Tuesday, March 06, 2007

 

Okay, Be Honest

Is anyone else waiting to see where Smytty signs this summer so that they can buy his jersey? Or is that just me?

Comments:

No - but I'll be garage sale'ing for Nilsson jerseys for sure.

The EIG made this move to ensure the health of the Oil Kings in their inaugural season. Good move.
 


The EIG made this move to ensure the health of the Oil Kings in their inaugural season. Good move.

That made me giggle in delight.
 


Not really, but I am considering getting my Oilers jersey Smyth-d up, regardless of whether he plays for them or not.
 


You mean my Isles jersey won't be any good in a few months?
 


You mean my Isles jersey won't be any good in a few months?

I kinda hope it is, actually. I hate to say it, but he looks good in that jersey. Must be the similar colours.
 


I'm waiting too.

In fact, I was contemplating a trip to NY to catch an Isles game before the end of the season. April against Toronto looked good too. In fact, I read they had tickets for $16! Good luck finding that anywhere in Canada! Airfare was reasonable, splitting hotel costs would have made it even moreso.

But what if he's not there for long? I've decided to put off travelling anywhere for hockey until I know where he's signed and make a trip there. Seriously.

I've spent countless thousands of dollars travelling to Edmonton. Especially last summer for the SC run. Now I decided to use it and go to Italy.

But I will be buying a Smyth jersey wherever he signs. I figure I'll get 5 years worth of use out of it. And the EIG can collectively F&*# OFF until they smarten up and actually decide they want to make a constructive effort to stop screwing the team up.

Burn in hell, Lowe!

(I don't think I'll ever get over this)
 


On the Versus broadcast last night they said they they had rush produced 150 Smyth Islander jersey's for his first game. They had sold them all by the first intermission.

They also said that the Isles sold 1200 (or 1400?) of their 'race to the playoffs' ticket packages after they acquired him.

Fans of the Isles seem really pumped. And not just because Smyth is a really good player. Just my sense of it, but I think for them it's like a tangible indicator that they aren't the low point drain of the league any more.

On Smyth, I'm sure that Nolan would like to let him ease his way into the lineup over the next couple of weeks. But really, this Kozlov-vs-Jagr type of thing is tough on the Isles. I would think that at some point he'll run Smyth-Sillinger-Hunter for that type of gig. Probably not for another 6 or 7 games though, Nolan seems like a patient guy that way.

James: Are you really an Islander fan?
 


(I don't think I'll ever get over this)

As someone who's lived through ALL the exoduses, starting with Coffey, let me tell you something: you won't. Your heart will just keep scarring.
 


James: Are you really an Islander fan?

He's a Nucks fans. He's just scared to admit it around here. :)
 


grace:

Ya, I'm far from being an Islander fan, but if they make the playoffs and I can swing tickets I'm thinking of doing the same.

I was thinking of taking my daughter to visit the Smithsonian museums in DC this spring anyways, if I can tie in an Islander playoff game or two, that would be very cool.
 


Whatever the design for the new Canucks logo is next season, Ryan Smyth will look good wearing it :-)

Sorry Grabia, couldn't resist.
 


Sorry Grabia, couldn't resist.

Will they even have the cap space?
 


I like how Cosh refers to "three first-rounders" like they're undifferentiated. Oil fans need to prepare for the extreme likelihood that Robert Nilsson has all his father's heart -- and nose for the corners -- but lacks his playmaking skills.

And that Isles fans will regret losing him like Oil fans miss Jani Rita.
 


Being I live in Vancouver, no, they don't have the cap space. Believe me, around the office people have harassed me enough about this, I looked into it. I hate the nucks. Because their fans are just as bad as leaf fans.

Andy, I was a fan and a kid when Gretzky got traded. I survived every exodus and sucked it up because I knew the team couldn't afford them. This trade, they can afford him, they just chose to kick me in the heart.

This is the one instance where I actually love a player more than the uniform.

Vic, I have a sneaking suspicion Ryan will sign in the Eastern team.

It'll be interesting to see what the schedule will be for next season and if they'll hold off releasing it until he decides where to play and they conveniently add that team stop in Edmonton.

Still, a trip to Long Island is tempting. And if you were an Oiler fan of the 80s, you should have the hate-on for the Islanders worse than the Flames. I think that's when I actually learned to hate. And I haven't stopped. I hate: Kevin Lowe, President Bush, Canucks and their fans (except Trevor Linden and my parents), Flames fans (except my niece) and the state of Ohio.
 


Colby:

If Lowe still owned their rights, and and traded Rita AND Niinimaki as well as his first round pick for Roloson. How mad would you have been?

Matt once asked a very important question on this blog: What is the dollar value of a 2nd round pick? I think that for most organizations $250k is too much.

A mid-first round pick in this draft doesn't seem to represent much more than that this year. Possibly even less depending on what the signing bonus levels are for the 1sts.

As for O'Marra, I know he's had some injuries, but unless he's been playing in a body cast it's hard to understand. Think Josh Green as a comp. Smart money says that by the time he's developed enough to be even marginally useful as an NHLer he will be UFA age ... and the Oilers will have spent a lot of money on him.

As far as Nilsson goes, google "Alex Selivanov" and "quote" and that should nail it. To boot he's turned 22 years old now and is still a bit under a PPG in the AHL. When you don't bring anything else to the table, you'd better damn well be scoring at a better rate than that.

I mean Todd Marchant was only around 1.3 PPG in the AHL at that age (actually Marchant was several months younger). But Todd brought solid defensive play and a terrific work ethic with him.
 


That's just you dude. I'm looking to get a new Oilers jersey, time to de-Smythify.
 


time to de-Smythify.

You mean for the next ten years, after which the EIG will bring him back and retire his jersey amidst a constant barrage of "he was the ultimate Oiler" stories," at which point I will choke on my own vomit.
 


colby:

So, in your considered opinion, how does Nilsson project?

warning: I'm afraid that today I will not accept "I've just got a feeling he will be super duper!" as an answer.

Lowe is like a slots player right now. And he's stopped listening to his coach I think, he's in the big world on his own now. He's hoping for that million dollar score, and Garth Snow (of all people) is the emotionless slots machine that keeps taking 20% holds.

Now it's Saturday night, there aren't many tokens left in the jar, and looking at the lines ... that late game at the U of Hawaii just might set this all right.

Time to bet Horcoff, Kev. We know you want to do it.

As an aside: Saw Snow on a broadcast the other day, he was mingling with the fans at intermission ... and either Islander fans are really small, or buddy really is the size of a slot machine. :D
 


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Colby

I thought I'd actually be able to goad you into doing some superficial research there. But you are obviously well within your rights to have blind faith in Oiler management. :)

These look like terrible gambles though, Desjardin's accumulated results from years and years of prospects paint the darkest picture imaginable for O'Marra. And the error bars narrow with age, the renewed projection of the player he will become ... right now you can get better versions as UFAs for the same price, less development cost.

And Robert Nilsson is clearly from a family of players that I don't like to begin with. But offensively, by the cold results, he's on a par with J.F Jacques.

That's not a slight on J.F Jacques (who is also a tad younger than Nilsson BTW) ... because he's as big as a tree, works hard, and fights. I think Dennis is right to have faith in J.F. as someone who might be a useful player one day.

Every GM takes risks, and of course you win some and lose some. These both look like very poor risks to me.
 

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