Seriously, when does it get to the point when you people are to start calling the Boston Sports Party a prophet or a magic 8 ball? BSP is predicting the future left and right, and it's happening right in front of all of you! I admit it, I missed on the Scott Niedermayer situation. It simply seemed like he had too much left in the tank to call it quits, but he bailed on me and cost me perfection. Other than that, Danny D and myself have been fucking spot on when it comes to the NHL offseason, and it only continues.
Yesterday, Shark GM Doug Wilson announced via press conference that the team would not be extending a contract offer to goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Now they're not exactly changing over to a hammerhead logo, but they are certainly taking steps toward drastically changing the face of the team. I've never been a Nabokov fan, ever, I think he absolutely stinks. But league scouts, and his numbers, suggest that he should have been nominated for the Vezina Trophy this past season. So to get rid of your "Vezina-caliber" goaltender is a huge makeover in itself. I anticipated that the Sharks will make more moves, but this definitely qualifies as the start of a big makeover for the notorious playoff chokers of the West Coast.
Aside from the Sharks initial offseason moves, the Blackhawks made some shake-ups as well. It didn't take a brain surgeon to realize they were going to need to trim down their roster in order to meet cap restrictions in 2010-11. But what a lot of people didn't see coming was the departure of playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien. While the Hawks had no choice but to make a deal at some point, I think the wrong deal was made here. Byfuglien is a great compliment to the skill of both Toews and Kane, and he is going to continue to mature into one of the best power forwards in the league. A 25-goal power forward doesn't come along all that often, and the Blackhawks parted ways with one. In addition, they gave up a great 4th defenseman in Brent Sopel (a great shot blocker) and a talented agitator in Ben Eager. All of that for a few prospects, a late first round pick, and a late 2nd round pick? Not worth it. The Blackhawks managed to ease their cap woes with this deal, but they didn't get good value for their players. Next year, they'll realize how important Byfuglien and Sopel were to their success, and they'll regret the move. This deal also has implications in our Comparative Mock Draft, so we'll have to make certain adjustments.
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