2017 NHL Expansion Draft, Entry Draft and Free Agency

[McCaffrey Dude]

There was a time when the NHL tried to hype goaltender , Manon Reaume. I think that is the spelling. She was a pretty athletic for her gender but she never made it above the AHL level and I believe she was dismal in her one year there. The Edmonton Oilers had 5 black players on their team once but that never really lasted long either.

 

[Matra2]

The NHL players will not be at the next Olympics which are in Korea and therefore bad for North America TV. The owners also don't like the risk of injury to players going to a separate tournament which they don't benefit from. However, Bettman is speaking to Chinese government officials about the 2022 Olympics to be staged in China. Apparently a billion Chinese can get the NHL to overcome objections to sending players mid-season to a bad TV time-zone.

I don't think it is going to work. Even in Canada ethnic Chinese have limited interest in hockey and the interest they have is, I suspect, all based on doing what's fashionable (ie status-seeking). NBA is the North American league with the best chance of long term popularity in China.

 

[Don Wassall]

Hockey has enough international competition that skipping the Olympics isn't that big a deal. NHL players already have a grueling schedule and taking two weeks off for the Olympics means compressing the regular season NHL schedule for the stars that much more. I enjoy watching the pros play in the Olympics, but it's probably in their best interests not to.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I've been reading the Penguins HF boards now for about half a year, and some of the comments by the DWF segment of the fan base in the thread on the trade for Ryan Reaves have been pure gold. You'd think Reaves was going to be playing first line minutes the way some of those guys hype him up. In the response to the argument that Reaves didn't do much at all except be an average fourth liner for St. Louis, one fan even said said (paraphrasing) "Playing in Pittsburgh will help Reaves to realize his unlimited upside." Right, so a soon to be 31 year old career 4th line enforcer type forward who's coming into his 7th NHL season and has never done much of anything in the way of offensive production still has upside. Even in the NHL DWFs are ridiculous when it comes to black players.

 

[Rebajlo]

Don will doubtlessly be elated that Chris Kunitz has exited Pittsburgh for Tampa Bay. The Penguins also offloaded the black Trevor Daley to Detroit.

The Leafs have picked up Patrick Marleau from San Jose.

Does anyone remember the name of the number one pick in the 2012 draft? I do. Nail Yakupov, a Muslim Tatar who was selected by the Oilers. Well, Yakupov is now 23 and has moved to Colorado on a one-year contract after the Blues deemed him surplus to requirements. The ******* useless “Yak” has “amassed” 120 points in 292 games over five seasons, which has him 68 “career” points behind that other “legendary” first overall pick, Patrik Stefan, who achieved immortality courtesy of this:

 

[Don Wassall]

Don will doubtlessly be elated that Chris Kunitz has exited Pittsburgh for Tampa Bay. The Penguins also offloaded the black Trevor Daley to Detroit.

The Leafs have picked up Patrick Marleau from San Jose.

Does anyone remember the name of the number one pick in the 2012 draft? I do. Nail Yakupov, a Muslim Tatar who was selected by the Oilers. Well, Yakupov is now 23 and has moved to Colorado on a one-year contract after the Blues deemed him surplus to requirements. The ******* useless “Yak” has “amassed” 120 points in 292 games over five seasons, which has him 68 “career” points behind that other “legendary” first overall pick, Patrik Stefan, who achieved immortality courtesy of this:

Ha! I was channel surfing last night and the NHL Network had a show about the 50 most bizarre moments in league history and Stefan's blunder was one of the top ones.

Very glad to see Kunitz finally go after several years of sharp decline. Fleury too, the most inexplicably beloved White athlete ever. But I'm glad both showed well in the playoffs, especially Fleury after so many years of cracking under pressure.

 

[Tannehill17]

Does anyone remember the name of the number one pick in the 2012 draft? I do. Nail Yakupov, a Muslim Tatar who was selected by the Oilers. Well, Yakupov is now 23 and has moved to Colorado on a one-year contract after the Blues deemed him surplus to requirements. The ******* useless “Yak” has “amassed” 120 points in 292 games over five seasons, which has him 68 “career” points behind that other “legendary” first overall pick, Patrik Stefan

There are still some DWF's out there who think he can still turn it around. I say NO he can't! The guy is a bust and is probably the worst player drafted 1st overall since the 70's if not sooner.

 

[Rebajlo]

There are still some DWF's out there who think he can still turn it around. I say NO he can't! The guy is a bust and is probably the worst player drafted 1st overall since the 70's if not sooner.

Tannehill17 -

I’d say that Yakupov is probably the biggest first-overall pick bust since the early days of the draft in the 1960s.

Whenever the subject of draft busts is raised, the first name fans tend to mention is that of Alexandre Daigle. Yet Daigle was a far better player than Yakupov. Daigle had ability - he just happened to be a woefully lazy bum who exhibited minimal interest in playing the game he was being paid big money for. Yakupov, on the other hand, is plainly sub-standard.

Daigle scored 327 points in 616 games (0.53 points per game). Yakupov will be 24 in October but has only played 292 games and scored 120 points. That’s 0.41 points per game - an almost identical scoring rate to that of 1999 first-pick bust and Youtube figure of fun Patrik Stefan. The difference is that Stefan’s points per game stat is derived from playing in the NHL 455 times. Yakupov’s stats shall only get worse and I predict he will be back in Russia at the end of the coming season. There’s virtually zero chance that Yakupov will ever play anywhere near the same number of NHL games as Stefan, let alone Daigle.

Gary Bettman, his Jewish cronies, and their self-hating, venal white lackeys were probably praying for all they were worth that Yakupov would become one of the leading stars of the NHL - or, at worst, a player who could consistently put up around sixty points per season. If Yakupov was even moderately successful, it’s odds on that his non-White, Tatar credentials would constantly be emphasised and he’d be encouraged to regularly mention the importance of his "Muslim faith" during post-game interviews.

I’d say Yakupov’s name will eventually become the byword for “epic draft bust”. That’s if anyone outside the Oilers, Blues, and Avalanche fan bases even remembers him…

 

[Tannehill17]

Tannehill17 -

I’d say that Yakupov is probably the biggest first-overall pick bust since the early days of the draft in the 1960s.

Whenever the subject of draft busts is raised, the first name fans tend to mention is that of Alexandre Daigle. Yet Daigle was a far better player than Yakupov. Daigle had ability - he just happened to be a woefully lazy bum who exhibited minimal interest in playing the game he was being paid big money for. Yakupov, on the other hand, is plainly sub-standard.

Daigle scored 327 points in 616 games (0.53 points per game). Yakupov will be 24 in October but has only played 292 games and scored 120 points. That’s 0.41 points per game - an almost identical scoring rate to that of 1999 first-pick bust and Youtube figure of fun Patrik Stefan. The difference is that Stefan’s points per game stat is derived from playing in the NHL 455 times. Yakupov’s stats shall only get worse and I predict he will be back in Russia at the end of the coming season. There’s virtually zero chance that Yakupov will ever play anywhere near the same number of NHL games as Stefan, let alone Daigle.

Gary Bettman, his Jewish cronies, and their self-hating, venal white lackeys were probably praying for all they were worth that Yakupov would become one of the leading stars of the NHL - or, at worst, a player who could consistently put up around sixty points per season. If Yakupov was even moderately successful, it’s odds on that his non-White, Tatar credentials would constantly be emphasised and he’d be encouraged to regularly mention the importance of his "Muslim faith" during post-game interviews.

I’d say Yakupov’s name will eventually become the byword for “epic draft bust”. That’s if anyone outside the Oilers, Blues, and Avalanche fan bases even remembers him…

Agreed. Daigle wasn't a bad player, he just didn't have a passion for hockey. His passion was acting and wanted to get into Hollywood. It's a shame too because the guy had such natural talent.

Patrik Stefan was a bust for sure, but you could put him on your bottom six and not have him be too much of a liability. Yakupov OTOH really puzzles me. The guy look like a star in Junior and I remember during his draft year he was the uncontested #1 overall pick. Now when you look at him the question is not whether he's a bust but rather is he even in NHL caliber player at all.

 

[Rebajlo]

Agreed. Daigle wasn't a bad player, he just didn't have a passion for hockey. His passion was acting and wanted to get into Hollywood. It's a shame too because the guy had such natural talent.

Patrik Stefan was a bust for sure, but you could put him on your bottom six and not have him be too much of a liability. Yakupov OTOH really puzzles me. The guy look like a star in Junior and I remember during his draft year he was the uncontested #1 overall pick. Now when you look at him the question is not whether he's a bust but rather is he even in NHL caliber player at all.

Tannehill17 -

Yakupov is one of those players who may be very good at junior level but cannot make the transition to the NHL. The number one overall pick is burdened with the immediate necessity of moving straight into the NHL. Perhaps if Yakupov had been drafted lower and spent time in the AHL acclimatising to the rigours of professional hockey he might subsequently have become a guaranteed 45 point per season player. But I doubt it…

Interestingly enough, Yakupov’s Sarnia Sting teammate Alex Galchenyuk was the third overall pick in 2012 and experienced no problems whatsoever with an immediate transition from OHL to NHL. Galchenyuk has 204 points in 336 games for the Habs and signed a new three year contract in the off-season. His numbers would look even better if he hadn’t suffered a couple of knee injuries last season.

Mind you, Yakupov isn’t the only 2012 first round top-ten bust of note. For instance, number four pick Griffin Reinhardt has only played 37 NHL games and is now with the Vegas Golden Knights.

 

[Jack Lambert]

I know I've posted about him on here before, and I was curious. Being as I only usually watch the Pens during the regular season at points, and don't get to see most other teams for extended periods until the playoffs, does anybody know why Penguins message board DWFs are so infatuated with Ryan Reaves. He's the Penguins new black player, who did almost nothing statistically on the fourth line for St. Louis. Yet DWFs who love the guy for some reason say NO other NHL player has Reaves' "unique" attributes. What a joke. Even the media hasn't said anything about Pittsburgh getting Reaves.

I admittedly don't know much about him other than statistics (having not watched the Blues for more than a few minutes last season) but I'm at a loss for words over this situation. Is he basically there to toughen up the team and be an enforcer?

 

[Don Wassall]

I know I've posted about him on here before, and I was curious. Being as I only usually watch the Pens during the regular season at points, and don't get to see most other teams for extended periods until the playoffs, does anybody know why Penguins message board DWFs are so infatuated with Ryan Reaves. He's the Penguins new black player, who did almost nothing statistically on the fourth line for St. Louis. Yet DWFs who love the guy for some reason say NO other NHL player has Reaves' "unique" attributes. What a joke. Even the media hasn't said anything about Pittsburgh getting Reaves.

I admittedly don't know much about him other than statistics (having not watched the Blues for more than a few minutes last season) but I'm at a loss for words over this situation. Is he basically there to toughen up the team and be an enforcer?

That's why they traded for him. His offensive skills are minimal, so he'll likely be a part-time fourth line winger and resident tough guy. Jim Rutherford made the trade because teams were routinely mauling Crosby, and Malkin at times too, with no fear of retribution. This went on in the regular season as well as the playoffs. The Penguins had no tough guys, no good fighters, and lots of times they just stood around while Crosby was left to fend for himself, so I like the trade for that reason. If it helps extend the careers of Crosby and Malkin, there's nothing bad about it that I can see. Anything Reaves can contribute on offense is a bonus.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Thanks for the quick answer, Don. I don't have a problem with him either knowing that, but I was just confused by the DWFs on the HF forums who were saying he's some sort of special and amazing player. I realized I asked the same thing around draft time, but after reading the boards again in preparation for the season starting soon, I figured I'd ask again to make sure.

If he's in there to help stand up for Malkin, Crosby, etc. then the trade was a good one in my eyes as well.

On the bright side, I'm ready to get the season started! Just a couple of weeks away! Pittsburgh still needs to find a good 3C, and at this point, I'm guessing they'll be trading for one during the regular season. From preseason talk on the HF boards, Adam Johnson has looked real good for the Penguins in camp thus far. From what I've seen, the Penguins have a lot of talented young offensive players that may make some contributions this year. Daniel Sprong (who may make the team out of camp) and Zach Aston-Reese (who they got as an undrafted FA) are the two I've been hearing the most about besides Johnson. If no deal for a 3rd center is made, I've also seen that Teddy Blueger may fill that role.

 

[Don Wassall]

Yes, the Penguins are loaded with young offensive talent in their farm system. They should remain a serious contender for at least as long as Crosby and Malkin remain near the top of their games.

I'm surprised posters on HF are that mistaken about Reaves; they're generally pretty knowledgeable. I check out Penguins game day threads there at times but rarely read anything else. Even the local Pittsburgh media has been up front in saying that Reaves is very limited offensively, though apparently he's pretty fast, which fits in well with their style of play.

I'm sure they'll get a competent third center at some point, whether from within their system or through a trade. Nick Bonino will be missed though as he was great defensively and on the penalty kill, among other skills he has. The only thing that can hold the Penguins back from another playoff run again this season is a rash of injuries to key players. I expect though that Mike Sullivan will give the stars some games off to try and keep them fresher for the playoffs.

 

[Jack Lambert]

Yes, the Penguins are loaded with young offensive talent in their farm system. They should remain a serious contender for at least as long as Crosby and Malkin remain near the top of their games.

I'm surprised posters on HF are that mistaken about Reaves; they're generally pretty knowledgeable. I check out Penguins game day threads there at times but rarely read anything else. Even the local Pittsburgh media has been up front in saying that Reaves is very limited offensively, though apparently he's pretty fast, which fits in well with their style of play.

I'm sure they'll get a competent third center at some point, whether from within their system or through a trade. Nick Bonino will be missed though as he was great defensively and on the penalty kill, among other skills he has. The only thing that can hold the Penguins back from another playoff run again this season is a rash of injuries to key players. I expect though that Mike Sullivan will give the stars some games off to try and keep them fresher for the playoffs.

Thankfully, it's not all of the HF posters. I'd say it may be 50-40-10, those who have our view of the trade to those who have the blind DWF view of the trade, and finally the 10% are those who think the trade shouldn't have been made in the first place. But, that 40% is very annoying on the boards.

And I agree. I've heard Detroit's Riley Sheahan as the big name floated around that the Pens may be acquiring. I'm also hoping Sullivan rests Crosby, Malkins, Letang, and hopefully Murray for some games. The last thing Pittsburgh needs is one of these guys or Guenztel getting hurt. I still think it's amazing how Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup last year without Letang. I think the defense should be that much better with a healthy Letang in the lineup.