Armchair GM Results: Rounds 3 – 6

Even though I went on vacation, I was able to keep some track of the Armchair GM draft goin’ on over at Cycle Like Sedins.  Luckily James and I are in cohoots, so he helped me out a bit, and frankly, I have an offense that is pretty much unrivaled at this point, but with proven talent and potential.  Let’s look at who I grabbed in rounds 3 through 6.

3rd Round – 86th Pick – Bobby Ryan

This pick serves a couple of purposes.  The first?  Well he’s a dynamic offensive talent, rife with size and speed.  The second?  That cap hit gives me goose bumps.  In just 64 games last season, his first relatively full season with Anaheim, Ryan potted 31 goals and added 26 helpers from his right wing position.  At that $1.922 million dollar cap hit, he’s the right mix of talent and affordability that suits the Buffalo organization quite well.  Placing him in that 2nd line RW spot behind Patrick Kane, and we’ve got dynamic talent flush down the right side wall.

4th Round – 95th Pick – Thomas Vanek

Buffalo’s own Thomas Vanek fell to this position for one sole reason, that $7.143 million dollar cap hit, well thanks to some keen drafting, guess who can afford that.  This guy.  We all know what Thomas can do, from the PP, to SO, to his ever expanding roles defensively.  To say there’s 94 players in this league better than TV would be an injustice to him, to say there’s 94 players in this league with a contract better than his, well, that’s just fine by me.  Thomas will slide into that 1st line LW position, while Hank Zetterberg will be playing pivot for him and Kane.  I think.

5th Round – 146th Pick – Claude Giroux

I went back to being cheap, as I’ve now picked up my 3rd rookie contract in 5 picks, not only that, but my right side is completely filled out at this point.  I may have to do some shifting to get one of these guys on the ice more often, but we’ll see when it comes to that.  I hope you were able to watch Mr. Giroux’s coming out party during the playoffs against the Penguins.  He showed glimpses of what he could become, which was enough potential for me to grab him in the 5th.  His cap hit of just $822,000 is going to give me lots of leverage here moving forward.

6th Round – 155th Pick – Chris Osgood

It had to happen, I had to eventually pick a goalie.  What did I go for?  Experience.  The guys available didn’t exactly scream “Pick Me! Pick Me!” as only the likes of Ray Emery, Mike Smith, Josh Harding, and a few others of that ilk were available, not even Simeon Varlamov was an option, so I took the guy with his name on the Cup 3 times.  Suffice to say I will need to grab a solid backup, which will be addressed, worry not.  Ozzie comes with another meager cap hit, just $1.417 million, and once again, gives me the flexibility to take on some gargantuan contracts.

Well, that’s where we currently sit.  It looks as though I’m taking the Washington Capitals theory in building a franchise, eschewing defense and goaltending and just outscoring everybody else.  We’re currently sitting at pick 188, so there’s still 18 more guys to go before I pick again.

I’m looking at a shutdown center and then a top pair D for my next 2 picks, anyone disagree?  Rather see a top line pivot and send TV down to the 2nd line?  Anybody even care at this point?

Tags: Armchair GM, Bobby Ryan, Buffalo Sabres, Chris Osgood, Claude Giroux, Thomas Vanek