Four Things: Trades and Whatnot

Thing One: Subban for Weber
After spending much of the last week insisting that he was not shopping PK Subban, Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin distinguished himself as both a liar and a fool by flipping Subban to Nashville in a one-for-one deal for Shea Weber.  How is this a bad a decision?  Let us count the ways:
- Montréal "gains" a 30-yr old top-pairing guy who is juuusst cresting the hump.  Make no mistake, Weber is a fine player, but I believe we'll see his impact decline from here on in.
- They'll be paying Weber just under $8 mil until he is 40 years old.  Realistically, how many years has he got left in him?  Six, give or take a year?
- Subban is only three years younger than Weber but those three years are squarely in the middle of what should still be his best years.
- Subban earns a little more than Weber at $9 mil/yr but has only six years remaining on that deal. This may be important as PK will then be 33 and Nashville GM David Poile will have a good sense of how much gas is left in the tank.  Probably.  This is strategically significant.
- Bergevin just jettisoned the most popular player on the club, earning him no goodwill from Habs fans. PK donated a truck full of cash to a children's' hospital, for goodness' sake... what's Bergevin done, again?
The most ridiculous thing about this deal, and this is pure speculation but I think it's likely rooted in truth, is that the Habs' coach, Michel Therrien, likely has his greasy thumb print all over this deal. Granted, the Montréal sports media is basically TMZ filmed at a practice arena, but all signs pointed to a personality conflict between the coach and Subban, as in PK has a personality and Therrien doesn't. But seriously, how sad is Therrien to feel the need to discard an elite defenseman who is still developing?  Sure, maybe PK doesn't toe the line all the time, and maybe he's straining at the leash a little too much...but when someone's that good you bloody let them.  Possibly worse, now that I think of it, is the possibility of Marc Bergevin having been talked into this by Therrien. I'm not sure why Bergevin is so quick to have the back of a guy who persisted on trotting out a power play that included a player who failed score a single point in the season's first 32 games.

Thing Two: Hall for Larsson
I don't have a dog in this race at all, but it's pretty easy to see that it's A Bad Deal for The Oilers.  As above, there were faint rumblings of Hall being uncoachable, and another situation, perhaps, where the coach has to suck it up, take the bad with the good and work with that.  Hall is a thoroughbred and, while he put up good numbers with a pretty dismal supporting cast, some of his best play has been when he wasn't playing for The Oilers (international stuff).  The Devils are going to be better with Hall than with they were with Larsson but I'm not convinced that The Oilers improved their awful defense enough to make this deal remotely worthwhile.  Yeah, Larsson fills a need that The Oilers definitely need to address, but at what cost?  Well, now we know.
The only thing I can say in Oilers' GM Peter Chiarelli's defense is that he's perhaps looking ahead to future salary costs.  McDavid, Draisaitl and, in a few years, Puljujarvi are going to cost them bigtime, and the fact that Hall is off while Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle remain indicates that Chiarelli intends to persevere with these two.  Seriously, Pete, you couldn't get an Eberle + Yakupov deal done?

Thing Three: TSN is Ridiculous

Apropos of almost nothing and just a bit of whimsy, earlier this week these stories appeared simultaneously on the TSN hockey webpage: (these headlines are all down, now, so I might be paraphrasing them a bit)

- Tampa has Inside Track on re-signing Stamkos
- Stamkos unlikely to re-sign with Tampa
- What it Will Take for Toronto to sign Stamkos
- Red Wings close to signing Stamkos

Could these not have all been condensed into one "story" titled "Stamkos: We Have No Idea".

Thing Four: I Have Good News and I Have Bad News
The Blackhawks re-signed the not-so-ageless-but-whatever Michal Rozsival (1 yr, $600k) and the utterly-devoid-of-talent-or-anything-worthwhile Brandon Mashinter (1 yr, whatever they're paying is that much too much).  Great, having that goomba around will certainly help develop Motte, Schmaltz, Hartman or whoever's spot Mashinter takes.

NHL elite.  I hate that this photo even exists.  Get Ryan Reaves in there and I'll drop dead on the spot.

Hawks Draft Nine "Guys"

Yeah, more Swedes, more little fellas and a Belgian.

I hope they know what they're doing.

This Just In: Shaw to MTL for Picks

From blackhawks.nhl.com:
The Chicago Blackhawks tonight acquired two second-round picks (39th and 45th overall) in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Andrew Shaw.

Oh boy, this comes out of left field, from my Perspective of Complete Ignorance™, anyway.  I kinda believed the plan was to use the dosh freed up by banishing Bickell & Teravainen to get Shaw re-upped but, that said, Stan never tells me anything. I do imagine that an effort was made to renew vows with Shaw, but either the price was too high and/or Stan has something else cooking.  If that something involves a legitimate top-four defenseman I'm quite okay with that, in theory anyway.  Who can say on Draft Weekend, right?  It had just better not be Dan Hamhuis.

Often effective, sometimes ridiculously miscast and occasionally embarrassing, Shaw was a fan favourite, and I guess I'll miss his ability to tip in goals while in the goalie's kitchen but, any sentimentality aside, what's he worth in dollars per year?  Three mil?  Probably not four, but I'll bet the asking price was north of that.  The Hawks have a couple of options for filling the gap in Ryan Hartman or even Dale Weise if his price is agreeable. Plus it's Draft Weekend.

News! News! News!

                                                      Okay, relax, it isn't that exciting.

The NHL Awards were distributed earlier tonight and a couple of Hawks walked off with some hardware.

Patrick Kane won the Hart and Lindsay Awards, given to the player deemed Most Valuable by the sports media and his peers, respectively. Edit: and The Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the scoring champion.

Artemi Panarin took home the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.

ALSO: 

Dennis Rasmussen re-signed for another year.  I approve of this depth move

Kijiji Ad of The Day: Magic Lamp

                             Magic Lamp – 1 Wish Remaining

Last weekend while cleaning out my parents’ attic I came across this antique lamp and teapot in a box of my grandparents’ old stuff. The condition is not great, but would look good on any mantelpiece or as part of a curiosity cabinet. 

Both belonged to my grandfather. He was an archaeologist, ending his career as Professor Emeritus in McGill University’s Anthropology Department. In his younger days, he excavated the ruins of Babylon, in Iraq, and was an avid collector of antiques from all over that region. It grew from his research on the development of Mesopotamian metallurgy and spiritualism during the First Dynasty. Also, as was common at the time, he would keep things he found during his excavations that were not part of the dig. But, I can’t tell how old this is. After all, that was his job. 

For both, their provenance is unknown and neither has been appraised. 

The teapot measures 16 cm long by 13 cm high, and there is an Arabic inscription on the bottom. The hinge works well. 

The lamp, or incense holder, is 13 cm long and 6 cm high. The cap has no hinge and is generally in good condition. There was also a note tucked inside it that stated, “One wish left. Use wisely.” We think it is my grandfather’s writing, but it’s a little too blurry to be sure. 

When my sister and I were younger our he would tell us tales about how the past was so different, that ‘magic’ was all around us if we only knew how to look for it, and how he knew his luck would never run out. He would read 1001 Arabian Nights to us as a bedtime story, always saying these were not just stories, and that he’d met some of the characters. 

If you’d like the teapot, lamp, and the wish, contact me by email. 

Serious offers only.

Originally posted April 1, 2016.  'Nuff said. 

There We Go: Hawks Re-sign Panik

Once again, from blackhawks.nhl.com:
The Chicago Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with forward Richard Panik (PAH-neek) on a one-year contract.

My boy!

Edit: One year, $875K

Bickell, Teravainen Cast Off: Hawks Receive Nothing in Return

From blackhawks.nhl.com:
The Chicago Blackhawks today acquired a second-round pick (50th overall) in the 2016 National Hockey League Draft and a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forwards Bryan Bickell and Teuvo Teravainen.

So the good news here is that The Hawks just saved themselves $4 Mil cap space that had been soaked up by a fella who would never again set foot (skate?) on United Center ice.
The obviously disappointing news is that the associated cost of ditching that salary was Teuvo being packaged into the deal.
But, maybe it's not the worst idea, dealing Teravainen, although this is perhaps indicative of who's really in charge of the organization.  Coach Quenneville has rarely deployed Teravainen "properly", as in "the way any sane person would" and, when he does appear to get it right, it's only because he's out of other options.  Teuvo still has another year on a mighty cap-friendly deal but, after that, he'll be expensive whether Q chooses to utilize him efficiently or not.  It's likely that GM Stan Bowman saw this as perhaps the only real chance to get Bickell's salary off the books and that it might be best to not break his neck protecting Teravainen if Q only inserts him into the top six when Hossa's injured.  It's also possible that it was Teuvo's preference to leave.  Also, we're one year away from Panarin becoming extremely expensive and possibly requiring another veteran to be dispatched, so it's probably okay to let Rasmussen / Hinostroza / Motte / whoever get a full season in before having to fill a more important gap.

Teravainen found himself in a weird spot with The Hawks, some of which is down to him not having been granted admission into Q's Circle of Trust and some of which may well be his own fault.  Ostensibly a center, Teravainen failed to click with any combination of wingers he was matched with.  Granted, one of the wingers he was often saddled with was Brandon Mashinter, but there no chemistry with Fleischmann and Weise, either, which would have been a kickass third line if it had worked out.  His brief spells on the top two lines were, as mentioned, due to injury or suspension to others and, while he had some good moments during those auditions, it clearly wasn't enough to entice Q to extend the engagement.  I think we'll miss Teuvo on the power play - I thought he was a quite capable point-man - but, looking at the remaining centers I don't think we'll miss him too much in that capacity.  Dennis Rasmussen can endure Mashinter, or whatever lout inevitably fills that role, as well as Teuvo can.

Looking ahead, I guess we can expect Stan to try for a UFA or two because, at it stands right now, we have only seven forwards ready to go and I do not anticipate The Hawks planning to make do with four or more Icehogs in the lineup.  I hope Stan re-ups Richard Panik and wouldn't mind Rasmussen returning.  There may be a chance that Shaw remains but I don't see Fleischmann, Ladd or Weise being invited back.

That is all, until the next shoe drops.

Kijiji Ad of The Day: S is For Stupid

                                            S is for stupid

Great book $15 Chapter 6: Are Sideways Photos in Buy-and-Sell Ads Stupid or Simply Careless?

Firestone 600: We'll Finish This Later, for Some Reason

From indycar.com:
The scheduled 248-lap event at Texas Motor Speedway – the ninth race of the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season – was stopped after 71 laps today by heavy rain. INDYCAR and track officials announced that the race was suspended and will be completed Aug. 27 as a night race.

Hilariously, Indycar was tossing around this fate-tempting slogan all week:
"The Excitement Never Ends".
Unless it rains.
Which it often does whenever Indycar ventures to Texas.  How many times has qualifying and/or the race been delayed, shortened or otherwise compromised by rain or the inevitable "weepers", rain water seeping out of the track surface?  Plenty.
Maybe they needn't bother; just refund the couple hundred people in the stands and move on, never to return.

                                        Another packed house at Texas Motor Speedway.

Kijiji Ad of The Day: Bluetooth Speakers

                Skull Candy wireless bluetooth speaker boombox

Brand new in box. Retails for $159.99. I will not look at lowball offers so don't even bother being a jerk with your rude low offers. If you want to offer $40, go buy a speaker from the dollar store. 

I wish we had a Forty-Dollar Store here.  I'd be all over this.  Jerk.

Kijiji Ad of The Day: Mitsubishi FTO

1994 Mitsubishi FTO only 48,000 kms! ONLY ONE IN THE COUNTRY!

STUPID RARE!!! This is THE only Mitsubishi FTO for sale in CANADA!!!! 
1994 Mitsubishi FTO GXP model with PRISTINE black leather, Heated Seats and all options

This JDM RHD Japanese sports car is the top of the line model and has the 200HP 2.0L V6 MIVEC engine!! Small V6 = 9,000 rpms! THIS CAR ONLY WEIGHTS 2300 lbs!!!! Basically 200hp in a gocart ! This gorgeous car has only 48,000 kms and it shows!!!! Runs and drives EXCELLENT
Has Aftermarket exhaust, air intake and rims 

The NICEST example you will ever find and the ONLY one for sale!!! 
WILL look at other trades around 10,000 plus 

Y'know what seems stupid?  Springing for the only example of a 20+ year old Mitsubishi in the country. You bet Canadian Tire will have all the parts you'll need.