By: Ryan Dadoun

Although the focus of this year's general manager meetings in Florida was headshots, it wasn't the only thing discussed. For example, Islanders' GM Garth Snow made a proposal which would essentially render the regular season meaningless. His idea? Have the eighth through 15th seed teams participate in a single-elimination "play-in" tournament at the end of the tournament to determine who gets the final playoff seed. In other words, despite the fact that Edmonton has stunk all season, they should still be able to make the playoffs over Calgary or Detroit if they have a lucky weekend.

The playoffs, as they are right now, are fine. The NHL has been on fire in the past for having a nearly pointless regular season, but that's no longer the case. It's not easy to make the playoffs anymore, just ask Toronto or Florida. That gives the regular season some credibility. The fact that these 82 games have consequences and losers is the reason fans tune in or buy tickets.

Snow's logic may be that elimination games are fun and therefore this tournament will attract an audience, and the truth is it probably will. But for every fan that watches a game in Snow's "play-in" tournament, two fewer will watch a regular season game. People will see what's happening, shrug, and say, "I'll start watching hockey in April when the games actually matter."

Mercifully, Snow's proposal didn't gain much transaction this time around, but he's not the first to talk about expanding the playoffs and he will not be the last. The temptation to expand the money-making postseason is understandable, but it must be resisted.

Posted by Brian Rosenbaum at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)

By: Ryan Dadoun

Maybe it's because he's getting older, but after dominating for most of the season, Brodeur doesn't seem to have much left going into the stretch. We all remember how he fared against Team USA in the Olympics, but Brodeur's problems started well before that. He allowed three or more goals in seven of his last eight games going into the Olympic break. After winning a gold medal while on the bench, Brodeur has a poor 4.04 GAA and .822 save percentage in two March starts.

He started in 30 games between December and January alone, so is this a case of him not having much left in the tank? It might be and with New Jersey all-but certain to make the playoffs, they might want to start resting up Brodeur for the postseason. Giving Brodeur games off is a concept they may want to get use to with Brodeur turning 38 in May. It's hard to argue with his track record, but it's silly to believe that he's ageless.

Backup goaltender Yann Danis has only started in one game since November. If the Devils are committed to winning the Stanley Cup this season, as indicated by their acquisition of Ilya Kovalchuk, that has to change.

Posted by Brian Rosenbaum at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (60)

I'll be blogging all the big news here throughout the trade deadline, so keep re-freshing!

You can also head to our player news page for the most comprehensive NHL news on the web.

Let's recap Tuesday's deals:

Continue reading "Trade deadline blog" »

Posted by Michael Finewax at 9:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (27)

By: Ryan Dadoun

Wow. Sidney Crosby wasn't the dominant player for Canada he is with Pittsburgh for most of this tournament. No one will remember that. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime, won the gold for Canada and further solidified his status as one of the legends of the game. And he's still just 22.

Continue reading "Canada Wins Gold at the 2010 Olympic Games" »

Posted by Brian Rosenbaum at 5:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)

By: Ryan Dadoun

Dallas Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk has waived Alexander Auld and announced his plans to keep Marty Turco, who is on the last year of his contract, for the remainder of the season. If Nieuwendyk stays true to his word, then he's making a very big mistake. It actually represents what I view as classic bad management. The battle for mediocrity. The Dallas Stars are in ninth place right now and Turco isn't likely to be part of their future anyways. The only reason to finish the season with a goaltending duo of Turco and Kari Lehtonen is because you think it'll help you squeeze into the playoffs.

Which begs the question: why would they want to? The obvious answer is because they'll gain access to playoff ticket revenues, but that's incredibly short sighted. It's extremely unlikely that the Dallas Stars can win the Stanley Cup this year and that's all that should matter. There's no glory in squeezing into the playoffs just for the sake of losing in the first or second round. I'd rather see a team hurt their chances of making the postseason if it meant helping them become a serious competitor two years down the road. Yes, there are Cinderella stories, but they're noteworthy because most of the time mediocre teams end up doing nothing.

It may be that owner Tom Hicks is pressuring Nieuwendyk behind the scenes to make the playoffs so that he can sell the franchise for more money. If that's what's happening, then Hicks is cheating the fans for his own personal gain (a scenario old Maple Leafs fans can sympathize with).

"I don't want to ever say never, but we would have to be blown away with a great offer to deal him now," Nieuwendyk said in regards to Turco. "We feel this is the best move for our team going forward, so that's the plan right now."

That's not a terrible thing to say, but only if it's posturing. In reality, he should be very eager to trade Turco for a draft pick or prospects. If he fails to trade Turco before the March 3rd deadline, then the Stars should be regarded as one of the deadline's losers.

Posted by Brian Rosenbaum at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)