(Spoilers) The thread where CALIFORNIA LOOOOVE~!

[Plubby]

#TeamTeemu

[Ruki]

Just got an email to renew two of my fantasy hockey teams! Woooo! Almost hockey time!

[TGWL]

$0!

He is still a good defenseman. We just don't need him.

Doubt you get a 4th there. His value is at an all time low. I think you'll have to settle for a very late pick, retain salary or sell off a prospect to get rid of him. Nobody is looking to pay him that much for the next 3 years.

[Ruki]

As a person who lives in Calgary, you have no idea how excited I am that Brian Burke is here

[Gabriel]

As a person who lives in Calgary, you have no idea how excited I am that Brian Burke is here

As a lifelong Flames fan, you have no idea how excited I am that he's replacing Ken King.

[Ruki]

As a person who lives in Calgary, you have no idea how excited I am that Brian Burke is here

As a lifelong Flames fan, you have no idea how excited I am that he's replacing Ken King.

Ken King is now just an owner, right?

[Gabriel]

As a person who lives in Calgary, you have no idea how excited I am that Brian Burke is here

As a lifelong Flames fan, you have no idea how excited I am that he's replacing Ken King.

Ken King is now just an owner, right?

I did some digging. King is still President, Feaster is still GM, Burke is CEO of Hockey Operations.

I figure he's essentially there to be the voice of reason between Feaster and ownership, until such a time that Burkie wants the GM's job, because after what he did for Toronto and his previous track record, a team in any state of rebuild would be idiotic not to offer him free reign at some point.

[Ruki]

As a person who lives in Calgary, you have no idea how excited I am that Brian Burke is here

As a lifelong Flames fan, you have no idea how excited I am that he's replacing Ken King.

Ken King is now just an owner, right?

I did some digging. King is still President, Feaster is still GM, Burke is CEO of Hockey Operations.

I figure he's essentially there to be the voice of reason between Feaster and ownership, until such a time that Burkie wants the GM's job, because after what he did for Toronto and his previous track record, a team in any state of rebuild would be idiotic not to offer him free reign at some point.

And yet most people still think he did a terrible job with the Leafs.

But, I listened to an interview the day he was hired. Burke isn't there to be the GM behind the scenes, a GM from a year from now or five years from now. He is there to be the CEO of Hockey Operations.

[Gabriel]

I don't understand why people give him a hard time with the Leafs. They didn't make it to the post season until Nonis was GM, granted, but all of the pieces that made it to the dance are pieces that Burke put in place. Toronto is still very much Brian Burke's team.

[SeanDMan]

A lot of the Stanley Cup final Canucks team were holdovers from the Brian Burke Canucks as well.

[Toe]

I think Burke lost his job in Toronto because of the ownership changes. If they were unhappy with his job performance in terms of the on ice product, they would not have left him there to make trades (like the one for JVR), sign free agents and draft. They would have dumped him as soon as the 2011/12 season ended.

[Gabriel]

I am incredibly surprised that Nazem Kadri has not been given an offer sheet by another team at this point. There are a handful of teams that would benefit from having him, and have the cap space to force Toronto into a tough predicament.

[Hewey]

Apparently Tim Thomas is close to signing with a team, no idea on who he's chosen, but it's expected to be announced in the next few days.

[Cactus Drags]

So, the Avs will be introducing their new ice girls this week, which I'm pretty sure they've never had before. The optimistic fan in me sees this as a sign that the Kroenkes are finally going to start spending money on the team in more important areas, like players and stuff.

Don't laugh

[TGWL]

I am incredibly surprised that Nazem Kadri has not been given an offer sheet by another team at this point. There are a handful of teams that would benefit from having him, and have the cap space to force Toronto into a tough predicament.

I'm not really surprised. Unless it was an insane offer, it would most likely be matched. It would have to be a high/long term contract that would give the leafs at least a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and even then it not a guarantee. I think if he had a full season prior to last year, teams might have reached out with an offer, but it's a pretty big risk for a team giving him a contract that the leafs wouldn't match.

Anyway, did anybody pick up NHL14? I got the worst starter pack I have ever seen. Thankfully, I got some pucks from playing NHL13 HUT. The free pucks from the demo and the hut tournament in NHL14 were an embarrassment.

[Hewey]

Haven't picked up NHL '14 yet, how is it? I plan on getting it next month when I get some extra cash. I really liked '13, so hopefully '14 is good too.

[TGWL]

I'm hearing Kadri got 6 million 2 years. Not sure if completely official, yet.

EDIT: NHL 14 seems to be smoother as far as skating. Wide turns aren't as frequent with each skater going full speed. Fighting is simple, yet a major upgrade.

Small things like pushing in front of the net after snowing the goalie is a nice touch. Basically, anything in front of the net near the goalie is going to get the other team to respond. Delivering a huge hit can result in an opponent charging at you ready to fight. Line brawls, should be fun, although I have not seen that yet.

Hut - Well, the starting pack was horrible. They changed the format so that if you purchase a gold pack, you're basically getting NHL gold cards. The Market right now is fairly good, especially for contracts and players ranked in the lower 80's. Some insane prices for higher guys since there's not a lot available.

Live the life: Nice touch with the interview and the meters. I wish the sim to your next shift was faster.

One touch Dekes: Not a huge game changer. Probably won't be helping you win too many games. The short pull-ups are nice, but just like NHL13 - dekes against live opponents don't help you too much.

Scoring has it's flaws, every year there seems to be a way to exploit their goalie AI, but going in without trying to score a cheap goal, the goalies are probably better at responding than NHL13.

Overall, not a huge improvement from NHL13. If you enjoyed last years, there's a few small changes that might make this one better for you.

[Ruki]

A day after my birthday, Kadri signs. A great deal (2.9 per year), as well! YAY FOR A BRIDGE DEAL!

Now, let's sign Franson and we are GOLDEN.

Although, we need to clear out some d-men....we have Dion, Gardnier, Gunner, Franson (hopefully), Liles, Fraser, Ranger, Holzer and that other AHL guy we signed this year.

If Rielly is good enough to make the team, there are gonna be some interesting moves made.

[TGWL]

Darren Dreger ‏@

$2.9 x 2 years for Kadri. $25,000 more per year than the Leafs offered 1 month ago.

Kadri's willingness to sign and agree to bridge contract was presented to the Leafs this afternoon.

[Plubby]

The way Darren Dreger reported this story makes it seem like for every dollar they DIDN'T have to pay Kadri, that Dreger was going to get it in his own pocket.