Re-Draft Steals: Round 1

With the fourth round underway, it seems like there is enough separation to have a little fun with the CLS League Re-Draft.

To revive your memories of the first round, there were some big surprises amid the expected decisions.

Obviously, the biggest surprise was most likely Cassie‘s pick of Henrik Lundqvist at #3. It wasn’t the only pick that defied expectations, however, so there were some top-end players going toward the end of the first round.

Calling Evgeni Malkin (#4), Nicklas Lidstrom (#6) or Pavel Datsyuk (#7) steals might be a bit much, even if they were great picks. So for the sake of argument, we’ll go into the teens before we consider anyone a true “steal.” Feel free to vote and comment on whom you think ended up being the Hamburglar of the first round.

It’s not crazy to call Geno a steal at #4

11. Roberto Luongo

Perhaps it wasn’t a banner season for Bobby Lou after he faced a tough mid-season injury and fell victim to a Patrick Kane hat trick in the playoffs, but it’s still surprising that he was not the first goaltender taken.

16. Jarome Iginla

It’s been a while since Iginla powered the Calgary Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but he hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down as one of the premier power forwards in the game. He does everything you’d want, from scoring to fighting to being a charismatic leader.

19. Martin Brodeur

His stock is sliding a bit, but Brodeur is still one of the biggest names in the NHL. He’s won Stanley Cups, Vezina trophies, gold medals and oh yeah, the most games of any netminder ever. Couple that with a reasonable cap hit ($5.2 million) and what was a staggering workhorse streak before the 2008-9 season and he has to at least be considered a steal.

23. Chris Pronger

Pronger might be the most hated player in the NHL, considering that he poses a far more legitimate threat than Sean Avery‘s mouth. But for my money, if I want to win a Cup next year I’d either go with Pronger. He might not be as cerebral as Lidstrom, but that doesn’t mean he cannot think the game. He might not be as large as Zdeno Chara, but he makes up for their small size difference with an indifference for human life. Oh, and he’s also a helluva powerplay quarterback to boot.

25. Joe Thornton

Yes, he gets a lot of crap for his playoff chokings (whether that perception is fair or not) but Jumbo Joe is a guy who’s made millionaires out of solid forwards ever since he got comfortable in the league. He’s huge, awesome in video games and puts up huge numbers every year. In my book, he’s easily a top-15 player.

26. Henrik Zetterberg

Zetterberg can do it all. He’s one of the league’s best two-way players, can shift between center and LW with ease and score tons of points. His durability can be a bit of a concern, but other than that he’s a guy who has no business dropping to the later part of the first round.

Which player was the steal of the first round?(opinion)

The Day After the Trade Deadline

Well hockey fans, we again weathered another trade deadline. Since there has been extensive coverage on CLTS, I don’t want to beat a dead horse. So I am going to give a brief wrap-up of the days events. Plus I am beat and I figure short and sweet is better than nothing.

The build-up to the trade deadline is kinda like Christmas. You can’t wait to see if your grandpa Shero got you a sweet Xbox 360 or a power forward to play wing with Sidney. Or maybe, just maybe someone got you a brand new car with one of those comically over sized bows on the hood. But most of the time you get a lame dolphin sweater or some socks or a 9th round draft pick.

That’s the fun of the deadline. You’re never sure what your team will “unwrap.” For example, last year the Penguins made their big move right at the buzzer and picked up Marian Hossa. My immediate response was glee, followed up by this statement: “He’s a rental player, no question. If we win the cup, it’ll be a masterstroke; if we don’t everyone will be pissed.” It was a gamble that damn near payed off. Of course, it didn’t. (FYI: I hate Marian Hossa.)

So to continue the Christmas theme, below I will review two of the big trades of the day and their gift counterpart. (I might just do a couple more trades on Sunday.)

Calgary gets Olli Jokinen for Matthew Lombardi, another guy and a draft pick:

For the Flames, getting Jokinen is like getting a second Wii-mote and Nunchuck to make your pretty fun Nintendo Wii (Jarome Iginla) super fun because now two can play. Could Calgary live without him…probably. But does his arrival make them potentially far better…definitely. Solid trade, great gift.

Penguins get Bill Guerin for a six-pack of Keystone and a bag of chips:

Okay, so it was a draft pick, but sheesh they gave up nothing. Look has Bill Guerin done ANYTHING notable in the past like four seasons? But…what I do know is back in the day Guerin played with this kid name Joe Thornton (you may have heard of him) and put up some decent numbers. More importantly, he was tough guy. If Guerin can return to that form with this cast of characters, great trade. At bare minimum he HAS to be better than Satan. Gift Equivalent: a sizable gift card to a store that could go under at any moment.

–Dre