[King_Canuckian]

Pinhead, on Jun 30 2009, 07:47 PM, said:

can I ask why any of this matters ?

This is all about bragging rights. Many people (myself included) cannot stand Eklund, and hate reading rumours where his name is attached. I feel that his "rumours" are studying the teams, and determining which players fill the gaps that the team needs. He often picks multiple teams where free agents end up. So I suggested that we all do the same thing.

And you can still join in if you want to make picks. Recently signed free agents will be ignored as that's cheating.

Sedins - Canucks
Ohlund - Lightning
Christensen - Anaheim
Dvorak - Florida

These guys are off the table.

[Venom52]

canucklehead_52, on Jun 30 2009, 09:07 PM, said:

Hossa:Canucks, Canadiens, Wild, Blues, Kings
Gaborik:Canucks, Canadiens, Wild, Kings
Havlat:BlackHawks, Canadiens, Leafs
Sedins:Canucks, Leafs, Kings
Cammalari: Leafs, Canucks, Canadiens
Sakic: Avalanche
Koivu:Wild, Rangers
Kovalev:Capitals, Blues
S.Niedermayer:Ducks
[b]Ohlund:[/b]Kings, Canadiens, Leafs
Komisarek:Leafs, Rangers, Star
Beachemin:Wild, Canucks, Leafs, Devils
M.Bergeron:Wild, Thrashers
Leopold:Panthers
Scuderi:Penguins
Kotalik: Oilers, Candadiens
Sullivan:Ducks, Oilers, Blues
Tanguay:Rangers, Predators, Stars
Lang: Capitals, Devils, Sabres
Cole:Hurricanes, Rangers
Knuble: Blue Jacket, Blues, Sharks
Antropov:Blues, Oilers, Stars
Khabibulin:Oilers, BlackHawks
Roloson:Oilers
Biron: Canadiens
Morrison: Sabres
Kessel: Kings
Sundin: Vancouver
Gionta:Oilers, Predators, Blues, Rangers
Madden: Ducks, Blue Jackets
Neil: Sharks
Comrie: Senators, Blues
Afinogenov: Capitals
Mara: Coyotes, Rangers, Wild,
Morris: Rangers, Coyotes

So far not too bad....

[King_Canuckian]

Ok, I don't have time to compile the stats this morning, but I can tell you that based on Eklund's predictions for the first day... we ALL blew him out of the water.

Below is something I found for him, and what really happened after his prediction... and again, if anyone has his full prediction list, please PM it to me

* Beauchemin to either Montreal or Tampa - no (or not yet)

* Ohlund to LA, NJ, or Anaheim (or maybe a real surprise) - I picked the Lightning... so I don't really consider it a surprise

* Saku Koivu to Anaheim - not yet

* Knuble will re-sign with Philly - no

* Hossa will be a domino after Heatley decides if he wants to go to Edmonton or NY - Hossa signed, and Heatley isn't traded

* Martin Biron will sign with Avalanche or Oilers - not yet

* Cammalleri will sign with Buffalo, Nashville or Toronto - no

* The Sedins will sign in Montreal - no

* Komisarek will sign in NJ or the New York Islanders, but don't rule out a return to the Habs. - no

* The Hawks will attempt to move Huet and bring back Bulin - that may have tried, but failed (as did Eklund)

* Havlat will not be signed today, but will likely end up back in Chicago - so there's ONE that he managed to stumble upon (Havlat not signing on July 1st)

* The Rangers will attempt to spend their money. Although I dont see it happening, expect Vinny rumors if Heatley goes to Edmonton. - I think that contract to Gaborik is pretty significant, but they weren't the biggest overall spenders either

* The Thrashers will make a few really solid signings, that no one will expect. - I'm afraid Antropov alone doesn't really count

* The Wild will get in on Hossa and make another play for Heatley (and possibly Vinny) - I suppose we won't ever know regarding Hossa.

* The Islanders will make a play for a major player as well. if not Komisarek, maybe Ohlund - how about Roloson? nuh-uh

* Kaberle to Boston for Kessel will be revisited. - we don't know


Other notes
- in reviewing my picks, I can't believe I totally forgot to include the Sedins re-signing
- M.Gaborik10 is disqualified for editing after the free agency period started (although, from what I can tell, he didn't help his stats much anyway)

[King_Canuckian]

Initial results are in...

We all have more accuracy than Eklund.

The most effective right now is Canuckk with a whopping 62.5% for simply picking the right team for the player. However, closely following is protag at 58.3%, and I have to give him huge props for being the ONLY one here who correctly predicted Havlat going to the Wild.

Again, time is at a premium, so I won't do the overall score (those who picked fewer teams for each player do better)

Also with TSN's time tracker, I may consider letting M.Gaborik10 back in, but I may void any picks that appear to have been done after the actual signing.

Your pick may not have been included in your current stats if you mispelled a player's name (or if I did when I used the search function), but when it's all said and done, I will catch it.

[-CANUCKS94-]

-CANUCKS94-, on Jul 1 2009, 12:04 AM, said:

Sounds fun...

Player
M. Sundin - Vancouver, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Retirement
M. Hossa - Vancouver, Montreal, Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles
N. Khabibulin - Colorado, Chicago, Atlanta, Edmonton, Los Angeles
S. Niedermayer - Anaheim, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles
R. Niedermayer - Anaheim, Vancouver, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles
M. Gaborik - Vancouver, Minnesota, Detroit, Washington, Los Angeles
M. Havlat - Chicago, NYI, Washington, Buffalo, Los Angeles
J. Sakic - Colorado, Vancouver, Retirement
M. Schneider - Retirement, Colombus, Los Angeles
S. Zubov - Dallas, NYR, Los Angeles
A. Tanguay - Pheonix, Toronto, Ottawa, Los Angeles, Nashville
S. Koivu - Minnesota, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Nashville
A. Kovalev - Montreal, Washington
E. Cole - Carolina, Tampa Bay, Boston, Nashville, Florida
M. Comrie - Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Nashville, Florida
B. Gionta - New Jersey, Nashville, Pheonix, NYR
R. Lang - Pittsburgh, Montreal, Edmonton, Nashville
D. Morris - NYR, NYI, New Jersey, Atlanta
D. Roloson - Edmonton, Colorado, Toronto
D. Sedin - Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles
H. Sedin - Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles
M. Biron - Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Edmonton, Colorado, Los Angeles
M. Ohlund - Vancouver, Pheonix, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Colombus
M. Komisarek - NYI, NYR, Colombus, Pheonix, Tampa Bay
M. Cammalleri - Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Pheonix, Vancouver
J. Spacek - Buffalo, NYI, NYR
S. Sullivan - Nashville
J. Madden - New Jersey, San Jose, Anaheim
M. Knuble - Vancouver, Boston, Pheonix, Nashville
B. Morrison - Tampa Bay, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles
T. Marchant - San Jose, Anaheim
P. Boucher - Montreal, Pittsburgh, San Jose
T. Bertuzzi - Toronto, Pheonix, Montreal
F. Beauchemin - Toronto, Anaheim, Montreal, Atlanta, Tampa Bay
T. Pyatt - Ottawa, Pheonix, Toronto, Colorado, Colombus
P. Sykora - Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Montreal, Nashville

not too bad
I'll admit I didn't do as well as I expected...
10/23 so far

[King_Canuckian]

The formatting didn't come through, and it's kind of a pain in the donkey, but here is the summary. With this score, you only needed to correctly guess the team. Kovalev and Koivu was pretty devastating for us. This score is completely up to date, but you should also know that I went through everyone's lists fairly quickly, and may have missed a few while I was at it. Also note, I have included Sakic retiring, but I'm undecided as to those that have chosen the Avs only as his return destination, it's pretty obvious to anyone that Sakic was either going to retire or stay an Av... do those who did not choose "retirement" get penalized for this?

I still never got an original list regarding Eklund's picks, outside of that day one list. And I've gotten his latest, where the only person who has signed since then was not a correct prediction on his part.

Me
6 correct 11 incorrect

M.Gaborik10
9 correct 10 incorrect

canuckk
12 correct 8 incorrect

duffman
7 correct 12 incorrect

nucks09
6 correct 10 incorrect

NHL'er
3 correct 4 incorrect

Kesler-Burrows
6 correct 10 incorrect

dhillon 17
3 correct 10 incorrect

canucklehead 52
8 correct 18 incorrect

protag
8 correct 7 correct

canucks94
10 correct 15 incorrect

[King_Canuckian]

and here is what Eklund had predicted for day one:

* Beauchemin to either Montreal or Tampa -- Leafs, wrong

* Ohlund to LA, NJ, or Anaheim (or maybe a real surprise) -- a few of us picked Tampa, so I wouldn't call it a surprise

* Saku Koivu to Anaheim -- holy crap 1 right

* Knuble will re-sign with Philly -- Capitals, wrong

* Hossa will be a domino after Heatley decides if he wants to go to Edmonton or NY -- Hossa has signed, while Heatley hasn't moved... wrong

* Martin Biron will sign with Avalanche or Oilers -- Islanders, wrong

* Cammalleri will sign with Buffalo, Nashville or Toronto -- Habs, wrong

* The Sedins will sign in Montreal -- Canucks, wrong

* Komisarek will sign in NJ or the New York Islanders, but don't rule out a return to the Habs. -- Leafs, wrong

* The Hawks will attempt to move Huet and bring back Bulin -- Bulin gone, Huet still around, wrong

* Havlat will not be signed today, but will likely end up back in Chicago -- Havlat DID sign on the 1st, and did not end up in Chicago, wrong

* The Rangers will attempt to spend their money. Although I dont see it happening, expect Vinny rumors if Heatley goes to Edmonton. -- Rangers spending money... omg... and get this - the sky is blue. Thanks tips.

* The Thrashers will make a few really solid signings, that no one will expect. -- it wasn't on day 1, but Antropov (so-so), Thorburn re-signed, Slater re-signed, Lehtonen re-signed, Armstrong re-signed, Valabik re-signed. So... all their signings decided they wanted to stay in Atlanta (I'd call that something no one expected )

* The Wild will get in on Hossa and make another play for Heatley (and possibly Vinny) -- Hawks, wrong

* The Islanders will make a play for a major player as well. if not Komisarek, maybe Ohlund -- Not Komisarek or Ohlund, but their major signing of the day was DWAYNE ROLOSON!!! let's just hand the cup to the Islanders now . Or is Biron the major player?

* Kaberle to Boston for Kessel will be revisited. -- Maybe, but neither has moved even a month after this prediction was made

1 correct, 11 incorrect, 3 too vague to be taken seriously, and 1 completely indeterminate

This post has been edited by King_Canuckian: 04 August 2009 - 08:21 PM

[King_Canuckian]

Ok, training camps have begun, but as it turns out, I said September 1st was the cutoff. So you have 2 scores, the percentage score (those who picked the right team, regardless of how many teams you guessed, and the overall score which counts for both the number of picks you got right, and higher points go to those that picked the fewest amount of teams.

Notes:
- there are some of you who picked Tanguay, Comrie, and other players who signed September 1st or later. These players are not included in your totals.
- some of you also picked players that have retired, and some also said that they picked these players to retire. These players are not included in your score, as per the rules I set out on my original post (look for it... it's there, last edited prior to the start of free agency.

Me
6 correct 13 incorrect - 32% // 120 overall

M.Gaborik10
8 correct 11 incorrect 42% // 183 overall

canuckk
12 correct 9 incorrect 57% // 485 overall

duffman
7 correct 12 incorrect 37% // 366 overall

nucks09
6 correct 11 incorrect 35% // 358 overall

NHL'er
2 correct 5 incorrect 29% // 50 overall

Kesler-Burrows
7 correct 10 incorrect 41% // 458 overall

dhillon 17
3 correct 11 incorrect 21% // 183

canucklehead 52
8 correct 19 incorrect 30% // 433 overall

protag
8 correct 7 correct 53% // 173 overall

canucks94
9 correct 17 incorrect 37% // 305 overall

So canuckk is your winner on both counts, and I'm impressed that nobody got under 20%

But now, let's take a look at our buddy Ek:

#1 Alex Tanguay- Well I guess he isn't a Coyote yet...this situation continues to get too much attention, but if you ask me it is down to Tampa and Phoenix...and I like Tampa... – Amazing that he was right, BUT my rules specifically stated that players not picked by September 1st would not be included.

#2 Petr Sykora-May be the back up plan for Tampa or Phoenix. Although the Flyers are showing some interest along with NJ, Montreal Vancouver and Minnesota. He scores – Again, he got it right, but it cannot be included since it’s post September 1st.

#3 Dennis Seidenberg-Had a great year and a steady playoffs. wants a lot right now, but I think it comes down to phoenix, Montreal. He is not staying in Carolina... – He was right about not staying in Carolina, but that’s not exactly a bold prediction in a league with 30 teams, also signed post Sept 1.

#4 Mats Sundin-It was a year ago that Burt the Dog had over 1 million people watch his video where he attempted to predict where Mats would land. I considered doing another Burt video prior to his passing for this summer. I am told that Mats is likely coming back, and likely holding out to see if Detroit will take a flyer on him if Hudler is lost to the KHL. - Hudler has been approved to go to the KHL, and Sundin has not signed anywhere... but I have to exclude this one.

#5 Mike Comrie-I was hearing that the Wild were the best bet, but don't rule out Tampa or a return to Long Island. Comrie has the talent to make things happen. - post Sept 1

XXX #6 Mike Grier- Edmonton and Philly have interest, along with the NY Isles. He is a spark plug and can truly use his speed to his advantage. Someone gets a key piece with Grier. - Wrong - Buffalo.

#7 Martin Skoula- The Devils is a BIG e4. The Jackets are also on the fringe...as are the Caps and Wild. - still unsigned

#8 Rod Neidermeyer- It has been assumed that Rob is heading to Anaheim, but Vancouver, Carolina, Detroit and NJ are making a little noise. - still unsigned

XXX #9 Sergei Zubov- The Stars may still make a push but the Jackets, Sabres and Caps are surely leading this. wrong KHL

YES #10 Jason Williams-Detroit is the most likely spot, but a return to Columbus is possible...also Buffalo is in on Jason who does lend some help to the Power Play. - SOB

#11 Marc-Andre Bergeron- The Blue Jackets can use MAB, but can the Wild afford to lose his powerplay presence.. - unsigned

YES #12 Brendan Shanahan-The Washington Capitals are making the latest push, although Montreal, NJ, and the NYI are all in this. The Caps make the most sense to me given that they have lose a great deal of their veteran leadership this summer. SOB

#13 Dominic Moore- Edmonton and Buffalo are probably the most put front, but Pittsburgh Ottawa and Chicago are also interested. Had a great start to last year but trailed off. unsigned

#14 Robert Lang-Didn't sign with the KHL. If healthy Lang is a small factor, especially on the Power Play. he is also rumored to be talking to St Louis and Dallas. unsigned

XXX #15 Mathieu Schneider-Montreal, NYI and Anaheim....3 teams that know that MS brings much to the table still at 40 - that would be WRONG

#16 Maxim Afinogenov-Washington, LA and Ottawa (should they move Heatley) - unsigned

XXX #17 Todd Bertuzzi- Likely heading to Toronto or Atlanta - WRONG

#18 Manny Malhotra- Not a huge upside, but a definite addition to you 3rd or 4th line...The Isles have pursued this UFA as have the Yotes and the Blues. - unsigned

#19 Miroslav Satan-The Isles and Sabres are both considering their former dark overlord. Atlanta an Florida in the mix too. unsigned

#20 Blair Betts-Montreal has interest as do the Isles, Rangers and Panthers - unsigned

#21 Mike Peca- A return to Buffalo maybe? - unsigned

2 correct, 4 incorrect... for 33% // 58 points *** also note that this particular update came a few weeks into the free agency period, after teams had taken most of the big names off the table.

But look at his work prior to July 1:

XXX * Beauchemin to either Montreal or Tampa – wrong Toronto

XXX * Ohlund to LA, NJ, or Anaheim (or maybe a real surprise) – wrong Tampa (not a surprise since a few of us picked them)

YES * Saku Koivu to Anaheim

XXX * Knuble will re-sign with Philly – no, Washington

XXX * Hossa will be a domino after Heatley decides if he wants to go to Edmonton or NY – Hossa signed with Chicago, while Heatley didn’t go to either one

XXX * Martin Biron will sign with Avalanche or Oilers – no, Islanders

XXX * Cammalleri will sign with Buffalo, Nashville or Toronto – no, Montreal

XXX * The Sedins will sign in Montreal – no, stayed with the Canucks

XXX * Komisarek will sign in NJ or the New York Islanders, but don't rule out a return to the Habs. – no, Leafs

* The Hawks will attempt to move Huet and bring back Bulin - that may have tried, but failed

XXX * Havlat will not be signed today, but will likely end up back in Chicago – he was right about him not signing on July 1st, but went to the Wild so he’s wrong

* The Rangers will attempt to spend their money. Although I dont see it happening, expect Vinny rumors if Heatley goes to Edmonton. – This is not a prediction, it would be more bold to say that the Rangers will not do anything on day one. – can’t include it.

* The Thrashers will make a few really solid signings, that no one will expect. Can’t include this one, since no players are mentioned

* The Wild will get in on Hossa and make another play for Heatley (and possibly Vinny) – I can’t include this one because it’s too vague, but Minny didn’t get any of them.

* The Islanders will make a play for a major player as well. if not Komisarek, maybe Ohlund – again, too vague

* Kaberle to Boston for Kessel will be revisited. – probably, but again, nothing happened, so I can’t include this.

1 right, 9 wrong for a whopping 10%, and 100 points overall

Put them together, and he got 18%

Fortunately, I'm seeing a lack of his "rumours" on the trades and rumours page. But really, even if he gets discussion going, people should not be posting his crap in the rumours section. We have ALL predicted better than him, meaning that he is no better than random guys sitting at a computer, picking teams for free agents. If people must post content from his site, I suggest the proposals section of CDC.

Yes, as it turns out, every last one of us should be considered a more credible source than Eklund.