10 Oct 2008 by Craig in NHL 2008
When the salary cap was instituted a few years back, it was meant to equalize the franchises. Since then the cap has soared and once again there seems to be a gap between the best and the worst. It seems like this year a lot of teams have spent right to the cap and not left themselves a lot of room under the cap. The cap has made a lot of teams make tough decisions on veteran players and have a lot of young guys on there NHL rosters. With teams being close to the cap, that might create a lot of player movement early in the season. Currently there are 10 teams within a million of the cap and 11 teams with more then $5 million in space. As people get healthy there will be teams looking to find space and other teams looking to take advantage.
Detroit Red Wings
The Wings have about $450 000 in cap space currently, but have a couple of players on injury reserve. Chris Chelios and Darren McCarty are hurt and if they are going to be on the roster, Detroit’s management will have to make a move. Detroit also likes to add veteran pieces at the deadline and that will tough with there current cap situation. Detroit was forced to put a couple of good young players in the minors and I think they will want them to be with the big club sooner rather then later. The Red Wings have a few moveable pieces, they could make a trade and get some room. Kyle Quincey is the 8th defenseman on the team and is out of options and might be traded for a pick when Chelios is ready to come back. Detroit is also deep in the forward lines and could trade pending free agents like Mikael Samuelsson or Thomas Kopecky to create room for younger players. The Wings are the best team on paper this year, but they aren’t immune to cap problems. If they stay healthy look for them to make a move relatively early in the year.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are a great team, but they are flirting with the cap. They have less then $200 000 in room and have a lot of money committed to forwards. They have almost $30 million committed to there top six forwards and have some good young talent almost ready to come up. Top prospects like Claude Giroux could come up and contribute with the team. I think they will look to move one of there top six forwards and the easiest one to move will be Mike Knuble. Knuble is a free agent at years end and makes $2.8 million this season. The Flyers are also currently carrying three goaltenders and might look to move either Nittymaki or Aubin to a team that needs a solid NHL goalie.
New York Rangers
The Rangers might be in the worst shape overall, with 6 contracts that are more then $4 million annually. The thing about the Rangers is that they have a lot of players locked up long term and there is no obvious player they could trade to get some space. The Rangers have been rumored to want Mats Sundin and Brendan Shanahan and they won’t be able to get them without moving one of there big contracts. Beyond the big names this team isn’t overly deep and might find it hard to move money. They do have guys like Petr Prucha who is a restricted free agent next year and other teams would want him. The bottom end of there roster is filled with guys who will be restricted or unrestricted at years end. In the long run I think they will eventually have to trade some of there high price talent, but that will probably happen in the off season. For now they could move Paul Mara ($1.95 million) or Aaron Voros ($1 million). New York’s real problem will be next year when a lot of there players are free agents.
Phoenix Coyotes
Phoenix is in great shape, with more then $9 million in room. Phoenix has a great young team and are looking to make the playoffs this season. In my opinion the Coyotes management will be ready to take advantage of some teams who will be looking for cap relief. Phoenix might be able to make some one sided deals to improve there team and help them make the playoffs and sell some tickets. They might be able to add some expiring contracts of good veterans to improve there team and help the young players progress in there careers. If great players like Sundin, Shanahan and Forsberg want to return, Phoenix might be able to take a real shot at them if they truly want to make a run this year.
Vancouver Canucks
Much like the Coyotes, the Canucks are in great shape cap wise and ready to take advantage. The Canucks have been looking for offense all off season and you can be guaranteed that if solid offensive players become available they will be involved. They have some guys who will be free agents at years end, so they won’t be looking to take on long term contracts. They have already made a pitch for Sundin and if they can get a guy like Prucha from the Rangers or Samuelsson for the Wings I am sure they will jump at the chance.
We have already seen some movement early this year, with the Schneider trade and players like McLaren, Schaefer and Khabibulin being put on waivers. If Forsberg, Sundin and Shanahan return some teams will be forced to scramble to find the cap room. I think we will see a lot of moment early this year and teams with cap room will be able to make excellent trades to improve there teams. Good teams like Vancouver, Phoenix, Columbus and Dallas could make moves and take the next steps with there franchises. It should be interesting to watch and I look forward to see which teams will be the most creative and improve there teams.
09 Oct 2008 by Craig in NHL 2008
Well, its finally here, the NHL season officially gets under way tonight. Yes, there was a couple games in Europe, but this feels like the real thing. I already went over the Red Wing vs Maple Leaf game for you, but there’s a few more tonight. At this point there is a hope for all teams, everyone feels they have a chance to win. An NHL season is long and grueling and in many ways on opening night most teams will have the healthiest roster they will have all year on the ice. It’s time for the rookies to prove they belong and for the veterans to prove they are still at the top of there game. There’s excitement in eight cities tonight, because hockey is back and there teams will be starting there chase for the Stanley Cup.
Boston Bruins vs Colorado Avalanche
I think these are to fringe teams in the NHL this season, both of which will be looking to get off to good starts. For Boston it is all about health, they do have there best player back in Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron missed most of last year with concussion problems, but he seems healthy now and is ready to lead the Bruins. Patrice will join an already deep front line with newly acquired Michael Ryder, Marc Savard and Phil Kessel. The biggest question the Avalanche have to answer early this season is whether or not Peter Budaj is a number one goalie. There whole season might hinge on whether or not he can take that next step and become a consistent all around NHL net minder. The same old characters will have to score some goals for Colorado this year, guys like Sakic, Hejduk, Svatos and Wolski. The Avalanche will play a gritty style game led by former Maple Leaf Darcy Tucker and a healthy Ryan Smyth. Both these teams have decent veteran defense cores Boston with Chara and Ward. Colorado will counter with Foote and Liles on defense. In my opinion this might be the most crucial game of the night, both teams need to get off to good starts this year. On paper these teams look very similar, and it looks as if they will play a close game. Colorado is at home and I think they will come out with a win 3 – 2 in a shootout.
Calgary Flames vs Vancouver Canucks
An all western Canada match up should be a treat to watch on opening night. Both teams have made some changes in the off season and have some big expectations for this season. Great goaltending for both teams will make it a low scoring game, Kiprusoff for Calgary and Luongo for Vancouver. Calgary and Vancouver are both defense first teams that boast solid units from the blueline. Phaneuf and Reghir lead Calgary from the back end while Ohlund and Salo are healthy and ready for the season in Vancouver. The biggest difference between these two teams is the depth in the forward lines. Calgary has great front end talent with Iginla and Cammalleri, with other guys like Bertuzzi, Langkow and Lombardi as solid offensive players. The Canucks went out and got Pavel Demitra to go along with the Sedins, but they will need contributions from guys like Bernier, Pyatt ane Wellwood. I look for this game to be fast and for both teams to play aggressive physical games. There should be some fights and remember these teams don’t like each other very much. The game is in Canada and the fans will be ready, loud and excited to get the season going. The atmosphere will be as if the game is truly important and players will all feed off that. This should be the best game of the night and I think Calgary will win 3 -1 with an empty net goal.
Anaheim Ducks vs San Jose Sharks
Two perennial power houses in the Western Conference will do battle on opening night. Both franchises have been competitive for a lot of years and will be looking to do much of the same this year. The Sharks will be playing a new system under a new coaching staff. New system same old players Joe Thornton will lead the way and need help from Marleau, Cheechoo and Mihalek. I am interested to see if the new puck possession style will work in San Jose or if they will be the same old team. Anaheim looks like the team that won a Stanley Cup a couple years back and Scott Niedermayer is the Captain again. They still have Pronger and Selanne, but the team is truly led now by young stars Getzlaf and Perry. Both teams have great goaltending, Nabokov in San Jose and Giguere in Anaheim. The Sharks went out and got the puck moving d – man they have always looked for in Dan Boyle and they hope that is enough to put them over the top. These are two of the top five teams in the West and this should be a good battle. I am torn, but I will pick San Jose wins 4 -3 in an exciting game worth watching.
Yes, it is just the first game of the season, but it is worth getting excited for. We haven’t seen good hockey in months and now it is time to see who is truly the best teams this season. Things to watch in these games are can Bertuzzi and Iginla play together in Calgary, can Peter Budaj be the number one goalie in Colorado and is San Jose playing a more Red Wing style game under the new coaching staff. It is the first night and these questions can’t be answered in one night, but the talk is over lets drop the puck. Enjoy the action and I hope your team gets off to the start they hope for.
06 Oct 2008 by Craig in NHL 2008
Philadelphia Flyers – The Flyers had a big bounce back year last season, coming from last to making it to the conference finals. The Flyers are deep up front with Briere, Carter, Richards and the return of Gagne. Gagne missed most of last season with concussion problems and could be a major boost to there offense. Philly has a young, but solid defense that should only get better as the year goes on players like Ryan Parent and Brandon Coburn will be looking to prove they belong in the NHL. The key to the Flyers success will be whether or not there goalie Biron plays at the top of his game. If he plays like he did in the playoffs last year, the Flyers will be a good team. If Biron in consistent and they avoid injuries the Flyers will be a playoff team.
Phoenix Coyotes – The Coyotes have been struggling for years, but they went out and improved there young team in the off season. They finally picked up a first line center in all star Olli Jokinen to play along side Shane Doan. That’s not enough in the West they will need contributions from young guys like Kyle Turris and Peter Mueller. They have an excellent goalie with Ilya Bryzgalov and a solid defense led by Ed Jovanovski. This team isn’t very deep yet, but have the talent to make the playoffs. They will play tough hockey and if they avoid the injury bug will battle for one of the final spots in the Western Conference.
Pittsburgh Penguins – Coming off a finals appearance last year, expectations are high on the Pens. They still have two of the best centers in the world with Evgeni Malkin and Sydney Crosby, but the cast around them has changed. They lost some key forwards in the off season and hope guys like Satan, Fedotenko and Cooke can have good years. The injury bug already hit this team losing top defenseman Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney, they will be out for extended periods of time. The Penguins are still very good, but not as good as they were at the end of last season. With the injuries on defense it looks like that will be there weakness and will put a lot of pressure on Fleury in net. Pittsburgh is a playoff team, but I don’t think they will have a run at the Cup like they did last year.
San Jose Sharks – Perennial favorites in the West, they look like a good team again. They have a new coach and a new system that they hope will take them from contenders to champions. They have great goaltending in Nabokov and talented forwards like Thornton and Marleau. They got the puck moving defenseman they needed in Dan Boyle and they rest of the D looks pretty good. We will have to wait and see with the Sharks, definitely a playoff team, but there year will be evaluated after the playoffs. I think if they don’t at least make the conference finals, there season will be a failure.
St Louis Blues – Looks like the Blues are going to struggle yet again and try to build towards future years. They have some solid vets with Kariya, Tkachuk, Brewer and goalie Legace. This year will be about bringing along there young talented players like T.J. Oshie, Patrik Berglund and Alex Pietrangelo if he makes the team. The Blues are moving in the right direction and with a couple more good drafts they should be set up well for the future. For the fans out there be patient with this team, they probably aren’t going to be very good this year.
Tampa Bay Lightning - This is not the last place Lightning, they have completely retooled there line up. It started when they drafted Steven Stamkos and then signed free agents Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata, Vaclav Prospal and Gary Roberts. That gives them a solid four lines up front, the question marks will come from defense and goalie. The defense is unproven and the goalie tandem of Smith and Kolzig isn’t great. This team is going to score goals, the question will be whether or not they can stop them. Look for a lot of high scoring games when you watch the Lightning this year. In the East I think they are good enough, there division isn’t very good and I think they will fight it out for the division title.
Toronto Maple Leafs - The Leafs have some of the most die hard fans in all of sports, and this year will test there patience. The Leafs are not good, but at least they some changes. The big problem is goal scoring, they have no true goal scorers or top line players on the team. They still have Toskala in net and he should get them some wins. The defense isn’t to bad with Kaberle and Kubina, but they will have to be excellent for them to make the playoffs. The Leafs aren’t a playoff team and they might not say it, but they hope to get the 1st overall pick in next years draft and grab Tavares.
Vancouver Canucks - They had a great pre season and will look to continue that trend. Luongo there goalie has been named team captain and will lead this team all year. They have a great defense, but are a little thin in the goal scoring department. To make the playoffs they need great years from the Sedin Twins and Pavel Demitra. Luongo is great and will keep them in the hunt for a playoff spot, but they will have to fight it out with a few teams for the final couple spots.
Washington Capitols – Alex Ovechkin is the best goal scorer in the NHL and will lead this team. The Caps will be looking to build on last years success with a good mix of veterans and young guys. The problem might be in net with Jose Theodore, if he is good the Caps will be good. I like this team and I think they will make the playoffs, but there not quite ready for a big run at the Stanley Cup.
19 Sep 2008 by Craig in NHL History
When the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1967 it would be the last in the original six period. The league had become a success both financially and on television and faced pressure to expand. With the fear of competing leagues and the search for high priced television contracts the NHL added six teams for the 1967-1968 season. These six new teams would form their own division and compete with the already established original six. With the new teams playing in their own division it guaranteed one of the new teams would play for the Stanley Cup.
The six cities that were selected were California Seals , St. Louis Blues, Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Minnesota North Stars and Philadelphia Flyers. Unlike other professional sports leagues in North America, the NHL choose add all teams in one season. The biggest fear upon expanding the league was that the play would weaken with double the amount of players in the league. To fill the new rosters the NHL held an Expansion Draft in the summer of 1967, and each of the new six teams would pick 20 players from the existing NHL rosters. Some big names found their way to new franchises the Los Angeles Kings selected the legendary Terry Sawchuk from Toronto, the Maple Leafs also lost Bob Baun to the California Seals. Bruins goalie Bernie Parent went to Philadelphia and Glenn Hall moved from Chicago to St. Louis. The NHL also increased it schedule having each team play 74 games, increased from 70 games. The top four teams from each division would make the playoffs, and you would have to win three seven game series to win the Cup.
When the 1967-1968 season started it was clear the original six teams were still by far the class of the league. The Montreal Canadians won the regular season title and ended up facing the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final. Montreal easily beat St. Louis in four games to claim Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Chicago Blackhawks forward Stan Mikita led the league with 87 points and claimed Most Valuable Player honors, Rogatien Vachon and Gump Worsley of Montreal split the best goalie honor and Bobby Hull led the league with 44 goals. The Oakland Seals (California Seals) were the worst team in league finishing with only 15 wins and missed the playoffs by 22 points.
In the 1967 season a young defenseman from Boston named Bobby Orr won the Calder Trophy (top Rookie), but in the 1968 season you really saw what he was going to become. He won his first Norris Trophy (top defenseman) and he would go on to win eight straight Norris’. Orr’s skill and talent would go on to change the game for ever, and is widely considered the best defenseman in NHL history. He was faster and stronger then most NHL players and he used those skills to score the famous Cup winning goal in 1970.
The Original NHL expansion in 1967-1968 expansion was a success for the league. Four of the franchises still play in their original locations Philadelphia, Los Angeles, St. Louis and Pittsburgh. The Philadelphia Flyers won the first Cup from an expansion team in 1974 and once again in 1975 led by forward Bobby Clarke and goalie Bernie Parent. Philadelphia has become one of the best hockey markets in the world, with devoted fans who love their tough Flyers.
In 1970 the NHL expanded again and added the Vancouver Canucks and the Buffalo Sabres. The expansion continues in 1972-1973 adding the Atlanta Flames and the New York Islanders and once again in 1974-1975 adding the Kansas City Scouts and the Washington Capitols. By this time some of the franchises were having troubles and would be relocated. The league now had 18 teams located all over North America, but not all the locations were selected well. The California Golden Seals had to move to Cleveland and Kansas City had to move to Colorado. Even after the move the original California franchise, that was now in Cleveland was forced to merge with the North Stars in Minnesota. The 70’s was a turbulent time for the NHL, lots of new teams and current teams finding new locations.
The 1970’s were ruled by the Montreal Canadian’s dynasty, Montreal won multiple cups. Led by exciting forward Guy Lafleur, defenseman Larry Robinson and solid goaltending by Ken Dryden. Lafleur was a first overall pick by the Canadians and played his first season in the 1971-1972 season. By the 1974 season Guy had become one of the if not the best player in the NHL and was a fan favorite at the infamous Montreal Forum. In the 1974-1975 season Lafleur almost doubled his career high in points in a season recording over 50 goals and 100 points, he would go on repeat those numbers for the next 5 years. For six straight years Guy was on top and leading the best team in the NHL, on his way to becoming the highest scoring player in Canadians history. Marcel Dionne was another player who was on top of his game in the 70’s, playing with both the Red Wings and the Kings he scored 40 plus goals six times in the decade. Unlike Lafleur, Dionne never had the team success with Los Angeles or Detroit.
In 1967 the NHL decided to expand and really has never stopped since. The decision to put 6 teams in to the league in one season was controversial, but ultimately successful. Four of those original six expansion franchises exist in their original form. The NHL continued to expand to its original state, with some great moves and some moves that didn’t work out. The truth of the matter is that if the NHL doesn’t expand in the 60’s we will never know what would have happened, but you can be assured the league benefitted from it. The expansion years caused a changing of the guard in the NHL, new owners, new players and eventually the need for European players.