1995-96: Colorado acquires Dave Hannan from the Buffalo Sabres for a 6th round pick.

• Positives: Hannan only played 4 regular season games for the Avs, but provided valuable depth in the playoffs and played 13 postseason games for the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
• Negatives: Hannan’s solid play erroneously convinced Lacroix that any time a player with the last name “Hannan” became available, Lacroix should sign him no matter how ridiculous the cost.

1997-98: Colorado acquires Tom Fitzgerald from Florida for the rights to Mark Parrish and a 3rd round pick.

• Positives: Fitzgerald was a key player for the Cinderella Florida Panthers of two years prior, and provided a veteran presence.
• Negatives: Fitzgerald was so disappointed that Avs fans don’t throw rats on the ice after scoring goals, he decided not to score any during a 7 game playoff loss to Edmonton.

1998-99: Colorado acquires Theoren Fleury and Chris Dingman from Calgary for Rene Corbet, Robyn Regehr, Wade Belak, and a 2nd round pick.

• Positives: The effects of Denver’s high altitude had little impact on Fleury, due to the diminutive winger being approximately 15 feet closer to sea level than his normal-sized teammates.
• Negatives: Colorado gave up Robyn Regehr in the deal, who certainly didn’t come back to haunt the Avs in any way, shape, or form during the subsequent 12 seasons he spent as a divisional rival continuously pounding on Colorado’s top-line players or anything.

1999-2000: Colorado acquires Ray Bourque and Dave Andreychuk from Boston for Brian Rolston, Sami Pahlsson, Martin Grenier, and a first round pick.

• Positives: Bourque was one of the biggest trade deadline prizes to be captured in years, eventually fulfilling his destiny and winning the Stanley Cup in his final season in the NHL.
• Negatives: Every player that’s been traded to Colorado since Bourque that spent longer than 25 minutes with the team now expects to have his number retired too.

2000-01: Colorado acquires Rob Blake and Steven Reinprecht from Los Angeles for Adam Deadmarsh, Aaron Miller, a first round pick, and a player to be named later.

• Positives: Rob Blake and his giant ass gave the Avs two dominant defensive pairings, and was the final piece to the championship puzzle en route to the franchise’s second Stanley Cup.
• Negatives: Seeing Adam Deadmarsh in another team’s jersey periodically shows up in my nightmares.

2001-02: Colorado acquires Darius Kasparaitis from Pittsburgh for Ville Nieminen and Rick Berry.

• Positives: Kasparaitis brought a fearsome presence to the Avs’ blueline, and was surprisingly the team’s best defenseman throughout their 21-game playoff run.
• Negatives: The Avalanche have been unable to replace the high quality Joker Smile that Ville Nieminen brought to the table. That guy is wasting his life if he’s not dressing in purple velour every day.

2002-03: Colorado acquires Bates Battaglia from Carolina for Radim Vrbata.

• Positives: Uh…well…give me a second on this one. How about a few more seconds? Oh yeah, Colorado turned the useless Battaglia into grimy veteran beast Steve Konowalchuk early the following season. Loved that guy.
• Negatives: Every time I think of the fact that the Avalanche could have had Radim Vrbata playing alongside Paul Stastny for the past few seasons, I cry my own tears.

2003-04: Colorado acquires Chris Gratton, Ossi Vaananen, and a 2nd round pick for Derek Morris and Keith Ballard.

• Positives: That second round pick turned into the aforementioned Paul Stastny. So there’s that.
• Negatives: Watching Colorado cut the cord with the final link to the disastrous Chris Drury trade closed the book on what was the beginning of the end of the Avalanche mini-dynasty. Yes, I’m still bitter about the Drury trade. No, I won’t ever not be bitter about the Drury trade.

2005-06: Colorado acquires Jim Dowd from Chicago for a 4th round pick.

• Positives: Dowd only had to walk down the hallway to join his new team, as the Avs and Hawks were playing one another that evening.
• Negatives: People whose first and last names add up to a total of two syllables give me the heebie-jeebies. Circus freaks.

2006-07: Colorado acquires Scott Parker from San Jose for a 6th round pick.

• Positives: Having Parker back in town allowed the Avs’ skill players greater freedom to roam the ice, without fear of cheapshots or excessively hard play, since other teams knew they would have to answer to The Sheriff.
• Negatives: That entire last sentence was a complete and utter lie, so now I’m a liar. Seriously, does anybody REALLY believe that enforcer crap?

2007-08: Colorado acquires Adam Foote from Columbus for a 1st and a 4th round pick.

• Positives: Bringing Foote back to town righted one of the wrongs resulting from the lockout, as the Avs didn’t want to lose Foote and Foote never wanted to leave Colorado.
• Negatives: Columbus fans played the part of the jilted ex with amateurish aplomb. Hey, at least they finally got to feel like a real fan base, with Foote being a villain they can call their very own.

2008-09: Colorado acquires Ryan Wilson, Lawrence Nycholat, and a 2nd round pick from Calgary for Jordan Leopold.

• Positives: Ryan Wilson turned into a serviceable defenseman that remains on the roster today. “Lawrence Nycholat” is a cool name.
• Negatives: I had to write “Jordan Leopold”, which always reminds me that the Avs traded a prime Alex Tanguay for Jordan Leopold. Seriously, who the hell was vetting these trades???

2009-10: Colorado acquires Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter from Phoenix for Wojtek Wolski.

• Positives: A classic case of “Sell High”, as Mueller (when healthy) is a dangerous player with deft scoring touch, and a good addition to the Avs’ lineup. Wolski subsequently skipped from Phoenix to New York, and yesterday was sent packing to Florida. There’s still another day til the deadline, which doesn’t rule out that Wolski will be traded yet again.
• Negatives: This trade brought me my current Avs whipping boy: Kevin Porter. Every time I watch Porter, I think of the famous line from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation”: “He worked really hard, Grandpa!” “So do washing machines.”

2010-11: Colorado acquires Erik Johnson, Jay McClement, and a 1st round pick from St. Louis for Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk, and a 2nd round pick.

• Positives: I’m convinced that Erik Johnson is going to become another Rob Blake, which is a piece that 95% of NHL teams just don’t have. McClement is the high-end defensive centerman/penalty killer the Avs have lacked since Stephane Yelle was dealt to Calgary in 2002 (Drury Trade, god help me). The first rounder turned into Duncan Siemens, who shows the qualities of a potential shutdown defenseman a few years down the line.
• Negatives: I like Chris Stewart alot. It sucks to see him struggling in St. Louis.

Now, the trade deadline of 2011-12 is upon us, in approximately 27 hours. Rumors between now and then will drive us crazy, scare us and give us hope. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years I’ve followed this team, it’s to expect the unexpected. I will say that behind Opening Night and the start of the playoffs, this is my favorite time of hockey season. I don’t expect the Avs to have any major shake-ups in store for us tomorrow, but then again, who saw the EJ/Stewart trade coming? Who thought we would sneak Ray Bourque out of Detroit’s clutches? 

How about you, Avs fans? Which of these deals blew you away? Which ones did you see coming from a mile away? And what’s in store for us tomorrow?

However, something happened on the way to making the NHL more palatable to the masses. You might have noticed that your favorite player or players have been missing in action quite a bit this season.As of Thursday, 51 NHL players have been lost to concussions this season. On that list is the player many believe is the league’s best, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby has played in just eight NHL games since suffering a concussion on Jan. 5, 2011.

That list has become a gargantuan story this season, much to the alarm of the league and teams, who have in the past attempted to minimize what independent medical experts have been citing for years: hockey has a concussion epidemic on its hands.

< READ MORE ON CBS New York >

Other pieces on CBS by BD:

HOW PLAYERS, NOT THE ISLES COACH WILL WALK PLANK THIS SEASON

PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE? TELL THAT TO NY ISLANDERS FANS! 

Since skidding to the bottom of the standings last season, the team has tried just about everything imaginable to right the sinking ship. Like trading a first round pick for young and unproven goalie, Semyon Varlamov. They also added JS Giguere to the lineup, ultimately dismissing three goalies from last season.

The defense was rebuilt with size and grit in mind, the fast, puck-moving players were traded away or waived.

Giguere rallied the team though a “must-win” game early in this season’s skid but it didn’t last long. Since then there have been variations on the must-win theme, all resulting in less than favorable outcomes. Bag skates and closed locker room meetings quickly followed.

Coach Sacco has tried nearly every line combination possible, including ones that aren’t obviously sensible. Matt Duchene played a game on the forth line after Sacco declared that he wasn’t scoring enough. The working scheme behind putting a scoring center on a line of grinders to improve scoring is not clear to the fans.

Varlamov has been allowed to play through a losing record. But Sacco also briefly started trying to go with the goalie that’s hot, problem being neither is hot for more than three periods of NHL action.

The team started the year leaderless, at least officially with no captain named. Eventually veteran Milan Hejduk was awarded the captain’s C but this too has failed to inspire the group to play competitive hockey.

The Avs latest move has been to bring up 2009 draft pick Stefan Elliot. Saturday night Elliot played like he’s been in the league for years. He scored the game-winning goal and played well both offensively and defensively. Is he the missing cog that is going to get this team humming along to a winning record? Is it back to the speedy puck-moving defenseman strategy already?

GOON:

In our support of the lack of hockey movies, comes this info from the movie company to us.

“We have a great throwback hockey movie coming out and we would love to get your support. Its violent and insanely funny.”

Starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill and Liev Schreiber
Written by Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg (SUPERBAD and  PINEAPPLE EXPRESS)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Synopsis
Labelled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of underperforming misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

The film opens on VOD on 2/24 and In Theatres 3/30

Based from the book “Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey”

www.goonthemovie.com

Official Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/GoonFilm

Some more on the movie comes from Slash Film

On Monday afternoon, the Boston Bruins (1-1-0) played host to the visiting Colorado Avalanche (0-1-0) , for a Columbus Day Matinee contest at the TD Garden. Boston’s 24-year-old Finnish net-minder Tuukka Rask got the start for the B’s, his first of the 2011-12 campaign. In net for the Avs was young Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov. The former Washington Capital made 33 saves on 35 shots for Colorado, in Saturday’s season opener against the  Detroit Red Wings.

As the first period began, it appeared like some members of the Boston roster hadn’t  fully woken up yet. The B’s would take two early penalties, including a Delay Of Game call against defenseman Adam McQuaid.  It was a mere 5 minutes into the game, and the Avs already led the Bruins in shots, by a 9-2 margin. Luckily for Boston, their penalty-killing units were able to keep them in it,  going a perfect 3-for-3 in the first 20. The B’s 2nd & 3rd lines were also a source of energy for the team to draw from, accounting for 5 of Boston’s 9 shots in the first frame. Overall, the first period was relatively uneventful, as no goals were scored and the Avs lead the B’s 13-9 in shots, after one period of play.

The second period was simply more of the same for Boston, as they were continually dominated at select points during the period. It looked even more as if they were not ready for today’s early start time. Colorado again out-shot the B’s by a 13-9 margin  for the 2nd straight period. The Boston first line was virtually invisible from the get-go this afternoon, putting up only 5  shots  in a combined 27:43 TOI (through 2 periods).  The 2nd line, featuring Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and Rich Peverley was the only line that head coach Claude Julien could truly rely  on, during the first 4o. The only thing working in Boston’s favor, through the first two frames, was the play of goaltender Tuukka Rask. Rask looked extremely sharp through the first 2 periods, stopping all 26 shots he faced.

To begin the 3rd period, it looked as if the B’s had found their “mojo”, even out-shooting the Avs 6-3 through the first 6 minutes of the period. However, at the 7:57 mark of the 3rd, it was veteran Colorado winger Milan Hejduk, that would put the Avs ahead. The goal by , the Czech Republic native  was the first tally of the season for the Avalanche, after being shutout for 107:57 minutes of play. For the rest of the period, the B’s tried to scrap together  a tying goal, producing many quality chances, including a point blank opportunity from Milan Lucic. However, Semyon Varlamov was there to shut the door on every occasion. In total, Varlamov made 36 saves, en route to a 1-0 victory for his Colorado Avalanche.

Rask Shines, Offense Struggles

Today’s game was truly a classic goaltending battle, between two former first round draft choices. Unfortunately for Boston, it was Semyon Varlamov who would come out on top, and Tuukka Rask would once again become the hard-luck loser. Stop me if you’ve read this before, but this inevitably seems like the same story, different chapter for the Bruins. Last season, the B’s only managed 2.25 goals per game, when Rask was between the pipes, compared to a 3.32 goals per game average, when Tim Thomas was in the crease. Boston players are aware of the way they’ve played when Tuukka is in goal, and realize that they must improve their game to help out their goaltender, when he stands on his head, like he did this afternoon:

Yeah, when Tuukka plays a game like he did tonight we have to come through for him so we didn’t do it and left him stranded for a bit. He gave us an opportunity to win, we just didn’t capitalize when we needed to. He played awesome. He made a ton of big saves. Through a screen there on the goal there. He gave us every opportunity to win. He played an amazing game. It was by no means his fault. – Brad Marchand

Yeah, he played great, you can’t ask for much more than how he played today. He kept us in it the whole night and gave us a chance to win it. And it sucks on the other end. As one of our players we weren’t able to do anything for him on the other end. – Milan Lucic

Despite not playing in a meaningful hockey game, since April 10, Rask looked poised and confident  in net and did not appear to show any signs of rust. When asked how he felt about his performance today, Rask had this to say:

Not bad. I was telling Timmy (Tim Thomas) before the game, you have that little nervousness in you because it’s the first game and haven’t played in a long time in a real situation. So I felt kind of weird before the game. But once the puck dropped and I go into that groove I felt pretty good. I mean not the greatest I’ve ever felt. But still, for the first game in a long time, I felt pretty good. – Tuukka Rask

Regardless of the fact that the team’s skaters  were not able to give Rask any goal support, having Tuukka in top form, early in the season can be a real asset for the Bruins moving forward.

KEY STATS

Goals–              BOS (0)   COL (1)

Shots–              BOS (30)   COL (36)

Power-Play– BOS(0-2)   COL(0-3)

Penalty-Kill– BOS (3-3)  COL (2-2)

Three Stars– …….. 1.) Semyon Varlamov…… 2.) Tuukka Rask…….. 3.) Matt Duchene

What’s Next?

The Bruins will now practice Tuesday in Boston, before hitting the road for a brief 2-game trip, with stops in Carolina and Chicago.First up for the B’s is a trip to the RBC Center, in Raleigh, North Carolina for a game against the Hurricanes. The ‘Canes are currently 0-2-1, following a 4-2 loss in New Jersey, on Monday afternoon.

Thanks For Reading!

Be Sure To Follow Me On Twitter: @BWoodward_HI

HOCKEY LEGENDS PAT LAFONTAINE AND STEVE WEBB TO RIDE 550 MILES FOR W20
FOUNDATION AND COMPANIONS IN COURAGE FOUNDATION

NEW YORK (September 19, 2011) –NHL alumnus Steve Webb and Hockey Hall
of Fame inductee Pat LaFontaine began a 550-mile bike ride this morning
from the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto in route to the NHL Powered by
Reebok Store in New York City in support of their respective charitable
efforts, the W20 Foundation and the Companions in Courage Foundation. Both
are expected to complete their historic ride on Wednesday, September 21 at
12:00 p.m. ET with a special celebration at the NHL Powered by Reebok Store
in midtown Manhattan.

“The NHL is proud to support these two hockey legends as they embark
on this epic charitable ride. On behalf of the NHL family we proudly salute
Pat and Steve, and wish them the best of luck” said Ken Martin, Jr., NHL
Vice President of Community Affairs.

LaFontaine’s Companions in Courage Foundation is an official
philanthropic partner of the National Hockey League (NHL) and helps to
create “Lion’s Den/NHL Legacy Classrooms” featuring Cisco System’s online
conferencing system, WebEx, which allows young patients to connect to
family, friends, schools and teachers anywhere in the world during a
hospital stay.

The Foundation has now opened 12 Lion’s Den rooms throughout North
America, including two with the NHL in Boston, Calgary and Montreal. The
NHL unveiled the first fully functional “NHL Legacy Classroom” at North
Carolina Children’s Hospital to commemorate the 2011 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Plans for an “NHL Legacy Classroom” in Pittsburgh were unveiled during the
2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic to commemorate the outdoor game.

Webb’s W20 Foundation provides young student ice hockey players with
partial academic scholarships to continue the pursuit of their hockey
dreams. Now the organization also highlights athletes as influential agents
of change and creates opportunities for athletes to give back in their
communities. Webb will also commit a portion of the ride’s proceeds to fund
Alzheimer and dementia research in Ontario.

The riders will be joined by a support team that includes Graham
Fraser, founder of Centurion Cycling, host of North America’s premier
series of distance bicycling events.

For more information on how you can support this please visit
www.CiC16.org
or www.w20Foundation.org.  To follow the progress of the ride, fans are
encouraged to visit www.W20Foundation.blogspot.com. ]]> http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/bdgallof/38698/feed/ 0 http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/puckstopper1/38627/ http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/puckstopper1/38627/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 01:42:25 +0000 Alex Muscat http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/?p=38627 It’s been more than seven years since one of the darkest moments in recent hockey history took place—but former Colorado forward Steve Moore will have his day in an Ontario Superior Court next year.  Moore filed a $38 million lawsuit against current Detroit Red Wing Todd Bertuzzi, the Vancouver Canucks and Orca Bay, which owned the Canucks at the time, on Thursday.  The court date is slated for September 24, 2012 and that’s if Bertuzzi is still playing in the NHL. If he is retired, the date will be set for October 22, 2012.

On March 8, 2004 in Vancouver, the host Canucks were losing 8-2 to the visiting Colorado Avalanche.  Midway through the third period, Bertuzzi, who played for the Canucks at the time, sucker-punched Moore and drove his head into the ice.  The NHL suspended Bertuzzi for the rest of the regular season and playoffs, with suspension carried over the lockout season of 2004-05.  He also pleaded guilty to assault in criminal court, served one year probation and performed community service.  As for Moore, he suffered a concussion and a broken neck.  He has not played a game since the injuries.

The situation arose from a previous match a couple of weeks prior to the melee.  Moore delivered a hit in the head to Markus Naslund.  Then-Canucks head coach Marc Crawford, and the rest of the team, were irate that no call was made against Moore.  After the game, members of the Canucks were vocal about getting back at Moore the next time the two teams met.  Bertuzzi filed a lawsuit against Crawford in 2007 for encouraging him to go after Moore, which Crawford denies.

Reportedly, Moore still has recurring headaches from the concussion and was ordered by his doctors to retire from the NHL.  As for Bertuzzi, he didn’t play pro hockey for 17 months, lost money in endorsement deals, and paid fines for the attack.  His revenge on Moore in Vancouver was a retaliation that went very, very bad.  As he is about to enter his 16th season in the NHL with the Red Wings, this could be a distraction to Bertuzzi.  No matter what the outcome will be and regardless how much money will be awarded in the lawsuit (if any), Steve Moore hasn’t fully recovered and his dream of having an NHL career was taken away from him.  As for Todd Bertuzzi, not only does he have this dark cloud over him for the rest of his career, he will have to live with this for the rest of his life.

Several of the victims were foreign players for the club. The squad includes players from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Sweden. Among the victims, former NHL players Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei, Karel Rachunek, Karlis Skrastins, and Josef Vasicek, as well as goaltender Stefan Liv who was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2000. Former Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon is also among the victims.

Demitra played 847 games in the NHL with the Senators, Blues, Kings, Wild, and Canucks scoring 304 goals and 464 assists for 768 points. He reached the 60-point plateau six times. Demitra played in the KHL last season.

Rachunek played 371 games in the NHL with the Senators, Rangers and Devils notching 22 goals and 118 assists for 140 points. Rachunek has been playing in the KHL since the 2008-09 season.

Salei played 917 games in the NHL with the Ducks, Panthers, Avalanche and Red Wings notching 45 goals and 159 assists for 204 points. He reached the Stanley Cup finals with the Ducks in 2002-03. Salei played for the Red Wings last year.

Skrastins played 832 games in the NHL with the Predators, Avalanche, Panthers and Stars recording 32 goals and 104 assists for 136 points. He played for the Stars last season.

Vasicek played 460 games in the NHL with the Hurricanes, Predators and Islanders recording 77 goals and 106 assists for 183 points. He played for the Stars last season. He reached the Stanley Cup finals with the Hurricanes in 2001-02.

The Yaroslavl HC Lokomotiv were Russian Champions in 1997, 2002 and 2003. The squad was to play a match against Mink HC Dinamo on Thursday. Colorado Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov was rumored to join Lokomotiv this summer, but chose NHL instead. A very wise decision.

Condolences to the KHL, the friends and families of all involved.

Video of the crashed plane here.

Source: SovSports and Reuters

Follow me on Twitter for more information on this terrible plane crash as the information comes along.

Hello again, and welcome to Part II of my 4-Part NHL season preview.  In part I, I gave you all my Eastern Conference Predictions. In part 2, I will give you my predictions for the Western Conference.  I will approach these predictions a bit differently than I did those for the Eastern Conference. Today, I will give some strengths and weaknesses of each of the 8 playoff teams out west. I will be upfront here in saying that I do not usually follow the Western Conference as much as I do the East, over the course of the season, so many of you may have differing opinions here. Like always, feel free to chime in with your opinions below.

1) Vancouver Canucks

Strengths:

The defending conference champs return in 2011-12 as without a doubt one of the clear-cut contenders for a Stanley Cup. Arguably the deepest team, top to bottom in the entire NHL, the Canucks will once again be lead by former Hart trophy winners Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Ryan Kesler returning to full health will also be a welcome sight for Vancouver’s offense.  Perhaps the biggest strength of the Canucks, will be the retribution factor. The Canucks’ were so close to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, they could taste it. They always say that a team must learn how to lose, before you can learn how to win;  and in 2010-11 , the Vancouver Canucks sure learned how to lose.

Weaknesses:

Truth be told, there isn’t much to put here. The loss of puck-moving defenseman Christian Ehrhoff will undoubtedly play a role in the Canucks’ success in 2011-12. However, a team that employed 9 NHL-quality defensemen in 2010-11, a replacement should not be hard to find. The only real question mark in Vancouver, is the ability of star goaltender Roberto Luongo to bounce back from a rough finish to the post-season of 2011. But even if Roberto is to falter, young Cory Schneider will be ready and willing to carry the load.

2) Los Angeles Kings

Strengths:

The popular favorite in the West, is without a doubt the LA Kings. After losing out on key free agents Ilya Kovalchuk and Brad Richards over the past two summers, GM Dean Lombardi opted to pull the trigger on a trade sending Wayne Simmonds and  uber-prospect Brayden Schenn to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for  former Flyer-captain Mike Richards. Richards should make an immediate impact on the LA roster, and provide perhaps the best 1-2 punch at center, along with all-star pivot Anze Kopitar.

Weaknesses:

While the addition of Mike Richards went a long way to solidifying the Kings 2nd line, the team’s lack of depth after the top 2 lines is perhaps the team’s biggest achilles heel. Beyond Richards, Kopitar, Williams and Stoll, the Kings lack much skill on the offensive end. In order to be successful in 2011-12, the Kings will need improved production from the likes of Kyle Clifford and Brad Richardson.

3) Chicago Blackhawks

Strengths:

The 2010 Stanley Cup Champions are perhaps the deepest team in the entire NHL. Led by stars, the likes of Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Pat Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Patrick Sharp, the Blackhawks will be back and looking for a return to the Cup Finals. Look for Chicago to once again be near the top in the Western Conference for most of 2011-12.

Weaknesses:

After making some solid depth acquisitions this offseason, the Blackhawks only true weakness entering 2011-12 is the play of young goaltender Corey Crawford. While Crawford did have an excellent rookie season, it is unclear whether or not he can continue his strong play, going forward. The sophmore slump can be a huge issue in hockey, and it will be critical to the Blackhawks success, that Crawford is able to battle through.

4) San Jose Sharks

Strengths:

Scoring. San Jose is one of few teams that can legitimately run 3 very productive offensive units. The addition of Brent Burns will also significantly help out on the back end, and go along way to replacing Rob Blake as an offensive force from the blueline, who retired last summer.

Weaknesses:

The swap of Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat will be sure to pay dividends for San Jose in the post-season , but it is unclear whether or not Havlat can produce at the same rate as Heatley can, during the regular season. However, on a team with Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Patrick  Marleau and Ryan Clowe, I am sure goal scoring should not be an issue.

5) Detroit Red Wings

Strengths:

With Captain Nicklas Lidstrom returning for what looks to be like 1 final year in the league, 2011-12 looks like it’ll be Detroit’s last crack at the Cup for  a few years. Look to the Red Wings to rely on top end talent and a bevy of experience to lift them to the top of the Western Conference.

Weaknesses:

Perhaps the only weakness of the Red Wings, is age, and with age, comes a proneness to injuries. Star pivot Pavel Datsyuk missed most of 2010-11 with a wrist injury, but looks to be 100% entering training camp. However, if the Wings want to succeed in 2011-12, they must get key contributions from younger depth players.

6) Nashville Predators

Strengths:

The biggest strength, of a cash-strapped Nashville squad, is none other than the man standing behind the bench, Barry Trotz. Trotz, arguably the best coach in the game, always finds a way to get his Nashville team to over-achieve and get into the post-season.

Weaknesses:

Uncertainty over the futures of the big 3; Ryan Suter, Shea Weber, and Pekka Rinne, will surely cause a stir in Nashville, as the season draws on. It will be up to those 3 all-stars to put away thoughts of contracts and focus on hockey, if Nahville wants to once again be a playoff team, in 2011-12.

7)  Anaheim Ducks

Strengths:

The RPG line is unquestionably the most dynamic scoring line in hockey, and will once again be relied upon to provide most of the Ducks’ offense. The RPG line is perhaps the only line in hockey that can truly carry a team to the playoffs.

Weaknesses:

The biggest knock on the Ducks, is that they are a very top-heavy squad. Beyond the RPG line, there really aren’t many reliable offensive forwards on the Anaheim roster. Also, beyond Lubomir Visnovsky and budding superstar Cam Fowler, there isn’t a whole lot of depth on the Ducks’ blueline. Also, concerns over the health of goaltender Jonas Hiller will be huge in determining the Ducks’ success in 2011-12.

8) Columbus Blue Jackets

Strengths:

The Blue Jackets have finally found a true #1 center to play along side Rick Nash. It is my belief, that given the chance to play with a legit play-making pivot, Rick Nash can be one of the top-5 players in all of hockey. He is mean, nasty, big, strong, has a fantastic shot, and really knows how to finish. He has now been given that opportunity, thanks to GM Scott Howson’s acquisition of Jeff Carter.

Weaknesses:

The biggest issue for Columbus is their depth, or lack there of. There really aren’t many proven NHL defenders on this roster. The addition of James Wisniewski will do wonders for the Jackets’ Power-Play, however, beyond Wiz, I do not see much strength on that blueline.

9) St Louis Blues

10) Minnesota Wild

11) Calgary Flames

12) Edmonton Oilers

13) Phoenix Coyotes

14) Dallas Stars

15) Colorado Avalanche

Thanks For Reading!

Be Sure To Follow Me On Twitter at @BruinsHockey365

Looking for more stability behind Carey Price, GM Pierre Gauthier signed former Colorado Avalanche Peter Budaj to a two-year $2,300,000 contract. Budaj was the Avalanche’s starting goalie most of the last season after the team traded starter Craig Anderson to the Ottawa Senators in return for Brian Elliott. Budaj played 45 games in 2010-11, posting a 15-21-4 record, to go along with a 3.20 GAA and a .895 save percentage for a mediocre Avs team that finished 29th in the league.

Budaj’s best season came in 2006-07 when he posted a great 31-16-6 record, with a 2.68 GAA and a .905 save percentage. While a tremendously athletic goaltender, the finer aspects of his technique and style have barely improved over the years, so his overall game has never been able to reach that next level. He remains a very passionate and dedicated goaltender who is always practicing hard and showing great passion for his job.

Budaj with the Habs His biggest glaring weakness is his hand placement which is far too low and back when facing shots, and, as a result, Budaj gets beat high way too often.The lack of a full-time goalie coach in Colorado is the main reason why he wasn’t able to improve this weakness, but with the Canadiens, Budaj will have the chance to work on a full-time basis with renowned goalie coach Pierre Groulx. The Slovakian netminder will most likely improve his numbers as the season go along as he gets more time with Groulx working on his technique and skills.

If you want a more accurate breakdown of Budaj’s abilities have a look to Justin Goldman’s scouting chart on Peter Budaj.

Peter Budaj: 22 games, 11 wins, 7 losses, 2 overtime-losses, 1 shutout, 2.58 GAA, .903 save percentage

Coming off his best season as an NHL goaltender, Carey Price received a vote of confidence from the organization when the team traded playoffs hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Price never looked back and shined in his first full season as the Bleu Blanc Rouge starter playing in 72 games, most of his career at any level. Back-up Alex Auld, now with the Ottawa Senators, barely played during the season, suiting up for only 16 games.

I’m fairly confident Price will still start plenty of games, but I believe we’ll see a reduced workload for Price this season as the team will try to rest him more for the playoffs and will have more confidence in Budaj. Will Price reach 40 wins this season? I highly doubt because of a reduced number of starts, but he should approach last year’s 38 wins without much trouble.

Price is a bona-fide number one NHL goaltender, and at 24, he has yet to enter his prime as a netminder. His mental strength has improved and he has allowed less weak goals thanks to a great focus and a better work ethic.

Carey Price: 65 games, 36 wins, 22 losses, 4 overtime-losses, 7 shutouts, 2.31 GAA, .924 save percentage

This would give the Canadiens 47 wins on the season and a total of 102 points over 82 games. If we look at last year’s rankings this point total would still rank them 6th, but within only one point of the Tampa Lightning. I really think the Canadiens will slightly improve this season if they can avoid major injuries to key players (i.e.: a healthy Markov).

Do you agree with the above predictions? Do yo think Price will be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy?

Don’t hesitate to comment on the above blog and follow me on Twitter for news on the Canadiens and the NHL in general.

After the sticker shock began to wear off Avs fans realized that they could have been looking at a season of Peter Budaj and Brian Elliott in net. Remember a season of Budaj and Raycroft between the pipes? That was psychotherapy waiting to happen for the Colorado faithful. The satisfaction comes from knowing that the team is at least making a complete change in goal.

The dire warnings of an injury-prone Varly are causing me to flinch, a little. With good reason, I sometimes wonder if there are voodoo dolls of Tomas Fleishmann, Peter Mueller and Kyle Quincey and someone is sticking them full of needles. Is Greg Sherman guilty of not looking closely enough at injury histories or is it bad juju and a black cat? A 23-year-old athlete is a bit too young to be labeling as injury-prone. I’m not too worried.

I mentioned here that I thought the Avs and Caps might be able to work something out (as well as asking rhetorically why Vokoun would want to come here). And while I’m cautiously optimistic about yet another goalie that is lacking an entire season under his belt, the Avs did shore up the number two spot nicely with a wily veteran. Another shot in the dark goalie? Perhaps. It’s odd how Varly and Craig Anderson are similar in that way but the Anderson signing was quickly characterized as brilliant and this one has the stink of failure about it before the ink was dry. The difference is of course that first round pick.

Let’s look at some Avalanche first rounders over the years. Anyone want to trade Scott Parker for Varly? I’m in on that action. C’mon, admit it, he was a favorite but wouldn’t you make that trade knowing half the equation? How about Marc Denis, Martin Skoula, or Wojtek Wolski? All first round picks and decent ones at that. And now the guys that amounted to a pile of dog doo:
Peter Ratchuk.
Kevin Grimes.
Mikhail Kuleshov.
Jonas Johansson.
Vaclav Nedorost.

Those players amount to more than half of the Avs first round picks over franchise history. That’s a lot of big bust and mediocre talent.  It’s not so much an indictment of the Avs scouting capabilities as it’s a statement that the draft is a crap-shoot. I think this trade is worth the risk.

I seriously doubt the Avs gave up a statistically viable lottery pick for next year. You know: a pick that actually has a decent chance of moving up. Even if the Avs finish out of the playoffs by one spot, the odds they will move up appreciably in the draft via the lottery are…Spock? What are the odds? Right, astronomical. Stop the hissy-fit drama class.

I’ll take the young kid over the old vet in this situation. Varlamov could be here for many years. Odds are Vokoun wouldn’t last long, he is 35-years-old after all.

Excellent Avalanche blogger Jibblescribbits was one of the first to light the calming incense in Avs nation; you really ought to check out his interesting angle on the situation.

A native of Slovakia, Budaj was a second-round selection, 63rd overall, by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’1”, 200 lb, goalie has 101 career wins in 217 starts all with the Avalanche.

Known as a hard-worker and a great teammate, Budaj is a very talented goalie who simply needs to be more consistent to be more efficient as he had horrid stretches last season with Colorado. He should get around 20 starts with the Habs as the Canadiens to rest Carey Price more than last season, during which he played in 72 regular-season games in addition to seven playoff games.

——————————————————

After signing Budaj, Habs GM Pierre Gauthier turned his attention to UFA Erik Cole from the Carolina Hurricanes. Gauthier managed to sign Cole late in the afternoon to a deal worth $18 M over the next four years ($4.5M cap hit). Cole, who played most of his career with the Canes has been a Hab-killer over the years, scoring 14 goals and adding 11 assists for 25 points in 28 regular-season games.

Cole, a native of Oswego, New York, bounced back after an injury-riddled 2009-10 to score 26 goals and 26 assists in 2010-11 where he carried a cap hit of $2.9 million. In 620 career games, Cole has scored 184 goals and added 206 assists for 390 points (0.63% PPG ratio). He has added 35 game-winning goals.

The 32-year-old forward who has the same agent as Brian Gionta will likely line-up with Tomas Plekanec and Michael Cammalleri on the Canadiens’ first line.

Current line-up (taking into account the RFAs):
FORWARDS
Cole-Plekanec-Cammalleri
Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta
Kostitsyn-Desharnais-Darche
Moen-Eller-White*

REARGUARDS
Markov-Gorges*
Gill-Subban
Spacek-Emelin/Weber

GOALTENDERS
Price
Budaj

According to Capgeek, Montreal still has $8,304,490 to re-sign Gorges and White and add other players. The team will most likely add a depth forward with size and grit, and a defenseman as an insurance-policy.

Former Habs:
Benoit Pouliot now with the Boston Bruins
Jeff Halpern and Roman Hamrlik now with the Washington Capitals
Alex Auld now with the Ottawa Senators

For updates on the Canadiens signings, follow me on Twitter.

Participants: Fred Poulin, Cris Cohen, Lawrence Duchenski, John Scott Moore, Jeremy Scriven, Alexander Monaghan, Jamie Fraser, Andre Garabedian, WB Philp, Al Cimaglia, Adrian Fung, Gordon Fall, Kevin Vanstone, Su Ring

Round 1
LAWRENCE 1 Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are proud to select, from the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
We believe that Ryan will be an elite player in this league for years to come. He has both the vision and the passing ability to centre our first line and we are happy to bring him into the organization.

JOHN 2 Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are proud to select, from Skelleftea HC in Sweden, Adam Larsson. The Avs most pressing issue besides a net-minder is defense. Larsson is the big man on the blue line that this team needs to be competitive. With newly acquired Erik Johnson and veteran John-Michael Liles, Larsson will complete a core of defense that should last for years. Larsson’s highly rated skating for a 6-3, 200 pound blueliner is just what the team needs. Also noted is his poise and patience with the puck, a good quality to see this early.

JAMIE 3 Panthers
The Florida Panthers select Gabriel Landeskog of the OHL’s Kitchener Ranger. Gritty. Determined. Physical. Tough. Mean. These are characteristics not common to the average Swedish hockey player. Gabriel Landeskog is truly a made in Canada Swede. He’s physical mature player who’s the most NHL ready in the draft. Landeskog is pure leadership material, he’s a difference maker every time he’s on the ice. This past season he scored 66 points (36-30) in 53 games. Here’s Landeskog take on his style “I’m a powerful guy who likes to play rough and tough,” “But I do see myself as a skilled guy but it still comes down to hard work and being gritty and being in your face. That’s what I want to do.”

JAMIE 4 Devils
The New Jersey Devils select 4th overall Jonathan Huberdeau of the Saint John Sea Dogs. Huberdeau an excellent two-way forward recently won the Memorial Cup with Saint John. He draws comparisons to Jason Spezza but with a better defensive hockey mind. Huberdeau has assets that you can’t teach such as vision, his 6’1″ frame and his ability to play under pressure. Truly a great fit for a Devils trap system. Scoring 105 points(43-62) this season in the QMJHL he has the offensive abilities to command at 1st/2nd line duties in the future.

ANDRE 5 Islanders
With the 5th selection of the 2011 entry draft, the NY Islanders are proud to select, from the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Sean Couturier. This was a very tough choice. Hamilton, Couturier, Strome, Murphy are all gifted players who can help fill a need for the Islanders and were right there for us, but the feeling was that adding a player of Couturier’s skill set, combined with his size made him a sensible choice. Not only is he a top player, but he also fills a need for size on a relatively small Islander team. He is gifted offensively, but also has displayed a commitment to the defensive side of the ice making him a solid 2-way prospect. Much of his time was spent against opposing top lines — giving him the oppor tunity to dominate at both ends of the ice. He is size speed and skill — all of the tools the Islanders need.

The “knock” on Sean was that he was coasting this season, and does not have the “commit” level that he should. We feel Sean is committed to both ends of the ice, and we are sure he will be a proud part of the Islander family for many years to come. We feel Sean is an excellent player that adds to a dynamic core of players in our development system.

JAMIE 6 Senators
With the 6th pick overall in the NHL 2011 entry draft the Ottawa Senators select Ryan Strome. Ottawa needs help for that 2nd line centre position. Ryan Strome lacks the size of Sean Couturier, but this kid put up 106 points(33-73) with the OHL’s Niagara Ice Dogs. He draws similar skill sets to Patrick Kane. Strome is a player who is at his biggest part of his game with the puck on his stick and will often make opposing defenders look absolutely ridiculous in YouTube highlight reel moments. While many of his goals belong on highlight reels, Strome has a great shot and excellent hockey sense. Make sure to follow Ryan Strome on twitter @strome18

FRED 7 Thrashers (Winnipeg Jets)
The Winnipeg team is proud to select, from the Niagara Ice Dogs of the OHL, defenseman Dougie Hamiilton. His strong and smooth st aking abilities allow him to skate out of trouble in own zone. Can quarterback the power play thanks to great vision and accurate shot. The team also needs more size on defense to complement Dustin Byfuglien. Hamilton scored 12 goals and added 46 assists for 58 pts in 57 games this season. The 6’4” 195 lb rearguard could very well become a top-2 defenseman in a near future.

FRED 8 Flyers from the Blue Jackets
The Philadelphia Flyers are proud to select from Djurgarden of the Swedesih Elite League, centre Mika Zibanejad. After trading two quality centers in Mike Richards and Jeff Carter on Thursday, the Flyers need to restock their middle lane with top-end prospects. A very intelligent two-way player with a great shot, Zibanejad has an above-average sense of hockey and anticipation. He uses his 6’2”, 190 lb frame to his advantage and his strength to battle pucks along the boards. He is not afraid to play physically and likes to initiate contact. He has excellent faceoffs skills and great skating abilities. He draws some comparisons to Ryan Kesler and Mike Fisher.

FRED 9 Bruins from the Maple Leafs
The Boston bruins are proud to select from the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, defenseman Ryan Murphy. An exceeding talented puck-moving defenseman, the diminutive Murphy draws comparisons to Ryan Ellis and former NHLer Brian Rafalski. In 63 games last season, the offensive defenseman scored an impressive 26 goals and 53 assists for 79 points. A good fit for the Bruins as the team really needs a power play quarterback, Murphy is an outstanding skater and puck carrier a la PK Subban. He is very agile, possesses soft hands and boasts a hard and accurate slapshot. The 5’11, 175 lb will be a steady fixture on the Bruins’ blueline for years to come.

CRIS 10 Wild
The Minnesota Wild take, from the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, Sven Bartschi. The Wild, after being a defense-first team under Jacques Lemaire their first 7 seasons and losing Marian Gaborik to Free agency in 2009, this team needs offense. Havlat with 22 goals was their leading scorer this past season and no other Wild hit the 20-goal plateau. Bartschi, and excellent skater possesses good passing and stickhandling skills and a good, quick shot. He will need to work on the defensive side of his game, though.
JOHN 11 Avalanche from the Blues
With the 11th pick the Colorado Avalanche are proud to pick Duncan Siemens of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades. The 6’3″, 192 lbs defenseman is just too good for the Avs to pass up. Despite needs on offense, the big D-man will be an asset to the Avs in the future and possibly forming a formidible defensive core for years. Naming Scott Stevens as his favorite player, Siemens will lay a hit and even fight. But better yet he is a shutdown defenseman with mobility.

SUE 12 Hurricanes
With the 12th pick, the Carolina Hurricanes are proud to select Joseph Morrow of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. We like Morrow for his strong skating, great speed and talented two-way game. He has the uncanny ability to see the entire ice and create smart plays and scoring chances.
He’s also very strong on both the power play and penalty kill and uses his size to every advantage on the ice. He played a key role in helping the Winterhawks clinch the WHL’s US Dvision and Western Conference titles during the regular season and helped propel the team to the WHL Championships, which they lost to the Kootenay Ice.

SUE 13 Flames
With the 13th pick, the Calgary Flames are pleased to select Mark McNeill from the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. McNeill can play Center but he also has experience at Right Wing. He’s big, smart and an accurate shot, whether it comes to scoring or passing. His size also makes him strong defensively- this kid is not afraid to go after the puck. McNeill led the Raiders to their first playoff appearance since the 2006-2007 season.

ALEXANDER 14 Stars
With the 14th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Dallas Stars take Rocco Grimaldi, Center, USA Under-18-USHL. After losing a great player like Brad Richards, we felt our organization took the best player available and added a great deal of skill. If not for his size, Grimaldi likely could have gone in the top 10 as he displays an excellent amount of agility, top speed and overall skill. In addition, we find Rocco to be a hard-working, determined individual who can eventually play on our top line. Picking at number 14, we are quite pleased to select a player of his stature.

CRIS 15 Rangers
With the 15th pick the New York Rangers select from the USHL Tyler Biggs. He brings a size (6′ 2″, 210) that most of the forwards in the Rangers’ system do not possess. He’s willing to hit opponents and fight when necessary. While not overly impressive from an offensive standpoint (19G, 12 A in 55 games) and not speedy, his size and strength should provide more room for offensively skilled teammates he could be paired with to be free to do their thing.

The second part of the mock draft will be posted later today. Stay tuned!

Jakub Voracek, 1st round pick, and....3rd round pick...(Opens Envelope) Name 3 things traded for Jeff Carter!

This year, once again with the assistance of my good friend Andrew R (and some Bitches Brew…..both the beer and the music), I sat down to do my NHL Mock Draft.  As per usual, trades were considered, and by a phenomenal stroke of luck we called Carter to Columbus for Voracek and the 8th pick….so we’re ready to go.

This was fun and challenging, as always, but especially this year, because it’s such a fluid draft and people are seriously all over the place.  I’ve seen guys ranked top 10 in some drafts and out of the 1st round in others.  I’m sure some of these picks will sound stupid, but I’m sure I’ll be wrong a lot….but hey, nobody thought Dylan McIlrath would go before Cam Fowler last year.

Without further ado, here we go…

1. Edmonton Oilers: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, Red Deer (WHL)

I think there are a few question marks about Nugent-Hopkins, specifically his size and willingness to go to the dirty areas, but despite this the Oilers think he’s too good to pass up at #1.  They hope he and Taylor Hall form a dynamic duo for years to come.

2. Colorado Avalanche: Gabriel Landeskog, W, Kitchener (OHL)

We agonized over this pick, but we thought at the end of the day the Avalanche would be seduced by the size, heart, grit, and NHL readiness of Landeskog.  He’s a Chris Stewart type – the kind of player you hold on to, and never trade, come hell or high water!  Wait….what?

3. Florida Panthers: Sean Couturier, C, Drummondville (QMJHL)

Dale Tallon is a well-known fan of big players, and he overlooks the “analysis paralysis” in the scouting community to jump on Sean Couturier.  Back-to-back 96-point seasons (despite having mono at the start of this year), experience at the WJC, winning the Mike Bossy Award, and his size (6’4) make him the right move for the Panthers.

4. New Jersey Devils: Adam Larsson, D, Skelleftea (SEL)

The Devils, by most accounts, should have lost their 1st round pick this year in the Kovalchuk chicanery.  Instead, they won the draft lottery, and Lou Lamoriello looks like the cat who ate the canary after Larsson falls to him at 4.  He had a sub-par year in the SEL by most standards, but Larsson’s talent and hockey sense will make him the best Devils blueline prospect since Scott Niedermayer.

5. New York Islanders: Ryan Strome, C, Niagara (OHL)

I can already hear the Dougie Hamilton fans sharpening their knives, but hear me out.  In addition to resembling Mr. Burns (according to Niagara fans), I believe Strome is the best long-term fit for the Islanders.  He projects as a top center with playmaking ability and creativity, and the Islanders justify this pick by citing his higher projection.  At the end of the day, when you pick 5th, you want the guy who will be the better player down the road, not the biggest positional need or the guy who will calm Josh Bailey’s nerves about being replaced.  I’ve had a hunch about Strome for a while, and I will not back off from it like I did last year with Nino Niederreiter.

Here’s a Strome highlight reel goal:

Highlight Reel Goal From Strome

6. Ottawa Senators: Jonathan Huberdeau, C, St. John’s (QMJHL)

Huberdeau slips to Ottawa despite his incredible playoff run with the Memorial Cup champions, and Bryan Murray is glad he did (especially since Brian Burke is nowhere to be seen and can’t take the pick out of spite).  Huberdeau projects as a flashy offensive player, and he’ll be a good one for Ottawa.

7. Winnipeg Not Yet Jets: Dougie Hamilton, D, Niagara (OHL)

Gary Bettman was much like the father in this famous Simpsons scene recently:

The NHL has indeed gone back to Winnipeg, and they bring this hulking (6’4) d-man with them.  Hamilton is a smart player who will be a good fit on this team.

8. Philadelphia Flyers (From Columbus): Duncan Siemens, D, Saskatoon (WHL)

I had this as a mock trade, and now it’s a real trade.  Siemens is big (6’3), mean, and a hard hitter….just the kind of kid the Flyers love.  They pick him over my other option here, Mika Zibanejad, and hope Chris Pronger’s influence helps him become a star.

9. Boston Bruins (From Toronto): Ryan Murphy, D, Kitchener (OHL)

Fresh off their Cup win, the Bruins add Ryan Murphy, whose suspect D is more than balanced out by skilled offense.  He could be a true difference-maker on the Bruins PP for years to come, and they could always hide him with a defensive d-man in even strength situations to mask his weakness.

10. Minnesota Wild: Nathan Beaulieu, D, St. John’s (QMJHL)

The Wild step up to grab mobile but raw D prospect Nathan Beaulieu, whom some scouts have ranked above Hamilton, continuing a run on defense in this part of the draft.  Beaulieu is a few years away but the Wild fans will cheer this one tomorrow night at the Xcel Energy Center.

11. Colorado Avalanche (From St. Louis): Jamieson Oleksiak, D, Northeastern University (NCAA)

The Avalanche have their forward and possible future captain in Landeskog.  Now, playing with house money, they feel like they can reach just a bit for the hulking (6’7) defender Oleksiak, and give him time to develop at his own pace that he might not have received if he were a team’s top pick.  He may leave Northeastern to play major junior next year; let’s keep an eye.

12. Carolina Hurricanes: Mika Zibanejad, President of Iran C/W, Djurgarden (SEL)

Zibanejad finds a home with the Carolina Hurricanes, who still need depth at every position and grab the best player available.  Some teams have him ranked top 5, but he slips due to being 2nd choice for a few of the teams above (Islanders, Winnipeg, Flyers, Avalanche).  The Canes are glad to have this tough, hard-nosed player, and their fans will be as well.

And I ran......I ran so far away....

13. Calgary Flames: Joel Armia, W, Assat Pori (FIN)

The Flames go for the home run by picking Armia, one of the more talented Finnish forward prospects in the last 10 years.  There are some questions about his work ethic, but the Flames love his talent too much to let him slip away.

14. Dallas Stars: Sven Bartschi, W, Portland (WHL)

The Stars jump on The Other Swiss Winterhawk, Sven Bartschi, who was a force of nature in this year’s Memorial Cup playoffs.  Some are surprised to see him slip so far, but he was again second choice for many teams, and the Stars practically pinch themselves on the way to the podium.

15. New York Rangers: Nicklas Jensen, RW, Oshawa (OHL)

The Islanders have a Dane, and now the Rangers have one too. Jensen’s hockey sense is off the charts, and the Rangers, after targeting D in the first round in previous years, think he’s the right move at 15 this year.

16. Buffalo Sabres: Oscar Klefbom, D, Farjestad (SEL)

The Sabres go for the BPA with Oscar Klefbom, a mobile, agile, and incredibly smart Swedish defenseman.  He has the potential to be the steal of the 1st round at this slot.

17. Montral Canadiens: Rocco Grimaldi, F, US NTDP

The Canadiens have trouble finding a forward taller than 5’3, and this does not get better with Grimaldi, who would be the shortest player in the NHL should he make it (yes, even smaller than Nathan Gerbe…who is a gnat).  However, he may be the most skilled player in the whole draft, and you can’t doubt his will to make it.  The Habs will look for size elsewhere….or not…

18. Chicago Blackhawks: Matt Puempel, W, Peterborough (OHL)

Puempel is a pure goal-scorer, and the Blackhawks go for the home run in continuing the rebuild of their farm system.  There are questions about his consistency, but Puempel is a great call here.

19. Edmonton Oilers: John Gibson, G, US NTDP

The Oilers have many goaltenders in the system, including Devan Dubnyk and Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers, but none project as a solid #1 goaltender.  Therefore, with Nugent-Hopkins in the fold, the Oilers jump up and take Gibson, hoping he will stabilize the crease for years to come.

20. Phoenix Coyotes: Mark McNeill, C, Prince Albert (WHL)

McNeill is strong in the corners, kills penalties well, and generally drives hard to the net.  The Coyotes have some danglers in the system, and McNeill projects as a strong, safe pick….they’re glad to have him.

21. Ottawa Senators (From Nashville): Brandon Saad, LW, Saginaw (OHL)

Ottawa is also playing with house money after nabbing Huberdeau at 6, and they can afford to take a flyer on Brandon Saad.  Saad will either be a home run power forward or a groundout, but with Huberdeau hogging all the attention as a top pick the Senators can let the Pennsylvania native find himself without a lot of pressure.

22. Anaheim Ducks: Joe Morrow, D, Portland (WHL)

Joe Morrow rocketed up the draft board due to his hockey sense, tenacity, and offensive potential.  The Ducks grab him and hope he’ll anchor the blueline for years alongside Fowler and Sbisa.

23. Pittsburgh Penguins: Tyler Biggs, RW, US NTDP

Even though the Penguins absolutely deplore violence in all its forms, they can’t resist another boom or bust type in Biggs.  He has size and a great net-front presence, and they hope he develops into his full potential.

24. Detroit Red Wings: Jonas Brodin, D, Farjestad (SEL)

This is almost too easy.  Smooth-skating, intelligent but raw d-man out of Sweden?  The Red Wings live for picks like this.  Brodin oozes talent and potential, and in Detroit he may have the best chance to harness them.

25. Toronto Maple Leafs (From Flyers): David Musil, D, Vancouver (WHL)

At a time, the hulking Musil was rated a potential top 5 pick in this draft.  His performance steadied, and he fell amid concerns his ceiling is not as high as originally thought.  He still plays a mean game and has offensive potential beyond that of his father, Frank, and he’s just truculent enough to fit Brian Burke’s bill.

26. Washington Capitals: Alexander Kochlachev, C, Windsor (OHL)

This is another almost no-brainer, as we know the Capitals LOVE their Russians.  Kochlachev oozes skill and pure offense, making him a potential home run pick this late in the draft.

27. San Jose Sharks: Mark Schiefele, C, Barrie (OHL)

The Sharks pick Schiefele as best player available, slightly ahead of J.T. Miller from the US NTDP.  Schiefele has discipline, playmaking ability, and  great net-front presence, making him a good complement to the current crop of prospects in the South Bay.

28. Tampa Bay Lightning: Connor Murphy, D, US NTDP

Murphy is a big, competitive 2-way winger who will do a little bit of everything for Steve Yzerman’s club in Tampa.  He’s best available for them.

29. Vancouver Canucks: Scott Mayfield, D, Youngstown (USHL)

He’s big, he’s smooth, he’s poised with the puck, and he’ll be a great fit in Vancouver.

30. Toronto Maple Leafs (From Boston): Zach Phillips, C/W, St. John’s (QMJHL)

Toronto closes out the pick by making it a trio from the Memorial Cup champions.  Phillips is a smart player with great puck skills and an ability to score.  Good fit for what they’re building in Toronto.

Anderson was an unknown as a starter. At least with Raycroft and Theodore they had a little hardware in the trophy case to back up the gamble. Anderson? Nothing. So sure, it worked out for a year. I guess we should be happy about that. But then once the Avs did get a decent goalie they played the old hard-ball way of doing business. One contract offer, take it or leave it. That was all fine and dandy in the old glory days. Players wanted badly to be a part of this wining, star-studded team. But times have changed.

Really, I should amend that. Ever since Theodore/Budaj it’s been a joke. Or was it Budaj/Theodore? And that’s the point, isn’t it? How did Peter Budaj manage to usurp Jose Theodore’s starting job? Peter Budaj, a guy the Avs are going to let walk this off-season? Uh-huh.

So whether it’s bringing in bust goalies or busting the balls of the decent one we had – this organ-eye-zation hasn’t got it right since Roy. It doesn’t take statistics to determine that that is a poor rate of success.

Imagine if we were looking at Elliott/Budaj in goal next season? Wow. That’s not rebuilding. That’s a wrecking ball. Apparently it isn’t going to happen, thankfully.

Should the Avs have gone for Michael Leighton when he went through waivers? Beats me, I thought so and said as much on Twitter but now that I think about it, it’s just more of the same. Hmmm, that Bryzgalov guy was claimed off waivers and that worked out ok…well anyway.

Now there is a little talk going on in Washington that Semyon Varlamov might not be signing with the Caps. That’s a guy that has had some injury problems but that also looks pretty solid when I’ve seen him play. Heck, he replaced Jose Theodore as the #1 goalie…oh wait, everyone does that…well anyway. The Avs and Caps may be able to work another trade. The Caps need help at center and defense and the Avs just happen to be doing well in those positions if you consider future prospects.

A veteran candidate is Tomas Vokoun, though why he would want to play here I can’t imagine. Bryzgalov wouldn’t play here even if the Avs did pay him. The hot, young trade possibilities all seem to be in the West or worse, in the Northwest and that just makes it less likely that teams are going to want to face that player on down the line.

By far this area of the Avalanche is going to come under the most scrutiny this next season. If the Avs falter in acquiring a quality goalie, the critics are going to be talking about how they let Anderson get away. And they would have a legitimate point.

Here we go….1-10 Only….

1. Edmonton Oilers – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins C Red Deer (WHL)– RNH is the best player in the draft, and with the number 1 pick, you use that on the best player. It just so happens that Edmonton is in need of a Number one Center and RNH is just that. He is as dynamic as they come and will look great centering Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

2. Colorado Avalanche – Adam Larsson D Skelleftea (SEL) – Many mocks are saying Colorado takes Gabriel Landeskog with this pick, but remember 2 things, first Defenseman like Larsson don’t grow on trees, and second, Colorado also has the 12th pick as part of the Erik Johnson/Chris Stewart trade. After trading top young defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk in that deal, he’ll be replaced with the smooth skating Larsson. The Avs will target wingers with that 12th pick.

3. Florida Panthers – Sean Couturier C Drummondville (QMJHL) – This is the wild card pick here. Florida already has 2 top young defenseman in Dmitri Kulikov and Erik Gudbranson, and they also drafted wingers Nick Bjugstad and Quinton Howden in last year’s 1st round. Florida GM Dale Tallon will look for the big 2 way center in Sean Couturier here. Tallon (who drafted Jonathan Toews with Chicago) knows the importance of having a player such as Couturier and won’t let an opportunity to get a top 2 way player pass him up.

4. New Jersey Devils – Jonathan Huberdeau C Saint John’s (QMJHL) – The Devils are already stacked at LW with both Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, and with a lack of a true number 1 center in their system (Travis Zajac is the closest they have), the Devils take the super talented Huberdeau here. One scout was quoted as saying that he’s never seen a junior player take such a big leap in just one year as Huberdeau has. The Devils will have a player they can slot right into their lineup and not look back.

5. New York Islanders – Gabriel Landeskog LW Kitchener (OHL) – Landeskog is a steal for the Islanders at 5. He is the most NHL ready player in the draft and will look great playing with John Tavares and Nino Niederreiter on the Isles first line. With 3 picks in the top 50, GM Garth Snow can take his time and add another big defenseman early in the second round or as he likes to do, trade his way back into the late first round.

6. Ottawa Senators – Ryan Strome C Niagra (OHL) – Strome is a highly skilled offensive player who will slot in nicely behind Jason Spezza (if Ottawa keeps him). Having 2 top defensive prospects in David Rundblad and Jared Cowan, Ottawa will add some firepower with Strome.

7. Atlanta Thrashers – Dougie Hamilton D Niagra (OHL) – Back to back Niagra picks here as Atlanta takes the big 2 way Hamilton with the 7th pick. Atlanta has Big Buff and Tobias Enstrom on D already but after taking Evander Kane and Alexander Burmistrov in the last 2 drafts, it’s back to building a strong D for the Thrashers.

8. Columbus Blue Jackets – Ryan Murphy D Kitchener (OHL) – With Fedor Tyutin considered their only offensive defenseman on the NHL team, and with young and very talented John Moore working his way to Ohio, the Blue Jackets take the explosive but smallish Ryan Murphy. Some scouts think if Murphy was 6’0, he would be the number one overall pick. He has outstanding skating and offensive skills, his only issues is he’s listed as 5’10 160lbs. Either way, the Jackets get themselves a heck of a player at number 8.

9. Boston Bruins – Jamieson Olesiak D Northeastern (NCAA) – Olesiak is a player who needs at least another year of college but he’s 6’7 and extremely tough. He would form a nasty tandem with Norris finalist Zdeno Chara and the Bruins can afford to wait a year or 2 for Olesiak to fine tune his skills.

10. Minnesota Wild – Mike Zibanejad C Djurgarden (SEL) – Zibanejad is a fast riser on the 2011 ISS list. He has great skill and will look great with fellow 1st round pick Mikael Granlund. The Wild have chosen more gritty players such as Colton Gillies and James Sheppard in years past, but the Zibanejad has too high a ceiling for Minnesota to pass up.

My next Mock Draft will be a full 30 team pick, but it’s too early to tell what the later teams will do (especially since the draft order hasn’t been set yet.

Thoughts??

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Quebec City would contribute $187-million while the province would put in $200-million.  A private consortium that has been selling seat reservations for the new arena would be responsible for the remaining $13-million.  However, Quebeckers waiting for the federal government to pitch in were disappointed 12 days later when Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Josee Verner announced that the Conservatives would not be contributing any funds.  Nonetheless, media company Quebecor entered the fray on March 1 by agreeing to a deal worth up to $200-million if the arena becomes home to an NHL team in exchange for 25 years of naming and management rights.

But why did the federal Conservatives not contribute to the arena project given that any party with dreams of forming a majority government in an election needs to retain or win seats in Quebec, a province with 24% or 75 of Canada’s total of 308 national seats?  After all, 6 of 10 current Conservative seats are located in the Quebec City-Lévis region.  Why risk alienating Conservative voters who will one day live in the shadow of the arena?  Ominously, why did the Conservatives heavily redact a 60-page document that assessed the feasibility of funding the arena?

Part of the reason is that there is no Canadian precedent for federal governments funnelling large amounts of money towards the erection of sports facilities or supporting professional sports teams.  In the mid-1990s with Canada recovering from economic recession, no level of government wanted to risk the public backlash that would have resulted if subsidies were granted to the ill-fated Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets or the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Canadian Football league franchise while amounts allotted to health care, education and other social programs were being slashed.

In 2000, the Liberal federal government announced plans to give the Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver franchises $2.5-million each as a form of assistance payments.  At the time, the U.S. dollar was close to 40% more valuable than the Canadian loonie.  Clubs north of the border, while taking in revenues in Canadian dollars, pay out salaries in U.S. dollars.  Just three days later, the Liberals cancelled the scheme due to a strong public outcry.  One vocal opponent was Stephen Harper, then-president of the National Citizens’ Coalition, a conservative public advocacy group, who said, “Canadians are being forced to subsidize millionaire hockey team owners and that’s a misconduct.”

Thus Harper in 2011, currently the nation’s prime minister, reasoned that reneging on his stance from a decade ago would be politically more dangerous with an election campaign looming than the risk of not offering funding and losing votes in Quebec.  The opposition will likely try hard to focus the campaign on several high-profile cover-ups and lack of transparency during the Conservatives’ five years in power.  If Harper chose to open the federal treasury for the arena he would surely be accused by the opposition of contradicting himself and using money to buy votes in Quebec and risk alienating the Conservative bedrock base in the province of Alberta.

Additionally, a decision to start cutting cheques for sports arenas or professional teams would set a dangerous financial precedent that would not be fiscally prudent in these uncertain economic times.  If federal money was granted for a Quebec arena, then how could subsequent governments deny funding for future proposed sports facilities?  What about Saskatchewan’s dream of a $431-million domed football stadium?

Ironically, on the same day that Quebec City mayor Regis Labeaume glowed when announcing the Quebecor partnership, Regina, Saskatchewan mayor Pat Fiacco tried to put on a brave face when talking about the federal government’s lack of funding toward his city’s proposal.  It was estimated that $100-million of federal funds were needed to start the Regina project.  These are not small-scale ideas but major, multi-million dollar projects that would severely hamper future federal budgets, already swimming in deficit situations.

In the end, the Conservatives likely administered their own private, internal polling to gauge the level of support in their Quebec City base.  Quite possibly, “big-C” conservatives in Quebec City reacted the same way they might react if they live in Alberta or other parts of Canada: they prefer small government, low taxes, limited spending on social programs and actually don’t want astronomical amounts of public money subsidizing professional sports teams or facilities.  Alternatively, the Conservatives surmised that this issue will hardly be a factor during the campaign and the number of outraged citizens who refuse to vote for them will not significantly affect the final poll results in Quebec.

Either way, when it comes to hockey, sports, money and governmental involvement in Canada, issues always tend to be a political football.

Here’s my theory on the plan. Yes, the team wants to stay young. They are happy to keep things on the cheap for now but to be fair they did offer Craig Anderson a nice contract that he walked away from. And they want to get back to a team that has an identity. It’s old news that Sakic, Roy and Forsberg are not going too save this team on the ice or at the box office.

Those parts of the Plan are readily apparent. Quietly playing out over time are the efforts of the management to lay a solid foundation for Matt Duchene. And I believe that part of that is nurturing the best environment for Matt Duchene to become the captain of this team.

Matt Duchene is slated to be the face of this franchise and it’s all been in motion for years. Duchene has been billeted with current captain Adam Foote since day one. Think that was a happy coincidence? I doubt it. He’s being groomed. Foote has strong leadership skills and Duchene is expected to soak up a lot of this directly from the source.

Need more evidence? Matt Duchene is on Twitter. Not only is that unprecedented for this organization, it’s completely out of character. No one else on this team has been granted that kind of access to social media. We will have to see what happens to Erik Johnson’s account now that he is an Avalanche.

The Avalanche’s “All About the A” ad campaign has featured Duchene prominently.

Do trades figure into this scenario? I think so; the trade of Scott Hannan was two-fold. The Avs certainly thought they were getting a quality player in Tomas Fleischmann but it also set up another scenario. Next year Adam Foote is expected to retire and that would leave Hannan in a clear position of leadership on this team. A position that would be somewhat difficult for a 20 year old to tackle, even one of Duchene’s drive and determination. Don’t see Hannan as a leader? How about that situation in Washington where it was said that Hannan took the lead in a team meeting only weeks after getting there? If he’s got the stones to pull that on a new team imagine the role he would feel needed filling in the Avs locker room with the departure of Foote. That kind of situation could derail the plans the Avs have for Matt Duchene.

Liles is another potential leader that could upset the apple cart. Could be one of the reasons he was again in play on the trade market. And if Liles hasn’t got the message yet that he is expendable then there is always draft day to take care of that situation for good. I’m not endorsing such a move; I think that Avs are much better off with Erik Johnson AND John-Michael Liles on the blueline. But the team may not see it the same way if it threatens Duchene’s ascent to Captain. Erik Johnson now gives them more options in parting with Liles. I think Liles can and does still provide important leadership on this team but he also has to accept The Plan and his place in the scheme of things.

And what about Stastny? It’s just possible that he is passive enough about leadership that he will not be a factor. He strikes me as a guy that is motivated to play hard and win but is more than happy to let others do the rah-rah stuff. Same situation with Milan Hejduk.

All of this is about chemistry. The Avs, like any team has to monitor the chemistry on the ice as well as in the locker room. If they think they have the leader of the future on their hands then they have to take steps to ensure that his position is secure. It’s not unusual for teams to trade away players to start a new chapter and set the stage for the locker room chemistry of the new era. The Avs know this but don’t expect them to come right out and say it. It just isn’t polite dinner table conversation.

NHL clubs made 16 trades involving 35 players today prior to the 3 p.m., ET, trade deadline. Following is a list of the transactions:

• Anaheim traded C Maxim Lapierre and C MacGregor Sharp to Vancouver for C Joel Perrault and Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
• Atlanta traded RW Niclas Bergfors and LW Patrick Rissmiller to Florida for RW Radek Dvorak and Carolina’s 5th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft (previously acquired).
• Atlanta traded G Drew MacIntyre to Montreal for D Brett Festerling.
• Atlanta traded LW Fredrik Modin to Calgary for Calgary’s 7th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• Boston traded D Jeff Penner and RW Mikko Lehtonen to Minnesota for G Anton Khudobin.
• Carolina traded LW Sergei Samsonov to Florida for D Bryan Allen.
• Chicago traded C Ryan Potulny and a 2nd-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft to Ottawa for D Chris Campoli and a conditional 7th-round pick in 2012.
• Colorado traded D Kevin Montgomery to Edmonton for D Shawn Belle.
• Columbus traded D Rostislav Klesla and LW Dane Byers to Phoenix for LW Scottie Upshall and D Sami Lepisto.
• Columbus traded LW Tom Sestito to Philadelphia for C Michael Chaput and RW Greg Moore.
• Edmonton traded RW Dustin Penner to Los Angeles for D Colten Teubert, Los Angeles’ 1st-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft and a conditional 3rd-round pick in 2012.
• Florida traded D Dennis Wideman to Washington for C Jake Hauswirth and Washington’s 3rd-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• Florida traded LW Chris Higgins to Vancouver for D Evan Oberg and Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in the 2013 Entry Draft.
• New Jersey traded C Jason Arnott to Washington for C David Steckel and Washington’s 2nd-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
• St. Louis traded LW Brad Winchester to Anaheim for Anaheim’s 3rd-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
• Toronto traded C John Mitchell to NY Rangers for the Rangers’ 7th-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.

There also were three waiver claims today:

• Atlanta claimed C Rob Schremp from NY Islanders.
• Calgary claimed D Brett Carson from Carolina.
• Ottawa claimed G Curtis McElhinney from Tampa Bay.

Trade Deadline Activity Since 1979-80

Season Date Trades Players
1979-80 March 11, 1980 3 5
1980-81 March 10, 1981 12 22
1981-82 March 9, 1982 5 11
1982-83 March 8, 1983 1 1
1983-84 March 6, 1984 2 2
1984-85 March 12, 1985 4 7
1985-86 March 11, 1986 8 14
1986-87 March 10, 1987 5 9
1987-88 March 8, 1988 8 12
1988-89 March 7, 1989 9 21
1989-90 March 6, 1990 10 16
1990-91 March 5, 1991 14 33
1991-92 March 10, 1992 11 22
1992-93 March 22, 1993 9 14
1993-94 March 21, 1994 18 35
1994-95 April 7, 1995 19 32
1995-96 March 20, 1996 13 21
1996-97 March 18, 1997 18 35
1997-98 March 24, 1998 19 38
1998-99 March 23, 1999 21 30
1999-00 March 14, 2000 12 23
2000-01 March 13, 2001 17 31
2001-02 March 19, 2002 17 35
2002-03 March 11, 2003 24 46
2003-04 March 9, 2004 20 32
2005-06 March 9, 2006 25 40
2006-07 February 27, 2007 25 44
2007-08 February 26, 2008 25 45
2008-09 March 4, 2009 22 47
2009-10 March 3, 2010 31 55
2010-11 February 28, 2011 16 35

First, the Columbus Blue Jackets have claimed veteran defenseman Craig Rivet from the Buffalo Sabres on re-entry waivers. Rivet, an impending unrestricted free agent, will bring leadership and experience to an inexperienced Jackets team. The Sabres will be responsible for half of his $3,500,000 salary prorated on the remainder of the season.

Also, the Philaldephia Flyers claimed rearguard Nick Boynton from the Chicago Blackhawks. That move was necessary due to their lack of space and the loss of their 7th defenseman, Oskars Bartulis, for the remainder of the year due to a shoulder injury. That means Adam Foote, is not in the Flyers’ plans anymore. Strange move by the Hawks as Boynton his only earning $500,000 this year (the league minimum salary).

Then, in a strange move, the Los Angeles Kings put winger Marco Sturm on waivers to clear cap space in anticipation of the next 48 hours. Sturm was claimed by the Washington Capitals, who desperately needed scoring help on their second line. The Kings had acquired Sturm from the Boston Bruins earlier this season.

The following players were put on waivers today (most notables in bold):

Jason Jaffray (ANA), Tim Stapelton (ATL), Brett Carson (CAR), Nathan Lawson (NYI), Robbie Schremp (NYI), Pascal Leclaire (OTT), Ty Conklin (STL), Curtis McElhinney (TB), DJ King (WAS).

Schremp will likely get picked up by a team looking to add depth up front. As for the other ones, I highly doubt there is a market for them. Back-up goalies are not in high demand this season… Conklin lost his back-up job to giant Ben Bishop, who earned his first NHL shutout yesterday against the Oilers. Leclaire’s season has been riddled by injuries and inconsistent play. McElhinney (acquired in exchange from Dan Ellis from the Ducks) has been dreadful so far this year and with Mike Smith (who cleared re-entry waivers) and Dwayne Roloson in front of him, the Lightning doesn’t need his services.

The Atlanta Thrashers have extended forward Chris Thorburn. The deal is three years at an average salary of $867,000 (2.6M total). The rugged winger has 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points in 62 games for the Thrashers. He was slated to become a restricted free agent at season’s end.

With Chris Pronger slated to miss tonight’s game, the Philadelphia Flyers were forced to recall rearguard Erik Gudbranson from the AHL to take his spot. As a result, they had to send a player down, and James Van Riemsdyk was reassigned temporarily to the AHL. He will miss tonight’s game in Ottawa, and with Blair Betts nursing an injury, Nikolay Zherdev will draw back into the line-up despite having gone unclaimed on waivers earlier this week.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have reportedly been offered a first and third round pick for forward Clarke MacArthur who’s a RFA after the season. Negotiations are ongoing, but GM Brian Burke is not willing to meet MacArthur’s salary expectations following a strong season. Burke is also seeking defensive help, and he’s willing to give a 3rd rounder in exchange for an offensive d-man. The Colorado Avalanche is asking a 2nd round pick in exchange for John-Michael Liles.

As told by Jamie Fraser, the Ottawa Senators are still negotiating with impending UFA Chris Phillips in an attempt to extend the veteran defenseman. If a deal is not reached before Monday’s deadline, expect the rearguard to be traded to a contender.

UPDATE: via Bob MacKenzie, the Florida Panthers have just traded Bryan McCabe to the New York Rangers for a 3rd round pick and Tim Kennedy.

The recent multi-player deal by the Colorado Avalanche with the St. Louis Blues (Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk along with a draft pick for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a pick) has some observers wondering if the Avs could make another significant move.

Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reported the latest making the rounds has the Avs shipping forward Paul Stastny, TJ Gilardi and possibly another player or a draft pick to the Los Angeles Kings, in return for defenseman Jack Johnson, goaltender Jonathan Bernier and forward Jarret Stoll.

Dater justifiably states he has “no real confidence” in this rumor, merely passing it along to inform his readers how crazy thing are getting of late with the Avalanche.

Still, seems some folks have chose to ignore the above and take it at face value as not just a rumor but one which could come true.

Anything’s possible, of course, as the Avs latest deal with the Blues made clear, but this rumor doesn’t make much sense.

The Kings do need some help as they battle to make the playoffs and Statsny could provide a much-needed boost to their first line, but the Kings would prefer a scoring winger over a first line center.

Gilardi’s currently on IR with a wrist injury and earlier in the season was sidelined by a broken right wrist. Doesn’t sound like he could help the Kings make the playoffs this season.

As for the proposed return for the Avs, it appears too one-sided in their favor, picking up one of the Kings top defenseman, their backup and one of their better two-way forwards.

The Kings recently re-signed Johnson to a multi-year extension so the notion of moving him now seems far-fetched. Sure, it’s possible but again, far-fetched. It also doesn’t make much sense to move Bernier in case starter Jonathan Quick either fades down the stretch or falls to injury.

The Avalanche as Dater noted in his blog will probably ship out a center once Matt Duchene returns to action as that’ll give them five on the roster, but Duchene and Statsny aren’t likely going anywhere. If they do make a move it could be as Dater suggested Ryan O’Reilly who’s moved.

Lyle Richardson
Spector’s Hockey
www.spectorshockey.net

What about the financial impact? Both of these franchises are cap floor scrapers. Working on a budget well below the $59.4 million upper limit. For a team like the Blues, in ownership/investor limbo, keeping the books lean and on target to pre-season projections is important.

Addressing personnel needs and maintaining a competitive lineup are also important.

In the two deals General Manager Doug Armstrong struck last week, he found a nice balance of both worlds. Moving a costly salary that would not be returning for next season (Eric Brewer to Tampa Bay) and reinvesting payroll dollars from areas of depth in to areas of need (Erik Johnson and Jay McClement to Colorado for Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk).

Below is a breakdown of the expenses coming in, going out and the remaining balance. As a point of reference Blues operate on roughly a $45 million payroll. Capgeek.com estimates the figure at season end to be approximately $45,289,510.

Salaries In

Chris Stewart – $2.5 million ($3.25 million in 2011-12)
Kevin Shattenkirk – $875,000 ($875,000 in 2011-12)
Total: $3.375 million

According to Capgeek, the figures remaining to be paid for each player as of 2-22-11.

Stewart – $726,478
Shattenkirk – $227,419
Total: $953,897

Salaries Out

Erik Brewer – $4.5 million
Erik Johnson – $ 2.2 million ($3.0 million in 2011-12)
Jay McClement – $1.45 million ($1.45 million in 2011-12)
Total: $8.15 million

According to Capgeek, the figures remaining to be paid for each player as of 2-22-11.

Brewer – $1,073,925 million
Johnson – $656,989
McClement – $366,398
Total: $2,097,312 million

Total Difference 2010-11: $2,097,312 – $953,897 = $1,143,415
Total Difference 2011-12: $4.125 million – $4.45 million = -$325,000

Basically the Blues can afford to add salary in the total of $1,143,415 and not raise payroll above the $45 million or so that was expected per no trades being made from the original roster. A salary that would be in the Brad Boyes and Andy McDonald raise. Somewhere in the $4.0 million+ in Annual Average Value (AAV) range.

Taking in to account that the Blues were comfortable adding the prorated amounts of Marek Svatos and Kyle Wellwood, it’s not a far jump to figuree they could add about $204,000 to $205,000 in prorated salary. Looking at a $700,000 (pretty much halfway between both deals) divided by 82 games times the remaining schedule of 24 games yields the $204,000 estimate.

Can the Blues bring in a legitimate impact player for this season and beyond for a prorated amount of ($1,143,415 + $204,878 =) $1,348,023? Sure they could. That’s means about a little less than $5.0 million AAV could be comfortably added.

The question now is, will they? Only Doug Armstrong and Dave Checketts can really answer that question. Bottom line, the Blues do have some room to add.

Who knows? That near million in savings may be needed to offset the “Every Game Counts” losses if they finish out of the playoffs. Hopefully that is not the case and Armstrong can continue to remold this roster in his image.

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