Lots to talk about today so I’ll dive right in:

What's this guy all about?

–Let’s talk about Andrej Meszaros. If you’ve seen him play day in and day out, can you please explain to me what type of player he is?

I keep reading that he is a physical shutdown defenseman. I am baffled by this. From what I’ve know about him, while he does block shots, he’s nowhere near being a shutdown guy. And as far as him being physical? I find that wrong, too.

He always struck me as more of an offensive defensive who sh*t the bed when he went to Tampa. Kind makes me want to compare him to a Keith Ballard-type, who is a good #3 or #4 dman but sucks as a #1. Am I right, or way off? Somebody with info please explain… DTV (Bots)? … Kevin (Sens)? … Anybody?

I’m just baffled that the media guys are calling him a physical shutdown guy.

–Speaking of the Flyers, I had a pretty good conversation going on Twitter with regards to Gagne and Carter.

News broke yesterday that Holmgren has asked Gagne to waive his NTC and I thought this would please Flyers fans since trading Simon means that Carter stays.

Flyers fans were quick and passionate to say that is not the case. Gagne is a heart and soul guy in Philly, while Carter is seen as a lazy bastard. Good post here by Broad Street Hockey that explains this better than I can.

This surprised me because  I’d take, without hesitation, Carter over Gagne  if I were going forward. Holmgren must be feel the same way since Gagne is the guy headed out.

"Yay! I'm not injured today!"

–This leads me to ask: where is Gagne going and for what? If it’s a salary dump to sign a #1 goaltender, then I’m baffled as to why they would give $1.5m to Leighton. I’m also baffled why they would pay Jody freakin’ Shelley $1.1m and take on Meszaros’ contract.

You’ve got to think the Flyers would have been better off with Gagne and some $2m defenseman like Andy Sutton filling out the #5 D spot rather than grabbing Meszaros’ contract and thus handcuffing themselves with Gagne, Carter, Leino, and Giroux all up next summer.

Philly’s moves so far are baffling to me. I think I’ve used that word too much already!

–Remember my UFA prediction post? I nailed 2 destinations out of the 13 which have signed already (Kubina and Hamhuis). I also nailed Jokinen, which was done as a joke but I’m still counting it. So 3 out of 13. Just like my test scores in grade school!

–Of course, Kovalchuk hasn’t committed yet. Big news broke last night that the Islanders are making a push and offering a 10 year contract at $10m a season.

Let me address the 10 year at $10m contract with one word: INSANE!

I like Kovalchuk and I’m not a hater of his game, but unless you’re signing a 21-year-old Ovechkin, Crosby or, maybe, Malkin, you’re nuts if you are offering this contract out.

The most popular  justifications for it are: 1)  they need to hit the cap floor, so why not him?;  2) attracting a free agent to the Isles is hard.

The second one is easy to answer. If they win, they’ll have no problems attracting talent. But he’ll help them win, you say? Well, at $10m they won’t have any money to attract any free agents!

The first one (cap floor) may be an issue this year but it certainly won’t be an issue in the future. Just think when Tavares, Bailey, Okposo, Niederreiter and others players who develop (like de Haan or their top 5 pick next year *cheeky grin*) have to re-up. At that time, a $10m Kovalchuk contract will be crippling.

If it’s a 5 or 6 year contract that takes Ilya up to age 32/33, then I have no issue with it. It’s the final 4 years of a 10 year contract where I say you have to pass on at that price. Especially if you’re trying to build the team via the draft and develop (and retain) your own players.

"In Soviet Russia, I'm going to be SUPER RICH!"

If people argue that the Luongo and Hossa contracts may have been mistakes at cap hits in the low $5m, then I can’t see how anyone could think a $10m cap hit for 10 years for basically a sniper (a damn good one, but that’s the only thing he brings to the table) is a good move.

Sometimes the best deal is one that doesn’t happen (see: Gillis offering Mats Sundin $20m over 2 years) and a GM is better off doing nothing than doing something that handcuffs the team (see: Dale Tallon signing Huet and Campbell).

Cliff-note version of my opinion on Kovy: 5/6 years at $10m per = justified, 10 years at $10m per = dumb.

–You know what I’m thinking now? Paul Martin at $5m per season for 5 years is kinda crazy. I think we were all bamboozled by the UFA hype here. Myself included, but I’m catching myself right now and saying that his contract may turn out to have been ill-advised. We’ll see.

–I’m starting to warm up to the Ballard trade that Gillis pulled off when it’s coupled with the Hamhuis signing. But getting back to Meszaros (and if he’s really as good as Holmgren and the media are making him out to be), how does he go for only a 2nd round pick when Ballard went for a 1st rounder and a pretty decent prospect in Grabner (I’m not including Bernier in the conversation because he sucks).

I’d rather have Ballard over Meszaros but it seems like Gillis overpaid.

–Another point about the Canucks: I heard that Cody Hodgson is not on the list to attend their prospect camp. That strikes me as being strange. He should be there even if it’s just as a PR thing after the perceived tension between the organization and player this past season.

(BoF edit: fyi, Trevor (his blog) left a comment saying there’s nothing controversial here: “It’s pretty typical of how the Canucks usually manage their prospect camps…2 or 3 and then you graduate to the main training camp.”)

–And yet another Canucks note: With Bieksa being in play, the Columbus Blue Jackets are rumored to be interested in him and putting Filatov in play. I can’t imagine it would be a straight-up type of trade but if it is, Gillis should take a private plane to Ohio and seal that deal.

Bieksa is a dumb hockey player who makes dumb decisions. He has the ability to put up 40 points but he’s not worth the headache, in my opinion. At 29, there’s no upside there. He is what he is: inconsistent and nothing more than a 4th defenseman on the depth chart.

–Last but not least. I’m sad to report that my Argentinean soccer team lost today to Germany. Having made a bet with BoF reader Rouven, I now have to support Germany in their efforts for the Golden Trophy. So……

GO GERMANY!

*cringe*

Well, since I’m forced to support them, I might as well find a reason why.

Behold the reason…

That’s nice and all, but really does not compare to where my loyalty lies…

Woo hoo! Finally Argentina defeats Germany at something today!

I know I have not been posting many any humor posts lately but bear with me. I never want to force those things so for now you’ll be getting a big dose of these “Serious Thoughts” pieces.

"I'd rather be in Montreal"

–Being a hockey geek, I did know who Lars Eller was prior to yesterday. Still, my initial reaction to the Halak trade was: “that’s it?” But the more I thought about it, the more I laughed the traded started to grow on me.

There is a surplus of middle-of-the-pack goaltending in the league right now and as good as Halak was for a stretch in the playoffs, he’s far from anything other than a middle-of-the-pack goalie right now. Besides saving $2-$3m in cap space by going with Price, getting a 1st rounder who is ready to step in next season isn’t a bad trade-off.

Only time can show us the true colors of this trade. For instance, if Eller turns out to be a first-liner and Carey plays up to his potential, then Habs fans will no longer want to lynch Gauthier (even if Halak wins a Vezina). The latter is a big “if” though. However…

From Dryden to this...

–Everyone (myself included) makes fun of Carey Price, and if you didn’t know better, judging by the jokes you’d think he’s the equivalent of Toskala. That’s far from the truth. He’s only 22 and when he matures, he’ll do fine, in my opinion. Let’s also take into account the added confidence he should get from not having to look over his shoulder all the time. I would have chosen Price over Halak too.

–That said, initially I was surprised that the trade wasn’t something like Eller/Backes for Halak/2nd rounder. But like I mentioned earlier,  the goalie availability right now around the league probably would have made the addition of Backes unrealistic.

–Lars Eller, PK Subban and Carey Price. Not a bad young forward/defenseman/goalie combination. Habs fans shouldn’t be on suicide watch (at least not until next year depending on how Carey plays).

–I read about a Jason Spezza to the Oilers rumor. I think he’d be a nice fit in Edmonton but Ottawa would be crazy to deal another “star” for a mix of middle-of-the-pack NHLers. If they do, the Sens are like that bad fantasy GM who always trades his best player for depth. That guy never wins anything.

–Say what you want about Spezza’s contract or his defensive play but point-a-game players don’t grow on trees. If you trade him, then you’d better get something other than a couple of guys who max out at 50 points a year.

–I’m still highly curious about what Kaberle will fetch in a trade. I can’t believe some of the rumors (like Jeff Carter) are realistic. If Burke pulls that off then my jaw will hit the floor.

Mr. Smooth

–Dion Phaneuf came off as cool and confident during his captain speech as I did during an 8th grade dance. Only difference was that I couldn’t pounded the living s**t out of those that made fun of me.

–Kessel, Kadri, Dion, Schenn. Pretty good young core if they all play to their potential.  Certainly, the Leafs are much better off right now than when Brian took over.

–Early predictions for next year from yours truly:

Top 3 seeds  in the West: Blackhawks, Kings, Canucks

Top 3 seeds in the East: Capitals, Penguins, Bruins

Team to take the biggest fall in West: Coyotes

Team to take the biggest fall in East: Devils

Back to the playoffs in West: Blues

Back to the playoffs in East: Toronto? It’s hard to be confident about any of the 7 teams that didn’t make the post-season in the East, no?

I’ll do another one of these in September based on the movement in the next 3 months.

–Did any of you catch the NBA Finals? Pretty good series. I loved Ron Artest thanking his psychiatrist in the post-game interview. I really like the guy. Sure, he’s a little crazy but Ron comes off very genuine. I hated Rodman because he came off like a marketing gimmick. Ron just seems like a good guy.

–My World Cup team Argentina is 2-0 now with two impressive showings. My wife’s Brazil team looked shaky vs. North Korea but, sadly, still won. I haven’t watched every game (hard to wake up early for Honduras/Chilie), but the Spain-Switzerland game was probably my favorite one not involving Maradona’s squad.

–Even if you don’t like baseball, take the time to watch Stephen Strasburg pitch (he has a start tonight). It’s sick how well he can throw. Since words can’t do it justice, watch this (the break on the pitch at the 0:50 mark is insane):

[Edit: Looks like the YouTube video got deleted.]