Patriots Update and Next Season Preview

Well the Patriots were very aggressive yesterday. First, I wake up and find out that the Patriots traded a 5th round pick in 2013 to the Washington Redskins for DT Albert Haynesworth. I like the trade. Its a very low risk, high reward trade. Haynesworth should be motivated playing for coach Bill Belichick and having a great leader like Vince Wilfork to help him. Haynesworth is a very talented player... when he wants to be. He's known for showing up to training camp with the Redskins last year and failed 3 conditioning tests before finally passing one. I think he's a great and I can't wait to see him on the field. Then I went out to a Blue Jays game and I come home and see the Patriots acquired WR Chad Ochocinco. This one wasn't as much of a surprise because Ocho wanted to be a Patriot, has a good relationship with Belichick and Tom Brady, and wanted to be traded from Cincinnati for some time because the team was losing so much and their star QB Carson Palmer is now retiring because of the team not trading him, and so many other stories. So right off the bat this trade is significant because of the name. Ochocinco has over 2 million Twitter followers and is known for his awesome TD celebrations and his outspoken nature. But that's not the "Patriot Way" as people like to call it, since Belichick is known for keeping his team very quiet and respectful so people are wondering if Ochocinco will be able to do that in New England. Now, obviously Bill won't ask Chad to turn his Twitter off but, Chad needs to know that if he can't shut up then he won't be playing in games (just ask Wes Welker) because Belichick won't tolerate it. I think it's a good add, not just for name value, but because I think Chad is still a good receiver and now playing with an MVP QB like Tom Brady, and I think it'll revitalize his career coming off a 831yd, 4 TD year. I'm not sure what the Patriots are giving up but I'm hearing its 2 late round picks, one in 2012 the other in 2013 so another low risk, high reward move.
Today the Patriots also released some players, most notably: DE Ty Warren, TE Alge Crumpler and OT Nick Kazcur. Warrens release I'm very surprised about considering our already weak pass rush. I'm guessing we may trade for someone since there aren't too many guys available that the Patriots like who they'd sign. I've heard Osi Umenyiora's named linked to the Patriots because of his contract dispute with the Giants. Though we've seen before that with Belichick, you can never predict what he's going to do.
On to hockey, I was busy today so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get my Los Angeles Kings season preview up. I'll try and do it after my baseball game today but we'll see!

Can Flyers Acquisitions Lead Them To A Cup?

Now in terms of blockbuster deals, I don't think we've ever seen 2 in the span of one hour by one team. But that's exactly what the Philadelphia Flyers did on Tuesday, June 23rd 2011 when they first traded star sniper Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets for young forward Jakub Voracek and the 8th overall pick in 2011 and a 3rd round pick also in 2011. Carter was rumored to be going to the Blue Jackets for some time before this deal went down so it came as no surprise to me. But then mere minutes after the trade was finalized there were rumblings that Flyers captain Mike Richards was being traded. In fact, the Flyers offered the Toronto Maple Leafs Richards for young 2-way forward Nikolai Kulemin and blue chip prospect Nazem Kadri. But it ended up being Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for The Hockey News' #1 rated prospect and Canadian world junior star Brayden Schenn and young power forward and Scarborough native Wayne Simmonds. This is the one that shocked me because not only was Mike Richards the captain and face of the franchise but he was loved throughout Philly and by GM Paul Holmgren (who was nearly in tears announcing the trade of Richards). I still believe both trades were even for both sides. The Blue Jackets finally get the #1 center they wanted for star winger Rick Nash and the Flyers get a great young piece in Voracek and the 8th overall pick was turned into forward Sean Couturier. The Kings get their #2 center to compliment underrated talent Anze Kopitar and the Flyers receive Brayden Schenn, who's drawn comparisons to Mike Richards, and Wayne Simmonds who, even though he struggled last year, can develop into a very good power forward. The Flyers were also active in their pursuit for a true #1 goalie and got it when they traded for (and eventually signed) Coyotes star Ilya Bryzgalov. The Broad Street Bullies also were players in the free agent market signing forwards former NHL star Jaromir Jagr, and former Penguins pest Maxime Talbot.
Lets now take a look at how I think the forwards will go together:
Line 1:
James van Reimsdyk - Claude Giroux - Jaromir Jagr
Line 2:
Scott Hartnell - Daniel Briere - Jakub Voracek
Line 3:
Max Talbot - Brayden Schenn - Wayne Simmonds
Line 4:
Jody Shelley - Blair Betts - Andreas Nodl

Bubble forwards: Ben Holmstrom, Ian Laperriere

Even with the loss of Jeff Carter and Mike Richards (among others) the Flyers still have a very intimidating forward group. Anyone in the first 3 lines can be moved up or down depending on performance, chemistry and whatnot. My personal favorite line is the 3rd line of Talbot/Schenn/Simmonds because all of those guys are very good two-way players and all capable of scoring 15+ goals, assuming they get the playing time I expect. This group of forwards is a great mix of young (van Reimsdyk, Giroux, Voracek, Talbot, Schenn, Simmonds, Nodl) and not-so-young (Jagr, Hartnell, Briere, Shelley, Betts) and I think they'll thrive together.
On to the defensive pairings:
Defensive Pairing 1:
Chris Pronger - Kimmo Timonen
Defensive Pairing 2:
Braydon Coburn - Matt Carle
Defensive Pairing 3:
Andrej Meszaros - Andreas Lilja

Bubble defensemen: Oskars Bartulis, Erik Gustafsson

I had a tough time choosing between the veteran Lilja or the youngster Bartulis but in the end I chose the experience. The rest was fairly simple and like the forwards they can all be mix-and-matched. My favorite pairing is probably Coburn/Carle because they're styles compliment each other so well.
Now the goalies:
Starter:
Ilya Bryzgalov

Back-up:
Sergei Bobrovsky

This was fairly obvious. Bryzgalov is a proven veteran. I'm not going to slight Bobrovsky but he was a little inconsistent at times last year. This has to be up there in the league as one of the best tandems in the league.

Now I've gone back and forth on whether I like or dislike the Flyers' moves this off-season going as high as them going to the Cup and as low as missing the playoffs, but as of right now...
My Prediction: Out 2nd round of the playoffs.

Panthers Ready To Pounce?

The Florida Panthers were one of the busiest teams in the off season in terms of signings and trades. Acquiring guys like Kris Versteeg, Ed Jovanovski, and Scottie Upshall. This was mainly done to reach the NHL salary cap floor. But with all of these quality players are the Panthers actually a playoff team from it?
My initial reaction was along the lines of "ahahahaha F**K NO!" now its more like "ehhhh maybe?"
Lets see how the lines would look in my eyes:
Line 1:
David Booth - Stephen Weiss - Kris Versteeg
Line 2:
Sean Bergenheim - Tomas Fleishmann - Jack Skille
Line 3:
Tim Kennedy - Marcel Goc - Scottie Upshall
Line 4:
Tomas Kopecky - Ryan Carter - Bill Thomas/Steve Bernier (if either gets re-signed)

Bubble forwards: Evgeny Dadonov, Scott Timmins, Michal Repik

I actually like this group of forwards. Its a good mix of speed, scoring and two-way ability. The top 3 RWs can all be interchangeable and Versteeg and Fleishmann can play any forward position. My favorite line would have to be the 2nd line of  Bergenheim/Fleishmann/Skille. All are solid 2-way players with lots of speed and skill. The LW is very strong as well with Booth, Bergenheim, Kennedy and Kopecky. Kopecky would be 3rd line but I don't think Kennedy or Dadonov would be 4th liners. But, if Bergenheim struggles then he and Kopecky switch or Bergenheim and Kennedy switch. The center position kind of drops of after Weiss and Feishmann, with Goc and Carter but with the 3rd and 4th lines you don't need anything spectacular.
Now on to the defensive pairings:
Defensive Pairing 1:
Ed Jovanovski - Dmitry Kulikov
Defensive Pairing 2:
Brian Campbell - Keaton Ellerby
Defensive Pairing 3:
Nolan Yonkman - Mike Weaver

Bubble defensemen: Tyson Strachan, Jason Garrison
I also like this defense corps. Jovanovski is a great veteran leader to help develop budding star Dmitry Kulikov. Veteran Brian Campbell would help Kulikov as well as they would likely be together on the powerplay considering their natural offensive instincts. He will also be able to teach young defenseman Keaton Ellerby. Nolan Yonkman and Mike Weaver round out the group as solid but not spectacular defensemen. Now the goalies.

Starting Goalie:
Jose Theodore
Back-up:
Scott Clemmensen

Bubble goalie: Jacob Markstrom
This ones pretty simple. Let Theodore start the year if he struggles, let Clemmensen take over and if Markstrom dominates the AHL call him up and let him be the starter.

Now after looking at all that the big question is: Can all the new guys mesh together? There are a lot of new faces and it'll be interesting in Florida this year for once.

My prediction: Just miss the playoffs.

Something different... And Patriots stuff!

Starting (probably) tomorrow, I'll give my thoughts on some NHL teams' moves during this off-season. Teams like: Philadelphia Flyers, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Columbus Blue Jackets, and many more!

I will also post about the NFL lockout ending and about what I want the Patriots to do in free agency.

Patriots news!
I read today that the Patriots have agreed to terms with a bunch of undrafted rookies. I'm trying to go through all the names but, I'm not for sure on anything yet.

The Patriots are set to release OLB Tully Banta-Cain. This comes after it was announced he would have surgery on an abdominal tear and would miss 4 to 5 weeks.

And, apparently, Pro Bowl offensive guard Logan Mankins has agreed to sign his franchise tender of (wait for it) 10.1 million! and there was a lockout, why?
Nonetheless, glad he's back!

What a busy time for the Leafs!

Well, well, well, after a day where the Leafs signed/traded for nobody, the Leafs have been one of the busiest teams I'll start with the signing of C Tim Connolly. You probably all know that prized free agent Brad Richards was signed by the New York Rangers and not the Leafs. So they turned to plan B, Tim Connolly (2 years/9.5 total/4.75 per) I'm pretty OK with this signing considering that we desperately needed a center. While he probably isn't a real #1 center, that's why he only got a 2 year deal. He's a pretty good passer from what I hear and that's what we needed to help Phil Kessel. (Tim Connolly highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIauE5XrMsk&annotation_id=annotation_658719&feature=iv ) Then next day they trade D Brett Lebda and LW Robert Slaney to the Nashville Predators for C Matthew Lombardi and D Cody Franson. At first thought I thought we FLEECED the Predators but from what I've heard and figured out after, the Preds needed to clear cap space from Lombardi's contract and Burke wouldn't have done it without Franson in the trade. Lombardi is a speedy center but played all of 2 games last year because of a concussion but he's confident he will be ready for next year. Franson is a big 6'5 defenceman but the knock on him is that he doesn't play too physical but he has great offensive ability scoring 8 goals last year from the back-end (except this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkEXnbrF2ao and Lombardi highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v32nT1ePBU ) Then yesterday the Leafs re-signed forwards Clarke MacArthur and Tyler Bozak. (MacArthur highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g67OGB2Vf0 and Bozak highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCRBO32oPEY ) GO LEAFS GO!