Slew of Signings and Other News

Lets just jump right into it:

• Stu Barnes announced his retirement from hockey after 16 seasons without a Cup. He is now signed on with the Dallas Stars as an assistant coach for the next two years. Barnes played in over 1,000 NHL games and recorded almost 600 points. I loved Stu in his time with Buffalo and wish him nothing but the best.
• Joe Sakic resigned with the Colorado Avalanche for one year at $6 million, once again proving that he is a better man than Mats Sundin. Sakic is coming off of a tough season that saw him miss 38 games to hernia surgery. Sakic is one of the most respected guys in the league and a great player. This season will be the 13-time all-star's 20th in the NHL, all of which are with the Nordiques/Avalanche. According to Sakic's agent who also represents Peter Forsberg, Forsberg would like ot return but only if his health permits and he is apparently still having trouble with his bum ankle. If Forsberg came back, all the Avs would need to do was sign Patrick Roy and the Cup would be theirs without a doubt. Oh wait, didn't that already happen?
• The San Jose Sharks signed young defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to a four year deal worth $12.4 million. Vlasic will play this season under the last year of his entry-level deal before the contract kicks in next season. The defenseman had two goals and twelve assists last year and averaged over 21 minutes of ice time. This is a good, forward-looking signing for a team that has been thinking a little too much about the present recently.
• Devils defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski has cleared waivers and will return to his homeland to play in the KHL citing "personal reasons". No biggie here, Vishnevski saw the worst competition of any of the Devil's blueliners, played few minutes and had the worst plus/minus on the team. Good move by the Devils to shed his $2 million contract.
• To all you college kids, don't wonder why you cant cite Wikipedia as a source.
• Here is a cool time-lapse video of the Columbus Blue Jacket's ice surface being put it. Very cool to see how many people go into such a trivial task.
• Finally, Puck Daddy has a post about hazing in hockey. Being a member of a fraternity, I catch a lot of grief about hazing and have to sit through some of the most boring and repetitive lectures twice a semester as part of our school's anti-hazing policy. Hazing is silly and totally unnecessary. If at any point in my pledge process I felt I was going through something I was uncomfortable doing I would have backed out, simple as that. As the article point out, there are some funny traditions, like carrying a pink purse to the bullpen, but there is no excuse for what Steve Downie was trying to make these kids do. Seriously, though, Downie is a goon, remember this?

What about this? When Don Cherry is calling you out, you've got some issues.

  

Or this? 

Pre-Season Picks

So considering there is absolutely nothing new and interesting to write about in hockey apart from some poor Blue Jackets prospect calling it quits and facing the wrath of the entire hockey media (bad timing buddy), I figured I would start to formulate my picks for the upcoming season.

First we have the Eastern Conference:

1. Montreal Canadiens
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Washington Capitals
4. New York Rangers
5. Philadelphia Flyers
6. Ottawa Senators
7. Boston Bruins
8. New Jersey Devils
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Tampa Bay  Lightning
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. New York Islanders
13. Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Florida Panthers
15. Atlanta Thrashers

It is generally agreed that the East is the weaker conference  but it also has the most parity of the two making it relatively difficult to pick spots 4 through 12. There is a pretty good chance the Sabres, Lightning and Hurricanes could all make the playoffs and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see the Devils or Bruins miss the post-season by the slimmest of margins.

Now here are the Western Conference standings according to me:

1. Detroit Red Wings*
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Dallas Stars
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Calgary Flames
8. Minnesota Wild
9. Nashville Predators
10. Phoenix Coyotes
11. Vancouver Canucks
12. Colorado Avalanche
13. Columbus Blue Jackets
14. Los Angeles Kings
15. St. Louis Blues

* Denotes Stanley Cup Champion

The West is a little bit easier to pick, especially in the higher slots but 8 through 13 are all interchangeable. The Red Wings will win the Cup again this year but hopefully San Jose gives them a run for their money. The Sharks seem to be throwing all their eggs into one basket like the Avalanche did in 2000-01. It worked  for the Avs then but I cant honestly see it working for the Sharks when they will have to beat the machine that is the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings of 08-09 are essentially the same team that dominated the Western Conference last season minus Dominik Hasek who was more of a distraction than he was helpful.

Discuss...

Dear Hockey Fans

Think you're bored? Apparently Terry Frei over at ESPN has you beat regardless of how mundane your hockey-free lives seem to be. Frei takes a look at NHL players and where they would fit in at the summer olympics. He must have been on some awesome combination of LSD and coffee when he wrote this one. I was trying to come up with some clever post for today considering it has been a while since I posted but thanks to the Mr. Frei I was able to put off being creative for at least another day or so.

I also want to take a second in this post to mention that the Canadian World Ju

nior Championship coach, Benoit Groulx, has stepped down from his position for a head coaching job in the AHL. That leaves Team Canada 4 months and change to find a new coach before the competition. If I was on that team I would be worried. I mean, its not like they have won the last four straight tournaments or anything...

Apparently the Minnesota Wild are "pushing hard" to re-sign forward Marian Gaborik. I'm not quite sure how this is headline worthy at TSN but honestly, is anyone surprised? Apparently Gabo thinks he could be more productive in a more offensive minded team. I ag

ree with that but listen to to this line of stats (thank you TSN):

1. Gaborik was the Wild's leading scorer last year
2. Gaborik is fourth in the league in goals per game played
3. Gaborik is first in the league in goals per game played since the lockout (behind Ovechkin, Kovalchuk and Heatley)
4. Gaborik is first in the league in even strength goals per minute
5. Gaborik is second in the league in goals per 60 minutes played (behind Ovechkin)

That all leaves out that he is also the face of the franchise. Oh yeah, did I mention that Gaborik has 3 years left on his current contract? WTF?

NHL Deputy Commissioner (and future owner of Bettman's job) Bill Daly has once again refused monetary compensation from the KHL for taking Alexander Radulov while he was stil under contract with the Nashville Predators.

"The bottom line from our perspective is that the player has a contract which our rules obligate him to respect,'' Daly said. ''Our rules don't recognize a player (or his new team) being able to 'buy' the way out of an existing contract. It's not a scenario that our existing rules contemplate or allow."

I love how the NHL is playing hardball and not giving in here. Daly is pretty much the man as far as I'm concerned. He is well liked by everyone around the league, including the NHLPA, and always has the league's best interest in the forefront of his mind. For Nashville's sake I hope he can get Radulov back becasue the team's depth at forward is lacking.

Thats it for now, until next time keep two hands on that stick.

News and Notes

So its time to play catch-up once again. Its been a slow news week but I have a lot to post becasue I have been without internet for the last couple of days because I steal my neighbors wifi without her knowledge and it has been down for some reason. That being said, lets jump right into the news:

• All 30 teams now have a coach for the upcoming season. The Islanders brought up the rear as the last team to sign a head coach. Their choice? None other than the AHL coach of the year Scott Gordon. Gordon coached the Providence Bruins to the best record in the league last season and, though he has never coached in the NHL, I feel fairly confident he will eventually help the youthful Islanders squad out of the basement. Coming from the AHL, Gordon has a sense of what it takes to coach and develop a team of youngsters. Undoubtedly he will lean on veterans like Bill Guerin and recently acquired Doug Weight for the first season or so but look for the Islanders to become contenders again in a few years time. On a humorous note, at Gordon's introduction, Guerin handed recently-signed draft pick Josh Bailey his new Islanders sweater with the name Favre on it and the number 4. 
• Sticking with the head coaching theme, the Flyers gave head coach John Stevens a two-year extension on his contract in response to him guiding the team from the worst club in the NHL two seasons ago to a playoff berth this past season (with a little help from free-agency of course. Thank you very much Danny Briere)
• The Sabres signed defenseman Teppo Numminen to a one year extension after Numminen missed every game of last year's campaign but one after having open heart surgery. The steady veteran will be a welcome addition to a Sabres defensive corps that lacked stability.
• Since free-agency started in July we have been hearing that Brian McCabe of the Leafs refuses to waive his no trade clause despite obviously wanting a change in scenery and now we know why. Reports are that McCabe is owed a $2 million signing bonus, which he will receive on September 1 then will be moved to the Florida Panthers. Whoever in his legal team figured that one out is a genius and should receive a large raise. What's 10% of $2,000,000?
• As if Penguins fans didn't endure enough suffering watching Marian Hossa bolt for Detroit, they now hove to cope with the fact that they will undoubtedly be starting the season without defenseman Ryan Whitney. Whitney underwent surgery on his left foot to cure a chronic problem. The recovery time for the surgery is listed as 3-5 months taking him into January at the latest. One can only be left to wonder why the Pens and Whitney waited so long to have this surgery performed.
• From the "Who Cares?" department, former Senators head coach and speech impediment aficionado John Paddock was signed by the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL as a head coach. Paddock will never again coach in the NHL after the train wreck he was responsible for creating in Ottawa last year.
• The Sharks re-signed Ryane Clowe to a one-year deal. Following a disappointing season that was missed almost entirely due to injury, Clowe came alive in the playoffs scoring 5 goals and adding 4 assists. Great signing for a guy fully capable of scoring 30 goals.

Thats it for now. Training camp is a month away, get out your calendars.

The Best of the Best

So I've been pretty bored with very little hockey news to report on so I decided to get a little creative. Here are my picks for the best in each category

Best Slapshot: Chris Pronger-When Pronger really lets one rip its a thing of beauty. He gets his bottom hand well below the halfway point of the stick and just bears down on it. He seals the deal with a perfect follow through and points where he is aiming. My pick is 37 seconds in...

Best One-Timer: Alex Ovechkin-Whenever I think of a one-timer these days, this exact goal comes to mind. Ovie has one of the quickest releases and can just rifle the puck (in addition to his many other off-the-charts hockey skills). The goal is 18 seconds in but I would suggest watching the whole thing because that night was one of the single greatest performances in sports that I have ever witnessed.

 

Best Hands: Pavel Datsyuk-Enough said.

Best Dangler: Evgeni Malkin- The dude can just motor his way through the neutral zone like hes skating  by pylons. My favorite dangle is the first one from this clip but there are a few other good ones.

 

Best Hitter: Dion Phaneuf- This one is a no brainer. Phaneuf is a modern Scott Stevens. If you're coming across the blueline with your head down and Phaneuf is on the ice, you're going to be in a world of hurt.

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Best Skater: Scott Neidermayer-Another no brainer here. Watching this guy skate would make angels cry. He makes it look so effortless and smooth. This video is from his first official skate as a Duck after coming back from retirement. Even rusty he makes most guys in the show look like pee-wees. Scotty also gets my vote for best playoff beard.

Best Hockey Sense: Sidney Crosby-I doubt there will be many people on the planet that would disagree with this pick. Yes, Ovechkin is probably a better goal scorer but Crosby is the ultimate playmaker. This guy sees the ice so well and it shows in his play. Crosby not only knows where he should be at all times but also knows where his teammates are and can find them in the smallest of passing lanes. Crosby also gets my vote for best backhand and worst playoff beard.

Best Fighter: George Parros-The guy just keeps throwing punches and moving forward. He has good etiquette as well as looking like a 70s pornstar. 

*Bonus* Best Flow: Alex Kovalev-AK has dirty flow, its just that simple.

Hilarity

I have been quietly enjoying this series for a while and I feel guilty for not sharing it yet. Puck Daddy has been running a photoshop contest entitled "Gary Bettman, Portraits in Heroism" and the results thus far have been classic. You can check them all out here.

An Open Letter to Mats Sundin

Dear Mats,

Hey buddy, how are things? Are you enjoying your time in Sweden? Whats the weather like there? How are the Swedish ladies? Things back here have been pretty lame recently with the whole Boots DelBaggio thing and the Rangers trying to sue the NHL. Have you been playing any hockey while you're abroad? You're not thinking about jumping ship and joining the KHL are you? I know the media in Toronto can be pretty tough on players at times but I think that's a whole lot better than playing yourself into obscurity like Jagr is going to do. As your friend, I would like to give you a little nudge in the right direction. If there is any part of you that still wants to play hockey then you should come back and pick a team quickly because, to be honest, you're wasting all of our times and seriously screwing over a few teams in the process. I would suggest a playoff contender because, with no Cup and relatively little playoff production, you're a long shot for the Hall of Fame. Have you seen any of the Brett Favre coverage? You don't want to turn out like that do you? Heres the deal: the Leafs are a joke, Vancouver might make the playoffs but don't count on it, the Rangers already have too many top line centers and if you are fielding offers from anyone other than Detroit, Boston or San Jose you must be crazy. That leaves us with one team: Montreal. This would be a great fit for you; Canadian atmosphere, a mix of young talent and veteran experience and a legitimate shot at winning the Cup. Regardless of what you do, MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND SOON AND STOP JERKING AROUND EVERY OTHER TEAM. ITS NOT COOL... AT ALL.

Have a good one,

Ben

If you are too lazy to read that, heres a relatively entertaining video on the subject:

Movie Monday

Well its officially August and, as per usual, there is almost nothing going on in the world of hockey. Here are some of the few things I could scrounge up to post followed by some youtubed clip about hockey:

• The Oilers hired Steve Tambellini as their new GM and "promoted" Kevin Lowe to Director of Hockey Operations. I think they just wanted to get Lowe out of a situation where he would have to face Brian Burke and another incident would occur.
• The Senators avoided arbitration with forward Antoine Vermette. They locked him up to a two year, $5.525 million contract.
• The Blackhawks signed Scotty Bowman to a Senior Advisor position in their front office. They appear to really be doing things right recently. Hopefully this is the year they climb out of the basement and make the playoffs only to be knocked out in the first round by much stronger San Jose or Detroit clubs.
• The Pensblog has a funny post about features that didn't quite make it into the upcoming NHL 09 from EA Sports.
• Puckdaddy has some info on the changes coming to goalie equipment for next season.
• Just out of curiosity I'd like to see who you guys think is a bigger douche: Brett Favre or Mats Sundin. Respond in the comments section.
• Here it is, your Monday Movie:
  

Until next time, keep your head up.