February 26, 2008
It's a National Holiday in Canada today as the NHL has its trade deadline. Well, it should be as productivity in the work place will be way down. There will be a lot of people calling in sick so they can easily stay abreast of all the happenings in hockey. A comparable day in the United States is Opening Day in baseball, but it's a lot easier north of the border as there is little chance of meeting your boss, since people are actually staying home. Television coverage begins on one station at 7:30 this morning and will run well past 6:00 pm as everyone will analyze every trade made, every trade that wasn't made, what everyone had for breakfast, etc. etc.
Continue reading "Trade Deadline 2008 Blog" »
February 22, 2008
I don't know if it's a fluke or some kind of trend, but there seems to be an inordinate number of key offensive defensemen who have been injured for lenghty periods of times this season. Currently, Nicklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Sergei Zubov, Philippe Boucher, Sheldon Souray, Rob Blake, Brett Clark, Chris Campoli, Brian Pothier, Niklas Kronwall, Sami Salo and Lukas Krajecik are on the shelf.
Other top rearguards who have been sidelined this season include: Dan Boyle, Brian McCabe, Kevin Bieksa, Mathieu Schneider, Shea Weber, Jaroslav Spacek, Joni Pitkanen, Tom Poti, Cory Murphy, Adrian Aucoin and Erik Johnson.
In fact, 16 of the NHL's 30 teams have sustained a significant injury to at least one of their top two offensive blueliners this year. Detroit, Vancouver and Dallas have been hit exceptionally hard, each losing two or three of their top offensive defensemen for significant periods of time.
Is there a reason for the rash of injuries? Probably not. But you have to wonder if loosening up the neutral zone and allowing forechecking forwards to bear down on defensemen might have something to do with it.
February 18, 2008
May 2, 1967.
That was the night that the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup. Had Moses taken the Israelites out of Egypt that day, they still would have reached the Promised Land before the Maple Leafs.
Now, I know what you’re going to say. But Michael, the Leafs have been to the Stanley Cup semi-finals five times in the past 40 years, what did the Israelites do in wandering the desert for 40 years?
Well, five semi-final appearances in the past 40 years is a terrible record. The Maple Leafs are the only original six team to not go to the Stanley Cup finals since expansion and only the Leafs, Atlanta, Columbus, Minnesota, Nashville, Phoenix and San Jose have not made the Cup finals since 1967. That's one original six team, a team that entered the NHL in 1979 (Phoenix via Winnipeg) and five expansion teams from the 1990's and 2000's. A pretty pathetic record.
I’ve been hearing a lot of talk that Toronto should try to dump salary. That is the worst thing they could do.
The Maple Leafs have to try to get as many good young players and high draft choices as possible. They shouldn’t try to pawn off an extra expensive player and take less in a trade. For example, if they can get a Bobby Ryan and a first round pick for Mats Sundin, take it. Don’t throw in Pavel Kubina and take Ryan and a second rounder in exchange for losing the extra salary.
Toronto can afford to let the contracts expire on their own. They are in such dire need of first and second line players that it will be hard for them to contend for a couple of years at best. The best thing they could do is not venture into the free agent market for a year or two and reconstruct their tea, With the draft choices that they will be able to garner in deadline deal trades, they will be in line to get three or four front line players who will be complemented in future years with free agent buys that the team will be able to get once certain players (e.g. Darcy Tucker and Pavel Kubina) contracts expire.
This is the only way to rebuild the team. A slow and proper way that will enable the Maple Leafs to draft near the bottom for the next couple of years, as the Penguins did, drafting in the top five for five years.
Leaf Nation will now allow you to do this. Take advantage while you can.
February 15, 2008
Many Hurricane fans are not happy with the team's recent trade with the Senators. Despite the fact that Cory Stillman was being slowly phased out as one of Carolina's primary players, he is still a productive, clever and resourceful winger. To trade him away for the talented but unproven Patrick Eaves looks like a bit of a white flag move to me. Joe Corvo (part of the haul from the trade with Ottawa) is a reasonablly good offensive rearguard, but he is a little like a shiny toy in the store that doesn't work quite as well as you'd hoped once you bring it home.
Now due to a torn ACL, the Canes will have to do without their captain and spirutual leader, Rod Brind'Amour.
Last week, I felt the Canes were the type of team that could surprise in the playoffs. This week I believe this team is in real trouble. It will be interesting to see if GM Jim Rutherford makes any moves to shore up a suddenly weakened lineup. For the sake of Hurricanes' fans, I hope he does.
February 11, 2008
The Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes pulled off a trade today that will benefit both clubs. The Senators dealt Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo to the Hurricanes for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore.
The Senators get a top six forward in Cory Stillman who will take some of the pressure off the scoring trio of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley and give the Senators the extra scoring they have been looking for. All of a sudden, Senators have two lines that are very capable of scoring, especially when the foursome are split up evenly.
Mike Commodore gives the Senators another big defenseman who will not give an inch and not be afraid to rough it up with opponents when the situation calls for it.
The Senators also get two players who have won the Stanley Cup. Both won it in Carolina in 2006 and Stillman was also a valuable member of the 2004 Tampa Bay Lightning Cup win.
The Hurricanes get Joe Corvo, the offensive defenseman they so badly need to quarterback their mediocre power play. Carolina realized they needed a quarterback for their power play last season and ended up trading Jack Johnson, the third overall pick of the 2005 Entry Draft to Los Angeles for Tim Gleason at the start of the 2006 season, but that trade failed horribly as Gleason is a decent player, but not the defenseman they hoped for, to lead the power play.
Patrick Eaves is a good player who should be a top-six forward for the Hurricanes. He's not as good as Stillman but will still contribute to the 'Canes attack.
This trade will help both teams. Stillman will get a boost in his point total for the rest of the season as he seemed to hit the wall after an outstanding offensive start to the season. He has 21 goals and 46 points in 55 games this season, but only three goals and eight points in 21 games since Christmas.
Corvo could become a 50-60 point defenseman in Carolina, especially quarterbacking the power play with Rod Brind'Amour, Eric Staal, Erik Cole and the like to pass to. One other factor in the trade is that Carolina gave up two players who are eligible for unrestricted free agency at the end of the season, while getting back two players who are not.
It is a good trade for both teams.
February 08, 2008
Tuesday night’s 8-0 blowout at the hands of the Panthers might have been a blessing in disguise for the Maple Leafs and their loyal but disillusioned fans. You see, as long as the Buds seem to be in contention for a playoff berth, there will be no fire sale of players. If there is no fire sale of players, the team will never stock up on young talent and draft picks. And without young talent, the club will never get better.
The only way Toronto management will blow up the team is if things get so bad, it has no choice. An 8-0 rout to the barely-contending Panthers is a good start. If you are a Leafs’ fan you have to hope that the team takes a few more beatings like the one they endured Tuesday. It would be best if the Maple Leafs allowed the Kings and the Lightning to pass them in the standings so that they can maximize their chances to select first in the June draft. Steven Stamkos would sure look nice in a Toronto uniform.
February 05, 2008
Well, Teemu Selanne returned to the Anaheim lineup tonight, his first game this year after taking off the first 56 games of the season. He managed an assist in his debut in 18 minutes of action, of which 6:26 was on the power play.
Continue reading "Teemu Selanne" »
February 01, 2008
Peter Forsberg officially declared he will return to the NHL this season. He declined the chance to sign with MoDo, his SEL team, in order to maintain his 2007-08 NHL eligibility. Where will Peter the Great play? He certainly wants a shot at a Stanley Cup and will likely make that a priority in choosing where to sign. Let’s handicap the clubs in the running.
Ottawa-The Senators could sure use Forsberg to anchor a second scoring line. Ottawa has a real chance to win the Stanley Cup and Forsberg is good buddies with Sens’ captain Daniel Alfredsson. We believe the Senators are the favorites to ink Forsberg and post odds of 2-1 that they will do so.
Detroit-The Red Wings are the NHL’s best squad and realistically have an excellent chance to raise Lord Stanley’s mug. Henrik Zetterberg idolizes Forsberg, who may be flattered to play with the young star. The Wings are in a similar situation as the Senators—in need of a second-line scoring threat. We see Detroit as a solid 5-2 bet.
Vancouver-The Canucks have not been able to muster much offence when the Sedins aren’t on the ice, especially since Brendan Morrison’s injury. Signing Forsberg would solve that problem in a hurry. Playing with the talented twins from his homeland may appeal to Forsberg. GM Dave Nonis has pressure to bring in a scoring threat, and as a result, the Canucks are a strong bet to tie up Forsberg at 5-2.
Philadelphia-Forsberg knows the city well and is comfortable with the organization. He would be a fabulous mentor for young forwards Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, R.J. Umberger, Joffrey Lupul and Scott Hartnell. The problem is, that despite the significant strides the Flyers have made towards competency, they are not a Cup contender. We set Philly’s odds of signing Forsberg at 6-1.
We should know where Forsberg will sign within the next few weeks. Wherever he goes, make sure you pick him up as soon as you are able under your fantasy league rules. He is likely to play very well while he rounds into playoff form.
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