I'm not saying it was a weak draft, but at #8
overall the Flyers took a kid with no arms.
overall the Flyers took a kid with no arms.
In between the trade announcements, there was also a draft going on. While most of the 211 players chosen won't make an NHL impact, it's probably safe to say that each team walked away from the weekend thinking they've improved. Of course, only time will tell which ones were right.
How much time? Three days sounds about right. So let's start the evaluation process now, with a look at which teams came out of the weekend ahead and which ones may have taken a step back.
Winner: Florida Panthers - General manager Dale Tallon went into the draft with a roster that was short on top-tier talent and well under the NHL's salary floor, and acquiring Brian Campbell certainly helps with one of those problems.
Loser: Colorado Avalanche - Winger Gabriel Landeskog had been widely heralded as being mature beyond his years, which unfortunately was proven correct fifteen minutes after the draft when he announced that he was retiring to spend more time with his grandchildren.
Winner: Ottawa Senators - By trading for Nikita Filatov, filled that glaring "enigmatic Russian that Senator fans will dramatically over-rate for three games before permanently turning against" void.
Loser: Calgary Flames - First round pick Sven Bartschi was described by Pierre McGuire as "definitely an above-average player", which qualifies as the most scathing review he's ever given a draft pick in his broadcasting career.
Winner: Chicago Blackhawks - Showed a great sense of humour with the last overall pick in the draft when they selected Phil Kessel.
Loser: Edmonton Oilers - The acquisition of veteran winger Ryan Smyth violated a long-standing club policy by giving their fans something to be happy about.
Winner: Dallas Stars - General manager Joe Nieuwendyk drafted 6-foot-7, 244 pound defenceman Jamie Oleksiak, then immediately sent him to Brad Richards' house to "have a little chat" about this whole no-trade clause thing.
Loser: Boston Bruins - Settled for using their final draft pick from the Kessel trade to take a prospect named "Dougie", when they probably could have made Maple Leaf fans even more depressed if they'd found some kid named "Wendel".
Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins - Experts agree that their recent draft picks could someday form the core of a future Penguins championship dynasty, in the sense that their AHL team is also called the Penguins.
Loser: Winnipeg Jets - While it was fun to hear the old name and see all the fans wearing the old jersey, they may have taken the 1996 nostalgia too far with their early selections of Matthieu Descoteaux and Alexandre Volchkov.
Winner: St. Louis Blues - Told reporters after the draft that they were thrilled to pick the guy they did and were shocked to find him still available at that spot, and NHL teams would not lie about this sort of thing.
Loser: Philadelphia Flyers - Were unable to draft a player to fill their most glaring roster hole, a #1 center who can score, kill penalties, play physically and provide leadership, although in fairness we all know those type of players are pretty much never available.
Winner: Toronto Maple Leafs - Guelph Storm backup goaltender Garret Sparks represents great value in the sixth round, given that at this point he'll probably enter training camp as the favourite to win the first line center job.
Loser: Vancouver Canucks - Faced such overwhelming booing, heckling, and outright verbal abuse each time they took the stage that they eventually had to get security to ask Mike Milbury to leave.
Gardiner, CharlieCharlie Gardiner Gardiner, HerbHerb Gardiner Gardner, JimmyJimmy Gardner Gartner, MikeMike Gartner Gary Gambucci
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