Where are they Now?- Simon Gamache

In this series, we will look at some obscure Leafs players from the past decade and find out where they ended up. 

Simon Gamache was drafted 290th overall in 2000 by the Atlanta Thrashers. He was named CHL player of the year in 2001. After spending 3 seasons with the Val d'Or Foreurs of the QMJHL, Gamache moved up to pro during the 2001-2002 season with the Chicago Wolbes. He made his NHL debut with the Thrashers during the 2002-2003 NHL season where he played 2 games and notched 2 penalty minutes.

During the 2003-2004 season, the Thrashers traded Gamache along with Kirill Safranov to the Nashville Predators for Tomas Kloucek and Ben Simon.With the Predators, he played 18 games over 3 seasons. He scored his first career NHL goal during the 2003-2004 season, that was his only point with the Predators.

The Predators placed Gamache on waivers in November of 2005 where he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues. He played 15 career games with St. Louis registering 3 Goals and 4 Assists. Then, a couple months later in January of 2006, the Blues placed Gamache on waivers where he was re-claimed by the Predators.

In 2007, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Gamache as a free agent. With the Leafs, Gamache had 2 Goals and 2 Assists in 11 games. In November 2007, the Leafs placed Gamache on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the Marlies. After clearing waivers, he referred to it as a "sad day" as he thought he had established himself as an NHL regular. In January 2008, the Leafs released Gamache from his contract so that he could play in Europe.

Gamache went on to play with Bern in the Swiss-A league, where he won the Swiss championship in his first season there. He currently plays for the Mannheim Eagles of the DEL in Germany.

Where are They Now? - Aleksander Suglobov

In this series, we will look at some obscure Leafs players from the past decade and find out where they ended up. 

Aleksander Suglobov was drafted 56th overall by the New Jersey Devils in 2000. He got his first taste of North American professional hockey action during the 2003-2004 season with the Albany River Rats and made his NHL debut that season as well.

On March 8th, 2006, Suglobov was traded to Toronto for defenseman Ken Klee. Suglobov played 16 games for Toronto registering 4 penalty minutes and was a combined -7. After being unable to crack an NHL lineup, Suglobov went to play in the KHL.

Since the 2007-2008 season, Suglobov has played for CSKA Moscow, Moscow Spartak, Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, Novosibirsk Sibir, and Chelyabinsk Traktor. Suglobov did not appear to play during the 2013-2014 season, but I have not been able to find anything saying he has officially retired. In total, Suglobov scored 1 goal in 18 career NHL games.

Ted Kennedy to be First Immortalized in "Legends Row"

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Thursday that Ted "Teeder" Kennedy will be the first of 3 Leafs legends inducted into the team's new "Legend's Row." The statue will be unveiled on September 6th as part of the Leafs' Fan Fest.

Legends row is a 30 foot granite bench outside Gate 5 of the Air Canada Centre that will feature statues of the biggest names in Leafs history. The team will unveil new inductees leading into the 2017 centennial season. Two more inductees will be named during Fan Fest in September. The next wave of inductees will be names in 2015.

Ted Kennedy spent his entire 15 year career with the Blue and White, 8 of those seasons he was captain. He won 5 Stanley Cups and the Hart Trophy in 1955.

Making the NHL's Loser Point Work

The NHL is a unique league. Of the "Big 4" sports leagues, the NHL is the only one that awards teams for losing in overtime by giving the losing team 1 point while the winner gets 2. A simple search on Google for "loser point NHL" turns up with numerous articles urging the NHL to get rid of the loser point (or the "Bettman Point"). But, I like the loser point, and I might be the only one. My rationale behind it is that if you're trailing and you manage to come back and force overtime, you deserve something for it. Likewise, if you're winning and you blow your lead, you deserve to lose a point. The system isn't perfect, but I think there's a way we can tweak it.

What is the loser point?

The loser point was introduced during the 1999-2000 NHL season. Prior to that, teams got 0 points for an overtime loss, but ties were still a thing in the NHL back then. If your team tied, you and your opponent would each get 1 point. The problem was teams didn't want to risk ending the game with 0 points, so they settled for a tie. The addition of the loser point allowed for teams to take a risk in OT by going for the win, but without risking coming away with nothing.

During the 1998-1999 season, the year before they introduced the loser point, teams averaged 12 ties. During the 1999-2000 season, after the addition of the loser point, that average dropped to just over 10 ties.

What's wrong with it?

A problem that many people have with it now is the addition of the shootout. Since the 2005-2006 season, teams would go into a 3-man shootout if there was no decision by the end of overtime, eliminating ties. However, teams started to hold back during OT to take their chances during the shootout, which is, in essence, a crapshoot. 

The NHL tried to combat this by introducing a new tiebreaking rule. If a team is tied in points, the tiebreaker will go to the team that has won the most regulation and overtime games (wins minus shootout wins). This created a new section in the standings known as "ROW" (Regulation and Overtime Wins), making the shootout less relevant.

How can we make the loser point work?

As I mentioned above, most of the criticism of the loser point is because of the addition of the shootout. I propose we make the shootout even less relevant. Here's how:

Regulation/Overtime win= 2 points

Overtime Loss/Shootout Win= 1 Point

Regulation/Shootout Loss= 0 points

If we take away the loser point for shootout losses and make a shootout win only 1 point, it eliminates teams trying to hold off until the shootout. Imagine the playoff races in April!

Now you can argue that the team that really needs the 2 points can just pull their goalie for an extra attacker in overtime and if they get scored on, they still get one point anyways. You would be wrong. As per Rule 84.2:

" A team shall be 
allowed to pull its goalkeeper in favour of an additional skater in the 
overtime period. However, should that team lose the game during the 
time in which the goalkeeper has been removed, it would forfeit the 
automatic point gained in the tie at the end of regulation play, except if 
the goalkeeper has been removed at the call of a delayed penalty 
against the other team."

This is a rule already in place in the NHL so it would eliminate stupid plays like that from being commonplace.

Would the proposed changes really make that much of a difference?

Let's find out:

These were the standings of the 2013-2014 season:

Atlantic:

P-1. Boston 54-19-9 117P Shootout: 3-6
X-2. Tampa Bay 46-27-9 101P Shootout: 8-6
X-3. Montreal 46-28-8 100P Shootout: 6-3
X-4. Detroit 39-28-15 93P Shootout: 5-9
5. Ottawa 37-31-14 88P Shootout: 7-7
6. Toronto 38-36-8 88P Shootout: 9-4
7. Florida 29-45-8 Shootout: 8-6
8. Buffalo 21-51-10 52P Shootout: 7-5

Metropolitan:

Y-1. Pittsburgh 51-24-7 109P Shootout: 7-3
X-2. New York Rangers 45-31-6 96P Shootout: 4-3
X-3. Philadelphia 42-30-10 94P Shootout: 3-8
X-4. Columbus 43-32-7 93P Shootout: 5-2
5. Washington 38-30-14 90P Shootout: 10-11
6. New Jersey 35-29-18 88P Shootout: 0-13
7. Carolina 36-35-11 83P Shootout: 2-4
8. New York Islanders 34-37-11 79P Shootout: 9-6

Central:

Y-1. Colorado 52-22-8 112P Shootout: 5-4
X-2. St. Louis 52-23-7 111P Shootout: 9-3
X-3. Chicago 46-21-15 107P Shootout: 6-8
X-4. Minnesota 40-31-11 91P Shootout: 4-5
X-5. Dallas 40-31-11 91P Shootout: 4-5
6. Nashville 38-32-12 88P Shootout: 2-9
7. Winnipeg 37-35-10 84P Shootout: 8-6

Pacific:

Z-1. Anaheim 54-20-8 116P Shootout: 3-6
X-2. San Jose 51-22-9 111P Shootout: 10-7
X-3. Los Angeles 46-28-8 100P Shootout: 8-6
4. Phoenix (Arizona) 37-30-15 89P Shootout: 6-7
5. Vancouver 36-35-11 83P Shootout: 5-7
6. Calgary 35-40-7 77P Shootout: 7-3
7. Edmonton 29-44-9 67P Shootout: 4-3

So as you can see there were a lot of shootouts last season, teams averaged about 12 shootouts last season so my suggested changes will have an impact on the standings. Below are the results under my new point system. I have moved shootout wins to the OTL column and shootout losses to the regulation losses column:

Atlantic:

P-1. Boston 51-25-6 108P
X-2. Montreal 40-31-11 91P (+1)
X-3. Tampa Bay 38-33-11 87P (-1)
X-4. Detroit 34-37-11 79P
5. Ottawa 30-38-14 74P
6. Toronto 29-40-13 71P
7. Florida 21-51-10 52P
8. Buffalo 14-56-12 40P

Metropolitan:

Y-1. Pittsburgh 44-27-11 99P
X-2. New York Rangers 41-34-7 89P
X-3. Columbus 38-34-10 86P (+1)
X-4. Philadelphia 39-38-5 86P (-1)
5. Carolina 34-39-9 77P (+2)
6. New Jersey 35-42-5 75P
7. Washington 28-41-13 69P (-2)
8. New York Islanders 25-43-14 64P

Central:

Y-1. Colorado 47-26-9 103P
X-2. St. Louis 43-26-13 99P
X-3. Chicago 40-29-13 93P
X-4. Dallas 36-36-10 82P (+1)
X-5. Minnesota 35-35-12 82P (-1)
6. Nashville 36-41-5 77P
7. Winnipeg 29-41-12 70P

Pacific:

Y-1. Anaheim 51-26-5 107P
X-2. San Jose 41-29-12 94P
X-3. Los Angeles 38-34-10 86P
4. Phoenix (Arizona) 31-37-14 76P
5. Vancouver 31-42-9 71P
6. Calgary 28-43-11 67P
7. Edmonton 25-47-10 60P

As you can see, the proposed new system does not punish teams that are good. No team dropped out of the playoff picture because of the system, but there were a couple of position changes. Most notably, Carolina jumping from 7th in the Metro to 5th, while the Capitals dropped from 7th to 5th.

Carolina only had 6 games decided by shootout while Washington had a league high 21! Carolina went from a team well out of the wild card picture to just missing it by 2 points.

The biggest thing I like about this system is the fact that it eliminates the false parity that the current system has. It also promotes winning the game earlier. As you can see, the top teams in the league were not affected much (other than a drop in overall points). As with the tie once the loser point was introduced, you could expect to see the overall number of shootouts drop if this system came into fruition.

The NHL should not eliminate the loser point, but instead work towards making the shootout less relevant.

RIP Robin Williams

The All Bad Contracts Team

We know that teams sign some players to some terrible contracts, but has anyone tried to make a team of them? I'm "borrowing" this idea from a Grantland post that did the same thing with NFL contracts. A couple of rules:

1.) It has to be a contract that is active during the 2014-2015 season (so don't expect to see DiPietro here)
2.) We will look at cap hit not total salary.
3.) Figures are based on Capgeek.

Let's get started:

LW- Benoit Pouliot (Edmonton Oilers)

Contract: 5 Years/$20 million

Cap hit: $4 Million

My Reasoning: 

Pouliot was part of the New York Rangers run last season. Obviously the Oilers saw something in him that they liked. He did have a career year. However that was only 36 points in 80 games, which nearly doubled his career points total. He has never cracked the 20 goal mark. Sure, he might be able to crack the 2nd line on a team, but that team probably won't be with the Oilers with Taylor Hall and David Perron ahead of him in the depth chart.

Signed Until: 2018-2019

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: James van Riemsdyk, Loui Eriksson, Nikolai Kulemin, Milan Michalek, P.A. Parenteau

C- Dave Bolland (Florida Panthers)

Contract: 5-Years/$27.5 million

Cap hit: $5.5 million

My Reasoning:

Bolland's claim to fame is he scored the Cup winning goal for the Blackhawks in 2013. From there he was traded to the Maple Leafs where he only played 23 games due to an injury suffered against the Canucks. It was long rumoured that Bolland wanted a long-term deal and Leafs fans were relieved when GM Dave Nonis was saved from himself. Bolland signed a his long-term deal with the Florida Panthers. 

Bolland has never had a 50-point season, he came close in 2008-2009 when he had 47 points, but since then he's been inconsistent. 

Signed Until: 2018-2019

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Shawn Horcoff, John Tavares, Jeff Skinner, Tyler Seguin, Nathan Horton.

RW- David Clarkson (Toronto Maple Leafs) 

Contract: 7 years/$36.75 million

Cap Hit: $5.25 million

My Reasoning:

There seems to be a pattern emerging here, a lot of 3rd liners get overpaid. Clarkson has never cracked the 50 point plateau. His career high, in 2011-2012, is 46 points. GM Dave Nonis' reasoning for signing Clarkson was that he could provide that grit and he'd bang in those ugly goals. 

His "grit" involved him jumping off the bench to join a fight in a meaningless preseason game (resulting in a 10-game suspension), and defending a water bottle. And those ugly goals he was going to bang in? He had 5 last season.

Signed Until: 2019-2020

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Joffrey Lupul, Marian Hossa, Bobby Ryan, Shane Doan, Jarome Iginla.

D- Brooks Orpik (Washington Capitals)

Contract: 5 Years/$27.5 Million

Cap Hit: $5.5 Million

My Reasoning:

Orpik has spent his whole career with the Penguins until this offseason when he signed a 5 year deal with the rival Washington Capitals. Orpik is a stay-at-home defenseman, which means you're not going to see him clap in many on the powerplay from the point (he only has 1 career PPG), or at all really. His career high in goals scored is 2, which he's done 5 times, and he only has 13 career goals, which is fine because he's a defenseman, their job is to keep the puck out of the net.

Unfortunately, Orpik has never been a finalist for the Norris. In fact, he's only been considered for it once, in the lockout shortened 2012-2013 season, where he finished 18th. Washington is a team that desperately needs better defense, and Orpik can help the team, but a $5.5 million cap hit might be a little steep.

Signed Until: 2018-2019

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Duncan Keith, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, James Wisniewski, Dan Girardi, Matt Carle

D- Tyler Myers (Buffalo Sabres)

Contract: 7 Years/$38.5 Million

Cap Hit: $5.5 Million

My Reasoning:

Myers made his NHL debut during the 2009-2010 season. He had a great season logging 48 points in 82 games. He won the Calder and was in the top 20 in Norris voting.He followed that up with another decent season. Then missed 27 games in 2011-2012 due to various injuries and a suspension.Unfortunately, before that 2011-2012 season, the Buffalo Sabres signed Myers to a 7 year contract extension, the contract came into effect in 2012-2013.

Since signing that contract, Myers' numbers have dropped and he's and his share of injury troubles. The Sabres haste in signing Myers before his entry level deal expired might be the downfall. However, if Myers can return to his rookie form, this signing will be a solid one. Hopefully, for the Sabres' sake, that happens soon.

Signed Until: 2018-2019

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Duncan Keith, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, James Wisniewski, Dan Girardi, Matt Carle (same as Orpik)

G- Cam Ward (Carolina Hurricanes)

Contract: 6 Years/$37.8 Million

Cap Hit: $6.3 Million

My Reasoning:

Cam Ward has spent his entire career with the Carolina Hurricanes. In his rookie season, he lead the Canes to the franchise's first (and so far, only) Stanley Cup. Ward went on to win playoff MVP. But the next season, he could not carry the team to the playoffs. In fact, they became the first team since the 1938-1939 Black Hawks to miss the playoffs the year before and after they won the Cup.

However, since the Cup Victory, Ward has only played in the postseason once more: in 2008-2009 where they made it to the conference finals (and did this in the conference quarter finals) but were swept by the Penguins. Ward has put up some good numbers throughout his career, but when you think about elite goaltenders, Ward doesn't come to mind, yet he's the 5th-highest paid goaltender in the league.

Signed Until: 2015-2016

Similar Cap Hits at the Position: Carey Price, Ryan Miller, Corey Crawford, Semyon Varlamov, Kari Lehtonen

Ben Bishop Signs for 2 Years

The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed goaltender Ben Bishop to a 2-year contract on Saturday, with an AAV of $5.95 million, starting in 2015-2016. Bishop was 4th in the league in wins last season with 37 (37-14-7). The Lightning were swept in the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens, due in part to Bishop sustaining an injury late in the season against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Let's break down the deal a little more. First off, Bishop has only played in 108 career games (55-31-11), has never suited up in an NHL playoff game, and has only been a starting goaltender for 1 season.. To put that into perspective, Kari Lehtonen, who has a slightly lower cap hit ($5.9 million) has 445 career NHL games (but only 8 playoff games), Ryan Miller, who will have a slightly bigger cap hit with the Canucks ($6 million) has 559 career NHL games and 53 career playoff games, Corey Crawford, who has the same cap hit as Miller, has 211 career games, 56 career playoff games, and a Stanley Cup.

So let's look at goalies who have played about the same number of games as Bishop. Let's look at all active goalies who have between 100 and 150 games played. This leaves 8 goaltenders: Braden Holtby (105 GP), Bishop (108 GP), Jonathan Bernier (117 GP), Joey MacDonald (133 GP), Michal Neuvirth (136 GP), James Reimer (140 GP), Jonas Gustavsson (141 GP), and Cory Schneider (143 GP). Their AAVs look like this:

Holtby: $1.85 million
Bishop: $5.95 million
Bernier: $2.9 million
MacDonald: $600,000
Neuvirth: $2.5 million
Reimer: $2.3 million
Gustavsson: $1.85 million
Schneider:$4 million

As you can see, Bishop has the biggest cap hit by far, almost $2 million more than 2nd place Cory Schneider and more than the Leafs goaltending tandem (Bernier and Reimer) combined..

We have seen teams get burned signing goalies to large deals before (Rick DiPietro, Cam Ward, Roberto Luongo). What the Bolts do have working in their favour is the fact that it's only a two-year deal, which will soften the blow should Bishop not live up to expectations.

The Lightning have one more season of Bishop at a $2.3 million cap hit, and in his 1st season as a starting goaltender, he has certainly proved that he can hold his own. However his sample size is too small to warrant the large cap hit. The short term helps stop this contract from being awful, however, I find it hard to see a scenario where this cap hit can be considered warranted.