world of hockey

back from hiatus

2008-09-15T15:58:00.002-04:00

With the NHL teams reporting for camp this week, I thought it would be a good time to revive things around here.

Over the next couple of weeks, here's what I plan to have on the blog:

- season preview: looking at what changes each team has made in the off-season.
- 2009 free agents: a return of the popular free agent post, updated throughout the year. Already have an early copy of the free agent list, so it should be completed fairly quickly.
- junior hockey: season has already started in the QMJHL, with the OHL and WHL seasons getting started over the next week.
- Mats Sundin: actually, scrap that. Don't really care about the Sundin saga.

Those are some of the main things I hope to hit on very soon. And we'll see what other tidbits pop up over the coming days.

headed for arbitration

2008-07-06T12:40:00.002-04:00

The following 15 players have filed for salary arbitration:

Boston – Dennis Wideman
Carolina – Chad LaRose
Colorado – Marek Svatos
Detroit – Valtteri Filppula
Florida – Jay Bouwmeester
Minnesota – Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Stephane Veilleux
Nashville – Ville Koistinen
NY Islanders – Sean Bergenheim
NY Rangers – Dan Fritsche
Ottawa – Antoine Vermette
St. Louis – Jay McClement
San Jose – Marcel Goc
Washington – Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrison

Some teams can elect to bring certain players to arbitration. This includes Pascal Leclaire, Kari Lehtonen, R.J. Umberger and Matt Stajan to list a few.

Daniel Tolensky goes in depth on arbitration, looking at how it fits into the CBA.

the wrong way to celebrate being drafted

2008-07-04T18:17:00.001-04:00

Boston Bruins prospect Jamie Arniel has been charged with impaired driving in Kingston, Ont.

Police allege Arniel, taken 97th overall in this year's junior draft by the Bruins, was behind the wheel of a Toyota that zig-zagged across lawns and hit parked cars, utility poles and a stop sign in the west-end neighbourhood where he lives.

Arniel, arrested in the early morning hours of June 22, submitted a breath sample that showed he had a blood-alcohol level 2½ times over the legal limit, police said.

CBC Sports

2008 nhl free agents

2008-07-04T18:15:00.005-04:00

here's a list of players who will become unrestricted or restricted free agents on july 1, 2008. i'll keep this updated throughout the year.

anaheim
ufa: Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Darryl Bootland, Joe Callahan, Gerald Coleman, Joe DiPenta, Mike Hoffman, Shane Hynes, Jay Leach, Tony Martensson, Mark Mowers, Geoff Peters, Teemu Selanne, Bruno St. Jacques

rfa: Stephen Dixon, Jason King, Drew Miller, Geoff Platt

atlanta
ufa: Milan Bartovic, Eric Boulton, Guillaume Desbiens, Kevin Doell, Darren Haydar, Jason Krog, Joel Kwiatkowski, Steve McCarthy, Karel Pilar, Mark Popovic, Mark Recchi, Steve Rucchin

rfa: Joey Crabb, Kari Lehtonen, Nathan Oystrick, Brett Sterling

boston
ufa: Bobby Allen, Mike Brown, Stanislav Chistov, Chris Collins, Sean Curry, Jeff Hoggan, Zdenek Kutlak, Jordan Sigalet, Nathan Saunders, T.J. Trevelyan, Alexei Zhamnov, Sergei Zinovjev

rfa: Johnny Boychuk, Pascal Pelletier, Nate Thompson

buffalo
ufa: Teppo Numminen, Nolan Pratt, Michael Ryan, Jocelyn Thibault

rfa: Clarke MacArthur, Mark Mancari, Daniel Paille

calgary
ufa: Derek Couture, Ryan Donally, Brent Krahn, Owen Nolan, Mark Smith, Grant Stevenson, Stephane Yelle

rfa: Cam Cunning, Tomi Maki, Adam Pardy

carolina
ufa: Keith Aucoin, John Grahame, Bret Hedican, Joey Mormina, Kevin Nastiuk, Trevor Letowski, Glen Wesley

rfa: Patrick Dwyer, Mark Flood, Joe Jensen, Chad Larose, Brandon Nolan, Dennis Seidenberg

chicago
ufa: Kevyn Adams, Mike Brodeur, Jim Fahey, Wade Flaherty, Steve Marr, Yanic Perreault, Prestin Ryan, Jason Williams, Andrei Zyuzin

rfa: Corey Crawford, Colin Fraser, Danny Richmond, Martin St. Piere

colorado
ufa: Dan DaSilva, Peter Forsberg, Riku Hahl, Eric Healey, Jaroslav Hlinka, Jeff Jillson, Vitaliy Kolesnik, Sanny Lindstrom, Mitch Love, Dale Purinton, Joe Sakic, Wyatt Smith, Tyler Weiman

rfa: Jason Bacashihua, Cody McCormick, Cody McLeod, Marek Svatos, Michael Wall

columbus
ufa: Nate DiCasmirro, Zenon Konopka, Derek MacKenzie, Mikko Maenpaa, Andrej Nedorost, Martin Paroulek, Michael Peca, Tomas Popperle, Mark Rycroft, Dan Smith, Dick Tarnstrom, David Vyborny

rfa: Dan Fritsche, Pascal Leclaire, Joakim Lindstrom, Marc Methot, Alexandre Picard, Aaron Rome, R.J. Umberger, Clay Wilson

dallas
ufa: Stu Barnes, Nolan Baumgartner, Trevor Byrne, Johan Holmqvist, Marius Holtet, Bryce Lampman, Antti Miettinen, Mattias Norstrom, Jussi Timonen, Janos Vas, Brad Winchester

rfa: Brandon Crombeen, Vojtech Polak, Konstantin Pushkarev, Francis Wathier

detroit
ufa: Adam Berkhoel, Chris Chelios, Carl Corazzini, Mark Cullen, Aaron Downey, Dallas Drake, Brad Ference, Igor Grigorenko, Mark Hartigan, Dominik Hasek, Logan Koopmans, Francis Lemieux, Stefan Liv, Darren McCarty, Garrett Stafford

rfa: Jonathan Ericsson, Valtteri Filppula, Jimmy Howard, Ryan Oulahen, Kyle Quincey

edmonton
ufa: Jonas Almtorp, Kristian Antila, Troy Bodie, Glenn Fisher, Fredrik Johansson, T.J. Kemp, Marty Reasoner, Allan Rourke, Geoff Sanderson

rfa: Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, Jean-Francois Jacques, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Zach Stortini

florida
ufa: jassen cullimore, rob globke, magnus johansson, branislav mezei, steve montador

rfa: Jay Bouwmeester, Drew Larman, Martin Lojek, Stefan Meyer, Anthony Stewart

los angeles
ufa: brendan buckley, kevin dallman, jeff giuliano, jon klemm, ladislav nagy, richard petiot, scott thornton, brian willsie

rfa: erik ersberg, gabe gauthier, peter harrold, petr kanko, matt moulson, patrick o'sullivan, joe piskula, dany roussin, jarrett stoll

minnesota
ufa: keith carney, pavol demitra, sean hill, steve kelly, andre lakos, petteri nummelin, serge payer, branko radivojevic, chris simon, wes walz, joel ward

rfa: shawn belle, pierre-marc bouchard, matt foy, danny irmen, miroslav kopriva, peter olvecky, john scott, clayton stoner, stephane veilleux

montreal
ufa: andrew archer, mathieu biron, patrice brisebois, jean-philippe cote, yann danis, brett engelhardt, jonathan ferland, duncan milroy, bryan smolinski

rfa: jimmy bonneau, marvin degon, josh gorges, mikhail grabovski, jaroslav halak, andrei kastsitsyn, janne lahti, corey locke, ryan o'byrne, cory urquhart

nashville
ufa: dan ellis, martin gelinas, jan hlavac, josh langfeld, shane willis, nolan yonkman

rfa: brandon bochenski, matt ellison, triston grant, dov grumet-morris, kevin klein, ville koistinen, rich peverley, oliver setzinger, john vigilante

new jersey
ufa: arron asham, noah clarke, frank doyle, jean-luc grand-pierre, grant marshall, richard matvichuk, ian moran, karel rachunek, erik rasmussen, jason ryznar, jari viuhkola

rfa: ivan khomutov, olli malmivaara, jordan parise, rodney pelley, petr vrana

ny islanders
ufa: bryan berard, kip brennan, rob davison, wade dubielewicz, michael morrison, josef vasicek

rfa: luciano aquino, sean bergenheim, jeremy colliton, drew fata, bruno gervais, aaron johnson, matt keith, masi marjamaki, michael mole, frans nielsen, steve regier, matthew spiller, jeff tambellini, ben walter

ny rangers
ufa: mitchell fritz, andrew hutchinson, darius kasparaitis, marek malik, paul mara, brendan shanahan, martin straka, jason strudwick

rfa: ivan baranka, nigel dawes, bruce graham, josh gratton, chris holt, hugh jessiman, rick kozak, david liffiton, david leneveu, greg moore, fredrik sjostrom, matt zaba

ottawa
ufa: niko dimitrakos, matt kinch, martin lapointe, justin mapletoft, luke richardson, randy robitaille

rfa: jeff glass, josh hennessy, arttu luttinen, andrej meszaros, antoine vermette, jesse winchester

philadelphia
ufa: jesse boulerice, jim dowd, dennis gauthier, martin grenier, jaroslv modry, vaclav prospal, darren reid, jason smith

rfa: rejean beauchemin, nathan guenin, martin houle, lars jonsson, scott munroe, janne niskala, ryan potulny, stefan ruzicka, patrick thoresen

phoenix
ufa: david aebischer, ryan caldwell, jon disalvatore, bryan helmer, niko kapanen, matt murley, travis roche, joey tenute, mathias tjarnqvist, pete vandermeer, michael york

rfa: brendan bell, daniel carcillo, marcel hossa, alexei kaigorodov, al montoya, joel perrault, tyler redenbach, bill thomes

pittsburgh
ufa: kris beech, david gove, connor james, ryan lannon, alain nasreddine, nathan smith, jeff taffe

rfa: mark ardelan, paul bissonnette, tim brent, patrick ehelechner, daniel fernholm, jonathan filewich, marc-andre fleury, ryan stone

san jose
ufa: curtis brown, tom cavanagh, brennan evans, j.d. forrest, graham mink, brad norton, sandis ozolinsh, dmitri patzold, tomas plihal, alexei semenov, craig valette

rfa: riley armstrong, ryane clowe, christian ehrhoff, marcel goc, lukas kaspar, mike morris, dan spang, brad staubitz, jonathan tremblay

st. louis
ufa: alex brooks, petr cajanek, micki dupont, mike glumac, mike johnson, juuso riksman, martin rucinsky, jean-guy trudel, matt walker

rfa: francois-pierre guenette, martin kariya, jay mcclement, hannu toivonen, jeff woywitka

tampa bay
ufa: Jonathan Boutin, Mathieu Darche, Mike Egener, Chris Gratton, Zbynek Hrdel, Doug Janik, Andreas Karlsson, Marek Kvapil, Junior Lessard, Craig MacDonald, Norm Milley, Ryan Munce, Jimmie Olvestad, Andre Roy, Mario Scalzo Jr., David Schneider, Karl Stewart, Tim Taylor, Kyle Wanvig

rfa: Justin Fletcher, Jay Rosehill

toronto
ufa: Reid Cashman, Scott Clemmensen, Jay Harrison, Roman Kukumberg, David Ling, Dominic Moore, Ben Ondrus, John Pohl, Mats Sundin, Andy Wozniewski

rfa: Alex Foster, Chris Harrington, John Mitchell, Jaime Sifers, Matt Stajan

vancouver
ufa: Jozef Balej, Marc-Andre Bernier, Artem Chubarov, Greg Classen, Brad Isbister, Mikko Jokela, Trevor Linden, Drew MacIntyre, Aaron Miller, Brad Moran, Brendan Morrison, Byron Ritchie, Mike Weaver

rfa: Steve Bernier, Mike Brown, Zach Fitzgerald, Colby Genoway, Nathan McIver, Rick Rypien, Ryan Shannon, Jimmy Sharrow

washington
ufa: Dean Arsene, Josef Boumedienne, Frederic Cassivi, Sergei Fedorov, Jameson Hunt, Jason Morgan, Alexander Riazantsev, Rastislav Stana, Stephen Warner

rfa: Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich, Shaone Morrison

bye bye emery

2008-06-25T19:15:00.003-04:00

The Ottawa Senators have officially put an end on the Ray Emery chapter in their team history, after buying out the remaining two years of the goaltender's contract on Monday.

Emery, who was the Senators starting goalie during their run to the Stanley Cup just over a year ago, had signed a three-year, $9.5 million contract in July 2007. How did he reward his team that gave him the contract? By being late for practice, fighting with a teammate during practice and getting himself in the news in other unflattering ways.

I thought early on in his Senators career, Emery was getting a bad rap from some awful reporting in the city. The local newspapers loved making a big deal about him dying his hair, driving fancy cars or dressing in clothes that made him stick out. Had his play been a little better last season, it might be easier to stick up for him. But with lackluster play and all the off-the-ice issues, it was clear his days were numbered in Ottawa.

I still think Emery can be a good goaltender in the NHL. Hopefully wherever he goes, the white Hummer stays behind.

draft weekend update

2008-06-21T21:28:00.005-04:00

The words of the weekend: defencemen and trade.

With the completion of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft comes the end of a very busy couple of days of wheelin' and dealin' by the leagues 30 general managers.

The first round of the draft on Friday night was filled with deals - 13 in all. The Calgary Flames were busy, sending Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a first round draft pick. The Flames picked up Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings in a seperate deal.

Another big trade saw the Florida Panthers send disgruntled captain Olli Jokinen to the Phoenix Coyotes. Going to the Panthers are a pair of defencemen - Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard.

The draft itself was the draft of the defence. A total of 12 d-men were taken in the first round, including four straight from the second to fifth picks. The first overall pick was the worst kept secret in the world, with Steven Stamkos going to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Will Lightning fans see Stamkos next season? A lot of people seem to think so.

Draft weekend is just the start of the player movement. The free agency period begins in just over one week.

2008 hockey hall of fame inductees

2008-06-18T05:30:00.007-04:00

On Tuesday afternoon, the Hockey Hall of Fame announce the class of 2008. A smaller than usual collection that includes two players, one referee and one builder.

Glenn Anderson
Anderson played over 1,100 NHL games, mostly with the Edmonton Oilers. He also spent time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and New York Rangers. Anderson had some very impressive stats in his career - 498 goals, 1,099 points, three 100+ point seasons, two 50+ goal seasons. He won six Stanley Cups, five with the 1980 powerhouse Edmonton Oilers.

Igor Larionov
Larionov's NHL career didn't begin until he was 29 years of age. His 920 game NHL career included stints with the Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils. He won three Stanley Cups, all with the Detroit Red Wings, the last coming when he was 41 years old. Larionov had a storied International career for the Soviet Union. He was a member of two Olympic gold medal winning teams, and four World Championship teams.

Ed Chynoweth
Being inducted into the builder's category. Chynoweth helped form the partnership of the WHL, OHL and QMJHL into the Canadian Hockey League in the early 1970's. He was the president of the WHL from 1972 until 1996, and was the first president of the CHL from 1975 until 1995. Chynoweth passed away on April 22, 2008.

Ray Scapinello
Being inducted in the referee/linesmen category. Scacpinello, or "Scampy" as he was known, was an NHL linesman for more than 30 seasons. His career spanned more than 2,500 games, 20 Stanley Cup finals and the 1998 Winter Olympics.

The 2008 Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on November 10, 2008 in Toronto.

back at it

2008-06-14T13:39:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been well over a month since I've updated the blog, but I hope to be back at it on a regular basis once again. The free agent list should be up to date as we get closer to the start of the free agency period. The NHL Entry Draft goes next weekend in Ottawa, and I hope to be there for some live reports. There has been lots of change already in the NHL early in this summer, so I'll be looking at some of that within the next couple days as well.

world hockey championships on to next phase

2008-05-08T05:49:00.002-04:00

The 16 countries competing in the 2008 IIHF World Championships have now been put into two groups. 12 nations going towards the medals, and four going towards relegation.

The tournament started with four groups each made up of four teams. After the quick round robin, the top three teams in each group advance to the qualifying round, while the bottom team from each group moves to the relegation round.

In the qualifying round, the 12 teams remaining make up two groups of six. Games against opponents from the preliminary round that are in the same group for the qualifying round already count, so each team in this round have three more games to go.

Switzerland is a bit of a surprise leader in one of the groups. They've already beaten Belarus and Sweden in regulation to lead their group. Russia is one point behind, with one regulation win and another in overtime. Czech Republic are a further point behind and Sweden another point behind the Czech's. Belarus and Denmark round out the group, both with zero points, but safe in the knowledge that they will stay in the top division in next year's championships.

The other group is lead by Canada, who's wins over Latvia and the United States are brought forward for this round. Finland follow, with a regulation win and an overtime win. Norway are a point behind Finland, and the USA is in fourth place in the qualifying group, a further point behind. Germany and Latvia round out the second group.

Action in the qualifying round kicks off today with four games. Leaders in both groups play, with Canada facing Norway and Switzerland in tough against the Czech Republic. Qualifying round play ends on Monday.

As for the relegation round, France, Slovenia, Italy and the surprising(in a not so good way) Slovakia will battle it out to stay in the top division at the championships for next year. France will play Italy and Slovenia will play Slovakia, each in best of three matchups. The losing country in each match is relegated to Division I, being replaced by Hungary and Austria next year.

conference finals picks

2008-05-06T18:51:00.002-04:00

After a great first round of picks, I fell off a bit in round two. The only winner I got was Dallas over San Jose.

Anyways, on to the conference finals.

Eastern Conference Final
2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers

A great rivalry match up in the east. I think the Flyers have the edge. They got past the red hot Washington Capitals, though it took seven games. They beat the top seed in the east, the Montreal Canadiens in an "easy" five games. They are getting contributions from some surprising sources - mainly R.J. Umberger. The Penguins have had a fairly easy go of it so far, with only one loss through the first two rounds of the playoffs, with a sweep of Ottawa in the first, and a five game win over the Rangers just completed. Sidney Crosby still doesn't look 100% out there. He'll be hounded all series long by Mike Richards. The two have already had some epic battles in regular season games. Evgeni Malkin and Marian Hossa might have to pick up even more slack if Crosby still doesn't seem like he's playing to his best. Taking the Flyers in 6 games.

Western Conference Final
1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 5. Dallas Stars

All Detroit, all the time. Dallas has had a pretty good run so far, but I think it ends here. Detroit is the highest scoring team at close to 4 goals per game, while Dallas isn't even hitting 3 per game. Dallas' best chance is to make it a series of special teams. They are humming right along at 25% on the powerplay. Johan Franzen will get lots of focus from the Stars, but Zetterberg and Datsyuk can both contribute nicely, while Dallas seems to only getting goals from one player. I like Detroit in five games.

Whatever the outcomes, the quality of play should take another step up from the previous round. Western final starts Thursday in Detroit, while the Battle of Pennsylvania kicks off on Friday in Pittsburgh.

canada hosts the world

2008-04-27T13:42:00.002-04:00

Starting this coming Friday, the IIHF World Hockey Championships will be held in Canada for the very first time. The tournament is being co-hosted by Halifax and Quebec City.

Championship Groups

Group A: Belarus, France, Sweden, Switzerland
Group B: Canada, Latvia, Slovenia, United States
Group C: Finland, Germany, Norway, Slovakia
Group D: Czech Republic, Denmark, Italy, Russia

The group stage goes from May 2 to May 7. The tournament ends with a gold medal game on Sunday, May 18 in Quebec. Canada opens the tournament on Friday afternoon against Slovenia in Halifax.

Team Canada
Goal: Pascal Leclaire, Mathieu Garon, Cam Ward

Defence: Jay Bouwmeester, Brent Burns, Dan Hamhuis, Mark Giordano, Duncan Keith, Steve Staios, Mike Green, Ed Jovanovski

Forward: Derek Roy, Patrick Sharp, Eric Staal, Ray Whitney, Chris Kunitz, Dany Heatley, Jonathan Toews, Shane Doan, Jamal Mayers, Jason Chimera, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Getzlaf, Rick Nash, Sam Gagner, Jason Spezza

Ken Hitchcock is the coach of the team, with Craig McTavish, Mike Johnston and Pat Burns working as associate coaches.

second round playoff picks

2008-04-23T18:30:00.002-04:00

In my first round picks, I chose all eight series winners. Let's see if the trend continues.

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. 6. Philadelphia Flyers - I'll stick with the lone remaining Canadian team. Montreal in 6.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. 5. New York Rangers - The Pens have already been off for a full week. They will have a much tougher test against the Rangers than they did against Ottawa. I like New York in 6.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 6. Colorado Avalanche - Detroit had a few goaltending issues in round one, while Jose Theodore has been outstanding for the Avs. Sakic, Forsberg and co. take it in 7.

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 5. Dallas Stars - I'm as puzzled as everyone by the San Jose Sharks troubles in round one. Fully expect those troubles to continue. Dallas in 6.

old man cheli

2008-04-13T07:41:00.005-04:00

DETROIT -- Chris Chelios was on the ice for his 248th playoff game Saturday, breaking the NHL record set by Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy.

"I never really kept track of the individual things I've done, I've always been prouder of the team accomplishments," Chelios said after helping Detroit beat Nashville 4-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. "My kids and family think it's pretty cool."

The 46-year-old Chelios is making his 23rd postseason appearance, extending his own mark.

- ESPN

**Most Playoff Games**
Player	Games	Stanley Cups
Chris Chelios	248	2
Patrick Roy	247	4
Mark Messier	236	6
Claude Lemieux	233	4
Scott Stevens	233	3

heart breaker: pens take game 2

2008-04-12T16:11:00.003-04:00

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals
Game 2

Pittsburgh 5 Ottawa 3
Pittsburgh leads best-of-7, 2-0.

It's Not the Goalie's Fault: Not often the goaltender could be considered a team's best player while allowing eight goals through two games. But the Ottawa Senators certainly aren't losing games because of Martin "Darth" Gerber. Gerber made 49 saves in a losing effort last night, a Sens playoff record. If the team can get some things going in front of him, it might be a nice change. Giving up 50 shots in a playoff game is never a sign for winning.

Call It a Comeback... Almost: The Senators finally showed something in this game. After being shutout in their last regular season game, plus game 1, Ottawa found themselves down 3-0 just over halfway into the second period. But a quick response from Shean Donovan woke the Sens up, and Cory Stillman and a hard working goal from Cody Bass had the game tied up. Ryan Malone dashed the Sens hopes for a possible overtime winner with a goal with one minute left in the game.

Paging Mr. Spezza: By all accounts, Jason Spezza did not have a very good game last night, and that's probably being nice to him. He played only 14 minutes, was a -2, and had more than one giveaway that led to Pittsburgh chances. There was talk of a possible injury, but nothing has come out yet.

A Quiet 4 Assists: If such a thing is possible. Sidney Crosby racked up four helpers. One was on the end-of-game empty netter, but he also helped set up the game winner, and the first two goals. One of which was a very nice passing play between Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora.

The cliche is that you're never out of a playoff series until you lose a game at home. Ottawa played decently last night, but are going to have to ramp it up again to hope for a win on Monday night. And if Jason Spezza has any sort of injury, things will get that much harder.

total domination: pens take game 1

2008-04-10T06:11:00.002-04:00

Eastern Conference Quarter-finals
Game 1

Pittsburgh 4 Ottawa 0
Pittsburgh leads best-of-7, 1-0.

Gary Roberts, Sens killer: Was there any worse start Sens fans could have imagined to this game than not only giving up a goal a minute into the game, but a goal scored by Gary Roberts? He also added a second goal late in the game. If not for a hit from behind on Cody Bass near the end of the game, it was a near perfect game from Roberts.

Second Period: Although not a single goal was scored in the second frame, it's where the game was won. Although Martin Gerber did all he could to keep the Senators in the game, the team in front of him wasn't able to do a whole lot. Other than some late power play opportunities, the play was almost entirely in the Senators zone, with the Penguins getting all kinds of good chances. Almost more importantly, the Penguins were able to roll all four lines, because they were all just as dominating.

No Power: Ottawa's power play was less than powerful. 0-for-7 overall, including two separate 5-on-3's. They had a couple decent opportunities, including a shot from Cory Stillman in the second period that rang off the post, but mostly they were unable to get anything going. And they seemed to miss the net a lot. On graphic on CBC that came up late in the second period showed Ottawa had 15 shots on net, and 15 missed shots. Pittsburgh was doing a good job of pressuring shots from the point on Ottawa's power play.

More Injury Problems: As if it's not enough that Ottawa is playing without Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly, they lost Anton Volchenkov midway through the game. In the second period, a shot from the point hit Volchenkov in the face as he was falling down. He left a trail of blood on the ice as he was helped off, and didn't return. No word on his game two status.

All-in-all, it was a fairly easy win for Pittsburgh. Other than a bit of pressure on the man advantage, Ottawa showed nothing in this game. And with both Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley having to play 25 minutes to make up for Alfredssson's and Fisher's absence, while the Penguins had no forwards above 20 minutes, Pittsburgh is in a great position.

Game two goes Friday in Pittsburgh.

rapid fire playoff picks

2008-04-09T06:18:00.002-04:00

I wanted to do a full post for my picks for the playoffs, but this will have to do.

Going to go with my picks for the entire playoffs.

Eastern Conference

1. Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins - Canadiens in 5.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators - Penguins in 6.

3. Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers - Flyers in 7.

4. New Jersey Devils vs. 5. New York Rangers - Rangers in 6.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings vs. 8. Nashville Predators - Red Wings in 5.

2. San Jose Sharks vs. 7. Calgary Flames - Sharks in 6.

3. Minnesota Wild vs. 6. Colorado Avalanche - Avalanche in 6.

4. Anaheim Ducks vs. 5. Dallas Stars - Stars in 6.

And the entire playoff outlook...

Eastern Conference
Round 2: Montreal over Philadelphia, New York over Pittsburgh
Conference final: New York over Montreal

Western Conference
Round 2: Detroit over Colorado, San Jose over Dallas
Conference final: San Jose over Detroit

Stanley Cup
The San Jose Sharks will bring the Cup to California for the second straight year.

the stamkos lottery

2008-04-07T14:32:00.002-04:00

Tonight is the night we find out which team gets the opportunity to draft highly sought-after prospect Steven Stamkos.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have a 25% chance of winning the lottery and almost a 50/50 shot at drafting first overall. The Los Angeles Kings have the second best chance in the lottery at 18.8%, followed by Atlanta (14.2%), St. Louis (10.7%) and the New York Islanders (8.1%).

These five teams are the only ones with a chance of winning the lottery and making the first selection. Should any of the other nine teams have luck on their side, they would only be able to move up four spots.

Stamkos is currently leading his Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He has scored 11 goals in seven games thus far as the Sting battle the Kitchener Rangers in the second round.

You can catch the draft lottery tonight. Although Tampa Bay has the best chance to win the lottery, Bob McKenzie let's us know that's not necessarily a good thing.

first round playoff schedule

2008-04-07T12:44:00.002-04:00

The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs begin on Wednesday night in four cities, and they continue for two glorious months.

The first round schedule:

Eastern Conference

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins

Thursday, April 10, 2008 7 p.m. Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS
Saturday, April 12, 2008 7 p.m. Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS, VERSUS
Sunday, April 13, 2008 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston CBC, RDS
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston CBC, RDS
Thursday, April 17, 2008 7 p.m. Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS
Saturday, April 19, 2008 TBD Montreal at Boston CBC, RDS
Monday, April 21, 2008 TBD Boston at Montreal CBC, RDS

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 7 p.m. Ottawa at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Friday, April 11, 2008 7 p.m. Ottawa at Pittsburgh CBC, RDS
Monday, April 14, 2008 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Ottawa CBC, RDS
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 7 p.m. Pittsburgh at Ottawa CBC, RDS
Saturday, April 19, 2008 TBD Ottawa at Pittsburgh VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Sunday, April 20, 2008 TBD Pittsburgh at Ottawa CBC, RDS
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD Ottawa at Pittsburgh CBC, RDS

Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

Friday, April 11, 2008 7 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington VERSUS, TSN
Sunday, April 13, 2008 2 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington NBC, TSN
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 7 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia VERSUS, TSN
Thursday, April 17, 2008 7 p.m. Washington at Philadelphia VERSUS, TSN
Saturday, April 19, 2008 1 p.m. Philadelphia at Washington NBC, TSN
Monday, April 21, 2008 TBD Washington at Philadelphia VERSUS, TSN
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD Philadelphia at Washington TSN

New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 7 p.m. NY Rangers at New Jersey TSN
Friday, April, 11, 2008 7 p.m. NY Rangers at New Jersey TSN
Sunday, April 13, 2008 7 p.m. New Jersey at NY Rangers VERSUS, TSN
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 7 p.m. New Jersey at NY Rangers VERSUS, TSN
Friday, April, 18, 2008 7:30 p.m. NY Rangers at New Jersey TSN
Sunday, April 20, 2008 TBD New Jersey at NY Rangers VERSUS, TSN
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD NY Rangers at New Jersey TSN

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators

Thursday, April 10, 2008 7 p.m. Nashville at Detroit VERSUS
Saturday, April 12, 2008 2 p.m. Nashville at Detroit NBC
Monday, April 14, 2008 TBD Detroit at Nashville VERSUS
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 TBD Detroit at Nashville VERSUS (JIP)
Friday, April 18, 2008 7:30 p.m. Nashville at Detroit VERSUS
Sunday, April 20, 2008 3 p.m. Detroit at Nashville NBC
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD Nashville at Detroit

San Jose Sharks vs. Calgary Flames

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 10 p.m. Calgary at San Jose VERSUS, CBC
Thursday, April 10, 2008 10 p.m. Calgary at San Jose CBC
Sunday, April 13, 2008 10 p.m. San Jose at Calgary CBC, VERSUS
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10 p.m. San Jose at Calgary CBC
Thursday, April 17, 2008 10 p.m. Calgary at San Jose VERSUS, CBC
Sunday, April 20, 2008 TBD San Jose at Calgary CBC, VERSUS
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD Calgary at San Jose CBC

Minnesota Wild vs. Colorado Avalanche

Wednesday, April 9, 2008 9 p.m. Colorado at Minnesota
Friday April 11, 2008 9 p.m. Colorado at Minnesota VERSUS (JIP)
Monday, April 14, 2008 10 p.m. Minnesota at Colorado VERSUS
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 10 p.m. Minnesota at Colorado VERSUS
Thursday, April 17, 2008 9 p.m. Colorado at Minnesota
Saturday, April 19, 2008 TBD Minnesota at Colorado VERSUS
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD Colorado at Minnesota

Anaheim Ducks vs. Dallas Stars

Thursday, April 10, 2008 10 p.m. Dallas at Anaheim VERSUS, TSN
Saturday, April 12, 2008 10 p.m. Dallas at Anaheim VERSUS, TSN
Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:30 p.m. Anaheim at Dallas TSN
Thursday, April 17, 2008 8 p.m. Anaheim at Dallas TSN
Friday, April 18, 2008 10:30 p.m. Dallas at Anaheim VERSUS, TSN
Sunday, April 20, 2008 TBD Anaheim at Dallas TSN
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 TBD Dallas at Anaheim TSN

I'll have my playoff predictions and an "in-depth" look at the Pittsburgh-Ottawa series sometime tomorrow.

all playoff spots clinched

2008-04-06T09:15:00.002-04:00

With last night's results in the NHL, all 16 teams have been confirmed for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which are set to begin this coming Wednesday.

There are still a few games left today which will decide the exact order of finish, but here's how it looks now.

Eastern Conference

1. Pittsburgh Penguins - can finish 1st or 2nd
2. Montreal Canadiens - can finish 1st or 2nd
3. Washington Capitals
4. New Jersey Devils - can finish 4th or 5th
5. New York Rangers - can finish 4th or 5th
6. Ottawa Senators - can finish 6th or 7th
7. Philadelphia Flyers - can finish 6th or 8th
8. Boston Bruins - can finish 7th or 8th

New York takes on New Jersey and Philadelphia plays Pittsburgh to decide the final conference rankings.

The Western Conference has a clearer look, and more first round matches are already known.

Western Conference

1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Minnesota Wild
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Dallas Stars
6. Colorado Avalanche - can finish 6th or 7th
7. Calgary Flames - can finish 6th or 7th
8. Nashville Predators

Colorado and Minnesota have an afternoon tilt to decide the one spot that's still questionable out west.

whl playoffs on to second round

2008-04-02T18:39:00.002-04:00

All three leagues in the CHL are on to the second round of the playoffs, one step closer to the Memorial Cup.

Eastern Conference

Calgary Hitmen vs. Swift Current Broncos - series starts April 4 in Swift Current
Lethbridge Hurricanes vs. Kootenay Ice - series starts April 4 in Kootenay

Western Conference

Tri-City Americans vs. Seattle Thunderbirds - series starts April 4 in Kennewick
Spokane Chiefs vs. Vancouver Giants - series starts April 4 in Spokane

**Leading Scorers**
Player	Team	G	A	P
T.J. Galiardi	Calgary	2	11	13
Colin Long	Kelowna	2	10	12
Jason Bast	Moose Jaw	5	6	11
Jamie Benn	Kelowna	3	8	11
Ian McKenzie	Seattle	4	6	10

ottawa senators nightmare scenario

2008-04-02T18:18:00.003-04:00

Could it possibly be? Could the Ottawa Senators, a team that made it to the Stanley Cup finals a year ago, and started the season with only two losses from their first 17 games, actually miss the playoffs?

The odds are creeping up on that happening.

After an awful 3-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night, the Senators find themselves in 6th place, with 92 points, and two games remaining. They are only a single point ahead of the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers, and only two points up on the white-hot Washington Capitals.

The Sens have now turned to scoreboard watchers. There are a few very big games when it comes to their playoff hopes happening tonight. Boston is in New Jersey, Carolina(two points behind Ottawa) hosts Tampa Bay and Philadelphia is in Pittsburgh. If all three teams that are just a few points behind win outright, Ottawa would find themselves a point behind Boston and Philadelphia, and tied on points with Carolina. Carolina might not be direct competition because of the way the divisions work, but the Canes winning could still cause headaches.

The Senators next play tomorrow night in Toronto.

qmjhl playoffs on to second round

2008-04-01T17:27:00.003-04:00

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is heading to the second round, hopefully distancing themselves a little more from the Roy fiasco.

There was only one real upset in the first round of the QMJHL playoffs, as the seventh seed Rimouski Oceanic beat the second seed Baie-Comeau Drakkar in five games. Rimouski finished the regular season with 29 less points than Baie-Comeau.

Eastern Division

Halifax Mooseheads vs. Cape Breton Screaming Eagles - series starts April 4 in Halifax
Saint John Sea Dogs vs. Acadie-Bathurst Titan - series starts April 4 in Saint John

Telus Division

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies vs. Rimouski Oceanic - series starts April 4 in Rouyn-Noranda
Gatineau Olympiques vs. Quebec Remparts - series starts April 4 in Gatineau

**Leading Scorers**
Player	Team	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	Gatineau	4	10	14
Ryan Sparling	Saint John	3	10	13
Jean-Simon Allard	St. John's	4	8	12
Michael Dubuc	Rouyn-Noranda	8	3	11
Bryce Swan	Halifax	8	3	11

Just the Western Hockey League is left to complete with a seventh game between Kelowna and Seattle later tonight.

ohl playoffs on to second round

2008-03-29T14:41:00.014-04:00

With a 5-0 victory over the London Knights last night, the Guelph Storm were the last team to advance to the second round of the Ontario Hockey League Playoffs.

In the first round, there was one upset in the Eastern Conference, as the 7th seeded Barrie Colts beat the Brampton Battalion in five games. Barrie finished the regular season six games under .500.

In the Western Conference, lower seeded teams Guelph and Sarnia advanced in mild upsets.

Eastern Conference

Belleville Bulls vs. Barrie Colts - series starts April 2 in Belleville
Oshawa Generals vs. Niagara IceDogs - series starts April 3 in Oshawa

Western Conference

Kitchener Rangers vs. Sarnia Sting - series starts April 4 in Kitchener
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds vs. Guelph Storm - series starts April 3 in Sault Ste. Marie

**Leading Scorers**
Player	Team	G	A	P
Justin Azevedo	Kitchener	1	13	14
Nick Spaling	Kitcener	4	7	11
Steven Stamkos	Sarnia	9	0	9
Matt Halischuk	Kitchener	6	3	9
Stefan Legein	Niagara	4	5	9

ovechkin hits 60

2008-03-22T07:00:00.002-04:00

Alexander Ovechkin hit an NHL milestone last night that hasn't been attained in over a decade. He scored his 60th goal of the season.

The last time anyone had a 60-goal season in the league was during the 1995-96 season, when teammates Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr both got to 60.

Ovechkin had a four point night against Atlanta, giving him 106 points on the season, opening up a 7 point lead on the rest of the league. He's also 10 goals ahead of Ilya Kovalchuk in that category. The Caps are only one point out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

nhl debuts

2008-03-21T09:29:00.001-04:00

over the course of the season, i'll be tracking players who play their first career nhl games.

updated through march 21 games.

anaheim ducks
bobby ryan - 2005 2nd overall pick scored his first nhl goal in first game on september 29, 2007 against los angeles.
jonas hiller - third stringer gets back up job due to early season giguere injury
petteri wirtanen - sixth round pick in 2006 draft. scored in nhl debut on october 17, 2007.
andrew ebbett - undrafted, played last season with binghamton in ahl.

atlanta thrashers
tobias enstrom - 8th round pick in 2003 draft. 200+ game career with modo in sweden.
bryan little - 12th overall pick in 2006 draft. first nhl goal in first nhl game on october 5, 2007 against washington.
brett sterling - fifth round pick in 2003. lead the ahl in goals with 55 in 06-07.
colin stuart - fifth round pick in 2001 draft.
ondrej pavelec - second round pick in 2005 draft.
kevin doell - undrafted, played parts of last four seasons in ahl.
boris valabik - first round pick in 2004 draft.
jordan lavallee-smotherman - fourth round pick in 2005 draft.

boston bruins
milan lucic - second round pick in 2006. memorial cup mvp in 06-07.
vladimir sobotka - fourth round pick in 2005 draft.
matt hunwick - seventh round pick in 2004 draft.
tuukka rask - first round pick in 2005 draft. won first nhl game on november 20, 2007.
pascal pelletier - undrafted, played last two seasons in ahl.

buffalo sabres
mike weber - second round pick in 2006 draft.
marc-andre gragnani - third round pick in 2005 draft.

calgary flames
tim ramholt - second round pick in 2003 draft.
matt keetley - fifth round pick in 2005 draft.
curtis mcelhinney - sixth round pick in 2002 draft.

carolina hurricanes
casey borer - third round pick in 2004 draft.
brandon nolan - fourth round pick in 2003 draft. son of new york islanders coach ted nolan.
joey mormina - sixth round pick in 2002 draft.
joe jensen - eighth round pick in 2003 draft.
tim conboy - seventh round pick in 2002 draft.

chicago blackhawks
magnus johansson - 34-year old nhl rookie. played last four seasons in sweden.
patrick kane - first overall pick in 2007 draft. had 145 points with the london knights last season.
jonathan toews - third overall in 2006 draft. scored in nhl debut on october 10, 2007
jack skille - seventh overall pick in 2005 draft.
jacob dowell - fifth round pick in 2004 draft.
petri kontiola - seventh round pick in 2004 draft.
kris versteeg - fifth round pick in 2004 draft.
jordan hendry - undrafted, played last two seasons in ahl.

colorado avalanche
jaroslav hlinka - 30-year old nhl rookie. 500+ game career in europe
tyler weiman - fifth round pick in 2005 draft.
t.j. hensick - third round pick in 2005 draft.
cody mcleod - undrafted winger played junior hockey for portland winterhawks.
david jones - ninth round pick in 2003 draft.
johnny boychuk - second round pick in 2002 draft.

columbus blue jackets
jared boll - fourth round pick in 2005 draft
kris russell - third round pick in 2005 draft. one assist in debut.
andrew murray - eighth round pick in 2001 draft.
derick brassard - sixth overall pick in 2006 draft.
daniel lacosta - third round pick in 2004 draft.
tom sestito - third round pick in 2006 draft.

dallas stars
matt niskanen - first round pick in 2005 draft.
mark fistric - first round pick in 2004 draft.
tobias stephen - second round pick in 2002 draft.

detroit red wings
darren helm - fifth round pick in 2005 draft.
garrett stafford - undrafted, played last four seasons in ahl.
mattias ritola - fourth round pick in 2005 draft.
jonathan ericsson - ninth round pick in 2002 draft.
justin abdelkader - second round pick in 2005 draft.

edmonton oilers
andrew cogliano - 25th overall pick in 2005 draft.
sam gagner - 6th overall pick in 2007 draft.
liam reddox - fourth round pick in 2004 draft.
theo peckham - third round pick in 2006 draft.

florida panthers
cory murphy - 29-year old nhl rookie. played five of the last six seasons in finland
stefan meyer - second round pick in 2003 draft.
tanner glass - ninth round pick in 2003 draft.
david brine - undrafted, played last season in ahl.
shawn matthias - first round pick in 2006 draft.

los angeles kings
jonathan bernier - 11th overall pick in 2006 draft gets first win against anaheim on september 29, 2007.
brady murray - played the last two seasons in switzerland.
matt moulson - ninth round pick in 2003 draft. scored in first nhl game on november 2, 2007.
jonathan quick - third round pick in 2005 draft. won first nhl game on december 6, 2007.
edward purcell - undrafted, played last season with university of maine.
brian boyle - first round pick in 2003 draft. scored on nhl debut, february 2, 2008.
daniel taylor - seventh round pick in 2004 draft.

minnesota wild
james sheppard - first round pick in 2006 draft.
cal clutterbbuck - third round pick in 2006 draft.
aaron voros - eighth round pick in 2001 draft.

montreal canadiens
kyle chipchura - first round pick in 2004 draft.
sergei kostitsyn - seventh round pick in 2005 draft.
carey price - fifth overall pick in 2005 draft. won first nhl game on october 10, 2007.
ryan o'byrne - third round pick in 2003 draft.
gregory stewart - eighth round pick in 2004 draft.
matt d'agostini - sixth round pick in 2005 draft.

nashville predators
ville koistinen - undrafted. 240 game career with tampere in finland prior to coming to north america.
antti pihlstrom - undrafted, played last four seasons in finland.

new jersey devils
nicklas bergfors - 2005 first round pick.
olli malmivaara - fourth round pick in 2000 draft.

new york islanders
kyle okposo - seventh overall pick in 2006 draft.
jack hillen - undrafted. signed as free agent from colgate university.

new york rangers
marc staal - 12th overall pick in 2005 draft. third of the staal's in the nhl, follows brothers eric(carolina) and jordan(pittsburgh).
ivan baranka - second round pick in 2003 draft.
greg moore - fifth round pick in 2003 draft.
dane byers - second round pick in 2004 draft.

ottawa senators
nick foligno - 2006 first round pick, son of former nhl player mike foligno
brian elliott - ninth round pick in 2003 draft. won first nhl game on october 10, 2007.
cody bass - fourth round pick in 2005 draft.
alexander nikulin - fourth round pick in 2004 draft.
ilja zubov - fourth round pick in 2005 draft.
jesse winchester - undrafted. signed as free agent from colgate university.
brian lee - ninth overall pick in 2005 draft.

philadelphia flyers
denis tolpeko - undrafted russian spent three years in whl.
steve downie - first round pick in 2005 draft.
claude giroux - first round pick in 2006 draft.
kyle greentree - undrafted. played last season at university of alaska-fairbanks.

phoenix coyotes
martin hanzal - 17th overall in 2005 draft.
peter mueller - 8th overall in 2006 draft.
craig weller - fifth round pick in 2000 draft.
daniel winnik - ninth round pick in 2004 draft. first goal in first game on october 4, 2007 against st. louis.

pittsburgh penguins
tyler kennedy - fourth round pick in 2004 draft.
christopher minard - undrafted, split last three seasons between ahl and echl.

san jose sharks
torrey mitchell - fourth round pick in 2004 draft.
devin setoguchi - first round pick in 2005 draft. scored two goals in nhl debut on october 29, 2007.
dimitri patzold - fourth round pick in 2001 draft.
lukas kaspar - first round pick in 2004 draft.
mike iggulden - undrafted, played last three seasons in ahl.
thomas greiss - third round pick in 2004 draft.
tom cavanagh - sixth round pick in 2001 draft.

st. louis blues
erik johnson - 1st overall pick in 2006 draft. one assist in debut.
steve wagner - undrafted, played college hockey at minnesota state.
david perron - first round pick in 2007 draft.
chris beckford-tseu - fifth round pick in 2003 draft.

tampa bay lightning
mike lundin - fourth round pick in 2004 draft.
matt smaby - second round pick in 2003 draft.

toronto maple leafs
jiri tlusty - first round pick in 2006 draft. scored two goals in nhl debut on october 25, 2007.
anton stralman - seventh round pick in 2005 draft.
alex foster - undrafted, split last season between ahl and echl.
darryl boyce - undrafted, played last two season at the university of new brunswick.

vancouver canucks
mason raymond - second round pick in 2005.
drew macintyre - fourth round pick in 2001 draft.
jason jaffray - undrafted, played parts of five seasons in ahl. scored goal in first nhl game on december 12, 2007.
mike brown - fifth round pick in 2004 draft.
zach fitzgerald - third round pick in 2003 draft.

washington capitals
nicklas backstrom - fourth overall pick in 2006 draft.
chris bourque - second round pick in 2004 draft. son of hall of famer ray bourque
sami lepisto - third round pick in 2004 draft.

nhl drafted players in qmjhl playoffs

2008-03-21T08:11:00.003-04:00

Here's a list of players playing in the QMJHL playoffs that have been drafted by an NHL team, or signed to a free agent contract.

Acadie-Bathurst Titan

Maxime Frechette, Columbus
Mathieu Perreault, Washington

Baie-Comeau Drakkar

Francois Bouchard, Washington
Benjamin Breault, Buffalo
Pierre-Luc Lessard, Ottawa
Matt Marquardt, Columbus

Chicoutimi Sagueneens

Charles-Antoine Messier, Vancouver

Gatineau Olympiques

Paul Byron, Buffalo
Claude Giroux, Philadelphia
Joey Ryan, Los Angeles

Halifax Mooseheads

Andrew Bodnarchuk, Boston
Ryan Hillier, New York Rangers
Logan MacMillan, Anaheim
Brad Marchand, Boston
Bryce Swan, Anaheim
Jakub Voracek, Columbus

Lewiston MAINEiacs

Jonathan Bernier, Los Angeles
Stefan Chaput, Carolina
Kevin Marshall, Philadelphia
Denis Reul, Boston
Michael Ward, Tampa Bay

P.E.I. Rocket

Antoine Lafleur, New York Rangers
Martin Latal, Phoenix

Quebec Remparts

Angelo Esposito, Pittsburgh
Maxime Lacroix, Washington

Rimouski Oceanic

Olivier Fortier, Montreal
Michael Frolik, Florida
Maxim Gratchev, New York Islanders
David Skokan, New York Rangers
Keven Veilleux, Pittsburgh

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies

Hugo Carpentier, Calgary
Maxime Macenauer, Anaheim
Brett Morrison, Anaheim
Ivan Vishnevskiy, Dallas

Saint John Sea Dogs

Christopher DiDomenico, Toronto
Alex Grant, Pittsburgh

Shawinigan Cataractes

Simon Lacroix, New York Islanders

St. John's Fog Devils

Jean-Simon Allard, Buffalo
T.J. Brennan, Buffalo
Matt Fillier, Los Angeles
Mario Kempe, Philadelphia
Timo Pielmeier, San Jose

Victoriaville Tigres

Maxime Tanguay, Chicago
Kirill Tulupov, New Jersey

No players from the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles and Val-d'Or Foreurs have been drafted to the NHL.

nhl drafted players in whl playoffs

2008-03-21T07:43:00.004-04:00

Here's a list of players playing in the WHL playoffs that have been drafted by an NHL team, or signed to a free agent contract.

Brandon Wheat Kings

Keith Aulie, Calgary

Calgary Hitmen

Karl Alzner, Washington
T.J. Galiardi, Colorado
Paul Postma, Atlanta
Alex Plante, Edmonton
Keith Seabrook, Washington
Brett Sonne, St. Louis
Ryan White, Montreal

Chilliwack Bruins

Oscar Moller, Anaheim
Mark Santorelli, Nashville

Everett Silvertips

Dane Crowley, Tampa Bay
Taylor Ellington, Vancouver
Dan Gendur, Vancouver
Zach Hamill, Boston

Kamloops Blazers

Brady Calla, Florida
Juuso Puustinen, Calgary
Nick Ross, Phoenix

Kelowna Rockets

Cody Almond, Minnesota
Jamie Benn, Dallas
Torrie Jung, Tampa Bay
Milan Kytnar, Edmonton

Kootenay Ice

Ben Maxwell, Montreal
John Negrin, Calgary

Lethbridge Hurricanes

Mitch Fadden, Tampa Bay
Dwight King, Los Angeles
Colton Sceviour, Dallas
Ben Wright, Columbus

Medicine Hat Tigers

Jordan Bendfeld, Phoenix

Moose Jaw Warriors

Keaton Ellerby, Florida
Evan Fuller, Vancouver
Riley Holzapfel, Atlanta
Jordan Knackstedt, Boston
Frazer McLaren, San Jose
Ty Wishart, San Jose

Regina Pats

Brett Leffler, Washington
Logan Pyett, Detroit
Linden Rowat, Los Angeles
J.D. Watt, Calgary

Seattle Thunderbirds

Riku Helenius, Tampa Bay
Thomas Hickey, Los Angeles
Bud Holloway, Los Angeles
James O'Brien, Ottawa

Spokane Chiefs

Drayson Bowman, Carolina
Justin Falk, Minnesota
Justin McRae, Carolina
Ondrej Roman, Dallas

Swift Current Broncos

Jesse Dudas, Columbus
Ryan Molle, New Jersey
Levi Nelson, Boston

Tri-City Americans

T.J. Fast, Los Angeles

Vancouver Giants

Mario Bliznak, Vancouver
Jonathon Blum, Nashville
Spencer Machacek, Atlanta
Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Pittsburgh
Michal Repik, Florida
Tyson Sexsmith, San Jose

nhl drafted players in ohl playoffs

2008-03-21T07:28:00.002-04:00

something i had meant to put together before the playoffs kicked off, but i'm a couple days behind.

here's a list of players playing in the ohl playoffs that have been drafted by an nhl team, or signed to a free agent contract.

Barrie Colts

Tomas Marcinko, New York Islanders

Belleville Bulls

Matt Beleskey, Anaheim
Bryan Cameron, Los Angeles
Shawn Matthias, Florida
Jan Mursak, Detroit
Michael Neal, Dallas
P.K. Subban, Montreal
Eric Tangradi, Anaheim
Nigel Williams, Colorado

Brampton Battalion

John DeGray, Anaheim
Cory Emmerton, Detroit
Luke Lynes, Washington
Bryan Pitton, Edmonton
Bobby Sanguinetti, New York Rangers

Guelph Storm

Michael Caruso, Florida
Harrison Reed, Carolina
Corey Syvret, Florida

Kitchener Rangers

Robert Bortuzzo, Pittsburgh
Matt Halischuk, New Jersey
Steve Mason, Columbus
Ben Shutron, Chicago
Nick Spaling, Nashville
Josh Unice, Chicago
Yannick Weber, Montreal

London Knights

Akim Aliu, Chicago
Patrick Maroon, Philadelphia
Kevin Montgomery, Colorado
Tony Romano, New Jersey
Justin Taylor, Washington

St. Michael's Majors

Kaspars Daugavins, Ottawa

Niagara IceDogs

Luca Caputi, Pittsburgh
Matthew Corrente, New Jersey
Stefan Legein, Columbus
Drew Schiestel, Buffalo

Oshawa Generals

James Delory, San Jose
Brett MacLean, Phoenix
Dale Mitchell, Toronto
Michal Neuvirth, Washington

Ottawa 67's

Jason Bailey, Anaheim
Adam Courchaine, Boston(not drafted)
Logan Couture, San Jose
Jamie McGinn, San Jose
Radim Ostrcil, Boston

Peterborough Petes

John Armstrong, Calgary
Trevor Cann, Colorado
Arturs Kulda, Atlanta

Plymouth Whalers

Brett Bellemore, Carolina
Jeremy Smith, Nashville
Chris Terry, Carolina

Saginaw Spirit

Ryan Daniels, Ottawa
Tomas Zaborsky, New York Rangers

Sarnia Sting

Devin DiDiomete, Calgary
Mark Katic, New York Islanders
Aaron Snow, Dallas

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

Josh Godfrey, Washington
Dustin Jeffrey, Pittsburgh
Jake Muzzin, Pittsburgh
Anthony Peluso, St. Louis
Wayne Simmonds, Los Angeles

Windsor Spitfires

Richard Greenop, Chicago
Jakub Kovar, Philadelphia
Bradley Snetsinger, New Jersey(not drafted)

highlight of the night

2008-03-19T07:37:00.000-04:00

holy mackinaw indeed.

college player suffers fractured skull

2008-03-17T19:15:00.002-04:00

Gophers senior forward Tom Pohl is in fair condition after surgery to stop bleeding in his brain at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester today.

Pohl was elbowed to the ice and injured during Minnesota's 3-2 double-overtime victory over Minnesota State Sunday in Mankato.

Pohl sustained a skull fracture when his head hit the boards in front of the team's bench at 6:09 of the second period. Pohl was airlifted to St. Marys Hospital.

"We are very fortunate that he has tremendous medical care," said Gophers coach Don Lucia, who is in Rochester with Pohl and his family. "We're looking forward to him returning to school at 100 percent and our thoughts and prayers remain with Tom and the Pohl family."
- TwinCities.com

scary stuff. here's hoping for a full recovery.

chl playoffs set

2008-03-17T00:04:00.003-04:00

the final weekend of games in the whl, ohl and qmjhl is now complete, and all playoff series schedules are out. here are the first round match ups in all three leagues.

western hockey league

eastern conference

moose jaw warriors vs. calgary hitmen - starts march 21 in calgary
swift current broncos vs. regina pats - starts march 21 in regina
brandon wheat kings vs. lethbridge hurricanes - starts march 21 in lethbridge
kootenay ice vs. medicine hat tigers - starts march 21 in medicine hate

western conference

kamloops blazers vs. tri-city americans - starts march 21 in kennewick
chilliwack bruins vs. vancouver giants - starts march 21 in vancouver
everett silvertips vs. spokane chiefs - starts march 21 in spokane
kelowna rockets vs. seattle thunderbirds - starts march 21 in seattle

ontario hockey league

eastern conference

belleville bulls vs. peterborough petes - starts march 19 in belleville
brampton battalion vs. barrie colts - starts march 20 in brampton
oshawa generals vs. ottawa 67's - starts march 21 in oshawa
niagara icedogs vs. st. michael's majors - starts march 20 in niagara falls

western conference

kitchener rangers vs. plymouth whalers - starts march 21 in kitchener
sault ste. marie greyhounds vs. saginaw spirit - starts march 21 in sault ste. marie
windsor spitfires vs. sarnia sting - starts march 20 in windsor
london knights vs. guelph storm - starts march 21 in london

first round preview from the ohl site.

quebec major junior hockey league

eastern division

halifax mooseheads vs. victoriaville tigres - starts march 21 in halifax
saint john sea dogs vs. p.e.i. rocket - starts march 21 in saint john
acadie-bathurst titan vs. st. john's fog devils - starts march 21 in bathurst
cape breton screaming eagles vs. lewiston maineiacs - starts march 21 in sydney

telus division

rouyn-noranda huskies vs. val-d'or foreurs - starts march 21 in rouyn-noranda
baie-comeau drakkar vs. rimouski oceanic - starts march 21 in baie-comeau
gatineau olympiques vs. shawinigan cataractes - starts march 21 in gatineau
chicoutimi sagueneens vs. quebec remparts - starts march 21 in chicoutimi

nhl opens their eyes - pronger suspended eight

2008-03-15T17:27:00.004-04:00

still not quite enough, but after some "further video evidence" was produced, chris pronger of the anaheim ducks was suspended for eight games.

the ducks have nine games remaining in the regular season, so pronger won't miss any playoff time.

this is the eighth suspension of his career.

30 games or 0 games?

2008-03-13T17:05:00.003-04:00

earlier this season, chris simon got a 30-game suspension for stomping on jarkko ruutu's foot.

now chris pronger, a "star" in the league stomps on ryan kesler's calf....

...and gets zero games.

how can the nhl justify this? chris simon - repeat offender. chris pronger - repeat offender. chris simon - skate used as a weapon. chris pronger - skate used as a weapon.

will the nhl ever stay consistent with suspensions? will they hand out a heavy suspension to a big name player?

apparently not.

book review: king of russia

2008-03-13T11:15:00.002-04:00

another hockey book review. this time it's "king of russia: a year in the russian super league." the book is written by dave king and eric duhatschek.

king is a long-time hockey coach. he his probably best remembered for his long stint as coach for the canadian national team. he coached canada at three winter olympics (1984,1988,1992), five world championships and other various tournaments. in the early 90's, he got his first head coaching job in the nhl with the calgary flames, and as also the very first head coach of the columbus blue jackets.

his co-author, duhatschek, is the lead hockey columnist for the globe and mail. you'll also see him from time to time during intermissions of hockey night in canada.

the book covers king's year coaching for the russian super league team metallurg magnitogorsk in the year following the nhl lockout. he was the first ever canadian to coach in the league. written in a daily diary format, it's a look into hockey and every day life in russia.

it's filled with funny, and even some sad anecdotes. there are the stories of the abandoned puppies that he and his wife virtually adopt. notes on trips to various russian cities from the cold of siberia to the big city of moscow. and of course, they are plenty of hockey stories.

the timing of king's hire in russia probably couldn't have been better. as the nhl is looking to re-start, a few russian players are wondering if it's worth it for them to head back to north america to play the game. salaries are on the up in the russian super league, and the taxes are non-existent. king's team in magnitogorsk has a salary of about $22 million, and he is tasked with bringing them to at least a top four finish in the league.

he brings in a couple of former nhl'ers to help him. veterans like the one-legged wonder dmitri yushkevich and igor korolev, both with close to 800 career nhl games are brought in for some much needed leadership. and of course, the star of the show is a 19-year old evgeni malkin. the team's starting goaltender is another canadian by the name of travis scott.

king tells stories of trying to adapt to the russian game, while trying to talk to his players through a translator. he also talks of his attempts to change some things that are not see easy to change - like a post-game trip to mcdonald's for hot food, instead of having the food sit on a bus for four hours which is the normal thing to do.

it's an easy read, but a great book overall. at the end, you'll get king's story of malkin's strange trip out of russia, when the young star disappears during training camp to head to the pittsburgh penguins. unfortunately for king, his russian adventure only last a little over a year. he was fired less than ten games into the next season.

king of russia

moving from wordpress

2008-03-11T16:36:00.001-04:00

hello all, i've decided to move from wordpress to blogger, so all my posts will be moving with me. :D it will take a while, but all the information from the old blog will be here.

thanks.

some sens comments

2008-03-11T14:38:00.001-04:00

i guess it's time that i speak on the ottawa senators for a bit.

not really all that much good to talk about. after the firing john paddock two weeks ago, ottawa has won two games and lost four, one being an overtime loss to san jose. they lost to the los angeles kings, the worst team in the league, but thankfully rebounded with a win over a fairly mediocre phoenix team.

despite only getting five points from their last eight games, it seems that the senators have finally found a starting goaltender. not sure if that's the greatest way to find your number one keeper, but it looks like martin gerber is going to be the man. unless he falters big time in the remaining 12 games of the season, gerber looks like he'll be the man to back-stop the senators in the playoffs.

as for the playoffs, despite some scares a couple weeks back, i think the talk of ottawa missing the second season is over. they are now 10 points ahead of buffalo, who are currently in ninth place. how far ottawa goes this post-season? well, that's a much harder question to answer. i'm sure i'm not alone in thinking that ottawa won't make it out of the first round.

they might be headed for another first round match up against the pittsburgh penguins. the pens got sidney crosby back from injury last week, and marian hossa should return as well before the regular season ends, and evgeni malkin is still battling for the overall scoring lead in the league. with ty conklin and marc-andre fleury, they have a competent duo in goal should one falter or get hit with an injury.

with 12 games left, hopefully the senators can show us something, anything leading into the playoffs. last year, they played into june before finally losing out to anaheim in the finals. can they make it out of april in 2008?

road to the memorial cup - qmjhl

2008-03-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

final in this weeks series on the chl. today, we head to quebec.

the quebec league playoff system is a little different than the whl and ohl. there are only two divisions in the quebec league, the telus division of ten teams and the eastern division of eight teams. all but one team in each division moves on to the playoffs. the ninth place team in the telus division then moves to the eastern division for the playoffs.

the qmjhl uses a 70-game schedule. most teams have four or five games remaining.

telus division

all nine playoff spots in the division have been clinched. all that is left to decide is the division winner. at the top of division is the baie-comeau drakkar, who lead the rouyn-noranda huskies by three points. baie-comeau have four games remaining, while the huskies have three to go. the gatineau olympiques still have an outside shot at the division win, but are six points behind baie-comeau with four games left. the quebec remparts, chicoutimi sagueneens, shawinigan cataractes, rimouski oceanic, val-d'or foreurs and victoriaville tigres are also headed to the playoffs.

eastern division

with just over a week to go in the season, there is a big battle at the top of the eastern division. the halifax mooseheads currently lead with 83 points, with six games remaining. just one point behind are the saint john sea dogs, who have five games remaining. and only two points behind saint john are the cape breton screaming eagles, who have four games remaining. the acadie-bathhurst titan, lewiston maineiacs and st. john's fog devils have also clinched playoff spots. there is one spot up for grabs. the p.e.i. rocket lead the moncton wildcats by three points for the last spot. p.e.i. has one game in hand.

another round of "if the playoffs started today", assuming p.e.i. grab the final playoff spot.

telus division
baie-comeau drakkar vs. val-d'or foreurs
rouyn-noranda huskies vs. rimouski oceanic
gatineau olympiques vs. shawinigan cataractes
quebec remparts vs. chicoutimi sagueneens

eastern division
halifax mooseheads vs. victoriaville tigres
saint john sea dogs vs. p.e.i. rocket
cape breton screaming eagles vs. st. john's fog devils
acadie-bathurst titan vs. lewiston maineiacs

i'll have another update when the regular season's end in all three leagues.

road to the memorial cup - ohl

2008-03-05T18:29:00.000-05:00

today, a look at how the playoffs are shaping up in the ontario hockey league.

much like the whl, the ohl uses a top-8 in each conference format for the playoffs. again, the top team in each division is ranked 1-2 for each conference. the ohl runs a 68-game schedule, and most teams have five or six regular season games remaining. all but one playoff spot has been decided.

eastern conference

east division
the belleville bulls have opened up a 10-point lead on the oshawa generals at the top of the division. the generals have seven games remaining, one more than belleville, so there is still an outside chance oshawa could grab the top spot. the ottawa 67's have also clinched a playoff spot. the peterborough petes are 11 points ahead of the kingston frontenacs for the final spot, so they should clinch sometime this week.

central division
the brampton battalion lead the way with 82 points over the niagara icedogs. niagara are seven points behind, with one game in hand. also moving on to the playoffs are the barrie colts and st. michael's majors.

there is a decent chance that four of the eight playoff teams in the eastern conference will have sub-.500 records.

western conference

midwest division
the kitchener rangers are already guaranteed a memorial cup spot as hosts of the tournament, but they aren't looking to back in to the finals. the rangers have already clinched the midwest division. they've only lost nine games all season. the london knights and guelph storm are also headed to the dance.

west division
the whole division is moving on to the playoffs. as stacked west division sees the sault ste. marie greyhounds at the top with a three point lead over the windsor spitfires. the plymouth whalers, saginaw spirit and sarnia sting round out the division. sarnia, last in the division, have a better record than half of the eastern conference teams.

the regular season ends on march 16, but here's what the first round would look like right now, using peterborough as the final team in.

eastern conference
belleville bulls vs. peterborough petes
brampton battalion vs. ottawa 67's
oshawa generals vs. st. michael's majors
niagara icedogs vs. barrie colts

western conference
kitchener rangers vs. sarnia sting
sault ste. marie greyhounds vs. guelph storm
windsor spitfires vs. saginaw spirit
london knights vs. plymouth whalers

crosby returns

2008-03-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

sidney crosby will make his return to the penguins lineup tonight.

the penguins captain has been out of the lineup since mid-january with a high ankle sprain. since he's been out, his buddy has taken over the scoring duties for pittsburgh.

pretty good timing on his return, what with marian hossa's injury in his first game for pittsburgh.

ovechkin hits 50

2008-03-04T12:44:00.000-05:00

the washington capitals exploded for six first period goals in last night's game against the boston bruins, and alexander ovechkin had half of them, giving him 52 goals for the season. he also added two assists as the caps destroyed boston by a count of 10-2.

ovechkin is the first player to reach the 50-goal mark this season, and his lead in the race for top goal scorer in the league is at ten goals above atlanta's ilya kovalchuk. he also passed by evgeni malkin for the as the league's leader in points, with 90 to malkin's 88. 60 goals definitely seems in reach now for ovechkin. he would be the first player since mario lemieux and jaromr jagr both hit 60 in the 1995-96 season.

he may just have wrapped up the hart trophy and rocket richard trophy in one game.

road to the memorial cup - whl

2008-03-03T11:04:00.000-05:00

this week i'll be talking a look at the three leagues that make up the canadian hockey league as they get set for the playoffs. just over two months away is the memorial cup, which this year will be hosted in kitchener, ontario.

starting out west, with the western hockey league. the whl has changed their playoff format this season, going with what most other leagues use these days. the top eight teams in each conference make the playoffs, with the top team in each division getting one of the top two spots in the conference.

all 16 playoff spots in the league have been clinched already. most teams have about six or seven games left in the 72-game schedule.

eastern conference

east division
in the east division, the regina pats lead the way with 86 points. they have five games remaining. the division is still wide open, with the brandon wheat kings(four points behind), moose jaw warriors(five points) and swift current broncos(five points) all still with a chance to win the division. all four of those teams have playoff spots already booked.

central division
in the central, there is a little more breathing room at the top, but not much. the calgary hitmen lead the way with 93 points. the lethbridge hurricanes are six points behind, but have two games in hand. the kootenay ice and medicine hat tigers are probably too far out for the division, but are headed to the playoffs as well.

western conference

b.c. division
there is no race for the division here. the 2007 memorial cup champion vancouver giants have run away with the division, with an 18 point lead. the kelowna rockets, chilliwack bruins and kamloops blazers are all headed to the playoffs. chilliwack and kelowna both have records well under .500, with both having won only one of their last ten games.

u.s. division
another close race in a very competitive division. the tri-city americans lead the way with 98 points. only four points behind and with one game in hand are the spokane chiefs. the seattle thunderbirds and everett silvertips both have records that would be good enough to challenge for other division wins, but will both have to settle with just getting into the playoffs.

the regular season doesn't end for another two weeks, but the first round playoff pairings based on current standings would be...

eastern conference
calgary hitmen vs. swift current broncos
regina pats vs. moose jaw warriors
lethbridge hurricanes vs. brandon wheat kings
kootenay ice vs. medicine hat tigers

western conference
tri-city americans vs. kamloops blazers
vancouver giants vs. chilliwack bruins
spokane chiefs vs. everett silvertips
seattle thunderbirds vs. kelowna rockets

finishing strong

2008-03-01T11:31:00.000-05:00

random/useless stat of the day. a lot is made about momentum going into the playoffs. you always hear analysts talk about a team going into the playoffs on the hot streak. so how good are the stanley cup teams at the end of the regular season?

results of the last ten games of the regular season for the stanley cup champions over the past five seasons are below.

record format is wins-losses-ot losses-shootout losses for the past three season, and then W-L-ties-OL before that.

year	team	record
06-07	anaheim	5-3-0-2
05-06	carolina	5-3-2-0
03-04	tampa bay	5-4-1-0
02-03	new jersey	5-0-4-1
01-02	detroit	1-3-4-2

so, win five, and the cup is yours. :)

hossa injured in first game as a pen

2008-02-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

marian hossa's debut for the pittsburgh penguins didn't quite go as planned.

in the second period, hossa and the boston bruins glen murray collided knee-on-knee, with hossa getting the worst of it. the injury is a slight sprain of the mcl. the penguins are saying he should only be out for a week.

not good for pittsburgh. with sidney crosby out, and colby armstrong and erik christensen shipped out in the trade for hossa, they are very thin up front. evgeni malkin can only win you so many games.

free sports betting

2008-02-28T17:04:00.000-05:00

if you enjoy laying down a bet or two, and have very little money (:D), then let me tell you about this site.

it's called centsports. when you sign up, you get 10 cents free to bet. no catch to the free dime. then you can bet on a variety of sports. right now they have basketball, boxing, tennis, and of course, nhl hockey. check it out if are interested. 10 cents isn't much to start with, but a couple people have cashed out on the site for over $100.

centsports - free sports betting

good luck.

senators fire paddock

2008-02-27T16:13:00.000-05:00

after shutout losses to the toronto maple leafs and boston bruins, bryan murray made his biggest move a day after the trade deadline.

after losing six of their last eight games, and 14 of their last 21, the ottawa senators have fired coach john paddock. general manager bryan murray, who was the teams coach last year, will take over behind the bench.

also let go was assistant coach ron low. the rest of the coaching staff will stay on.

deadline day extravaganza

2008-02-26T09:02:00.000-05:00

well, let's hope there is some excitement today. a rundown of today's deals, updated throughout the day.

trying to find a good way to sort the deals so they are easy to read. going with these tables for now.

team	acquires	team	acquires
tampa bay	alexandre picard, conditional draft pick	philadelphia	vaclav prospal

11:00am update...

team	acquires	team	acquires
new jersey	bryce salvador	st. louis	cam janssen

11:15am...

team	acquires	team	acquires
florida	wade belak	toronto	2008 5th round pick

11:35am...

team	acquires	team	acquires
san jose	brian campbell, 2008 7th round pick	buffalo	steve bernier, 2008 1st round pick

11:45am...

team	acquires	team	acquires
dallas	brad richards, johan holmqvist	tampa bay	mike smith, jeff halpern, jussi jokinen

11:55am...

team	acquires	team	acquires
washington	cristobal huet	montreal	2009 2nd round pick

fairly quiet early since noon. 2pm update...

team	acquires	team	acquires
chicago	andrew ladd	carolina	tuomo ruutu

team	acquires	team	acquires
florida	karlis skrastins, 2008 3rd round pick	colorado	ruslan salei

team	acquires	team	acquires
ottawa	martin lapointe	chicago	2008 6th round pick

team	acquires	team	acquires
colorado	adam foote	columbus	conditional draft picks

team	acquires	team	acquires
washington	sergei fedorov	columbus	ted ruth

team	acquires	team	acquires
ny islanders	rob davison	san jose	2008 7th round pick

team	acquires	team	acquires
washington	matt cooke	vancouver	matt pettinger

2:50pm...

team	acquires	team	acquires
pittsburgh	hal gill	toronto	2008 2nd and 2009 5th round picks

team	acquires	team	acquires
ny rangers	christian backman	st. louis	2008 4th round pick

3pm. the deadline has come, with probably the biggest deal of the day.

team	acquires	team	acquires
pittsburgh	marian hossa, pascal dupuis	atlanta	colby armstrong, erik christensen, angelo esposito, 2008 1st round pick

post deadline, 3:10pm...

team	acquires	team	acquires
minnesota	chris simon	ny islanders	2008 6th round pick

3:15pm...

team	acquires	team	acquires
detroit	brad stuart	los angeles	2008 2nd and 2009 4th round picks

prelude to a deadline

2008-02-25T22:48:00.001-05:00

with the trade deadline less than 18 hours away, some names have already started moving.

despite saying last week that he was unlikely to return, peter forsberg is going back to where (basically) it all started. forsberg has signed a one-year deal with the colorado avalanche. the avalanche are in a tough battle for a playoff spot out west, currently four points out of the last spot. the addition of forsberg and the return of joe sakic from injury are nice "pickups" at this time of year.

in another signing, the first overall detroit red wings are bringing back darren mccarty. mccarty was given a one-year deal and sent to the ahl for some conditioning.

and one trade to kick off what could be a flurry of deals. the philadelphia flyers have picked up vaclav prospal from the tampa bay lightning. going the other is prospect defenseman alexandre picard. a draft pick is also part of the deal.

as for my plans on deadline tomorrow... i plan on tuning into the coverage for a could part of the day. i'll have one deadline day post that will be up momentarily where i'll run down all the trades that come down the line.

the deadline is officially at 3pm et on tuesday.

sundin staying put

2008-02-24T22:47:00.000-05:00

news just coming down that mats sundin has decided to not waive his no trade clause and will stay with the toronto maple leafs.

in sundin's words...

"I have carefully considered the team's request that I waive my no-trade clause," Sundin said in a statement. "I have always believed I would finish my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf so the actual request was still a very difficult one for me to contemplate."

"I have spoken to and listened to my family and those closest to me about this issue. In the end, there is no right decision in a situation like this one."

"I cannot leave my teammates and join another NHL Club at this time. I have never believed in the concept of a rental player. It is my belief that winning the Stanley Cup is the greatest thing you can achieve in hockey but for me, in order to appreciate it you have to have been part of the entire journey and that means October through June. I hope everyone will understand and respect my decision."

tsn

this should make the marian hossa sweepstakes that much more interesting.

foppa “unlikely” to return

2008-02-19T10:12:00.000-05:00

peter forsberg's agent don baizley is spreading the word among nhl teams that forsberg won't be skating in the league this year.

"The prospect of Peter having enough confidence in the foot-skate issue to commit to being able to play in the NHL this season isn't where it needs to be at this moment," Baizley told TSN. "As a result, teams are being told it is unlikely he will be able to commit to return to the NHL this season."

tsn

is forsberg's career over? you've got to start thinking that. a player who's battled injuries through most if not all of his career, it's a shame his career might come to an end like this. what might have been if forsberg had had a 1000-game nhl career? over his 12 years in the nhl, forsberg only played two full seasons - the strike shortened 94-95 season and the year after that. he played 60 or less games in four seasons, and missed the entire 2001-02 season. over less than 700 games, he averaged well over a point a game. had he averaged even 70 games per season at his point-per-game average of just under 1.25, we're talking about 1000-point career.

gm meetings - countdown to deadline day

2008-02-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

the nhl trade deadline is a week from tomorrow. in advance of that, the general managers of all 30 nhl teams are meeting in naples, florida. the meetings are a time to talk about rules, the salary cap, and other league happenings.

but, with three days of meetings before the deadline, it's a time to talk trade.

there are a few big name players who's names are going through the rumour mill. many big names are seemingly available for trade, including florida's olli jokinen, atlanta's marian hossa, buffalo's brian campbell, and of course maple leafs captain mats sundin.

sundin's is the name that most gets mentioned with a possibly trade. speculation is that if leafs gm cliff fletcher can find a trade partner, he'll give sundin a couple of days to look at the deal and accept or turn it down. like more and more players, sundin has a no-trade clause. more important than that, he is a key figure in toronto, and has been playing for the same team for over a decade. will he want to leave the leafs to help them out?

the other big news on the player front this week might be the return of peter forsberg. philadelphia flyers general manager paul holmgren said that forsberg could decide by tomorrow whether he'll return or not.

it should be an interesting week leading up to the deadline.

book review: future greats and heartbreaks

2008-02-07T09:32:00.000-05:00

i just finished reading gare joyce's book, "future greats and heartbreaks: a year undercover in the secret world of nhl scouts." a short review...

in the book, joyce is given all kinds of access from the columbus blue jackets before the 2006 nhl entry draft. he was brought into their "war room", sitting in on discussions about various prospects. he took in the nhl combine, seeing the prospects being put through the paces. in the week before the draft, he sat in on player interviews, even asking a few questions to potential draft picks himself.

the whole first part of the book focuses on joyce's time with the blue jackets and their scouts. you get an inside look at the preparation for the 2006 draft. the dissecting of prospects, big names and long shots. a lot of focus on phil kessel, you was coming off a pretty bad year going into the draft. he had a lot of rumoured off the ice problems, and you get a sense of frustration from the scouts about a player who looks to have all kinds of talent, but maybe not "all there" in other areas. in that draft, the blue jackets end up taking derick brassard with their first pick, sixth overall. there are interviews with brassard pre-draft, when he heads to columbus with a couple of other prospects to skate and work out.

the second part of the book is all about joyce basically becoming a scout for a season. over the course of the 2006-2007 season, he sees games in the czech republic, sweden, finland at the various world junior tournaments. and he hits various cities in british columbia, saskatchewan, ontario and quebec to see games and prospects across the canadian hockey league. a few players take centre stage in this part of the book, the next generation of potential nhl stars - patrick kane, sam gagner, angelo esposito, logan couture and jakub voracek among the players who get more billing.

the final part of the book is as the season unwinds, with columbus in another non-playoff year. this is around the time when doug mclean was being let go by the blue jackets, replaced by scott howson as general manager. the author gets much less access at the 2007 draft because of the change in the front office. but on the players he spent watching during the year, voracek, ends up being the jackets first round pick.

for fans of hockey, consider this book a definite read. no one gets inside access like this for events such as drafts and scouting reports. i got the book on tuesday, and read it in less than two days. a very good read.

future greats and heartbreaks

ahl all-star festivities

2008-01-28T10:50:00.000-05:00

with the nhl all-star weekend finishing up last night, the american hockey league kicked off their all-star festivities in binghamton, new york with their version of the skills competition. the game goes tonight.

the rosters are made up of upcoming prospects and long time ahl players. the rosters are broken up into "canadian" and "planetusa" teams. the canadian team is... all canadian players. planetusa is american and european players.

just to give an idea of some of the players involved, here are the results from last night's skills competition.

puck control relay
planetusa team of peter harrold, t.j. hensick and rob schremp defeat canadian team of martin st. pierre, corey locke and jason krog. in the individual relay, planetusa's keith aucon beat denis hamel.

fastest skater
overall fastest time went to toby petersen, with a time of 14.001 seconds. he narrowly beat joey tenute, who clocked in at 14.072. others involved were andrew ebbett(14.875), jeff tambellini(14.490), petr vrana(14.209) and joakim lindstrom(14.634).

rapid fire
this competition has two shooters each taking five shots from inside the faceoff circles. pekka rinne and jimmy howard both stopped nine of ten shots. greg moore and clay wilson were the best shooters, each scoring three goals.

hardest shot
mark mancari destroyed this competition. mancari set a skills competition record with a shot registered at 102.8mph. jonathan ericsson was the only other play to hit triple digits, going for 100.1. alexandre picard(96.5) and bobby ryan(96.3) also had decent shots.

accuracy shot
4-for-4 is the target, and it was done by gabe gauthier. rob schremp, teddy purcell and martin st. pierre all went 4-for-6.

pass and score
this is a competition that has three skaters going against a goalie. the goalies won. drew macintyre and tuukka rask both stopped all three shots they faced. the best goal scoring trios were toby petersen/erik reitz/brett sterling and t.j. hensick/joakim lindstrom/bobby ryan, who got two goals.

breakaway rule
again, the goalies came through big here. nolan schaefer was perfect, allowing no goals on five shots. pekka rinne, tuukka rask, michael leighton and drew macintyre each allowed one goal.

in the end, planetusa won the skills comp., with a 15-9 score. you can catch the all-star game tonight in canada on sportsnet, starting at 7pm et.

related links
canadian all-star roster
planetusa all-star roster

they’re all stars

2008-01-26T07:21:00.000-05:00

players named to this weekend's all-star and youngstar rosters, listed by team.

* = injured, not playing
# = injury replacement

anaheim
chris pronger, scott niedermayer#, ryan getzlaf, corey perry#

atlanta
tobias enstrom, marian hossa, ilya kovalchuk

boston
milan lucic, zdeno chara, tim thomas#, marc savard#

buffalo
brian campbell

calgary
dion phaneuf, jarome iginla

carolina
eric staal

chicago
patrick kane, duncan keith

colorado
paul stastny*

columbus
rick nash

dallas
matt niskanen, mike ribeiro#, sergei zubov*

detroit
nicklas lidstrom, chris osgood, pavel datsyuk, henrik zetterberg*

edmonton
sam gagner, shawn horcoff

florida
tomas vokoun

los angeles
jack johnson, anze kopitar

montreal
andrei markov

minnesota
marian gaborik

nashville
jason arnott

new jersey
david clarkson#

ny islanders
rick dipietro

ny rangers
marc staal, brandon dubinsky, scott gomez

ottawa
daniel alfredsson, jason spezza, dany heatley*

philadelphia
kimmo timonen, mike richards

phoenix
peter mueller, ed jovanovski

pittsburgh
kris letang, tyler kennedy*, sergei gonchar, evgeni malkin#, sidney crosby*

san jose
evgeni nabokov, joe thornton

st. louis
erik johnson, david perron, manny legace

tampa bay
mike lundin, vincent lecavalier, martin st. louis

toronto
tomas kaberle

vancouver
alexander edler, henrik sedin

washington
nicklas backstrom, alexander ovechkin

the all-star game goes on sunday at 6pm et. tonight is the skills competition and youngstars game, with action kicking off at 7pm et. nhl.com will have some radio coverage from atlanta during the weekend as well. today at 3:30pm they are having an all-access show you can tune into.

quietly leading the league in scoring…

2008-01-25T10:20:00.000-05:00

it's captain alfie!

daniel alfredsson was in all but one goal in ottawa's 8-4 win over tampa bay last night. his seven points on the night (3 goals, 4 assists) set a new franchise record.

and just like that, alfredsson took a one point lead in league scoring heading into the all star break. he eclipsed the 30-goal mark for the fourth time in his career, and he's hit 20+ goals in eight straight years.

alfredsson doesn't get much ink when it comes to talking about league mvp. there are those you like the youngsters: sidney crosby(now out of the running) and alexander ovechkin. and then the established mvp's like jarome iginla, vinny lecavalier and roberto luongo. but no one can replace what alfredsson does for ottawa.

alfredsson leads the senators in pretty much every offensive category - goals, points, power play goals, short handed goals, game winning goals, and plays the most minutes of any forward on the team. and even the odd game where he doesn't get a point, he is usually far and away the senators best player.

across the nhl fanbase, a lot of people don't like alfredsson. well, across the "centre of the universe" people don't like him. the stanley cup "guarantee" and the so-called dirty hits have him low on some peoples list. there is no questioning daniel alfredsson's talent. he has made those of us in ottawa forget alexei yashin. he has lead the team to a stanley cup final and a conference final.

not bad for a sixth round draft pick.

willie o’ree

2008-01-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

fifty years ago today, willie o'ree broke the colour barrier in the national hockey league.

o'ree had been playing hockey with the quebec aces when he was called up by the boston bruins to play in a game against the montreal canadiens on january 18, 1958. o'ree played only two games in the nhl that season before returning to the aces. he was back in the nhl two seasons later, when he played in 43 games.

all this from a man who was 97% blind in his right eye. the injury came from a game in the mid-50's when o'ree was playing for the kitchener canucks. o'ree told nobody about the injury, and months later was invited to play for the aces. despite a short nhl career, o'ree played hockey until 1979, mostly in various senior leagues across north america.

o'ree is currently the director of youth development for the NHL's diversity program, which he's been doing for 10 years. he was honoured earlier this week in fredericton, new brunswick, where an arena was named in his honour. the nhl will mark the anniversary during next weekends all-star game.

ross mckeon of yahoo sports has a great article on o'ree.

nhl all-star lineups

2008-01-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

both conferences have their complete teams for the upcoming all-star game.

eastern conference
(players voted in as starters in bold)

goalies
martin brodeur, new jersey
rick dipietro, ny islanders
tomas vokoun, flordia

defence
brian campbell, buffalo
zdeno chara, boston
sergei gonchar, pittsburgh
tomas kaberle, toronto
andrei markov, montreal
kimmo timonen, philadelphia

forward
daniel alfredsson, ottawa
sidney crosby, pittsburgh
scott gomez, ny rangers
dany heatley, ottawa
marian hossa, atlanta
ilya kovalchuk, atlanta
vincent lecavalier, tampa bay
alexander ovechkin, washington
mike richards, philadelphia
jason spezza, ottawa
eric staal, carolina
martin st. louis, tampa bay

western conference

goalies
manny legace, st. louis
roberto luongo, vancouver *
chris osgood, detroit
evgeni nabokov, san jose

defence
duncan keith, chicago
ed jovanovski, phoenix
nicklas lidstrom, detroit
dion phaneuf, calgary
chris pronger, anaheim
sergei zubov, dallas

forward
jason arnott, nashville
pavel datsyuk, detroit
marian gaborik, minnesota
ryan getzlaf, anaheim
shawn horcoff, edmonton
jarome iginla, calgary
anze kopitar, los angeles
rick nash, columbus
henrik sedin, vancouver
paul stastny, colorado
joe thornton, san jose
henrik zetterberg, detroit

* luongo will miss the all-star game to spend time with his pregnant wife.

the all-star game goes down on sunday, january 27 in altanta.

ovechkin close to extension?

2008-01-10T15:58:00.000-05:00

french sports station, rds, is reporting that the washington capitals have locked up alexander ovechkin for six more years. the deal is said to be worth $54 million, which would equal a $9 million per year salary cap hit.

at the same time, tsn is reporting that contract negotiations are ongoing, but nothing's been finalized yet.

more on the ovechkin contract as news comes along.

UPDATE: well, the extension has come, and it is a LOT bigger than originally reported. in fact, ovechkin and the capitals have agreed on the biggest contract in nhl history. the deal is for 13 years, and is valued at $124 million. unreal. there have been more mega-contracts handed out since the salary cap has come along than i can ever remember.

the contract will pay ovechkin $9 million per year for the first six years, and then $10 million per for the final seven years of the deal.

capitals insider has a few more details on the deal, including some reaction for ovechkin and olaf kolzig.

ovechkin will be 35 by the time the contract expires.

something we don’t see in the nhl anymore…

2008-01-10T07:11:00.001-05:00

how about a bench clearing brawl?

this is ak-bars kazan and traktor chelyabinsk in the russian super league going at it. something must have happened before that goal was scored to set these guys off.

honorary canadian

2008-01-08T00:23:00.001-05:00

Ottawa Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson donned a Team Canada jersey during practice Monday as part of a bet with owner Eugene Melnyk over the world junior hockey tournament finale. Canada beat Sweden 3-2 in overtime for the gold medal on Saturday.

Canada.com

nhl midseason report

2008-01-06T10:12:00.000-05:00

the national hockey league officially passed the midway point of the regular season schedule during last night's games. a few notes and observations on the first half of the season.

if the playoffs started today...

eastern conference
1. ottawa senators vs. 8. philadelphia flyers
2. new jersey devils vs. 7. new york rangers
3. carolina hurricanes vs. 6. boston bruins
4. pittsburgh penguins vs. 5. montreal canadiens

western conference
1. detroit red wings vs. 8. colorado avalanche
2. san jose sharks vs. 7. anaheim ducks
3. calgary flames vs. 6. minnesota wild
4. vancouver canucks vs. 5. dallas stars

good surprise team of the first half
boston bruins

the bruins missed the playoffs last season by 16 points. they are only "in" by two points right now. they didn't add any big name free agents in the offseason, have been without patrice bergeron since late october, and they don't even have a 15-goal scorer. but they're still sticking around, mostly thanks to the play of tim thomas.

bad surprise team of the first half
tampa bay lightning

the lightning finished 11 games above .500 last season. it was only good for the second last playoff spot in the conference, and they were bounced by the devils in the first round. this season, they are the second last place team in the entire league. vincent lecavalier is putting up mvp numbers but it doesn't seem to be helping the lightning. defenseman dan boyle was a big early season loss, and the goaltending has been atrocious. one of the "big three" could be on their way out come trade deadline day.

first half mvp
jarome iginla, calgary

i don't get a chance to see many games from out west, so i sometimes ignore the conference. but iginla can't be ignored this season. after 43 games, he's only seven goals away from what he scored all of last season. his 32 goals on the season have him tied for second in the league behind ilya kovalchuk. the flames are in a battle with vancouver at the top of the northwest division, and i expect that's where they'll be if iginla can keep putting up the numbers he has been.

dates to remember
some important dates in the second half...

january 27: all-star game, atlanta
february 26: trade deadline
april 6: regular season ends
april 9: stanley cup playoffs begin

canada are u20 world champions

2008-01-05T20:19:00.001-05:00

it was a nail biter, but canada wins their fourth consecutive world u20 championship today in the czech republic. winning goal in overtime scored by matt halischuk, who plays for the kitchener rangers.

canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, on goals from brad marchand and claude giroux. they controlled play in most of the second period, but we unable to capitalize. they hit the post twice, and had four powerplay opportunities.

the third period was all sweden. chance after chance came there way. canada didn't seem to be moving their feet, and the game looked like a carbon copy of the round robin game between the two teams, when sweden scored three goals in less than five minutes to take a lead, and eventually won the game. sweden came within in after about five minutes in the third. a beautiful feed set up their first goal. and then, with less than a minute to play, with an extra attacker on for a pulled goalie, sweden tied on a scramble in front of the net.

so off we went to overtime. white knuckle time. playing 4-on-4 on the big ice, you knew it wasn't going to long. it took just over three minutes for halischuk to strike, and for a new batch of canadian sports heroes to be recognized.

sweden played very well today, and all tournament long. as canadians, we like to think the game got close because "the good guys" were playing badly. they may have been playing badly, but that's because the swedes were all over them. full credit to them for their first top two finish in the competition in over ten years.

and of course, the best part of the tournament...

u20 championships enter medal round

2008-01-01T19:58:00.000-05:00

action starts back up again tomorrow in the czech republic as the quarter finals of the world u20 hockey championships take place.

in the first quarter final, canada faces finland. and in quarter final number two, the host czechs take on russia.

canada finds itself in unfamiliar territory here. in the past three tournaments that they've won, they had always finished first in their round robin group to get a bye straight to the semi-final. not this time. a heart breaking 4-3 loss to sweden still gave them a chance to grab first place in the group, but the swedes went out the next day and beat the czech republic to claim first place.

its been announced that steve mason will be canada's goaltender for the medal round. mason and jonathan bernier split the round robin duties. mason had a shutout over slovakia and a win over denmark. bernier shut out czech republic, but then seemed to struggle at times against sweden. a couple bad bounces, and some defensive miscues certainly didn't help bernier's cause. i'm not sure how i feel about the decision to run with mason. of course, it's easy to second guess from affair. maybe coach craig hartsburg feels his team is playing more confidently in front of mason.

one thing canada certainly needs to work on is offense. if they don't get plenty of power play opportunities, their time in the medal round may be short. of the 12 goals scored in the round robin, only five were scored on even strength.

canada's opposition, finland, had round robin victories over group b doormats switzerland and kazakhstan. they had an early lead in their game against russia, before allowing four second period goals and eventually losing 7-4. they made a late comeback in the game against the united states, but fell short in the end.

both quarter final games will be shown on tsn in canada. canada-finland goes at 10am eastern, with czech republic-russia at 2pm. the winner of canada-finland goes on to play the united states in the semi finals, while the czech-russia winner will face sweden.

sabres preparing for winter classic

2007-12-29T10:00:00.000-05:00

on the first day of 2008, the buffalo sabres will be holding the first ever outdoor nhl game played in the united states. sidney crosby and the pittsburgh penguins will be in town for the big event.

although its been done before, the outdoor game is a very cool concept. it was first done on a grand scale in october of 2001, when michigan and michigan state played before over 70,000 in an ncaa game. more recently, the edmonton oilers and montreal canadiens got together in edmonton for the heritage classic.

the folks in buffalo are in full on construction mode for the game that is taking place in a couple of days. the venue is ralph wilson stadium, which hosted an nfl game one week ago. in one week, the venue has to be completely transformed. and hosting an event like this can't be easy. how many nhl games have make up dates in case of bad weather? (for the winter classic, the game will go on january 2 if the weather is really bad.)

the sabres website has been following the whole construction and other news surrounding the classic. take a look at a time-lapsed video of the first 48 hours of rink construction. more information available at the sabres winter classic page.

the players are also excited to be taking part in something this big. many players grow up playing on the outdoor rinks, especially in canada. the canadian press wasted little time in getting sidney crosby's thoughts on the outdoor classic.

nhl draftees in the u20 championships

2007-12-24T13:08:00.000-05:00

the u20 world championships are only a couple days away. all the nations have announced their teams. here's which players are drafted by nhl teams.

atlanta

riley holzapfel(canada), niclas lucenius(finland)

boston

brad marchand(canada), yuri alexandrov(russia)

buffalo

jhonas enroth(sweden)

calgary

mikael backlund(sweden), juuso puustinen(finland)

carolina

brandon sutter(canada) , jamie mcbain(usa)

chicago

joe palmer(usa), bill sweatt(usa), tony lagerström(sweden), jan-mikael juutilainen(finland)

colorado

kevin montgomery(usa), mike carman(usa), johan alcén(sweden)

columbus

steve mason(canada), stefan legein(canada), jakub voracek(czech republic)

dallas

max warn(finland)

detroit

logan pyett(canada), joakim andersson(sweden)

florida

shawn matthias(canada), matt rust(usa), sergei gayduchenko(russia), evgeny dadonov(russia), michael frolik(czech republic)

los angeles

jonathan bernier(canada), thomas hickey(canada), wayne simmonds(canada), niclas andersén(sweden), oscar möller(sweden)

montreal

pk subban(canada), max pacioretty(usa), yannick weber(switzerland)

minnesota

colton gillies(canada)

nashville

jeremy smith(usa), jonathun blum(usa), ryan flynn(usa), blake geoffrion(usa)

new jersey

matthew halischuk(canada)

ny islanders

kyle okposo(usa), rhett rakhshani(usa), stefan ridderwall(sweden), robin figren(sweden)

ny rangers

bobby sanguinetti(usa), carl hagelin(sweden), artem anisimov(russia), alexei cherepanov(russia), david kveton(czech republic)

philadelphia

claude giroux(canada), james van riemsdyk(usa), mario kempe(sweden), joonas lehtivuori(finland), jakub kovar(czech republic)

phoenix

kyle turris(canada), chris summers(usa), martin latal(czech republic)

pittsburgh

brian strait(usa)

st. louis

ian cole(usa), cade fairchild(usa), patrik berglund(sweden)

tampa bay

riku helenius(finland)

toronto

tyler ruegsegger(usa)

vancouver

ilya kablukov(russia)

washington

josh godfrey(canada), karl alzner(canada), michal neuvirth(czech republic)

30 games for simon

2007-12-19T12:30:00.000-05:00

islanders forward chris simon was suspended for 30 games by the nhl today. this coming after he stomped on jarko ruutu during a game on the weekend.

simon beats his own record for the longest suspension in nhl history. he's currently on a leave of absence from the islanders.

you can check for more information on sportsnet, which includes the full list of simon's previous nhl suspensions.

uglyness on the island

2007-12-16T09:04:00.001-05:00

a couple of looks at chris simon stomping on jarko ruutu's foot during yesterday's islanders/penguins game. simon's last suspension was for 25 games, will this one be a record breaker?

canada u20 team named

2007-12-13T20:10:00.000-05:00

canada named their final roster of 22 players for the upcoming iihf world u20 championships. no real surprises in the final cuts. angelo esposito was cut from his third straight selection camp, and leland irving as let go despite being part of the gold medal winning team from last year.

full roster available at hockey canada.

the next nhl suspension?

2007-12-12T22:23:00.000-05:00

3 2 0:51 24 S.WALKER 5 Head butting (maj)

early in the second period of tonight's senators/hurricanes game, scott walker hit sens goalie martin gerber, so mike fisher went to have a little discussion with him. the two drop their gloves. as the fight ends, walker decides he didn't give fisher enough punches or something, and pulls a zidane, blatantly head butting fisher.

i expect... well, i shouldn't say i expect a suspension, because you never know in this league. i hope colin campbell is on the phone with walker sometime soon.

edit: video of the fight and headbutt

and, while we're at it, the nhl comes down ~~hard~~ soft on walker by giving him a one game suspension.

crosby adds to his trophy mantle

2007-12-11T18:13:00.000-05:00

after a year in which he won the hart trophy as nhl most valuable player and lead the league in scoring at the age of 19, sidney crosby added to his already long list of honours today, being announced as the winner of the lou marsh memorial trophy.

crosby is the first hockey player to win the award since his good buddy mario lemieux won it in 1993. wayne gretzy('82, '83, '85, '89), guy lafleur(1977) and bobby orr(1970) are some other previous winners of the award, given to the top canadian athlete, as voted on by a panel of journalists.

usa u20 roster announced

2007-12-05T19:42:00.000-05:00

the united states announced their roster for the upcoming u20 championships in the czech republic. unlike canada, the americans don't have a selection camp. the just announce their team of 22 players.

usa finished in third place at last year's tournament, and have quite a few returning players. among them is james van riemsdyk, who was drafted second overall by the philadelphia flyers in last summer's nhl entry draft.

you can check out the full roster here.

niedermayer return

2007-12-05T19:21:00.000-05:00

Executive Vice President and General manager of the Anaheim Ducks Brian Burke has called a press conference for 6:30pm pt. Wednesday where he will make an announcement regarding the status of the Conn Smythe trophy winning defenceman. It is expected that Burke will announce that Niedermayer is in fact returning to the team for the remainder of the season.

tsn

no real surprise here. when niedermayer delayed in announcing his retirement in the off-season, everyone suspected he would make a return somewhere around christmas.

not a bad deal for the ducks, been able to add a hall of famer to the lineup midway through the season without having to give anything up.

canada roster for u20 selection camp

2007-12-03T12:33:00.000-05:00

it's december, which in the world of hockey means the iihf under-20 championships are coming up. today, canada announced a roster of 37 players who will take part in a selection camp that runs in calgary starting early next week.

no real surprises of players on or players not included. only three players return from last year's gold medal winning team - calgary flames draft pick leland irving, washington capitals draft pick karl alzner and boston bruins draft pick brad marchand. there are a few players playing in the nhl this season who are still eligible for the u20's, but none of them have been released for the selection camp.

you can see the full list of players here. the roster will be trimmed down to 22 players during camp, which ends december 14.

the u20 championships are being played in the czech republic this year. the tournament starts on december 26, and finishes on january 5. canada is looking to win their fourth consecutive gold medal.

inside ottawa’s losing streak

2007-12-02T09:55:00.000-05:00

with yesterday's 5-2 loss to the rangers, the once mighty ottawa senators have gone without a win in six games. after starting the season with 15 wins in their first 17 games, ottawa has only won one of their last eight games.

some numbers from the losing streak...

26 - number of goals allowed, not including the extra "goal" in two shootout losses(4.3 per game)
19 - number of goals scored(3.2 per game)
5 - as in goals. twice in the past six games, ottawa has scored five goals, and still lost both games
17 - number of goals allowed by martin gerber in his last four games
6.86 - gerber's goals against average in his last two games
0, -8 - points and +/- of sens forward mike fisher in the past six games. going back even further, fisher is without a point in eight games

looks pretty ugly to me. ottawa now heads out on a five game road swing, starting with back-to-back games against tampa bay and florida later this week. hopefully something will start to turn around soon. i, and i think every other sens fan, expect to see ray emery get a start in both games in florida. he has been good in the last two games that he's played, and needs a few starts to see if he can help kick start the team.

comeback trail...

2007-10-25T18:02:00.000-04:00

life getting in the way of the blog posts. i will be getting back to making posts soon.

jason blake battling leukemia

2007-10-08T12:25:00.000-04:00

“This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer. The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life.

maple leafs press release

by all indications, it looks like a mild form of cancer that is highly treatable. but it's still cancer. blake should be able to continue his career while undergoing treatment.

signing on the dotted line

2007-10-06T17:26:00.000-04:00

a few players have been signed to new contracts over the past couple days. i'll update the free agents list as well, but here are some moves from across the league for now...

- the new york islanders signed radek martinek to a three-year contract extension. a defensive-defenseman, martinek has played over 250 nhl games, all with the islanders.

- the carolina hurricanes signed david tanabe to a two-year contract. tanabe played 60 games with the 'canes last season, but went unsigned this summer as an unrestricted free agent. he was invited to st. louis blues training camp, and was one of their final cuts.

- the st. louis blues signed mike johnson to a one-year contract. johnson went unsigned this summer, and the blues gave him an invite to camp, before signing him.

jose theodore on the comeback trail

2007-10-05T20:25:00.000-04:00

DENVER - Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore will complete his rehabilitation from off-season knee surgery by starting in the season opener for the AHL Lake Erie Monsters on Saturday.The Avalanche said he would return to Colorado on Sunday.Theodore had surgery in August.

"Jose is in the final stages of his rehabilitation work and both our hockey staff and he agreed that actual game action would be the way to complete this process," general manager Francois Giguere said.

Canadian Press

theodore's struggles since his vezina and hart trophy winning season in 2001-02 have been well documented. he's been pushed to back up status in colorado, with peter budaj firmly in place as the starter. his $5-million contract has him constantly mentioned in trade talk, but with the injuries and some bad play of late, no team seems desperate enough to take him on.

starting strong

2007-09-29T08:26:00.000-04:00

with the nhl season starting today in london, england, here's a look at how the past five stanley cup champions have started their seasons.

(records shown in simple W-L format, and then in years when ties were still around, W-T-L.)

year	team	record
06-07	anaheim	9-3
05-06	carolina	8-3
03-04	tampa bay	6-1-0
02-03	new jersey	6-0-2
01-02	detroit	11-0-2

steve downie suspended 20 games

2007-09-28T17:06:00.000-04:00

finally, the nhl goes in the right direction.

philadelphia flyers prospect steve downie was handed a 20-game suspension today for his brutal hit on dean mcammond during a pre-season game earlier this week. it looks like the league has been looking at head shots with the players and management around the league.

'Over the last several months, the League has met with players, coaches, general managers and owners on the subject of hits to the head,'' said Campbell. ''While all of the stakeholders in our League agree that hitting is an important part of the essence of the NHL game, all were also unanimous in the belief that where a player deliberately targets an opponent's head, the conduct should be subject to review and the possible assessment of supplemental discipline.''

i was very surprised that the nhl threw the book at downie here. let's face it, their track record in this area is spotty at best. now comes the hard part - staying consistent. the first suspension sets the precedent, the big tell will be the second time something like this happens this season.

as for downie, hopefully he learns a lesson here. i think many people feel he can be quality nhl player, with a long career. but he needs to get the "extra-curriculars" out of his game.

the nhl needs less steve downie’s

2007-09-26T19:00:00.000-04:00

ugh, where to start with this mess.

i consider it a fact that steve downie went out of his way to injure dean mcammond during last night's game between the flyers and senators. downie came screaming in from the red line, his eyes fixed on mcammond with one intention. and he did what he intended to do. injure someone as much as he could.

why did downie do this? because that's what he does. in 2005, he was suspended by the windsor spitfires for an altercation with his own teammate. all together in his junior career, downie missed games on five or six different occasions due to suspensions. no one is surprised that his nhl career couldn't even start before he went out head hunting.

how much of a suspension will he get? well, knowing the nhl's record, not much of one. countless times, the nhl has had a chance to "show they mean business" when it comes to laying down the law. and they've constantly dropped the ball. i would be very surprised if downie was given more than two or three games.

as for the victim of the brutal hit, dean mcammond. he's on the sidelines for his second concussion within the past four months. he was knocked out by chris pronger in the stanley cup finals on a vicious elbow. luckily that's all he has. one has to wonder what sort of injury it will take for the nhl to wake up.

will it take paralysis? or death?

umm, isn’t chris simon suspended?

2007-09-25T18:35:00.001-04:00

i guess not.

simon was suspended for 25 games for a stick swinging incident last march. he basically clubbed the rangers ryan hollweg in the face.

but, last night, there were the islanders and rangers playing in pre-season action. and oh, look at that, chris simon in uniform. fast forward to midway through the second period, and there is chris simon taking a 15-foot run at hollweg, sparking of a line brawl that involved both goalies. don't be too much of a goon simon...

now, why was he allowed to play in this game? if the player is still suspended, shouldn't he be suspended? someone definitely dropped the ball on that. and who on the isles made the genius decision to play simon against the team that the suspension all came from?

definite head shaker.

new nhl jerseys all kinds of bad

2007-09-24T16:41:00.000-04:00

the nhl and reebok really didn't do their homework on these things, did they?

never mind that many fans hate the new jersey. whether it's the style, or how some of them look. obviously, the jerseys were really only made for the nhl to cash in on a new revenue stream. but did they get any input from the players? were the jerseys put through any sort of testing?

it doesn't seem like it. first the fighters chimed in. cam janssen of the new jersey devils spoke up first. after a fight with jesse boulerice of the philadelphia flyers, janssen's jersey tore easily, allowing boulerice to take the ripped jersey, allowing Boulerice to lift the jersey over his head, and pound away. not much fun, even for the toughest of guys.

arron asham also spoke up about it...

"I don't know what it was, but it's definitely not safe," Asham said. "Hopefully, they'll figure out something about it. ... It's definitely not good for fighters. I guess they want to take it out of the game that bad. I don't know, but the jerseys are terrible."

great pub for the nhl's new money maker. it doesn't stop there. kind of a disgusting problem. the sweaters are made not to retain water, making them lighter. but, as mark recchi says, that's that's not necessarily a good thing. nasty.

good work by rbk and the nhl. there is no way they are going to make any changes to the sweaters now, so the players will have play with the difficulties that come up. so expect lots of ripped jerseys and equipment changes throughout games. how would you like it if the star player on your team was missing an important shift because he had to change his skates due to them being filled with sweat. nice.

it's amost time

2007-09-22T18:29:00.000-04:00

t-minus...

countdown to the start of the 2007-08 nhl season

the los angeles kings and stanley cup champion anaheim ducks kick off the nhl season less than one week from today in london, england.

welcome to the world of hockey

2007-09-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

as you can probably tell by the title and picture on the site, this blog will be about the sport of hockey. although i plan on covering many different areas of the game, there will be an emphasis on the ottawa senators, and other hockey around ottawa.

i hope to keep the site updated regularly with interested hockey news and notes.