


"I was pretty nervous sitting there," he said of the moments leading up to the announcement of his name. "It feels great to be part of the St. Louis Blues organization.

"I feel great right now."

The Pittsburgh Penguins picked second and took centre Jordan Staal of the Peterborough Petes.

Staal is the younger brother of Carolina forward Eric Staal.

"You don't really know where you're going to end up," said Jordan Staal. "Hopefully, I can step up in the next couple years and be a big part of this organization."

Penguins GM Ray Shero said he was particularly impressed with Staal's leadership qualities.

"I want this organization to be about more than one or two or three players," said Shero. "I'm looking forward to having Jordan here and winning a Stanley Cup."

The Chicago Blackhawks took Jonathan Toews of the University of North Dakota with the third pick.

The Washington Capitals took Swedish star Nicklas Backstrom with the fourth pick. The pick was happily announced by Calder Trophy winner Alexander Ovechkin, who might end up playing on Backstrom's wing in Washington.

"I'm sure he's ready to play in the NHL," Ovechkin said.

Boston took Phil Kessel of the University of Minnesota with the fifth pick. Kessel is a game-breaking scorer with breakaway speed. He led all NCAA freshman in scoring this year.

"The wait was pretty difficult," Kessel said.

Asked about his drop in the rankings, he opted to talk about the future.

"I'm just going to go out there and play my game," said Kessel.

With the sixth pick, Columbus took Drummondville forward Derick Brassard. He is an electric offensive player who score 114 points in 58 games with the Voltiguers last season.

The Islanders had the seventh pick and selected Kyle Okposo, a power forward who tore up the USHL last season with Des Moines.

Wayne Gretzky announced the eighth overall pick for the Phoenix Coyotes. He took Everett centre Peter Mueller. He is regarded as a terrific play-maker with good size.

"He's a big boy," Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky said of Mueller. "He's a proven leader on the team's he's played on.

"We didn't expect to see him at that pick. We're proud to have him."

The Minnesota Wild were up ninth and selected centre James Sheppard of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, whom ISS compared to a young Joe Thornton.

The Florida Panthers, fresh off Friday's big trade that landed Todd Bertuzzi in Miami, picked 10th. The Panthers took Czech forward Michael Frolik, a talented player coming off a disappointing season.

Jonathan Bernier Of Lewiston was the first goaltender selected. He went to the Los Angeles Kings with the 11th pick.

The Atlanta Thrashers took Barrie centre Bryan Little with the 12th selection. Little is small but skilled, the kind of player who should do well in the new NHL, but likely would not have been a first rounder three years ago.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were the first Canadian team to pick. They selected Czech forward Jiri Tlusty. He is considered a well-rounded player and was the captain of the Czech team at the World Under-18 Championship.

Next up was the host Vancouver Canucks. General Manager Dave Nonis was cheered loudly by the fans, who apparently approved of his Friday trade for goaltender Roberto Luongo.

Nonis selected Spokane winger Michael Grabner. The Austrian is considered a pure offensive player with good speed who needs to develop his defensive game.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, in need of a goaltender, drafted one from Finland. With the 15th pick, the Lightning called on Riku Hall, a big goaltender who was the top keeper at the 2005 World Under-18 Championship.

The Montreal Canadiens had the 16th pick, but traded it to the San Jose Sharks for the 20th overall pick and the 53rd pick (second round). The Sharks then picked Ty Wishart. He was the first defenceman picked since Erik Johnson went first overall.

The Kings traded forward Pavol Demitra to the Minnesota Wild for Patrick O'Sullivan and the 17th pick in the draft. The Kings picked forward Trevor Lewis, a linemate of Okposo, with the 17th selection.

Colorado took Chris Stewart with the 18th pick. He is the younger brother of Florida winger Anthony Stewart.

Former Vancouver GM Brian Burke got a nice hand from the crowd when he came to the podium to announce Anaheim's selection at number 19. Burke took defensive defenceman Mark Mitera from the University of Michigan.

That brought the Montreal Canadiens back to the podium. Montreal selected high school defenceman David Fischer of Apple Valley. He was Minnesota's Mr. Hockey in 2006 and is slated to play at the University of Minnesota next season.

At 21, the New York Rangers selected Owen Sound defenceman Bob Sanguinetti.

Bob Clarke got a laugh by announcing that he'd forgotten the Philadelphia Flyers selection at 22. He quickly recovered and called for Gatineau's Claude Giroux, a small but skilled forward.

Ovechkin was back at the podium to make Washington's second first round pick. He called the name of Russian goaltender Semen Varlamov for the 23rd overall pick.

Buffalo had the 24th pick and selected Swedish defenceman Dennis Persson.

New Jersey traded the 25th pick to St. Louis for the 30th and 77th picks. The Blues then grabbed Swedish forward Patrik Berglund.

Fresh off their trade for Alex Tanguay, the Calgary Flames took Everett goaltender Leland Irving with the 26th pick. He set Everett franchise records for wins (37), saves (1,504), games played (67) and goals-against average (1.92) in a season.

At 27, the Dallas Stars took Ryoun-Noranda defenceman Ivan Vishnevsky. He's an offensive player with great skating ability.

The Ottawa Senators got some grit with the 28th pick, taking Sudbury winger Nick Foligno. He is the son of former NHLer Mike Foligno.

Detroit traded the 29th pick and the 152nd pick to Phoenix for picks 41 and 47. Gretzky then selected American defenceman Chris Summers. He was the tenth American selected, the most ever in the first round.

The 30th and final selection of the first round went to the Devils after they traded down earlier. New Jersey selected Saginaw defenceman Matthew Corrente.

[POJO_Risin]

This Pronger shit...is just getting started...

should be interesting to see where he might end up...

[Romeo Delight]

If the reasons for the Pronger's wanting to be moved is anything but they need to be near certain medical services, etc., then this is bullshit.

What, need to be in a warmer place?

Should have thought of that before you were signed and people committed advertising dollars, season tickets, etc.

I really hope it is for a legit reason, not because some bitch wants more pedicure locations...

[Romeo Delight]

12 americans selected in the first round.

Most impressive.

[POJO_Risin]

Look...I've got no problems with people wanting to live in other places...it happens all the time in regular life...

of course...for 6 1/2 million dollars a year...I'd work at the bottom of the ocean...

perhaps someone is ill in her family...mom...dad...bro or sis...

whatever...

Pronger SHOULD consider his family before his fucking job...and if Edmonton doesn't want to fucking trade him...

then don't...

[POJO_Risin]

Yeah...to bad all those Americans can't combine to make a fucking World Cup team that's worth a damn...

perhaps it's coming though...

[POJO_Risin]

Canes sign Laviolette to a 5 year deal...and sign his assistants as well...