Archive for category NHL Opinion

What Do Recent Injuries Mean For Penguins Trade Gameplan?

From time to time we may begin featuring an article from other sources. Today’s entry comes from of TheHockeyWriters.com.

Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma announced that James Neal and Jordan Staal are the latest injury victims during his ‘State of the IR’ report on Sunday. Staal suffered a left knee injury and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, while Neal broke his foot blocking a shot on Saturday night against New Jersey and will miss “weeks, not days,” according to Bylsma.

The Penguins were already without the services of Sidney Crosby (concussion-like symptoms), Kris Letang (concussion), Arron Asham (upper body), and Dustin Jeffrey (knee), before penalty-killing specialist Craig Adams also had to be helped off the ice on Sunday with a lower-body injury.

Losing Neal and Staal simultaneously is even more difficult to swallow given their contributions on special teams for the Penguins. Neal leads the entire NHL with 10 powerplay goals and Staal is widely regarded as one of the league’s best penalty-killing and shutdown centers.

Following a 2010-11 season that saw Pittsburgh lose 350 man-games due to injury, it was hard to envision a tougher scenario for the team to overcome. With Neal and Staal now out of the lineup for an extended period of time and no timetables available for Crosby and Letang’s return, the Penguins, who currently sit in 8th in the Eastern Conference, could be facing disaster. The team is already on pace for 431 man-games lost due to injury this year.

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Sunday morning NHL rumor roundup and injury report

  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The asking price for either Bobby Ryan or Ryan Getzlaf will be huge. A league executive said they want 2 high-end prospects and 2 1st round draft picks. For the Maple Leafs it would likely cost Joe Colborne and Nazem Kadri plus the draft picks. Garrioch thinks that Getzlaf makes more sense for the Leafs, but not to be surprised if they trade for Ryan. Many people are waiting to see what ball falls first, Blue GM Scott Howson, coach Scott Arniel or Rick Nash. Many think it’s time to ask Rick Nash to waive his no movement clause. There have been no talks between Hal Gill and the Canadiens, and he’ll likely be dealt by the trade deadline. The Blues are looking for help along the blueline. The Lightning are looking for a goaltender. Though it’s being denied by the Sharks, they are willing to discuss Antti Niemi or Antero Niittymaki. Jonathan Bernier could be an option for the Lightning, as well as Wild Josh Harding. They’ve spoken to the Canucks about Cory Schneider but he isn’t going anywhere. Islanders center Frans Nielsen will be a UFA at the end of the season and could be looking for more than $3 million a season. Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford is shopping all of his UFAs: C Tuomo Ruutu, LW Alexei Ponikarovsky, D Bryan Allen, D Jaroslav Spacek and D Tim Gleason. They were also looking to move Joni Pitkanen before he had knee surgery. The Sharks may have interest in Gleason or Spacek. Look for Bob Hartley to be the coach of the Flames next year. The Blue Jackets are trying to trade Antoine Vermette and the Oilers are still trying to trade Ales Hemsky.
  • Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune: Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is not looking for “short-term, quick fixes.”

    “If we do anything, preferably it would be something that makes sense for at least a couple years,” he said Friday. “We have a lot of [prospects] coming that I think will be able to play. It’s exciting what we’re trying to grow here, so I don’t think I’m in a hurry to dismantle a lot of what we’re trying to build. But you look at everything.”

    The Wild would likely be interested in Zach Parise, but more during free agency than through trade. The Wild have lots of defenseman and are rich in goaltending.

  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson injured his hand during the 1st period and didn’t return. His status will be updated today.
  • Katie Carrera via twitter: Capitals defenseman Mike Green didn’t finish last night’s game as he was experiencing tightness in his groin.
  • Calgary Herald: The Flames now have 8 players injured with Brendan Morrison and Scott Hannan going down with an injury. Defenseman Mark Giordano shot pucks during their morning skate. When he’ll return from his hamstring tear is still not known.

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Players with the worst plus/minus so far this season

So the all-star break is upon us (yawn), and in honor this 4 day break, I decided to put together a list of the worst plus/minuses so far this season. I’m still amazed (and annoyed, on my fantasy team) that Kovalchuk leads this category. I know he doesn’t always focus on the defensive side of the things but…..  Finding 4 San Jose Sharks is also a bit of a surprise. Maple Leafs defenseman/forward Brett Lebda is a funny case as he’s a -19 in 22 games, that’s terrible.

Player Team GP +/- G A P ESP SHP PPP
Ilya Kovalchuk NJD 48 -29 14 15 29 16 0 13
Chris Phillips OTT 50 -23 0 3 3 2 0 1
John Tavares NYI 46 -21 18 18 36 21 0 15
Henrik Tallinder NJD 49 -20 2 6 8 5 1 2
Brett Lebda TOR 22 -19 0 1 1 0 0 1
Patrick Marleau SJS 50 -19 18 18 36 17 1 18
David Clarkson NJD 49 -19 8 4 12 10 0 2
Phil Kessel TOR 49 -19 19 15 34 21 1 12
Simon Gagne TBL 33 -19 9 4 13 8 0 5
Andy Greene NJD 49 -19 3 15 18 12 0 6
James Wisniewski NYI, MTL 45 -19 5 28 33 12 0 21
Filip Kuba OTT 32 -18 0 4 4 2 0 2
Sergei Gonchar OTT 50 -17 6 15 21 5 0 16
Dennis Wideman FLA 49 -17 6 19 25 12 0 13
Erik Karlsson OTT 48 -17 8 20 28 14 0 14
Nick Foligno OTT 50 -16 8 11 19 13 0 6
Dominic Moore TBL 46 -15 8 9 17 14 0 3
Kris Versteeg TOR 46 -15 12 19 31 18 0 13
Blake Comeau NYI 48 -15 13 17 30 21 0 9
Rich Peverley ATL 52 -14 13 15 28 17 2 9
Adam Mair NJD 43 -14 1 1 2 2 0 0
Kristian Huselius CBJ 27 -14 9 6 15 10 0 5
Olli Jokinen CGY 48 -14 9 21 30 19 0 11
Devin Setoguchi SJS 41 -14 10 5 15 12 0 3
Joe Thornton SJS 48 -14 13 31 44 18 1 25
Joe Pavelski SJS 42 -14 9 22 31 15 0 16
Tyler Bozak TOR 49 -14 8 12 20 13 0 7
BJ Crombeen STL 49 -14 5 5 10 9 1 0

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NHL Attendance for each team after 20 home games

So we continue our look at NHL attendance this season. Our first look was at Home Attendance after 10 games, and here’s our 2nd update after 20 home games for each team. A NY snow storm dropped the Isles attendance below 10,000, but after their next home game, they were above. We’ve included teams attendance after 10 games, as well as the last couple years.


  Team
Total
20 Games 10-11 AVG
% Capacity
10 Games 10-11 AVG
09-10 AVG
08-09 AVG
1 Canadiens
425,460
21,273
100
21,273
21,273
21,273
2 Blackhawks
424,368
21,218
107.6
21,069
21,356
22,247
3 Flyers
391,883
19,594
100.5
19,460
19,535
19,545
4 Maple Leafs
386,169
19,308
102.7
19,379
19,546
19,865
5 Flames
385,780
19,289
100
19,289
19,289
19,289
6 Red Wings
385,506
19,275
96.1
19,284
19,260
19,312
7 Blues
383,000
19,150
100
19,150
18,883
18,554
8 Canucks
377,200
18,860
100.3
18,860
18,810
18,630
9 Capitals
367,951
18,397
100
18,397
18,277
18,097
10 Sabres
366,391
18,319
98
18,280
18,529
18,531
11 Penguins
364,353
18,217
100.7
18,184
17,078
16,975
12 Kings
361,311
18,065
97.7
18,083
17,313
16,488
13 NY Rangers
360,232
18,011
99
17,970
18,269
18,949
14 Senators
358,281
17,914
96.8
17,911
18,076
18,172
15 Wild
352,749
17,637
97.6
17,565
17,388
17,039
16 Bruins
351,300
17,565
100
17,562
17,558
17,488
17 Sharks
351,240
17,562
100.4
17,462
18,415
18,568
18 Oilers
336,780
16,839
100
16,839
16,839
16,839
19 Lightning
335,444
16,772
84.9
16,182
14,979
15,010
20 Predators
319,991
15,999
93.5
15,964
15,497
16,497
21 Hurricanes
310,804
15,540
83
15,362
15,240
16,572
22 Panthers
304,711
15,235
79.1
15,021
15,146
15,621
23 Avalanche
298,810
14,940
83
14,421
15,168
16,990
24 Stars
298,305
14,915
80.5
14,416
15,535
15,790
25 Ducks
294,760
14,738
85.8
14,153
13,947
15,429
26 Devils
281,204
14,060
79.8
13,861
17,215
17,680
27 Blue Jackets
262,442
13,122
72.4
11,762
15,416
15,543
28 Thrashers
248,210
12,410
66.9
11,625
13,607
14,626
29 Coyotes
216,818
10,840
61.9
11,069
12,735
13,773
30 NY Islanders
199,231
9,961
61.1
10,418
11,989
14,875

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Pronger injured … Callahan breaks hand … Sutter would do Phaneuf trade again, um what? Sturm targets next Wednesday

  • Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News: New York Rangers forward Ryan Callahan broke his hand while blocking a shot. Early word is that he could miss 6 weeks. Todd White will likely return to the lineup tonight in place of Callahan.
  • Eric Francis of the Calgary Herald: Flames GM Darryl Sutter says he would make the Dion Phaneuf trade over again (in case you forgot the deal was Dion Phaneuf, Freddie Sjostrom, and Keith Aulie for Matt Stajan, Niclas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers). Sutter said if they didn’t trade Dion, they would have lost Rene Bourque and Mark Giordano. Bourque signed for six years, $20 million and Giordano signed for five years, 20.1 million. To me this doesn’t make sense. Phanuef and Sjostrom carry about a $7.25 million cap hit this year. Stajan is at $3.5 million (crazy deal he signed this summer), Hagman is a $3 million cap hit, and they had signed White to a 1 year, $2.999 million deal before trading him to Carolina. According to my math, that’s almost $9.5 million in salary they added compared $7.5 million heading to Toronto (and I’m not including the money they wasted on signing Jokinen).
  • Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal: Taylor Hall’s role with the Edmonton Oilers may expand to include penalty killing. Oilers coach Tom Renney almost did so on Tuesday against the Leafs but decided against it. The Oilers struggles this year allows them to try things they may not otherwise have done.
  • Helene Elliott of the LA Times: Marco Sturm finally joined his new Kings teammates yesterday for practice. He practiced on the 4th line as he still recovers from knee surgery. He is targeting next Wednesday for his LA Kings debut against the Oilers.
  • Thrash, the Atlanta Thrashers mascot steals team zamboni and goes for a joyride.

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NHL Attendance for each team after 10 home games

Attendance has been a hot topic at various points this season. Record lows are hitting some arenas despite the fact that the team is winning. I’ve been keeping track of home attendance and have put together attendance figures for each NHL team after 10 home dates, along with their numbers from the last 2 seasons.

Will Phoenix’s season average drop below 10,000? Will fans in Columbus and Atlanta start to recognize the teams current success? Despite being in playoff contention and not having an owner, will fans in Dallas start to head back to the arena? The Stars are averaging 3,354 less than last year.

Don’t hesitate to leave a comment on your thoughts on NHL attendance so far this season. I plan on posting an update at the 20 game mark.

Rk. Team
Gms
Total
10-11 Ave
% Cap.
09-10 Ave
08-09 Ave
1 Canadiens
10
212,730
21,273
100
21,273
21,273
2 Blackhawks
10
210,696
21,069
106.9
21,356
22,247
3 Flyers
10
194,602
19,460
99.8
19,535
19,545
4 Red Wings
10
193,798
19,379
96.6
19,546
19,865
5 Flames
10
192,890
19,289
100
19,289
19,289
6 Maple Leafs
10
192,842
19,284
102.6
19,260
19,312
7 Blues
10
191,500
19,150
100
18,883
18,554
8 Canucks
10
188,600
18,860
100.3
18,810
18,630
9 Capitals
10
183,971
18,397
100
18,277
18,097
10 Sabres
10
182,801
18,280
97.8
18,529
18,531
11 Penguins
10
181,843
18,184
100.5
17,078
16,975
12 Kings
10
180,831
18,083
97.7
17,313
16,488
13 Senators
10
179,701
17,970
97.1
18,269
18,949
14 NY Rangers
10
179,112
17,911
98.4
18,076
18,172
15 Bruins
10
175,650
17,565
100
17,388
17,039
16 Sharks
10
175,620
17,562
100.4
17,558
17,488
17 Wild
10
174,624
17,462
96.7
18,415
18,568
18 Oilers
10
168,390
16,839
100
16,839
16,839
19 Predators
10
161,825
16,182
94.6
14,979
15,010
20 Lightning
10
159,641
15,964
80.8
15,497
16,497
21 Hurricanes
10
153,620
15,362
82
15,240
16,572
22 Panthers
10
150,218
15,021
78
15,146
15,621
23 Ducks
10
144,214
14,421
84
15,168
16,990
24 Devils
10
144,160
14,416
81.8
15,535
15,790
25 Avalanche
10
141,536
14,153
78.6
13,947
15,429
26 Stars
10
138,619
13,861
74.8
17,215
17,680
27 Blue Jackets
10
117,623
11,762
64.9
15,416
15,543
28 Thrashers
10
116,257
11,625
62.7
13,607
14,626
29 NY Islanders
10
110,699
11,069
67.9
12,735
13,773
30 Coyotes
10
104,185
10,418
59.5
11,989
14,875

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Bruins, Predators injury updates … PPP look at Leafs coaching situation … DGB has GM meeting agenda … Bloge Salming video

  • James Murphy of ESPN Boston: Both Marc Savard and Marco Sturm are ready to make final push to return to the Bruins lineup according to Peter Chiarelli. Chiarelli wouldn’t say that Savard is close, “but he’s getting there.” Chiarelli estimates Sturm will return early December.
  • Bryan Mullen of the Tennesssean: Both Ryan Suter (lower body) and Martin Erat (lower body) practiced with Predator teammates for 1/2 hour, after skating by themselves beforehand. Suter may return Saturday against the Blackhawks.
  • Fan 590 Audio: Dino Ciccarelli talking about induction ceremony and his career.
  • Pension Plan Puppets: A good read for people looking for more Leafs stuff. History Lesson: Why Ron Wilson Should Get Fired ASAP: “The question isn’t whether Ron Wilson is or isn’t a good coach. The question is, will replacing Ron Wilson improve our record? If the answer is “yes”, obviously, we should do it as soon as possible.”
  • Down Goes Brown: A hilarious look at what some GM’s might want to talk about during the GM meetings that are talking place today. One of the funniest blogs out there.
  • BlogeSalming: Be sure to check out his other classic videos.

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Tomas Kaberle Trade Situation Brewing

The Tomas Kaberle potential trade situation appears to be coming down to the wire. This seemingly never ending story will come to an end tomorrow night at midnight one way or the other, but as it stands right now there really isn’t anything new to report.

We will be following the situation closely, and will update any situation that occurs, but for now we wait…

For all the Maple Leaf fans out there, I sure hope Brian Burke knows what he’s doing here. I would think that keeping Kaberle after all of this, and extending his contract beyond next year, isn’t really an option anymore. All the talk of “being professional” and “it’s just business” is just that, talk.

You have to think that Kaberle has already left Toronto emotionally, and to bring him back next season and expect him to be “professional”, is ridiculous.

How would you feel if you were in the same position with your career? You can say that it’s part of being a professional athelete, that it come’s with the territory when you make all that money, but that’s niave. See, once you make all that money it becomes less important, financial worries take a backseat to other concerns, concerns that the majority of the public ignore while focusing on making money themselves.

Respect, Loyalty, Legacy, etc… These are all currencies to appeal to athletes who already have money to give more to the team. How else do you get a bunch of millionaire’s to block 100 mph slapshots with their bodies? I’m not suggesting that Kaberle was the leagues best shot-blocker of course, but there is no doubt that whatever intangibles the Maple Leafs were getting from the man behind the professional died this summer.

With this in mind, I’m inclined to think Tomas Kaberle will be moved tomorrow at some point, the big question will be whether or not Brian Burke get’s the big return he’s been seeking.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs sign German Forward Marcel Mueller

“The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Marcel Mueller to a two-year entry-level contract Wednesday.

The 22-year-old scored 24 goals and added 32 assists in 53 games last season with the Cologne Sharks of the German Elite League.

He has 43 goals and 61 assists in 198 career games in Germany.” (Source:The Toronto Star)

I don’t think this is a signing that will address the Brian Burke’s Maple Leafs need for a top six forward, let alone a top two center. I guess we’ll have to see what Burke has up his sleeve…

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31 players file for Salary Arbitration

The below players all filed for arbitration.

The majority of players signed before their arbitration hearing, though a few did go. Also check out our Top 25 UFA’s, and complete UFA list.

Player Team Arbitration Results
James Wisniewski Anaheim Signed before arbitration, then traded to the NY Isles. 1 year, $3.25 million.
Ben Eager Atlanta Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $965,000.
Andrew Ladd Atlanta Signed before arbitrtation. 1 year, $2.35 million.
Clarke MacArthur Atlanta Awarded $2.4 million, Atlanta walks away.
Gregory Campbell Boston Signed before arbitration.. 2 years, $2.2 million.
Blake Wheeler Boston Was awarded 1 year, $2.2 million.
Tim Kennedy Buffalo Was awarded 1 year, $1 million
Ian White Calgary Signed before arbitartion. 1 year, $2,999,999
Antti Niemi Chicago Was awarded 1 year, $2.75 million. Chicago walks away.
Jared Boll Columbus Signed before arbitration.. 2 years
Anton Stralman Columbus Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $1.95 million.
Fabian Brunnstrom Dallas Signed before arbitration . 1 year , $675,000.
Derek Meech Detroit Signed before arbitration.. 1 year, $500,000.
Gilbert Brule Edmonton Signed before arbitration. 2 years, $3.7 million.
Jeff Deslauriers Edmonton Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $1.05 million.
Jean-Francois Jacques Edmonton Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $615,000.
Brad Richardson Los Angeles Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $900,000.
Mark Fraser New Jersey Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $500,000.
Matt Moulson NY Islanders Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $2.45 million.
Daniel Girardi NY Rangers Signed before arbitration. 4 years, $13.3 million.
Chris Campoli Ottawa Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $1.4 million.
Peter Regin Ottawa Signed before arbitration. 2 years, $2 million.
Daniel Carcillo Philadelphia Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $1.075 million
Cam Janssen St. Louis Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $600,000.
Nate Thompson Tampa Bay Signed before arbitration. 1 year , $625,000.
Tanner Glass Vancouver Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $650,000.
Jannik Hansen Vancouver Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $825,000.
Mason Raymond Vancouver Signed before arbitration. 2 years, $5.1 million.
Eric Fehr Washington Signed before arbitration. 2 years, $4.4 million.
Tomas Fleischmann Washington Signed before arbitration. 1 year, $2.8 million.
Jeff Schultz Washington Signed before arbitration. 4 years, $11 million.

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Matthew Lombardi Signs With The Nashville Predators

“Matthew Lombardi is headed out of the desert and into the Music City, signing a three-year, $10.5 million contract with the Nashville Predators.

The 28-year-old centre had spent the last two seasons with the Coyotes before becoming a free agent.” (Source:TSN)

It’s just my opinion but this is the guy the Calgary Flames should have brought back…

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Chris Mason Signs With Atlanta Thrashers-Atlanta also Trades for Ladd

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed free agent goaltender Chris Mason. The deal is worth $3.7 Million over 2 years with a $1.850 Million cap hit.

I’m surprised that Mason went so cheap but this appears to be a bad year to be an un-restricted free agent goaltender. It seems like teams are only willing to pay blue chip, franchise goaltenders and the list that qualify for that title is small and shrinking.

UPDATE: The Atlanta Thrashers have acquired Andrew Ladd from The Chicago Blackhawks for defencemen Ivan Vishnevsky and a second round pick.

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