Archive for March, 2011

Wilson back with Leafs next year … Wideman out week-to-week … Starting goalies for tonight

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on March 31st, 2011

  • James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: “General manager Brian Burke confirmed as much Wednesday, saying Wilson has “done a marvellous job” and would remain behind the bench for 2011-12.” “I said back in the fall, we would not consider a change, even when all the hounds were baying,” Burke said. “I feel the same way now. Ron is coaching this team next year.”
  • Katie Strang via twitter: Al Montoya will start for the Islanders tonight. Michael Grabner is doubtful, Zenon Konopka given the go ahead if he feels up to it.
  • Allen Panzeri via twitter: Scott Clemmensen will start for the Panthers tonight against the Senators. Tomas Vokoun still out with a bad back.

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2,000 Saves in a Single Season

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on March 31st, 2011

On March 29th, 2011, Cam Ward recorded 38 saves in a game. Save #34 in that game put him at 2,000 saves for the season, joining 11 other NHL goalies to hit 2,000 saves in a single season. Roberto Luongo, Curtis Joseph and Dominik Hasek have accomplished the feat twice.

Player
Team
Year
Games
Saves
GAA
SV %
Roberto Luongo
FLA
2003-04
72
2,303
2.43
0.931
Roberto Luongo
FLA
2005-06
75
2,275
2.97
0.914
Felix Potvin
TOR
1996-97
74
2,214
3.15
0.908
Cam Ward *
CAR
2010-11
74
2,191
2.56
0.923
Marc Denis
CBJ
2001-02
77
2,172
3.09
0.903
Curtis Joseph
STL
1993-94
71
2,169
3.10
0.911
Bill Ranford
EDM
1993-94
71
2,089
3.48
0.898
Craig Anderson
COL
2009-10
71
2,047
2.64
0.917
Tomas Vokoun
FLA
2007-08
69
2,033
2.68
0.919
Dominik Hasek
BUF
1996-97
67
2,024
2.27
0.930
Martin Brodeur
NJ
2006-07
78
2,011
2.18
0.922
Miikka Kiprusoff
CAL
2006-07
74
2,009
2.46
0.917
Curtis Joseph
STL
1992-93
68
2,006
3.02
0.911
Dominik Hasek
BUFF
1997-98
72
2,002
2.09
0.932

**1983-84 was when they first started reporting saves, sourced from Hockey-Reference.

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College Free Agent – Stephane Da Costa

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents on March 31st, 2011

Mar. 31st:

  • 12:27 PM: Mike McMahon via twitter: Sources saying that Da Costa could make his NHL debut with the Senators on Saturday against the Maple Leafs.
  • 10:09 AM: Mike McMahon via twitter: McMahon has heard from 2 sources that “believe” the Stephane Da Costa is deciding between the Senators and Wild.

Mar. 30th: From a series of tweets from Mike McMahon of Warrior Rink Rat

Mar. 28th: This 5’11, 180 lb, native of Paris, France has been on the radar for quite some time, especially after his 45 point (in 34 games) season with Merrimack College last year (Div. 1, NCAA). After being named the Division 1 Rookie of the year, he was pursued by many NHL teams only to return for another year with Merrimack.

His hands are like butter, using them to deke the pants off any who oppose him. The 21 year old forward had another great season with 14 goals and 44 points in only 32 games.

Written by Brian Huddle on Leafs Nation Weekly

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Hiller still has Vertigo symptoms … Miller could return on weekend … Kaberle and Bruins to talk after season … Oshie to meet GM and coach today

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on March 31st, 2011

  • Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller admitted that he’s still having some vertigo related symptoms. He doesn’t know when he’ll be fully recovered or when he could return to game action.

    “Yeah, it’s something that’s still up and down,” Hiller said in his first extended comments since that start. ”Some days are better, some days are not so good. I guess it’s just going to take its time. I still found out that I’m not quite where I wanted to be. All I can do is give myself time. Do my exercise. Do my stuff.

    “Hopefully it’s going to get better. I kind of like stopped setting myself a timeline or anything because nobody can really tell me how long it’s going to take.”

  • John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Sabres goalie Ryan Miller could return on Saturday against the Capitals or Sunday against the Hurricanes.

    “He has an upper-body injury that we list currently day-to-day, not week-to-week. Right now we’re on day-to-day,” said Regier, who declined to say whether Miller underwent concussion testing. “I’m going to comment on only an upper-body injury. That’s the extent of it.”

  • Kevin Allen of the USA Today: Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski (broken orbital bone) could return in the next couple days, possibly tomorrow. Center Martin Hanzal (undisclosed) could be back before the end of the season.
  • Joe MacDonald of ESPN Boston: Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli on Tomas Kaberle contract situation,

    “There hasn’t been any beyond the initial discussion I had with his agent and we decided to talk after the season,” Chiarelli said. “I have a good relationship with his agent and I expect there to be good negotiations once the season is over. This period is also a feeling-out period for both Tomas and for us, so that’s the way we’re approaching it.”

  • Joe MacDonald of ESPN Boston: Mark Recchi has played 23 seasons and had this to say, “If we win a championship, I’m gone.” If the Bruins don’t win this year, he said he’d consider coming back for another year.

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Crosby gets clearance to practice with teammates … Miller to sit for Sabres … Roy hopes for 2nd round … Parise hopes for Saturday

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on March 30th, 2011

  • Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sidney Crosby has been cleared by doctors to begin practicing with teammates tomorrow morning. He will travel with the team to Florida. He’ll still need to get clearance from doctors before he’s able to get back in a game.
  • John Giannone via twitter: Jonas Enroth in net for the Sabres as Ryan Miller has an upper-body injury. Took an heavy Dion Phaneuf slap shot last night.
  • Mike Harrington via twitter: Derek Roy: “Today I took a big step, started skating hard and got my heart rate up.” He is aiming for the 2nd round if the Sabres make it that far.
  • Rich Chere via twitter: Zach Parise is looking to be in the Devils lineup on Saturday against the Canadiens. Tom Gulitti via twitter: Zach Parise, “I think I need a couple more practices. I wasn’t ready quite ready to go tonight, so we decided to wait a couple more days.”
  • USCHO via twitter: Hobey Baker finalists: Boston College’s Cam Atkinson, North Dakota’s Matt Frattin, Miami’s Andy Miele.

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Selanne to make decision on next year around July 1st … Crawford-Hawks talks to wait … Blue Jackets could trade 1st round pick … Avalanche could target goalies

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 30th, 2011

  • Anaheim Ducks via twitter: “Teemu Selanne told media [yesterday] that he’d like to decide on whether to play next season around July 1.”
  • Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago: Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford will be a RFA, and they will be waiting until after the season to discuss contract extension. “[General manager] Stan Bowman phoned me and we talked and I told him we are going to wait until the end of the season,” Gilles Lupien said in an  interview. Crawford is 29-15 with a 2.27 GAA and 4 shutouts.
  • Dan Rosen of NHL.com: Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp could skate this weekend, he’s missed the last 4 games with a knee injury. They’d like to get him into a game before the end of the season. David Bolland has missed 8 consecutive game with a concussion, no update on his progress.
  • Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch: After being given a vote of confidence, Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson, he’ll have plenty of cap space next year after they deal with their 4 RFA’s and 8 UFA’s. They could look at bringing in a quality defenseman and center. They could pull off a draft day trade.
  • Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: If given the option to pick 1 free agent to go after, Portzline thinks the Blue Jackets should go after Ilya Bryzgalov. He’d likely cost $6 million a year, it’s not likely they they go after him though. Portzline would also be shocked if they don’t trade their 1st round pick this year. They only have 2 defenseman under contract for next year.
  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Dater thinks the Avalanche will explore the FA goalie market this off-season, and thinks they should look at Bryzgalov and Tomas Vokoun if they are available. He also brings up the idea of trading their 1st round pick (Top 5) for a goalie like Cory Schneider (Van) or Steve Bernier (LA). The Avs could look at moving one of their centers as they are deep down the middle. Paul Stastny could be an option, and has a $6.6 million cap hit. Dater put the odds at more than 50-50 that they re-sign Brian Elliott. Dater on possibly trading the Avs 1st round pick (could be top 3): Raises the question of sending the 1st for Schneider or Bernier. What about for Roberto Luongo or even Jonathan Quick? The Avs could still get the Blues 1st round pick from this year if the Blues finish 11th or better. Free agents like Bryzgalov and Vokoun may not want to sign with another young team.
  • Dan Rosen of NHL.com: Red Wings GM Ken Holland said that Jimmy Howard could be back in uniform tonight, and if not, he should be ready for Saturday.

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Oshie suspended 2 games by Blues … Parise unsure about tomorrow … Bertuzzi won’t be suspended … Starting goalies

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Videos on March 29th, 2011

  • Tom Gulitti via twitter: Lines at NJ Devils practice today: Parise-Zajac-Palmieri; Kovalchuk-Josefson-Zubrus; Rolston-Elias-Tedenby; Mair-Steckel-Clarkson; Zharkov-Pelley.
  • Tom Gulitti of the Bergon Record: Zach Parise is still not sure if he’ll be able to go tomorrow night, but he’ll play in at least 1 of the next 3 games. He took part in his 3rd full practice today.

    “It would be the ability to have a couple more practices,” Parise said. “My biggest thing is wanting to play the game and only concentrating on the game and not worrying my knee, not worrying about my timing. I understand that the pace is going to be tough at the start, but I want the injury to be the last thing on my mind. I think you’re pretty vulnerable when you’re concerned with things like that, so I don’t want that to be the worry.”

    Parise contract status, RFA at season’s end, has no bearing on him wanting to get into some games this year.

    “I don’t think I have anything to prove,” he said. “That’s the least of my concerns right now is whether it’s going to hurt me or help me going into free agency. I don’t think it’s going to hurt. I don’t think it’s going to help either way. It’s only for me (that he wants to play), for my own state of mind.”

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Kopitar to have surgery tomorrow … Hamhuis could be out week or longer … Green skates, Arnott practices … Glencross could get a nice raise, maybe not in Calgary

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News on March 29th, 2011

  • Rich Hammond of the LA Kings Insider: Anze Kopitar will have surgery on his ankle/leg on Wednesday and is likely done for the year, even if they go deep in the playoffs. There was torn ligaments caused by the ankle sprain.
  • Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis could be out a week or longer after suffering his 2nd concussion of the year, 4th in his career. He was able to fly with the team to Nashville, watch practice, and planned on going out for dinner with former teammates. Things he may not have been able to do if his symptoms were bad. Mikael Samuelsson won’t play tonight but is possible for Thursday. Alex Edler and Andrew Alberts are expected to skate on Thursday as they begin to get ready for a playoff return. Tanner Glass is day-to-day with a rib injury.
  • Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Capitals defenseman Mike Green skated in full pads for 25 minutes yesterday, but still hasn’t had a full skate with teammates. He’s feeling better but still experiencing some symptoms, and hopes to practice in a week.

    “Here and there, but nothing that’s progressing to get worse — it’s always getting better,” Green said. “We’ve done a great job here with the trainers and the staff of taking the right procedures for me to get better. The unfortunate part is that it does take time. It’s nice to get a good skate and hopefully now I can get back on the ice and back playing with the team.”

    “I think it would be good” to get several practices in first, Green said. “I think it’s going to take some time to get back in shape. I haven’t skated for a long time. I’ll skate by myself here and hopefully get some practices in with the team and get comfortable again. I don’t want to rush into the game too much. I haven’t played for a while. I want to be in the best shape possible here going into the playoffs.”

  • Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Jason Arnott took part in full practice yesterday. He’s missed the last 6 games with a lower-body injury. “After a day off, it’s a little rough, but not too bad,” Arnott said, before addressing whether he would be able to play on Tuesday against Carolina. “We’ll see how it responds today and go out in the morning skate tomorrow and then we’ll see.” A end of the week return may be the most likely “I think so. We got some good skates while the team [was] gone. We’ll just have to see how it goes.”
  • Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun: Francis thinks that Curtis Glencross could triple his $1.2 million salary on the open market this year. He now has 23 goals while bringing toughness and has penalty killing ability. Calgary may not be able to afford him now, especially with Daymond Langkow and his $4.5 million salary have received clearance to return. Langkow’s return may also force out Brendan Morrison as he’ll be looking for a raise on his $725,000 salary.
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: Jordan Leopold’s appointment with a hand specialist was postponed because he came down with the flu. Leopold broke his hand on Friday, and if he’ll be able to return for the playoffs could depend on if he needs surgery or not.

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A Couple afternoon NHL notes involving the Red Wings, Devils, Ducks and Blue Jackets

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on March 28th, 2011

  • Chris McCosky of the Detroit News: Jimmy Howard’s MRI results from yesterday showed only a sprain and no structural damage. Howard seemed hopeful for Wednesday, but “He’s going to take a little break and we don’t know when he’ll be back,” Babcock said. “The bottom line, like with any player that has an injury, he’s got to get back, get healthy and get playing. Ideally, it won’t be too long.” Joey MacDonald will start tonight, Thomas McCollum was recalled.
  • Aaron Portzline via twitter: Blue Jackets fans should keep Cory Schneider’s name in mind this summer. (reference Tom Reed’s article that we posted this morning)

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Hamhuis suffers concussion … Could Schneider be moved this summer? Contract talks for Parise, Markov, and Weber will wait until after season

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Videos on March 28th, 2011

  • Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis suffered his 2nd concussion of the season (4th of his career) in the 1st period last night. Video of injury at bottom of entry.”If there is more (concussions) to come, I think you have to take a look at what is important,” … “If I ever felt like it’s like putting myself at risk long term, then I’ll have to step back and think about things.”
  • Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: Patrick Sharp’s knee injury is healing well according to coach Joel Quenneville. “I won’t say exactly when he’s hitting the ice, but he’s making some rapid progress here,” Quenneville said. “We’re really pleased and encouraged he’s been able to ratchet up his off-ice training and conditioning as well. I don’t have a number of days when he can get back on the ice, but we’re happy with his progress.”
  • Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch: Canucks backup goalie, Cory Schneider has one left on his current contract, and there is speculation that the Canucks could move him this summer rather than loss him as a free agent.
  • Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald: Michael Ryder was a healthy scratch again for the Bruins last night, his 2nd scratch since the end of February. He only has 2 assists in his last 11 games. ESPN reported on the weekend that an unnamed source said that Marc Savard was had “real memory problems and he’s quite worried about it.” Conroy emailed Savard’s agent who said it was “not inaccurate.”
  • Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Contract talks between the Devils and Zach Parise won’t begin until after the season. Alex Ovechkin and Jason Arnott should be back this week. The Canadiens and Andei Markov will wait until after the season to talk contract. LeBrun would be surprised if Islanders coach Jack Capuano isn’t back next year. The Predators and Shea Weber will also wait until after the season to talk contract. Joe Sakic took a front-office job with the Avalanche and may follow the same path as Steve Yzerman did before landing a GM job.

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Kopitar breaks ankle … Crosby could be back before end of season … NHL Sources say and Coaches Corner videos

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Videos on March 27th, 2011

  • Helene Elliott of the LA Times: The LA Kings have lost Anze Kopitar for at least 6 weeks with a broken ankle. He will have an MRI on Monday to determin the full extent of the injury. The Kings also lost Justin Williams last week. GM Lombardi said he can’t recall Brayden Schenn until his team finishes their season.
  • Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sidney Crosby could be getting cleared by team doctors soon, possibly within a week. He would begin practicing with hope of being ready for the playoffs, if not sooner.
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold will likley miss at least the rest of the regular season with a broken hand. He’ll see a hand specialist on Monday to determine the full extent of the injury.
  • Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Brooks wonder if the Blue Jackets would ever consider seeing what they could get in return for Rick Nash. The Rangers would certainly be interested.
  • Joe Haggerty via twitter: Stephane Da Costa’s college season is now done at Merrimack, at least 10-15 teams could be interested in signing the college free agent.
  • Eric Francis of the Calgary Herald: Jay Feaster is the acting GM of the Flames, and a decision on to extend or not won’t be made until  “after the Stanley Cup parade” according to Flames president Ken King.
  • NHL Sources Say – Hockeycentral looks at the possibility of a Sidney Crosby return this season. Pronger and Crosby could get a couple games in before end of the season. Phoenix Coyotes bond issue
  • Don Cherry’s Coaches Corner

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Reports that Markov rejected Canadiens offer … Leclaire and MacDonald to have surgery … Orpik to return next week … Ovie to practice on Monday

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News on March 26th, 2011

  • Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette: There was a report yesterday that UFA defenseman Andrei Markov had rejected a 1 year, $5.75 million contract from the Canadiens.“All I can tell you is that (Canadiens general manager) Pierre Gauthier and I have agreed to deal with (Markov’s) status at the end of the year and not now,” Meehan said late in the afternoon from Edmonton.“I haven’t talked to anybody (about the report) and I wouldn’t talk to anybody about any discussions I’ve had with Pierre. I could waste my whole day dealing with rumours from Montreal.”
  • Tony Marinaro via twitter: Sources are saying that Andrei Markov wants to rejoin the Canadiens if they go deep in the playoffs but his surgeon has ruled that out.
  • Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen: Pascal Leclaire’s days with the Senators appear to be over, as he’ll be rehabbing his hip for 3 to 4 months after surgery. He isn’t worried about finding a job next year. “Right now, fix my leg, that’s the most important thing,” he said. “And after that, we’ll figure something out. That’s why we have agents. I have a lot of confidence in (agent) Don Meehan. I haven’t become a bad goalie because I got hurt. I was playing pretty well this year.”
  • Arthur Staple via twitter: Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald has a torn labrum that will require surgery. He’s done for the year and possibly into next year.
  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Avalanche: The Avalanche will soon announce that they have signed prospect Tyson Barrie to an entry level deal. In the last 2 weeks they have signed Calvin Pickard, Stefan Elliot and Joey Hishon.

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