Absurd Goalie Monday: Vincent Tremblay

While many teams credit one player who actually contributed in a good way to saving a franchise, this week's AGM is a guy who's short-comings helped the franchise for the better. However, it changed the way things were to happen in the NHL, but for a short time-- he changed the NHL. This week, the profile of Vincent Tremblay.

Tremblay started his journey with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL starting in the 1977-78 season, where he would go 19-21-4 in 50 games. In the 1978-79 season, Tremblay would go 24-27-10 in 66 games, allowing him to garner Second All-Start Team honors in the QMJHL.

The Toronto Maple Leafs would select Tremblay in the fourth round of the 1979 NHL Draft, immediately putting him into their system in the 1979-80 season, where he would split time between the AHL's New Brunswick Hawks for 13 appearances (4-3-0) and for the Maple Leafs for 10 appearances (2-1-0). In the 1980-81 season, Tremblay would setting in with New Brunswick, playing in 46 games and finishing with a 24-12-8 record, while appearing in three games for the Leafs, all losses. In the 1981-82 season, Tremblay would have his chance to be the starter for the Maple Leafs, playing in 40 games, but would compile a 10-18-8 record. The 1982-83 season, Tremblay saw himself in the AHL for most of the season for the St. Catherines Saints, playing there for 34 games (sadly, no record is around) and then play one game for the Leafs, not factoring in the decision.

In the summer of 1983, Tremblay would be traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Rocky Saganiuk for Nick Ricci and Pat Graham. This trade would be something interesting, as history would have it-- even if it meant that we have a Draft Lottery because of it. So, you see-- the 1983-84 season had Tremblay buried in the AHL with the Baltimore Skipjacks, playing in only 28 games there with a 10-8-7 record, but an interesting call-up changed the franchise of the Penguins forever.

Tremblay was called up by the Penguins and would start in four games. He would lose all four and then be demoted back to the AHL. This is important because the draft system is the team with the least amount of points would get the top pick and all the losses would be better for a better pick. Because of those losses, the Penguins had the worst record, allowing them to pick Mario Lemieux with the first overall pick in the 1984 Draft. The whole story is over at the aptly named blog "The Legend of Vinny T."

In the 1984-85 season, Tremblay would be playing in the AHL with the Rochester Americans under a minor league contract for 33 games, putting together a 13-10-8 record, which allowed him to get a contract by the Amercians' parent team-- the Buffalo Sabres-- despite Tremblay never playing for them. He would also play in the New Brunswick Senior League with the Riverview Trappers. After that season, Tremblay would retire.

While not much was made of his short career, Tremblay may have done more good for the Penguins organization than anyone could imagine, even if he was a pawn to the system and would be the cause for the lottery system to be implemented into the NHL Draft lexicon.

Friday Five: One Game Down Per Series

It's Friday, the First Round has started. There's not much else to say about it.....and that happens.

1. After just one game, which is going to be the series to look at based on that one??

After all the series have been through one game, the Sharks/Kings match-up could be a solid one, if only because Jonathan Quick seems to have gotten his groove back and took up a barrage of shot-- though who knows if he can keep it up. Also the Bruins/Habs match-up should be a solid one, like it always is. But the issue is that with one game, you really can't tell how teams will react, because the team that lost could switch it up enough to win Game Two, which change a dynamic in a series.

2. Is there a chance for a big upset that's not a 4/5 match-up??

The Habs/Bruins series has an upset special written all over it, which could mean Claude Julien's job. Carey Price was solid in Game One and the Americans on the Habs-- Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez-- took control of the first game and the defense shut down the Bruins' offense. I still also think that the Sharks/Kings and Capitals/Rangers series could have some upset tendencies, but the top seed will come out after some adjustments.

3. Even with things going, the Winnipeg situation doesn't go away-- but with a lot of places saying the move from Phoenix back to Winnipeg is done; can the fans and team regain the desire??

I definitely think there's going to be some bummed out people, but that's the way business happens. Hard to have intensity when your fate for next year is being decided without your control and when the season hasn't even finished for you. Also, with papers telling Red Wings fans not to wear their team's colors so the area doesn't come off bad, like they can't sell out a playoff game-- it's a dire situation. At the same time, they had a lot of time to make this team work in that area and if they can't make it work for one reason or another....what other option do you have. You can only watch something suffer for so long before you have to put the issue to bed.

4. With the Draft lottery-- why can't the winner actually get the first overall pick?? Why the limit silliness??

It's the oddest thing because I've been questioned about this and I think it's dumb for the team that does win the lottery not to get the first pick. If you're going to do it like that-- why even have the lottery?? Why not have it so that the worst team gets the first pick outright in order to actually stop this dramatic crap that doesn't work in the end. The Devils should have the first overall pick this draft-- not the Oilers.

5. John Druce Award?? Really??

Hey, if Mark Messier can get a leadership award-- why can't John Druce have the unsuspecting playoff performer award?? While the Conn Smythe, at times, rewards the surprise performers, often they go unnoticed. Plus, more hardware is always something good that the NHL wants to do-- why not go for it?? It gives John Druce some time in the limelight each year, too.

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That's that. Any suggestions, Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com is the place to send it all to. Enjoy the weekend playoff action, folks.

Friday Five: Weekend Finale

It's the last weekend of the regular season, and while there are still some teams in the hunt for the second season, there are many who know their fate and go about preparing their game for the playoffs or preparing their swing for the course.

1. The Senators announced that Bryan Murray has signed a three-year extension to stay on as GM. What does this mean for the team as a whole??

It's something that was definitely unexpected and you could probably bet that maybe Cory Clouston could get another year done behind the bench; but other than that-- you would think they would want to move into another direction with the team. While Murray is probably not the best option, you could see something like what the Flames did and sign a former GM to be the heir-apparent to the GM position, but I doubt owner Eugene Melnyk will do that, as it would seem to undermine his front office. For all the people saying that it would be a huge overhaul for the Sens, looks like they were disappointed once again.

2. The consolation of some players is the World Championships. While it may not mean a lot to the casual fan, how much is it worth paying attention to??

Obviously, a lot of the hardcore patriotic fans will follow their country and enjoy the game play-- but odds are, if you're team is in the Stanley Cup playoffs; you won't pay much attention to it all. And to be honest, it's not a horrific thing not to pay attention, as the games will air somewhat early (Slovakia is ahead by seven hours on Eastern time)-- but you should keep an eye out for it as the Cup Playoffs start to dwindle down the teams. There's a lot of NHLers who are out of it that'll attend, so you could have a lot of those fans watching-- but I doubt they'll lose sleep if they miss a game or seven.

3. The Draft Lottery is being held on Tuesday. Is there a chance that it's not going to go to the Edmonton Oilers??

They have a 48% in the lottery to get the first pick, but it would be the first time since the 1995 and 1996 Drafts that a team would have back-to-back 1st Overall Picks. This could be a good thing or a bad thing when it comes to how you look at it. The Oilers haven't been much for talent and to be honest-- it could be a rush for a young player to automatically get into the line-up from juniors; but at the same time-- best to get them in the games early and let them adapt naturally rather than baby them through the motions.

4. What does the play of Jhonas Enroth bring to the Sabres and what could it mean for Ryan Miller??

What this could finally mean is that the Sabres don't have to overwork Miller. Enroth probably won't make a play for a #1 or even 1b spot, but it gives the Sabres another solid option and are able to give Miller a rest every now and again because they have a solid guy who could come in and actually perform well, especially in the clutch. Enroth will get another deal, as he is a RFA this summer, but I don't think he'll challenge for Miller's spot right now....but in a couple years, maybe.

5. Will there be any big surprise to come out of this weekend??

I don't think so. There won't be a big time comeback or dramatic finish-- because I think some of those seeds are out of steam by now and probably couldn't pull one more rabbit out of their hat. If there's one thing that could happen is that this is going to be the most dramatic Hurricanes/Rangers games outside of any playoff situation there could be. The "win and you're in" scenario is something that's enticing, but probably not going to be enough to really rally the troops to watch a game, especially if you're team is already in.

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That's it this week and we're getting around to playoff time and who knows if this thing will keep going in the playoffs-- we'll see what the first round brings and go on from there. If you have topics, Scotty.Wazz@Gmail.com is the place to be dialin'.

When Listening is a Waste

According to TSN's super sleuth Darren Dreger, Oilers GM Steve Tambellini is listening to offers for the first overall pick in the Entry Draft. As of yet, Tambellini hasn't heard the right deal to trade for. In the end, there probably won't be any deal that's good enough for a rebuilding team like Edmonton to move the first pick and have their pick of the litter in order to be a cornerstone to the rebuild.

Let's be honest, though-- the kind of deal will have to be extreme for the Oilers to actually move the pick. It's a deal that most sane teams probably wouldn't do mostly because the asking price will be way too much for a young kid who probably won't hit his full potential until a few years after he's drafted. Plus, any supporting cast that he may have had would be traded the other way in order to get him. It's detrimental for the team trading the roster players for the pick because you're going off on possibility rather than reality. Plus, it's not like Edmonton is the most desirable place for players to play, as I have pointed out before. Who's to say many of the players traded would actually play to their potential if they aren't happy with the trade-- another risk that the Oilers would have to deal with in trading the pick.

The thing that I don't get is why would anyone be willing to trade away the first pick overall. Rather than tease other teams, why not just shut it down after the lottery saying you won't move it because the return probably won't be worth it unless it's for two of the top-ten in points the season prior. In fact, the last two times the first overall was moved was by the Florida Panthers in successive years and they were for the third overall pick both in the 2002 (which was Rick Nash for Jay Bouwmeester) and 2003 (Marc-Andre Fleury for Nathan Horton); both of which were Mike Keenan drafts and definite losers on both accounts.

While you did have instances like the pick being traded on the trade deadline; not knowing about the pick being the first overall, like 1998, Vincent Lecavalier's rights traded twice, then 1982 when the picks was traded in July of 1981 between the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies; that actually turned out better for the Colorado franchise (which moved to New Jersey) when Ken Daneyko at the 18th pick was better than Gord Kluzak. Once more in 1980 between Montreal and Colorado, where the deal was done in September of 1976 of all times.

In fact, the last time roster players were traded for the first overall pick was in 1975; when the Philadelpha Flyers traded Bill Clement (energy vampire), Don McLean, and the 18th overall pick for the first overall; which the Flyers used to pick Mel Bridgman. The Caps picked Alex Forsyth with the 18th pick and played exactly one game with the Caps; his only NHL game.

As history tell us, there's little to no chance that the Oilers will trade this pick and for them to say they are entertaining offers is a bit off the deep end and just something for people to talk about during the time from the end of the Stanley Cup Finals and the Draft...or maybe the awards show. While it's nice of Tambellini to throw people that bone, in my mind-- it's just mindless talk to get the crazy rumor mill going which will produce nothing by idiocy from all over the internet. It will take too much in order for the Oilers to give up the pick-- which is something little to no teams would do-- though I'm sure someone will come up and amaze me by doing that. Though it would make people forget the time span until the season actually starts.

Draft Lottery Mock Draft

The NHL Draft Lottery was held last night with the New York Islanders finally winning at something important and grabbed the first spot overall for the Draft this June in Montreal. What they will do with it seems to be somewhat obvious, but also somewhat up in the air if someone can sweeten the pot to the point they move the thing.

In any case, I'm going to look into my crystal ball to see if I can predict the outcome for the lottery picks. And by crystal ball I mean bottle of water......because I took some acid and I think this could only do good things for my prediction abilities.

1. NEW YORK ISLANDERS: John Tavares (London, OHL): Really, a no-brainer for the Isles since they have a decent amount of defensemen in their system and need some sureshot scorer in their line-up now.

2. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Victor Hedman (MoDo, Sweden): The Bolts haven't had much luck with getting anything going on the blue line and with their wide array of forwards already signed, this could be the start forming something to help out their goaltending.

3. COLORADO AVALANCHE: Matt Duchene (Brampton, OHL): Duchene could be a spoiler and pop in the top-two, but the Avs will jump on him if he doesn't. He is a speedster and has the nose for the net.

4. ATLANTA THRASHERS: Evander Kane (Vancouver, WHL): A spunky forward who can be a scorer and ruffle a few feathers in order to get his team the advantage.

5. LOS ANGELES KINGS: Brayden Schenn (Brandon, WHL): Schenn has the skill set and passing ability to be the set-up man for the likes of Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown and boost the scoring power for the young Kings.

6. PHOENIX COYOTES: Magnus Paajavi-Svensson (Timra, Sweden): There's plenty of hype with the speed and hands of MPS, but the only doubt is if he can consistently score game-in and game-out.

7. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Jared Cowen (Spokane, WHL): If GM Brian Burke can't move up to one of the top two picks, he'll load up on another big defenseman in Cowen. While Cowen was injured, he can actually be a force and team up with Luke Schenn to be a solid duo on the blue line-- which will appease Princess Curl.

8. DALLAS STARS: Nazem Kadri (London, OHL): Kadri's stock was helped out by Tavares' acquisition, but his own skill set put him high in the chart before the thought of Tavares coming to London.

9. OTTAWA SENATORS: Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Leksands, Sweden): What's with the Swedes and the hypens?? Anyway, OEL will be another Swedish notch on the defensive prospects that the Sens are stockpiling away. With a +44 this season, his defensive responsibility will be a refresher after this season for Ottawa.

10. EDMONTON OILERS: Zack Kassian (Peterborough, OHL): Kassian is going to be a power forward and may be something that the Oilers will need to support the smaller skill players the Oilers have in their system right now.

11. NASHVILLE PREDATORS: Jordan Schroeder (Minnesota, NCAA): A small forward who can pick his spots from anywhere will give a shot in the arm to the Preds offense when their older vets, like Jason Arnott and Steve Sullivan, start to fade out.

12. MINNESOTA WILD: Ryan Ellis (Windsor, OHL): Ellis is a solid passing defenseman and could be an asset because his defensive prowess is just as good as his offensive awareness.

13. BUFFALO SABRES: Dmitri Kulikov (Drummondville, QMJHL): Kulikov will be a play-making defenseman for any team, which would suit the Sabres well if they start to go to a more offensive style of play.

14. FLORIDA PANTHERS: John Moore (Chicago, USHL): Moore is said to be the most solid skater in this entire draft, but his defensive reliability could be questioned, even though his offensive sense is on the high side of the chart.

So that's that for now, and these could change with the tides and the trades that could come from all of this. We'll have to see where this is going to go and I'll have a full sheet as soon as the season is over--huzzah.

The Fix Is In.....or Not

On TSN's "The Reporters" this morning, Damien Cox brought up a point about fixing the draft lottery so that teams aren't tanking the season in order to get a better (which would be worse) positioning in the standings to get them a greater percentage of ping-pong balls in the good ol' Draft Lottery, which will be held April 14th. I assume this came up with the woes of the Avalanche, which Sean Leahy documents about all the injuries, and the Lightning shutting down Vinny Lecavalier, an indication of the team giving up and hoping to get another #1 pick (which I have said should be officially banned).

Yet, is there a way to adequetely make a lottery system with the fair amount of weights so teams would be inclined to play hard from game one to game 82??

First, you could give the teams who came up just short of the playoffs a higher weight in it, reason being that if they had that superstar player, they could be in the playoffs and not have the ability to be in the lottery because they are focusing on the playoffs. That's not to say it would take the weight away from the last place team in the league, but instead of giving the second most ping-pong balls to the second to last team in the league; you give it to the team who finished 17th, who was maybe a point or two away from making it to the second season.

Or you could keep the same weighted system, but pull the gimmick like they did after the lockout, taking out a ball for every 1st overall pick or playoff appearance or what-have-you in order weed out the really horrible teams from the teams who just had an off-year. Sure, it'd be harsh to a team like the Avalanche, but at the same time-- had they not had all those injuries, do you think they'd be in a high-lottery position or be one of the team either just in the playoffs or just out of the playoffs??

Finally, just get rid of the weighted system and go one ping-pong ball for each team and let lady luck fall where it may. You put the 14 teams who didn't make it into a hat, pull it them out one-by-one, and the last one in there gets the first overall pick. Not the fairest way to do it, but the most random.

There has to be some kind of way in order to fix things with the Draft. Obviously, the worse teams should be able to be given priority on one of the top picks, but it's hard to determine who is tanking for the sake of tanking or tanking for the fact they are an absolutely horrible team. It's all subjective at that point and there's no real point to accuse someone of tanking when they are basically their roster is two steps up from a SPHL team. Some method has to work and I'm sure in my lifetime, something will happen to fix it all.....or not.