Here are a few photos from last night's 4-2 Sharks win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings. After a tight checking game in the first period and several spectacular saves by backup goaltender Ty Conklin, the Sharks opened up for 3 goals in the second and outskated a tired Wings team in the third. More notes and photos from the game will be posted here soon.
4 years, $3.75/year. This is weird; does this mean that Ken Holland actually made a bad decision, or does this mean I'm an idiot for thinking Brad Stuart sucked? I guess he fits in well with the Red Wings because he can run around doing whatever while the rest of the team plays perfect defense. Oh well, I'll just assume I'm smarter than Ken Holland. I mean, he didn't get promoted to late-shift manager at 7/11 in only 3 years, did he? I think that's some kind of record.
Holy shit are Kings fans a bunch of whimpering pussies. Seriously, go check Letsgokings.com to see some hardcore, grade-A whining. Rob Blake is taking the brunt of the abuse, but Dean Lombardi is getting his fair share of licks as well. I honestly don't understand what people are so upset about. Nobody wants the shitty players on a last-place team and the the guys that might have been traded were, for the most part, injured. Here's a look at the trade bait:
Ladislav Nagy- He's apparently wearing a neck brace when he drives because of his mysterious neck injury. I mean...
Scott Thornton- According to Dean Lombardi, Thornton had a no-trade clause. (Ed. note: what the fuck?) He waived it for 4 teams and almost got sent to one of them, but they apparently made a big trade that turned them off Scott. Are they talking about the Sharks?
Brad Stuart- Traded to Detroit for a 2nd in '08 and a 4th in '09. Not bad for the 4th best defenseman on the worst defensive team in the league. Brad Stuart will always be overrated by some because he hits big occasionally and has some size, but I think he only improved halfway through the season because Jack Johnson took some of his even-strength minutes. Hopefully the Wings will pair him with Rafalski and allow him to concentrate on hurting opposing forwards. He'll probably help their 2nd line power play, although I guess they don't really have a 2nd unit because their 1st unit always scores.Brian Willsie- I doubt anyone called about him.
Derek Armstrong- I'm convinced Armstrong would have been traded if he hadn't gotten hurt on the 21st.
Tom Preissing- He hasn't played great this season but he's 1 year into a 4-year deal; I don't think it would have sent a good message to the rest of the league if they traded a free agent this early.J.S. Aubin- Traded to the Ducks for a 7th rounder. I have no idea why, unless Burke is trying to trick people into thinking the Ducks have foreigners on their team.
Mike Cammalleri- He wasn't going to get traded at the deadline. If he does get traded, it'll probably be at the draft.
Rob Blake- Reportedly, Blake said the Kings could trade him to Colorado if they could get a good deal. I honestly don't get this whole "Fuck Rob Blake" thing. This is what Matt Kredell said at Inside the Kings:
[Blake] said he would accept a trade to Colorado if they could get a good return since he had played there before and liked it there, but that he would prefer to remain a King.
Maybe I'm crazy, but that seems perfectly reasonable. He told them that he'd like to stay and help the team but he'd understand if they got an offer they couldn't refuse. The Avalanche chose to trade for Adam Foote instead for 3 reasons:1) He's a defensive defenseman
2) He is healthy
3) He might re-sign in the off-season
That makes sense to me. I'd have traded for Foote instead too.
This is going to sound crazy (especially coming from me), but aren't people taking this whole hockey thing a little too seriously? What's the point of watching a sport if you're going to get this fucking worked up about it? I mean, Kings fans are mad at Rob Blake because another team chose not to trade for him. Has it really come to this? What was Lombardi supposed to do, offer Blake for a 3rd rounder? That'll set a nice example for free agents. Put yourself in Blake's shoes for a second; would you accept leaving your wife and kids for 3 months just to help some hockey team possibly win some trophy? If someone told me the Kings would win the Stanley Cup but I would have to move to Denver and cheer for the Avalanche... well, I'd tell you what I'd say, but there isn't a font size large enough to properly express how loudly I'd tell that guy to fuck off.
Look, Rob Blake was kind of a dick in 2001. Since he's come back, though, he hasn't said or done one thing that would imply that he didn't care about the future of this team. He's the greatest defenseman in LA Kings history and now he'll retire as a King. That seems right to me.
***
With the trade of Brad Stuart, the Kings’ 2008 draft picks are as follows*:
2 1st round picks- Dallas (Norstrom)
3 2nd round picks-
3 3rd round picks- Conditional (from Avery deal),
3 4th round picks- Tampa Bay (Munce), Vancouver (Sopel), Kings and Caps switch picks in ’08 (weird trade, I don’t know)
1 5th round pick
1 6th round pick
2 7th round picks-
Holy hell. The Kings probably can’t use all those draft picks (contract limits), so they’ll package some together to trade up or trade back to 2009. Dean Lombardi’s new scout team should have a lot of fun on draft day.
*I probably messed up at least once.
In the spirit of Christmas, I thought it would be appropriate to look back at one of the dumbest trades of all time. Indeed, on Nov. 30 2005, the Boston Bruins foolishly gave away the most hyped player since Eric Lindros (at least when Jumbo Joe was drafted) for a buncha schmoes.
"Joe for schmoes" read the headlines.*
So, in commemoration of this wonderful, Hart trophy-sized gift, let's follow the careers of those who were involved in this painfully idiotic trade.
San Jose Sharks get: Big Bird Joe Thornton
That picture really has to hurt Boston Bruins fans. I mean, seriously, look at how happy Joe looks.
Since that trade, Thornton scored 245 pts in 173 regular season GP! Holy shitballs!
And, even though he certainly could grow some playoff balls he does have 20 pts in 22 playoff GP with the Sharks. So, even though his numbers take a bit of a dive when the games start to matter, he has improved...compared to when he was an ineffective Bruin. (Wow, I'm pouring a lot of salt in that wound. Yikes.)
I'm sure one of the three(?) SJ bloggers could wordsmith and pontificate about Big Joe's greatness during his time wearing increasingly ridiculous Sharks jerseys better than I, but he certainly has made a positive impact. He signed a Sidney Crosby-like manageable contract to give the Sharks cap flexibility and will keep them as a contender for at least the next 5 years.
Sure, the Shawwks did make it to the WCF that pre-lockout year without Joe, but few would argue against the point that Big Bird raised the team's ceiling substantially. He also made Jon Cheechoo a multi-millionaire.
Good deal for the Sharks, yes?
The Bruins get:
Brad Stuart
Brad Stuart, at least from my memory, was the "blue chip" player who somehow justified the Bruins to push the red button on the Big Bird firesale. Matt at Battle of Alberta did a good job of capturing the vague talents of Stuart last February.
Since the trade, Stuart has yet to complete a full season with the same squad (though we're pulling for him to stick with the Kings). He was a dreadful -22 in just 48 GP with the Bruins, bounced back with a +12 in 35 GP with the Flames and sits at -12 with the Kings this year.
What does that tell us?
He's a bit player, but who knows, maybe someday he'll have a Van Halen-style eruption. As the #3 pick by the Sharks in '98 he's certainly been a disappointment. Every now and then, early draft picks end up "getting it" later than many hoped. But I doubt the Sharks really miss Stuart.
The Kings are certainly hoping that Jack Johnson follows Rob Blake rather than Stuart's footsteps. (Potty mouth language not included, naturally)
Germany's favorite Marco Sturm
Unlike the underachieving Stuart, Marco stuck with the Bruins. He recently signed a four-year extension with the Bruins and seems to be the only player the team can even point to as being a "success" in the deal.
It's hard to pick on Marco too much, even if he hasn't done as much as some might expect from him. He's a speedy winger but he's somewhat on the smaller side. He's probably going to stay in the point-every-other-game-or-so range for most of his career.
He's doing better so far this year, with a solid 21 pts in 32 GP.
Wayne "not Keith" Primeau
Wayne Primeau was a throw-in to the deal, a mediocre two-way center with a good attitude. A locker room guy. Who is now a decent fit in the Calgary Flames locker room.
So, not even three full seasons later, all the Bruins have to show for is a solid, hard working forward in Sturm. But, hey, it's not like Thornton is one of the top 5 forwards in the NHL, right?
Ooops.
* - Not true.
