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Taylor Hall won ... or did he?
Does going to an Edmonton team in need of everything trump going to Boston, the way Tyler Seguin is, with an already made playoff lineup and possibly less pressure to perform immediately?
The study will be fascinating in the years to come.
The Bruins are a settled organization, with strong coaching, deep in goal, Zdeno Chara on defence, and strength at centre, with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, even assuming Marc Savard is traded elsewhere.
The Oilers have been a jumpy organization, making public gaffes on firings, having trouble coming to grips with their coaching situation, lacking in clear vision and leadership.
Hall can help settle the future.
But in Edmonton, even with the most supportive fans, all eyes will be on Hall, all the time.
There will be no escape.
In Boston, Seguin will be able to disappear: Boston is a Red Sox town, consumed by the Patriots and Celtics. The Bruins are a clear No. 4 in that market, the kind of market that gave Joe Thornton a chance to grow into himself. A great place for a young star to develop.
This and that
Hard to take the New York Islanders seriously when owner Charles Wang is sitting at their draft table and his chief advisor appears to be “E” from the television show, Entourage, actor Kevin Connolly. The new season of Entourage, by the way, starts tonight ... Couldn’t tell what was going on in Toronto yesterday? Either the G20 protesters were in full force downtown or Montreal Canadiens’ fans were reacting to the Habs drafting another American in the first round? ... Maple Leafs were offered a mid-range first-round pick for Luke Schenn and turned it down. Wonder if the Leafs, watching Cam Fowler drop, had any thoughts of trading for a first-round pick and swooping in to steal the Windsor junior. An intriguing question: Who would you rather have at this stage, Schenn or Fowler? ... Christian Thomas can now hold something over his famous father, Steve Thomas. Thomas on Saturday was drafted in the second round by the New York Rangers. His father, who played 20 NHL seasons, was never drafted ... Another of the many father-son draft connections. Nefarious sports entrepreneur Stu Hyman, essentially kicked out of minor hockey in Toronto, had to watch with pride as his son, Zach, was selected by Florida in the fifth round Saturday.
Hear and there
If soccer was always like Ghana-USA Saturday afternoon, I could become a fan. Maybe ... But can someone explain this to me: Why is the MLS is playing games while the World Cup is on? ... There is a variety of opinion on Keith Ballard as an NHL defenceman, but almost everybody outside Vancouver thinks he’s overpaid at $4.2 million this year and for the next three years ... We know Evgeni Nabakov is gone from the San Jose Sharks. What we don’t know is who the Sharks’ new goalie will be. Marty Turco may be the clubhouse favourite ... Some people have talked about Ubaldo Jimenez winning 30 games with the Colorado Rockies but truth is, it’s all but impossible for any pitcher to win 30 games in a five-man rotation when you only get 33 starts in a season. When Denny McLain won 31 games for the Detroit Tigers, he started 44 games ... True story worth retelling again: Manny Legace never heard his name called at the 1993 NHL Draft. When Hartford announced his name, Legace was in the washroom taking care of business ... Must be hard being Andrew Cogliano these days: Every deal Edmonton tries to make starts with: “Do you want Cogliano?”
Scene and heard
I don’t mind paying $4.50 at Rogers Centre for a bottle of pop that sells for $2 everywhere else. But I do mind lining up for what seems like innings for ridiculously overpriced food. Jacking up the prices is expected. Being incapable of properly servicing those tiny Blue Jays crowds is inexcusable ... How many major-league managers, married to pitch-count numbers, would have left Edwin Jackson in for all 149 pitches of his no-hitter? The answer: almost none ... John Buck is almost a straight a line for the Blue Jays — four home runs in April, four in May, five in June ... Where a player gets drafted is less significant than who the players turns out to be: Goalie Ray Martyniuk was the fifth pick in the 1970 NHL draft. Three picks later, the Maple Leafs chose Darryl Sittler. Sittler became an all-time great. Martyniuk never did play an NHL game ... The craziest aspect of the really crazy Carlos Zambrano story: After freaking out in the dugout and on his Cubs teammates, Zambrano left Wrigley Field and went out to dinner with White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillen ... The best Blue Jay, day in day out, is stunningly, Alex Gonzalez.
And another thing
The Raptors had a good draft — and surely, they needed one. They got a Top 10 player at No. 13 in Ed Davis, and repeat after me “we didn’t expect him to be available” — but the real steal may turn out to be the athletic 7-footer Solomon Alabi ... Wimbledon is nothing if not demure: The tournament has properly banned those annoying vuvuzelas from the property ... I’d like to thank whoever it was who told NHL people not to thank the good people of Los Angeles prior to making every pick in the first round. The first round was long enough without any gratuitous congratulations ... Among the names circulating to replace Rod Thorn as president of the New Jersey Nets with the added duties of general manager: Raptors’ assistant Maurizio Gherardini and Bryan Colangelo’s dad, Jerry ... A question worth asking: Has Pat Quinn coached his last NHL game? ... Amazing how far Vince Carter has fallen, considering what he once meant: The Orlando Magic are trying to find someone to take him. Anyone? ... Born this date: Helen Keller and Dick The Bruiser. Happy Birthday to Sylvie Frechette (43), Chris Woodward (34), Rico Petrocelli (67) and Rich Costello (47) ... And hey, whatever became of Pavel Brendl?
We’re not the cool kids
The NBA reminds me of high school, especially with all this free-agent movement coming up.
Instead of cool kids, there are cool teams to go to.
Instead of the loser kids, there are teams who just aren’t relevant in the big picture (Raptors are in the latter category).
And there is all kinds of game-playing going on, people talking behind everyone’s back, people gossiping, people being small at times.
The big party on July 1 will see lots of action in Chicago, Miami, maybe New York, maybe Los Angeles, but the rest of us, insignificant, will feel left out.
There’s a big chase going on for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and friends:
We just weren’t invited to the party.
Dale Tallon: The opposite of Burkie
The real star of NHL Draft week was not named Taylor or Tyler.
Dale Tallon, who was once the second pick himself in the 1970 NHL draft, made a strong debut as the new general manager of the Florida Panthers, wheeling and dealing his way to three first-round selections — five picks in the first 36 — while ridding himself of some onerous contracts along the way. Tallon is using the same blueprint he utilized in taking the Chicago Blackhawks from also-ran to Stanley Cup champion, before being shown the door.
His vision of patience is the polar opposite of that of Brian Burke.
With the Panthers and the Leafs situated as the longest-serving teams out of the playoffs, time will tell which approach is more fruitful.
Ciccarelli ... really?
The list of names is impressive: Scotty Bowman, Bill Torrey, Colin Campbell, John Davidson, Serge Savard, Lanny McDonald, Peter Stastny, Mike Gartner, Pat Quinn — half the group of 18 who secretly elects members to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
But how is it a group this wise, this varied, this experienced, made yet another mess of the Hockey Hall of Fame inductees.
First, they left Pat Burns out. That was heartless.
Then they elected Dino Ciccarelli. That is questionable. It’s a Hall of Fame. Not a Hall of numbers.
In choosing Ciccarelli, they passed on Doug Gilmour, Pavel Bure, Joe Nieuwendyk, Mark Howe, Adam Oates, Doug Wilson, Eric Lindros (who I’m not advocating for) all of whom were more important players than Ciccarelli — if not better players.
In their primes, not one of these ex-GMs would have traded any of those seven names one for one, for Ciccarelli.
Why do it now?
steve.simmons@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @simmonssteve