2008 NHL Draft Take Two: Thirteenth Overall Pick
Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science, and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.
We’re looking back at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and asking how it would shake out knowing what we do now. Will the first round remain the same, or will some late-round picks jump up to the top of the board?
The results of our redraft so far are as follows with their original draft position in parentheses:
1st Overall: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (1)
2nd Overall: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (2)
3rd Overall: Roman Josi, Atlanta Thrashers (38)
4th Overall: Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (4)
5th Overall: Erik Karlsson, Toronto Maple Leafs (15)
6th Overall: John Carlson, Columbus Blue Jackets (27)
7th Overall: Jacob Markstrom, Nashville Predators (31)
8th Overall: Braden Holtby, Phoenix Coyotes (93)
9th Overall: Jordan Eberle, New York Islanders (22)
10th Overall: Jared Spurgeon, Vancouver Canucks (156)
11th Overall: Cam Atkinson, Chicago Blackhawks (157)
12th Overall: T.J. Brodie, Buffalo Sabres (114)
After a pair of sixth-round selections in Spurgeon and Atkinson came off the board in our redraft, a fourth-round pick will make his way up the chart. It’s quite a climb for a player that was considered a bit of a reach even at 114, given how little excitement there was about him at the time.
Brodie, who has never been overly physical, was a third-round pick in the OHL draft by the Saginaw Spirit and had only just completed his first full season in major junior. The smooth-skating defenseman had put up 30 points in 68 games but it was hard to know really what he could bring to the next level. In the final NHL Central Scouting rankings, he was all the way down at 164th among North American skaters (coincidentally enough just three spots ahead of future NHLers Tyler Johnson and Anders Lee).
That made him the 56th-ranked defenseman just in NA alone, and certainly not a player that would be expected to be a top-12 pick all these years later. But Brodie has enjoyed an exceptional career, which has now spanned nearly 800 games. The two-way defender has 308 career points and after a decade in Calgary has now settled into a top-four role in Toronto.
So now it’s down to the 13th selection, which belonged at the time to the Los Angeles Kings after some draft day dealing to move up (and then back down). They had a chance to pair top talent with Doughty, who they had taken second overall, and set the club up to become even more successful than they already would be. Unfortunately, while the first five defensemen taken in 2008 have all played at least 730 games in the NHL, the sixth – Colten Teubert – played just 24.
After taking Doughty, no one would have faulted the Kings for going with a homerun swing with their second top-15 pick. A small but incredibly talented defenseman like Erik Karlsson, a sniper like Jordan Eberle, or even an undersized scorer like Tyler Ennis might have seemed like the natural way to go. Instead, they went after a big, physical defenseman from the WHL, who happened to also be right-handed.
Perhaps they were thinking that while Doughty took on big minutes on the top pairing, Teubert could play the penalty-killing, shutdown role behind him. Remember, they had picked Thomas Hickey fourth overall in 2007 and had 2005 third-overall pick Jack Johnson on the team already. With Doughty and Teubert coming in, it was set up to be an incredible group for the Kings. There were immediate comparisons between the big BC-born defenseman and Shea Weber, who had already been patrolling the Nashville Predators for a few years. Teubert was praised for his physicality and leadership, but unfortunately, those traits weren’t enough to get him to the NHL with the Kings.
After two more years in junior, and a half season in the minor leagues, the team had seen enough and traded Teubert to the Edmonton Oilers for Dustin Penner. He would crack the Edmonton lineup in 2011-12 for 24 games and then leave for Europe in 2013. After dealing with concussion issues while playing in the DEL, he retired at the age of 29, having only ever recorded a single point at the NHL level.
So there is no doubt that it was a mistake to pick Teubert with the 13th pick. There were plenty of useful NHL players to be found later, and even in our redraft there are several names that could have helped the Kings. Who should they have selected? Cast your vote below and explain why in the comments.
2008 Redraft: Thirteenth Overall
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Josh Bailey 21% (129)
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Tyler Myers 16% (101)
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Adam Henrique 15% (95)
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Gustav Nyquist 9% (53)
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Derek Stepan 9% (53)
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Jake Allen 6% (36)
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Justin Schultz 5% (28)
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Travis Hamonic 5% (28)
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Zach Bogosian 4% (24)
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Jake Gardiner 3% (17)
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Luke Schenn 2% (14)
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Marco Scandella 1% (9)
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Matt Martin 1% (6)
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Tyler Ennis 1% (6)
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Jason Demers 1% (6)
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Michael Del Zotto 1% (4)
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Mikkel Boedker 0% (3)
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Matt Calvert 0% (3)
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Colin Wilson 0% (2)
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Zack Smith 0% (2)
Total votes: 619
[Mobile users click here to vote!]
Florida Panthers Sign Patrick Giles
The Florida Panthers have reached an agreement with college free agent Patrick Giles, signing him to a two-year entry-level contract. PuckPedia reports the deal will carry a cap hit of $812.5K. The big forward played a handful of games for their AHL affiliate down the stretch after his four-year career at Boston College came to an end. General manager Bill Zito released a short statement:
Patrick is a physical and talented player and we are looking forward to his development within our Panthers organization.
Physical indeed, as Giles stands at an imposing 6’5″ and has started to learn to use that big frame at both ends of the rink. In his senior season with BC, he managed to score 15 goals in 37 games, mostly by being larger than much of his competition. That size will help him in the minor leagues, where he’ll continue his professional journey this year.
In 17 games with the Checkers, split between the regular season and playoffs, Giles registered three points and racked up nine penalty minutes. While he is certainly not a fighter, the Panthers have made it very clear this offseason that they want to get tougher as a team, and adding his size follows that idea.
Signing a player like this is just like playing a lottery ticket. There’s a real chance that Giles amounts to very little even in the minor leagues but if he can carve out a role as a bottom-six player, perhaps they can squeeze some NHL minutes out of another undrafted player. Remember, Mason Marchment was a big, undrafted winger that had a hard time finding much offensive success when he first hit the minor leagues – and he just received a four-year, $18MM contract with the Dallas Stars after breaking out with the Panthers last year.
Marchment’s slow development through the Toronto Maple Leafs system is a blueprint for Giles. He was nearly 26 by the time he became a regular in the NHL and had ground through a year in the ECHL and three more in the AHL.
Colorado Avalanche To Sign Alex Galchenyuk To PTO
Not quite as big as signing Nathan MacKinnon to a massive eight-year extension but the Colorado Avalanche are bringing another high draft pick to camp. Alex Galchenyuk will sign a PTO with the Avalanche according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic.
Galchenyuk, 28, was the third overall pick in 2012 and would be joining his seventh NHL team should he earn a contract with Colorado. Last season he played with the Arizona Coyotes – his second stint with the club – scoring six goals and 21 points in 60 games. Once a 30-goal scorer with the Montreal Canadiens, Galchenyuk’s inconsistency and defensive struggles have left him scrambling for a job at this point in his career.
It’s not a lack of effort in this case, but things just haven’t clicked for Galchenyuk in the last several years. Given chances next to great talents like Evgeni Malkin and John Tavares, he hasn’t been able to produce at a high enough level to remain in a top-six role. With a limited defensive repertoire and little penalty-killing experience, a bottom-six role doesn’t seem to suit him well.
Still, there is skill and versatility in Galchenyuk, who can play center as long as his deployment is managed. In Colorado, perhaps he can find a home as a depth option that gets to play with talented teammates in offensive situations, and he can experience a nice little bounce-back season. That is of course only if he earns an actual NHL contract, something that is far from guaranteed with a PTO.
It wouldn’t be the first time that the Avalanche have taken a player previously written off and given them new life in a limited role – just ask Stanley Cup champions, Jack Johnson or Darren Helm – so perhaps they can work a little more magic with Galchenyuk this season.
Nathan MacKinnon Signs Eight-Year Extension
Nathan MacKinnon isn’t going anywhere. The Colorado Avalanche superstar has signed an eight-year extension to stay in Denver through the 2030-31 season. The deal will pay MacKinnon an average of $12.6MM per season, meaning he will be the highest-paid player in the league, just eclipsing Connor McDavid‘s $12.5MM AAV.
The deal, which kicks in for the 2023-24 season, will double his current cap hit of $6.3MM, a deal that has become one of the greatest bargains in the entire league. MacKinnon signed the seven-year deal in 2016 when he was still putting up an average of just 50 points per season. Things have certainly changed since then, with three appearances as a Hart Trophy finalist and a Stanley Cup this past spring.
There are few players in the league that can impact a game as much as the 27-year-old center. MacKinnon’s incredibly powerful skating stride can separate him from defenders in an instant, his offensive instincts are among the best in the world, and his shot creation results in plenty of opportunities for himself and his linemates. Since 2017-18, his first true superstar campaign, his 442 points trail only McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, while his points-per-game are behind only McDavid and Nikita Kucherov.
Incredibly, if MacKinnon didn’t already have nine seasons of NHL action under his belt, he wouldn’t have even reached unrestricted free agency this summer, having only turned 27 at the start of September. That means the extension will span his age 28-35 seasons, and that the Avalanche won’t be on the hook for a big number as he enters his late-thirties. While it remains a huge number to carry, it is likely still a bargain for the next couple of seasons while MacKinnon remains an elite player. If the salary cap takes a big jump, it could remain one for the majority of the extension.
There is no short-changing MacKinnon here though. The superstar will receive $85.34MM of the $100.8MM deal in the form of signing bonuses, and a full no-movement clause will kick in right away and last throughout the entire extension. CapFriendly gives the full details:
- 2023-24: $775K salary + $15.725MM signing bonus
- 2024-25: $775K salary + $15.725MM signing bonus
- 2025-26: $800K salary + $15.25MM signing bonus
- 2026-27: $9.15MM salary + $3.0MM signing bonus
- 2027-28: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
- 2028-29: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
- 2029-30: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
- 2030-31: $990K salary + $8.91MM signing bonus
It’s a massive commitment from the Avalanche, though one that is very much deserved. Not only is MacKinnon one of the best players in the league but he also has been through the worst the franchise has to offer, when Colorado was putting up historically-bad results. In 2016-17 the team won just 22 games, finishing dead last and more than 20 points behind the next worst. They would go on to lose the draft lottery as well, though that ended up inn their favor, as the fourth-overall pick was Cale Makar.
While the Conn Smythe this year went to Makar it could have easily been MacKinnon to take home the playoff MVP, after leading the postseason with 13 goals in 20 games. For his career, he has performed at an incredibly high level when the games matter most, scoring 41 goals and 93 points in 70 career playoff games.
With this deal, along with extensions already worked out for Makar, Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Artturi Lehkonen, the team’s competitive window remains wide open for the foreseeable future. It also likely leaves some money on the table, which will help out when Devon Toews and Mikko Rantanen need extensions down the road (2024 and 2025 respectively).
MacKinnon may end up playing his entire career with Colorado, given how long this new deal extends. His potential free agency is now something Avalanche fans won’t have to think about for a very long time.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Marco Scandella To Have Hip Surgery
The St. Louis Blues will be without the services of Marco Scandella for most of this season, after announcing hip surgery. Scandella will undergo the procedure later today and is set to be re-evaluated in six months. The veteran defenseman was injured in late August while training.
Six months would mean the end of March, not exactly leaving a lot of time for Scandella to get back on the ice and make an impact. Without him in place, there could now be an opening for young defenseman Scott Perunovich, who has dealt with his own injury issues and has just 43 professional games to his name.
It also means that Scandella’s $3.275MM can be moved to long-term injured reserve, giving the team a bit more cap flexibility for at least the first part of the year.
More importantly, perhaps, is how this will impact the last part of Scandella’s career. The 32-year-old is signed through the 2022-23 season but has already seen a steady decline in minutes since arriving in St. Louis, averaging just barely over 18 last season.
If a hip injury causes him to lose another step, it’s hard to see how he will stay ahead of players like Perunovich and Niko Mikkola (who happens to be a UFA next summer) in the pecking order. Hopefully, he will be able to make a full recovery and return to the steady defensive presence he has been for nearly 700 NHL games.
Keith Yandle Announces Retirement
As if they coordinated it, a third defenseman has announced his retirement this morning. Keith Yandle will follow Zdeno Chara and P.K. Subban into retirement, telling listeners of the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast that he is “literally taking his talents to South Beach and doing nothing.”
Yandle, 36, broke the all-time iron man streak this season, playing 989 consecutive games. In total, he hit the ice for 1,109 regular season games and racked up 619 points. It started in Phoenix, where a mid-round pick quickly turned from a lottery ticket to full-time regular, debuting in the 2006-07 season. After nearly 600 games with the Coyotes organization, he was traded to the New York Rangers, where Yandle would experience the most playoff success of his career.
In 2015, the Rangers would get within a game of the Stanley Cup Final, the closest the veteran defenseman would come to lifting the championship trophy. In total, despite playing parts of 16 years in the league, Yandle was only fortunate enough to suit up for 58 playoff games.
At his peak, Yandle was one of the most cerebral, effective offensive defensemen in the NHL, racking up points on the powerplay. In fact, of his 516 career assists, 254 of them came with the man-advantage, where he was deadly for a full decade.
Unfortunately for Yandle, though he currently holds the longest streak of consecutive games, he will likely lose it this year to Phil Kessel, who signed with the Vegas Golden Knights and is just seven games behind him. No matter what, he’ll always be known for his durability – which even included an 84-game season in 2014-15 thanks to a midseason trade.
The veteran market will certainly look different without Chara, Subban, and Yandle in it.
P.K. Subban Announces Retirement
Just a few minutes after Zdeno Chara packed up his gear, P.K. Subban decided to do the same. The veteran defenseman has announced his retirement in a long Twitter post, which reads in part:
I remember my dreams of playing in the NHL and winning a Stanley Cup, similar to the guys on the Don Cherry Rock’em Sock’em tapes at the end of every volume, with the black eyes, broken bones, and tears of joy. To this day, I still dream about it.
However, the end of this chapter is closing and after 13 years in the NHL, I have made the decision to retire.
Subban, 33, never did get a chance to raise the Stanley Cup over his 834-game NHL career, but was one of the best in the league for quite a while. The 2007 second-round pick burst onto the scene in 2010 as a high-flying rookie with the Montreal Canadiens, gaining fans and creating excitement every time he touched the puck. In his third season he won the Norris Trophy, scoring 38 points in the shortened 2012-13 season while logging more than 23 minutes a night.
He would be a Norris finalist twice more. Once with the Canadiens in 2015 and once with the Nashville Predators in 2018, following his 2016 trade that shocked the hockey world.
Overall, Subban will finish his career with 467 points in 834 games, not exactly the numbers that you would have predicted if you only saw him play as a youngster in Montreal. The last few seasons have not been very kind to his high-risk, high-reward game, with just 59 points coming in 189 games with the New Jersey Devils.
Still, there was a time that Subban was among the very best in the league and there seems to be little doubt about his future as a broadcaster – given he has already dabbled in that side of the game over the years.
Zdeno Chara Signs One-Day Contract With Boston Bruins; Announces Retirement
One of the most legendary players in NHL history has officially called it quits today. Zdeno Chara has announced that he will be retiring from professional hockey, signing a one-day contract this afternoon with the Boston Bruins to do it as a member of the team he is connected to most.
In a post on Instagram, “Big Zee” released the following:
After 25 seasons of professional hockey 1,680 NHL regular season games, 200 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and hundreds of international games I am proud to announce my decision to retire from the National Hockey League. In doing so, I am honored to return to TD Garden today to sign a one-day contract with the Boston Bruins and officially finish my career with the team that has meant so much to me and my family.
There are so many people that have helped contribute to my success, including all of you, and I look forward to properly thanking everyone this afternoon.
Starting his career with the New York Islanders back in 1997 after being selected in the third round, Chara would eventually find his way to the Ottawa Senators where he became a true star. After four years patrolling the blueline of Canada’s capital, he would join the Boston Bruins where he would spend the next 14 seasons and 1,023 games.
In total, his 1,680 regular season games put him seventh all-time in NHL history, first among defensemen. Even as he entered his mid-forties, he was still playing regularly for the Washington Capitals and, finally, the Islanders once again, as a bookend for his career.
The winner of the 2009 Norris Trophy, and a finalist on five other occasions, Chara should not have to wait long to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He got close to the Stanley Cup several times, but only lifted it once, in 2011 with the Bruins.
There are few players that have ever been more imposing, more dominant, or more recognizable than Chara, whose 6’9″ frame will be missed by many on NHL rinks moving forward. With 209 goals, 680 points, and 2,085 penalty minutes, there was something unique about the gigantic defender.
Minor Transactions 09/19/22
The start of the NHL season is near, and training camps across the NHL are getting started. Many leagues in Europe as well have already begun their seasons. We’ll keep track of any last-minute minor league/foreign league transactions here.
- As part of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s announcement of their training camp roster, it was revealed that the team has signed goaltender Brad Barone to a PTO agreement. Barone was the starting netminder for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears last season, and while potentially earning a contract is likely out of the cards for the 31-year-old playing goalie at the training camp of one of the best teams in the NHL will undoubtedly be the experience of a lifetime.
- Corey Trivino, a 2008 second-round pick of the New York Islanders and former star forward at Boston University, is switching teams. The forward, who has been a top scorer in the second division of German hockey for the past few seasons, has joined Eisbaren Regensburg, another DEL2 team, per a team announcement. Regensburg is currently 1-1 in the current DEL2 campaign and will hope to earn promotion to the top-tier DEL.
- Defenseman Alex Stevens, who turned pro last year after a four-year career at Pennsylvania State University, has signed a contract with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush. Rapid City is actually where Stevens finished his 2021-22 campaign, as he also got into games for the Wheeling Nailers and Norfolk Admirals earlier in the year. The 25-year-old joins a Rush club that is looking to improve upon a strong, 36-win 2021-22 season.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Dallas Stars Acquire Nils Lundkvist
7:30 PM: Both teams have now officially announced the trade.
7:28 PM: Per Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News, the conditional 2025 fourth-round pick in the deal becomes a 2025 third-round pick if Lundkvist scores 55 or more total points over the next two seasons.
7:10 PM: The Athletic has reported that the Rangers will also receive a conditional 2025 fourth-round pick as part of the deal.
6:46 PM: Just as training camps are set to begin, Nils Lundkvist has found his new team. As first reported by The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman, Lundkvist has been traded to the Dallas Stars.
The Stars are sending the Rangers a top-10 protected 2023 first-round pick in return, per the New York Post’s Larry Brooks. If the pick lands in 2023 and the Stars keep it, the Rangers would receive an unprotected 2024 first-rounder.
Lundkvist, 22, had requested a trade from the Rangers, a trade request that received significant media coverage in recent days. Because the Rangers’ defense features five players (Adam Fox, Jacob Trouba, Ryan Lindgren, K’Andre Miller, and Braden Schneider) who are either currently established long-term pieces or on the path to that status, Lundkvist felt that he would not have any chance to earn a top-four spot with power play time in New York.
It’s that locked-out feeling that inspired this trade request rather than any animosity towards the organization, and now Lundkvist heads to a team that features a defensive group that’s a bit less set in stone. On paper, it looks like this acquisition is part of the Stars’ attempt to make up for the loss of John Klingberg. The team signed defenseman Colin Miller to a two-year, $1.85MM deal this summer, and as of now thanks to that deal he has the inside track on winning Klingberg’s old job on the team’s second pairing next to Esa Lindell.
But now Miller has Lundkvist to compete with for that role, and since the Stars surrendered a quality asset to acquire Lundkvist, Miller’s early grip on that second-pairing job might not be as strong as it once looked to be.
Additionally, the team signed defenseman Will Butcher to a contract earlier this summer, and it seemed at the time that Butcher would be Miller’s primary competition for that role as the team’s go-to offensive blueliner. With this trade, Butcher’s status in the team’s blueline mix is more uncertain.
One other lineup factor at play here is the presence of Miro Heiskanen. Heiskanen’s mastery of the defensive side of the game could make him the preferred partner for Lundkvist, whose game has a more offensive bent. Additionally, a Lundkvist-Heiskanen pairing would allow Heiskanen to move to the left side, which he could prefer.
This is not a cheap addition for the Stars, but it’s a clear indication that the team has faith that Lundkvist will be every bit of the dynamic offensive force at the NHL level that he looked to be in the SHL. With Klingberg gone, the Stars need to find a way to replace the offense he brought to their blueline, and Lundkvist currently represents their highest-upside chance at doing so.
For the Rangers, this is a great return for a prospect who had already requested a trade and was unlikely to be in the team’s long-term plans. While the Rangers’ salary cap issues might have made Lundkvist (and his affordable cap hit) especially useful in the next few years, the Rangers do have other young defensemen like Zac Jones who can fill a similar role. Getting a coveted 2023 first-rounder (even if it’s top-ten protected) or an unprotected 2024 first-rounder in return for Lundkvist is about as strong of a return as the Rangers could reasonably expect to receive.
While the cost looks steep for the Stars now, the Stars won’t mind having paid that price if Lundkvist has a breakout year this season. It’s become increasingly common for fans to assign instant winners and losers to every transaction, and this trade will be no different. With that said, though, it’s important to keep in mind this is the type of trade where it will be difficult to truly judge Dallas’ side of the deal until we see how Lundkvist fares in victory green.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images