(1) Rick DiPietro v. (8) Nikolai Khabibulin
The first round came to an end yesterday with Alexei Yashin pounding out Dion Phaneuf to claim his spot in the quarterfinals, and today that quarterfinal round begins with two goaltenders who have, according to Tom Awad's GVT calculations, accounted for a combined 16.2 goals below threshhold. These guys are bad, and will duel for your votes, a spot in the semifinals, and an automatic berth in next year's tournament (as if they need it) after the jump.
Rick DiPietro
Rick DiPietro is so bad that he cruised to a 229-73 victory over Ilya Kovalchuk in the first round. That margin may not have been as large as Khabibulin's, but that might have something to do with Khabibulin drawing Antti Niemi in the first round. Now, I understand that Khabibulin's contract is bad, but it's for less money than this here deal and lasts for two years beyond this one. Rick DiPietro's deal lasts for a decade, and while his constantly being injured might soften the blow for some teams (who could stash him on LTIR), the Islanders are a budget team spending 10% of their yearly budget on a player who's either not playing or, even worse, is playing terribly. They could, of course, buy him out this summer and pay the guy $1.5M a year every year until 2030-31 to just have the guy go away. That's $30M over 20 years in dead money, and that might be the best solution. How does that not win?
Nikolai Khabibulin
I mentioned GVT in the preamble this time, and noted that these two goaltenders showed very poorly. Rick DiPietro, for instance, had the fifth-worst score in the NHL this season at -7.4. Nikolai Khabibulin was one of the four players below him. There has apparently been some confusion about the 35+ clause, so let's spell it out. If Khabibulin retires, the cap hit sticks. If he gets bought out, the cap hit sticks. If he goes to play in Europe, the cap hit sticks. If he gets sent to the minors, all but $100,000 sticks. The only way out is termination or trade, and it's a testament to Khabibulin's commitment to being terrible that termination is more likely. I think Benjamin Massey sums up the feelings of many Oiler fans best:
If I wrote a 5,000 word article, and every singe word was "HATE", in a progressively larger and larger font for all of those 5,000 words, and printed off a copy which I set on fire, pissed on to put it out, and shipped it to you, when you opened that package you would not approach a fraction of one percent of the hate I feel for Nikolai Khabibulin.
The Bracket
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Since it’s unlikely to be seen in the original thread, I just wanted to thank Triumph44 for calculating and posting the Leafs’ pre- and post-ASG corsi/fenwick #s. Confirms my belief that Phaneuf’s “resurgence” is a product mostly of the percentages. His level of play’s been pretty consistent, his teammates and luck have not.
Oh, and lol DiPietro.
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I wish I knew how to use that site.
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by The '67 Sound on Mar 29, 2011 4:01 PM MDT up reply actions
Read here and here and if you’ve got questions, come on back to this article.
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by Scott Reynolds on Mar 29, 2011 4:20 PM MDT up reply actions
Retirement
What is ol Rickster decided to retire?
Then the Isles are off the hook, but it would be pretty crazy to walk away from that much money.
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by Scott Reynolds on Mar 29, 2011 11:20 AM MDT up reply actions
Does it make sense for the cash strapped islanders to do a trade like this:
Taveres + DiPietro for 2nd line center + goalie prospect?
It would cost them a franchise player to unload that boat anchor of a contract but that maybe the price to free up some useful cap space for the next 10 years.
A team like the ranger can stuff DiPietro in the AHL and play Taveres but even than would another team take it?
I dont think that is a good idea. They have already made a mistake by signing Dipietro to a huge contract. no point make it bigger.
without honor, victory is hollow
Given the islanders already difficult financial constraints, it is unlikely they will ice a competitive team over the next 10+ years with this contract on their books. Removing the contract from their books gives them a better chance at rebuilding.
The Rangers are not adding 10 years of DiPietro on the summer cap and giving up a top 6 player in the process.
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by George E. Ays on Mar 29, 2011 11:51 AM MDT up reply actions
Anisimov at ES: 15-19-34, 2 of 13 on the Rangers in Rel Corsi QoC, 5th in Rel Corsi, 8th highest OZone% (based on 30GP players)
Stepan: 17-15-32, 11th, 2nd, 2nd, respectively.
Tavares: 18-21-39, 6th, 5th, 2nd
Tavares clearly still has a very high ceiling, almost certainly higher than either of the two centers we have already, but the long term impact of having DiPietro’s deal is much more damaging than the upgrade at center is helpful.
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by George E. Ays on Mar 29, 2011 12:56 PM MDT up reply actions
WOW
Makes me feel better about Habbis contract
by Sheldon Oilers Fan for Life on Mar 29, 2011 12:41 PM MDT reply actions
Khabi won a Cup you know
i just voted for Khabibulin.
I think he’s seeded too low
Why?
DiPietro’s contract is bad – but, when signed, it was audacious, outside the box kinda thinking. It was also very risky, and right looks as bad as it could be. But, what if his knee gets better. Also, what if i win the lottery?
Khabibulin’s contract was bad from the second it was signed. Everything about it stunk. I just can’t imagine the conversation in the war-room. I mean, whatthuhphukweretheythinkin? Did anyone speak up against it, and why isn’t that person Oilers GM today?
I suspect the biggest doubter in the room was and is GM. I remember the move being Lowe and Katz chasing Heatley and grabbing Khabi to say – see, we are a contender. Tambellini was GM, but didn’t appear to have much control at the time. He likely could have been had more fortitude if that was the case, but I am not certain that it was fully his deal.
That’s a pretty charitable interpretation for Tambellini. Why is it Lowe and Katz chasing Heatley, and not the group as a whole? Everything I’ve seen to this point suggests to me that the group operates by consensus-building (it seems odd that the guy “without much control” managed to hire old friends as coaches that same summer), and has since the day Tambellini was hired. No deal is ever “fully” his deal, but he certainly gets a say in all of them. If one goes sour, it seems silly to suggest that he ought not shoulder a lot of the blame.
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by Scott Reynolds on Mar 29, 2011 11:27 PM MDT up reply actions
Can someone please set a fucking date when Lowe stopped making the decisions and Tambo started?
Did Tambo really leave the Canucks org to come here and do the same job he was doing there? I doubt it.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
I pretty much agree with this. The date Tambellini started making decisions was the day he was hired. That said, I don’t think it’s reasonable to deny that Lowe is still involved in “hockey decisions” (what with his job title being President of Hockey Operations). Most of those Oil Change presentations look like management by consensus to me, which fits with what the organization has said about the arrangement from the start.
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by Scott Reynolds on Mar 30, 2011 9:54 AM MDT up reply actions
I don’t doubt that he’s still involved.
But the “this is a Lowe move, Tambo made this move when Lowe gave him more power… etc” stuff needs to be put to bed.
Tambo does the day to day operations but will run things past Lowe for final approval (i.e. making the Penner trade).
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Khabibulin would have to kick a kitten-wrapped puppy into a lit furnace for me to hate him that much that I’d vote for his contract to be better than Dipietro’s.
Just think, in 2 years the Oilers will be 3 lottery picks richer and be done with Khabibulin. In 2 years the Isanders will be 3 lottery picks richer and still have 7 years left on his deal.
In theory, there is little difference between practice and theory, but in practice there is!
Hey, he may have begun his drunken evening that way along with other various hijinks.
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by OilLeak on Mar 29, 2011 6:37 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
I shook my head when I heard the Oilers had signed Khabibulin to a four year deal. Almost crashed my car when I hear DiPietro’s announced on the radio. Based on that alone I’ve got to got with DiPietro even though they both suck pretty hard.
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This poll should read “The Franchise” vs. “The MVP”
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by OilLeak on Mar 29, 2011 6:32 PM MDT via mobile reply actions

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