JIM LANG ON SPORTS

NHL PLAYOFFS

PK Subban

Yes, I am well aware that there is a salary cap in the NHL. But with Subban about to become a Restricted Free Agent, the Montreal Canadiens need to lock him up to a long term deal. If General Manager Marc Bergevin signs Subban to a short-term deal he risks losing him when he becomes an Unrestricted Free Agent. Subban has been a dominant force for the Habs in the post-season and at the age of 24 he is just about to enter the prime of his career. Subban is more than just a talented defenceman, he is a difference maker. That is why Bergevin needs to step up and present Subban and his agent with a long-term, max money contract in the off-season.

Marion Gaborik

Like every year, you learn a lot about NHL the deeper you go into the playoffs. For instance, back on trade deadline day the Kings acquired forward Marion Gaborik from the Blue Jackets for forward Matt Frattin, a second round pick and a conditional third round pick. Well at this point in the playoffs, Dean Lombardi looks like a genius for making that deal. Gaborik scored two goals in Game 4 of their series against the Sharks and then scored three goals in the first two games of their series with the Ducks. Gaborik and Anze Kopitar give the Kings a dynamic one-two punch on offence to complement their already strong defence and goaltending.

Rick Nash

The total opposite of Gaborik is Rick Nash of the New York Rangers. After Monday’s loss to the Penguins Nash had one goal in his past 22 playoff games. This is the same Rick Nash is supposed to be a star forward and takes up a hefty $7.8 million dollar cap hit every year. If you believe in the theory that a player really proves his worth in the post-season then Nash is a major bust. The Rangers are not paying Nash all of that money to go on prolonged scoring slumps in the post-season. He gets paid big money to not only produce in the regular season, but the post-season as well.  Especially in the post-season.

NFL Draft

It has taken far too long but the NFL Draft is finally upon us. Tonight the first round of the draft will be held at Radio City Music hall in New York. With that in mind I thought I would put together a mini mock draft for the first 10 picks.

1 – Falcons (Trade with the Texans) – Defensive End Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina: After the disaster of the 2013 season Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff decides to go all out in his quest for Clowney. The price will be his first round pick this year and his first round pick in 2015. But to Dimitroff the price is worth it as they finally find that young, game changing, defensive player they’ve been searching for.

2 – Rams – Offensive Tackle Greg Robinson, Auburn: Since the Rams play in the same division as the 49ers and the Seahawks a good offensive line is a must. That’s why taking the 6 foot 5 inch, 332 pound Robinson is a no-brainer for the Rams.

3 – Jaguars – Outside linebacker Khalil Mack, Buffalo: As great as Clowney is, Mack just might be a better pick in the long run. Highly coveted by many teams around the league Mack is just too good to pass up for a talent thin team like the Jags.

4 – Browns – Quarterback Johnny Manziel, Texas A and M: When was the last time the Browns had what you could call a star quarterback? Well the Browns haven’t had one since the heyday of Bernie Kosar in the 1980’s. That is why the Browns will not pass up on the chance to get the dynamic Manziel.

5 – Raiders – Wide Receiver Sammy Watkins, Clemson: Al Davis isn’t with us anymore but his philosophy of speed is the key to good football fits for the Raiders here. Watkins is big time talent that will give Matt Schaub another weapon to work with.

6 – Texans (Trade with the Falcons) – Quarterback Blake Bortles, Central Florida: This is huge for the Texans. Not only does Bill O’Brien grab the quarterback he wanted, he also gets an extra first round pick for 2015 to play with.

7 – Buccaneers – Wide Receiver Mike Evans, Texas A and M. Built along the lines of Calvin Johnson, Evans will provide an immediate upgrade to the Bucs receiving corps. Evans stands a towering six feet, five inches and tall and weighs close to 230 pounds. Despite his size Evans also ran a 4.46 in the 40. Big and fast receivers are essential in today’s NFL and Evans certainly fits that model.

8 – Vikings – Defensive lineman Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh. This is the kind of athlete that Mike Mayock of the NFL Network likes to call a “plug and play” type of player. Donald is big (285 pounds), strong (35 reps on the bench test) and mobile (ran a 4.68 in the 40). Add that all up and you have a young player who should be able to start right away for the Vikings.

9 – Bills – Tight End Eric Ebron, North Carolina: If playing the Patriots twice a year taught the Bills anything it is you can never have enough tight ends. Paired with Scott Chandler the young Ebron will give the Bills the ability to run the kind of offensive formations the Patriots made famous when they had both Gronkowski and Hernandez.

10 – Lions – Cornerback Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State: This is a no brainer for the Lions. Gilbert was clocked at a blistering 4.37 in the 40 and is regarded as the best cover corner in this year’s draft. The Lions play in the same division as the Bears (5th ranked passing offence) and the Packers (6th ranked passing offence), so you can never have enough corners.

The wild card in the draft is team’s that are willing to pull off a major deal to move up the draft.

Atlanta is not the only team that desperately wants Clowney. Nobody would be surprised if Jerry Jones did something crazy and moved up the draft. At the same time there are teams that are willing to trade down in order to stock pile extra picks in the second and third round.

Teams have 10 minutes to make their selections in the first round. They have seven minutes to make their picks in the second round. Then that number drops down to five minutes for every pick
between the third and the seventh round.

The first round will be held Thursday night. The second and third round will take place Friday night. Then rounds four through to seven all take place on Saturday. By the end of the seventh round on Saturday Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper will look like they went through a 12 round heavyweight title bout.

As of right now, the Houston Texans are still “on the clock”. But as I have previously mentioned, that will change Thursday night and kick off a chain reaction that affects the rest of the draft.

(Follow Jim on Twitter at @JimLangSports)