So the 2014 NHL Entry Draft is done. In the books. 210 players have had their dreams come true. We’re not going to get all sappy about that though.
No, this is sports. This is about winning and losing. So… who won? And who lost? Well, it depends who you ask. If we’re talking about the whole draft weekend, and all the sideshows going on around it, well then people might tell you it was the Anaheim Ducks. They did after all win the bidding for Ryan Kesler.
But what about just the Draft? Well Puck Daddy claims the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flame were two of the big winners, along with Brendan Lemieux’s Angst, No-Trade Clauses, and the United Kingdom. Others claim the New York Islanders, with their trade up to acquire Josh Ho-Sang, were the big winners.
Or if you write for the Toronto Sun, then only Canadian teams were even playing.
In short, no one can really say how any team did in this year’s draft. Hold on to your hats though, we’ll find out in a few years!
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So. Free agency starts, like, soon. What are the Stars going to be doing? Does anybody know? [Sports Day DFW]
Josh Ho-Sang managed to turn himself into quite the controversial figure before the draft. But I think there’s one thing we can all agree on. His dad has amazing hair. [Puck Daddy]
While the Stars didn’t take the risk of drafting Ho-Sang, they could be said to have taken a risk in drafting Julius Honka. Or maybe just not have played it safe. [Sports Day DFW]
Australian hockey is on the rise! Or maybe it’s just made a breakthrough? Or maybe this is just a totally random thing, never to be repeated. Whatever. Nathan Walker became the first Australian to be drafted on Saturday. [The Sydney Morning Herald]
And Greg Wyshynski breaks down the Australian’s delight, Mystery Science Theater 3000 style. [Puck Daddy]
Sunday Hockey Notes. And yes, the article is out of Boston, but that doesn’t make it bad! (in this case) [Boston Globe]
Excellent idea San Jose. Instead of trading Joe Thornton, just strip him of his captaincy. Leadership problem solved. [Fear the Fin]
What’s happening with Jason Spezza now? And should we, as Stars fans, even care? Well, there are reports the Stars are back in the mix after a deal with Nashville fell through. Although the writer does say the Stars “want a center to play with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin,” so I’m not sure they’re to be trusted… [Ottawa Sun]
So where’s Mikhail Grabovski going to be next season? [RMNB]
Thoughts from the Buffalo fan base on the Sabres‘ buyout of Christian Ehrhoff? Well, they didn’t exactly love it. [Die by the Blade]
The big trade of the weekend of course was the one that sees James Neal heading to Nashville. Character issues aside, it’s a great move by the Preds yeah? [On the Forecheck]
Fans of the Tampa Bay Lightning were rather confused with their teams trade of Teddy Purcell for Sam Gagner. And then the Bolts immediately flipped Gagner to the Arizona Coyotes, along with B.J. Crombeen. For a sixth-round pick. Talk about maximizing your return… Are we gonna see this kind of move more often? Trades where the acquisition of a contract is more important than the acquisition of a player? [NHL.com]
The idea of it does call to mind a certain Dallas player. *cough* Sergei Gonchar *cough* Anybody out there want to trade for a nice hefty contract with a declining player attached to it? Buffalo maybe? [DBD Fan Post]
And lastly, how to sum up your team’s season… in GIF form. Some of these are absolute genius. [Reddit]