A Different View on Vinny and the Draft

It was not a shock. When the Lightning announced that a compliance buyout would be used on captain Vincent Lecavalier Thursday, it just saddened me.

Yes, the contract was a bad one signed by a pair of horrible former owners. It would be great if the NHL allowed players to renegotiate once during a long-term contract and find a way to stay in a place they want to finish their career. It makes too much sense for the NHL, I guess.

This is not meant to bash anyone. I don’t claim to be an expert. It’s just an opinion and, honestly, it is not an emotional one. The things I disagree the most with that I've heard the last few days are the over-used phrases “It had to be done” and “It’s business.”

I don’t think it had to be done and, to me, when you talk about "business" that would lead me to believe that the Lightning are in trouble financially. That’s not the case. If the owner can commit to paying someone $32.7 million over 14 years for a player to go away, the business is fine.

There were other ways to create space for the next few seasons and keep an impact forward that other teams are salivating over to fill their hole at No. 1 or 2 center. He may get up to $5 million per after the bidding war.

One big reason they could keep Lecavalier’s $7.7 million hit (no, it’s not $10 million) is simply that the salary cap is not going to stay at $64 million forever. In fact, many estimate that it will be over $70 million as early as 2015-16, maybe even next season.

The Lightning could also clear $8.35 million of cap space the next two seasons if they bought out forward Ryan Malone and defenseman Eric Brewer. That would cost ownership about $24 million less than the Lecavalier buyout. Marty St. Louis’ deal ends after the 2014-15 season. Perhaps he retires or signs a cap-friendly, one-year deal for one more shot at a Cup at age 40. Vinny Prospal’s buyout money ($1.116 mil) is also off the books after two more years.

Mattias Ohlund’s contract ends after the 2015-16 season and Steven Stamkos will be ready for his 8-year, $80 million deal.

No doubt, the Lightning are hoping they can strike gold with some of the young players they have developed and will need money to sign them as time goes on. But, again, the cap is going to go up and any good GM has to make choices. Like other teams, some will move on and some won’t. The goal is to find guys like Dominic Moore, Sean Bergenheim, Tom Pyatt and Nate Thompson who outperform their contracts. That creates space.

There are ways to keep Lecavalier around for the final five, six or seven years. You hope he can be productive for seven more seasons, but if he retires after five you can bite the bullet for a few years. Don’t forget, you’re not paying him those seasons he is retired. You just have to deal with the penalty cap number and I don't think you should worry about something a half decade away. The cap is likely to be around $80 million by then and there can’t be a lockout.

Ultimately, the compliance buyout doesn’t earn them $7.7 million of space. They have to replace his skill and playmaking ability. He was the team’s best player in the first 15 games or so last season until a Sami Salo slap shot hit him in the foot and I’m not the only person to say that. Young players like Alex Killorn and Richard Panik seemed to work well with him. They may also ultimately have to pay another top-four defenseman good money.

It’s just my opinion. But I think it was a better option to just leave a Tampa icon in the lineup among the group of players you build around led by Stamkos, Victor Hedman and the third pick in the 2013 draft.

We’ll see what happens going forward. But I will miss Vinny, who is one of the classiest athletes I have ever been around in my 28 years of covering sports.

Mark’s Mock

I don’t remember a big buzz leading up to the 2003 NHL Draft. Ten years later, it’s recognized as the best group of players to ever enter the league.

This year’s crop of teenagers has been compared to that class, which produced such dynamite second-round picks as Shea Weber, Patrice Bergeron and Jimmy Howard. A decade from now we will see how deep this draft really is, but there’s no doubt the evaluation will start with five so called “can’t-miss” players at the top.

Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, Jonathan Drouin, Aleksander Barkov and Valeri Nichushkin are recognized by most experts as elite prospects. Put them in any order. It’s not out of the question one slips to sixth, seventh or eighth because of needs, but all of them could be in the NHL next season.

Once you get past the first seven or eight players, anything can happen. Projections are all over the place. Goalie Zachary Fucale is the big wildcard. But after soaking up all the knowledge I can without interviewing players or watching tons of tape, here’s another mock draft. Why not? It’s fun. I expect there to be several trades, but here’s a guess if it stays the same:

Colorado – Seth Jones D Portland. My take is the Avalanche want to see if Florida will give them something to be able to take MacKinnon at No.1. I could totally be wrong. But you notice Joe Sakic is saying “if the draft were today” we will take a forward. A defenseman like Jones doesn’t come along very often though and the Avs could use one badly.

Florida – Nathan MacKinnon C Halifax. The Panthers let out a sigh of relief and grab MacKinnon to form a solid 1-2 punch at centre with Jonathan Huberdeau. If MacKinnon is gone, they just take Jones and smile.

Tampa Bay – Jonathan Drouin LW, Halifax. Nichushkin would be a good pick. So would Barkov for that matter. It’s just hard to pass on a player with Drouin’s skill and he just seems to be scratching the surface. The Lightning can add more size through trades.

Nashville – Aleksander Barkov C, Finland. The Predators need offense and they have to be better down the middle. Enter Barkov, who was one of the best players in the Finnish Elite League at 17.

Carolina – Valeri Nichushkin LW, Russia. The Hurricanes will find a spot in the top six for the powerful forward in 2013-14 and hope he can produce right away playing with a Staal brother.

Calgary – Sean Monahan C, Ottawa. The Flames start a busy first round by choosing a solid pivot who could be productive as a No. 1 or 2 down the road.

Edmonton – Darnell Nurse D, Sault St. Marie. The Oilers need to keep building up their defense and this physical force fits the bill perfectly.

Buffalo -- Elias Lindholm C, Sweden. The Sabres play it safe with a solid, two-way center who looks to be the type of player you win with.

New Jersey – Hunter Shinkaruk C/LW, Medicine Hat. My guess is the Devils will attempt to move down five spots or less and add an extra pick then choose Fucale as their goalie of the future. Maybe they just take him here. If not, they take a good offensive player.

Dallas – Bo Horvat C, London. The Stars could go any number of ways, which may cause them to move down a bit. But they go with the better all-around player after considering offensive forwards Max Domi and Anthony Mantha.

Philadelphia – Nikita Zadorov D, London. Could go with several different types of defensemen here, or maybe even Fucale, but perhaps the Russian monster fits.

Phoenix – Anthony Mantha LW, Val d’Or. The Coyotes need offense bad and here’s a 50-goal scorer from the Quebec League that may have more upside than Domi.

Winnipeg -- Max Domi C London. Tie’s son is a pretty darn good offensive player who can fit into the top nine for the Jets at some point.

Columbus -- Rasmus Ristolainen D, Finland. You can never have enough steady defenseman and the Blue Jackets have two more picks in the first round to grab some forwards.

NY Islanders – Valentin Zykov RW, Baie-Comeau. Hard-working Russian with good size who can score adds to the depth of the forward corps.

Buffalo – Ryan Pulock D, Brandon. The Sabres go with a forward their first selection, so they add an offensive defenseman with good size.

Ottawa – Alexander Wennberg C, Sweden. The Senators are looking for offense and this guy has good speed and creativity. Ottawa has had good luck with Swedes as well.

Detroit -- Curtis Lazar C, Edmonton. He fits the Red Wings mold with his character and an all-around game. He could go as early as nine or 10.

Columbus – Kerby Rychel  LW, Windsor. The Blue Jackets think about Fucale and another defenseman, but turn to a power forward who can score and has NHL pedigree.

San Jose – Samuel Morin D, Rimouski. Sharks grab a player who could go much higher if a particular team loves his upside. He is 6-7 and has good mobility.

Toronto – Ryan Hartman RW, Plymouth. An agitating-type player with a consistent game. He played well in helping the United States win the World Junior Championship.

Calgary – Zachary Fucale G, Halifax. If the Devils, Flyers, Sabres and the Islanders don’t grab the Memorial Cup winning netminder, GM Jay Feaster looks to the heavens and gets to the podium quick to take this winner.

Washington – Frederick Gauthier C Rimouski. The Capitals could use a player like Gauthier, who has good size and the ability to fill a third-line center role.

Vancouver – Josh Morrissey D, Prince Albert. The Canucks need a lot of things, but a puck-moving defenseman who can play on the power play in the future is one of them.

Montreal – Adam Erne LW, Quebec. The Canadiens can use more speed and size and this Connecticut-born player may provide it in a few years.

Anaheim – Madison Bowey D, Kelowna. There are several different types of defensemen on the board and the Ducks go for perhaps the best athlete of the bunch.

Columbus – Andre Burakowsky LW, Sweden. The Blue Jackets are in the position to take a chance here with their third pick and grab a potential top-six forward who did not play much this season for various reasons.

Calgary – Shea Theodore D, Seattle. The Flames take an offensive defenseman who needs to get better in his own end to complete a productive first round.

Dallas – Ian McCoshen D Waterloo. A shutdown, workhorse defenseman who can provide more room for the Stars’ skilled players.

Chicago – Jacob De La Rose C Sweden. The Stanley Cup champs could take more of a project here, but a safe, solid pick like this works as well.