The Rains Report

12 NHL Surprises

2010-10-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so we are 10 or so games into the NHL season - big deal. Well, it is 1/8th of the season, worth just as much as games 72-82. Here are some quick surprises thus far that you may not have noticed yet... Enter exaggerated stats and extrapolations.

1 - Steve Stamkos has twice as many goals as Alex Ovechkin, but not as many as Patrick Sharp (Blackhawks plug #1).

2 - James Wisniewski is the NHL's leading scorer from defense and Mark Letestu the leading rookie scorer.

3 - Keeping on the rookie trend, Washington's Michal Neuvirth is quietly the only rookie starting goaltender and leading the league in wins. Semyon who?

4 - The only category that Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin lead in is shots - and probably sponsorship dollars. This is what happens when 95% of your commercials budget went to paying the pro.

5 - New Jersey has 5 points through 10 games for last in the league, but Kovalchuk is worth 100 million?

6 - Leaf fans; Phil Kessel has 7 goals and Tyler Seguin has 1 - who needs 1st round picks?

7 - Tim Thomas, through 4 games is 4-0 and has a .978 SVP. Vezina winner that is long from done.

8 - Tyler Myers is on pace to be -74 at the end of the season and Michael Cammalleri for +90. Obviously, these trends will continue.

9 - Ottawa still doesn't have a goalie, but Brian Elliot earns points for wearing this Gongshow Hockey lid.

10 - Andrew Ladd has 10 points through 9 games, Niklas Hjalmarsson has 0 in 9 games.

11 - Brendan Morrison is Calgary's top scorer, and has more points than any Canuck not named Sedin.

12 - At age 40, Nicklas Lidstrom is on pace for 90 points and speaks with a perfect Michigan-Sweden hybrid accent.

Oh and here is Ovechkin's equally brutal commercial video rebuttal.

The summer that was

2010-08-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Summer recap: Kovalchuk, Turco, Yzerman and the Habs & Leafs

This summer hasn’t exactly been a typical summer for the NHL. Notably, the Kovalchuk fiasco, the lack of franchise relocation talk, and the explosion of the Stanley Cup Champions.

With 102 million over 17 years, I am just going to put the Kovalchuk situation in perspective for us. You’re going swimming, your parents expect you not to go deeper than your waist. You go in a bit deeper to your elbows, look at your parents and they aren’t paying attention, so you continue to go deeper and deeper until they say get out of the pool.

We can circle all of the past contracts that have established precedent and pushed the envelope, however, this contract goes too far. In my opinion, the contract was rightfully rejected but the NHL should have been paying attention to the implications of the previous contracts. This to me is odd as I am one of the few that believe in Bill Daley and Gary Bettman. It is good to see the Devils re-work this contract and I do hope they can work things out.

On to more friendly matters! How about the Blackhawks? Putting my now personal bias aside, I think Stan Bowman did an excellent job in remodelling this team. He hasn’t lost any of his, in my opinion, best 8 players (in order; Kane, Toews, Keith, Sharp, Hossa, Seabrook, Campbell and Hjalmarsson) and he has managed to upgrade his goaltending situation. Ok, some of you don’t consider Marty Turco and upgrade over Niemi but consider this; the 1.45 million they save is a huge upgrade for the overall scheme. I am willing to bet with anyone that Turco will have a better season than Niemi (in GAA and SVP)

For the record, I bought my first Blackhawks hat; I’m a sell out with a good explanation.

How about Steve Yzerman reshaping the Lightning! I was a little worried about his future starting off with such a disaster of a team model however he has definitely shown us all what he saw. The hiring of Guy Boucher, Tod Leiweke, Wayne Flemming and Pat Verbeek has really bolstered a weak administration. The on-ice performance will surely follow.

Ok so Montreal Canadiens fans; quel belle saison! It will be hard to reproduce last year’s playoff success but I think improving on the regular season should be an attainable goal. Jaroslav Halak is gone but in comes Lars Eller, a big body with excellent hands and good speed along with Ian Schultz (whom we won’t see for a while). Having P.K. around all season will be great for the team but expect bumps along the way.

Other than that, happy to see Sergei Kostitsyn gone and Louis Leblanc sign his entry level contract. For those that didn’t like the recent trade of Cedrick Desjardins, you should take some comfort in knowing that this laterall move was mainly because Guy Boucher really likes Desjardins and Ramo couldn’t find his place in Tampa.

As for the Leafs’ faithful, you have to be excited about these changes. Headlining the summer moves would be acquiring Kris Versteeg, this young forward has everything the Leafs need; talent, confidence and a stanley cup ring (only Giguere, Beauchemin and now Lebda have cups).

One thing that jumps off the page to me is that the Leafs have zero forwards over 28 and 5 defenseman over 27. I think this team should plan to be competitive over the next 3-8 years and I don’t think many of their defenseman will be hitting their stride at that age. However, I have to say the moves that occurred this summer seem to be beneficial, but I doubt they can finish any better than last in the Northeast.

With that let’s head into the season, here are a few predictions for fun…
The leafs will finish last in the Northeast (as mentioned above)
Dustin Byfuglien will have less than 10 goals this season
Henrik Sedin will be Vancouver’s captain
Dallas will have the 1st overall draft pick
Oli Jokinen will succeed in Calgary
Jaroslav Halak will not fair well in St-Louis
Marty Turco will lead the Western Conference in wins
Ottawa will still not have a goaltender and Spezza will be their best player

10 Telling Stats - NHL Playoffs

2010-06-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

With the Stanley Cup being awarded in the next few days lets go over some quick, telling statistics from the past NHL playoff season.

60 percent of the time, Jonathan Toews will win the faceoff.
49 years since Chicago won the cup
-12 from Marc-Andre Bergeron (playoff worst)
19 points from Ville Leino (20 career season points)
13 goals from Michael Cammalleri
29 minutes per game for Chris Pronger
9, most wins by a goalie not named Antti Niemi
146 mouth guards used by Patrick Kane
37 too many men on the ice penalties
3 times in history we have seen a team come back from 0-3

Personally, I have loved watching this season's playoffs. Of course, I am a Montreal Canadiens fan therefore the playoffs have been a welcome surprise. There have been many reasons for you to enjoy the playoffs so I encourage the readers to put up their best part of the playoffs, here are some of mine.

The Habs. The rise (and fall?) of Michael Leighton. The 0-3 flyers. The 3-0 bruins. The lack of goaltending. The ever-eroding consciousness of Bob Cole. The new NHL commercials. The 40 year Chicago cup drought. Hal Gill being Crosby's kryptonite. The mormon beard of Jonathan Toews.

Turco leaves Dallas

2010-04-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

It's been no secret for those of you who know me, Marty Turco is and always will be my favorite hockey player. This year, Marty's tenure in Dallas has ended and to a certain extent my fanship for the team has as well. I've grown fond of many Stars players over the years - the tenacity of Brendan Morrow, the toughness of Stephan Robidas and the dynamic youth of James Neal and Jamie Benn. But, without 35 in net, I will always selfishly want the team to lose; especially when they play the Habs.

For a career that has span ten years in Dallas, Marty finishes as the franchise leader in 6 of the 9 goaltending categories. He doesn't have the record for losses, ties and should have the record for franchise G.A.A but he played so many seasons. He leaves the team with a career SVP of .911 and GAA of 2.31 and 40 shutouts.

For those that think of him as struggling in the playoffs, Marty finished with strong numbers: GAA 2.17 and SVP .914. Personally, I will most remember the 7 game series versus Vancouver in 2007 when Marty won 3 games, all by shutouts. From a wins point of view, the best performance was certainly the 2008 playoffs where the Stars shocked favorites Ducks and Sharks but lost in the Western Conference finals to the eventual champion Red Wings.

Ironically enough, in his last season as a Star, Marty recorded his best post-lockout save percentage with .913. I am trying to be optimistic about his change in teams, (although I can't yet picture him in any other jersey) in that I might get a chance to see more of his games on TV or better yet, in person!

As much as I will miss Marty being in Dallas, it probably won't be as much as the community of Dallas will. In 2006-07Marty won the NHL Foundation Player Award for his tireless charity work and Marty's wife, Kelly, has been a longtime champion for reading in the Dallas area.

Wherever Marty signs on July 1st, I will become an instant supporter of that team - as painfull as it may be. Possible destinations? Well, I expect Marty to earn at least 3.75 million per season, similar to Khabibulin last season.

The Flyers are a definite possibility, although their salary issues might be a stumbling block. The Blues are an option, with their main weakness being goaltending. The Lightning may be a possibility with a new general manager looking to make waves. This would also be a possible reunion with Mike Smith, who with Turco, played his best hockey.

The last possibility would be my favorite option, the Washington Capitals. Now, if Washington is hit by poor goaltending performances yet again this playoff season (upcoming UFA) their hand may be forced to go out and get a top flight goaltender. In my opinion this would be the best option since they are an easy team to cheer for and could lead to a Stanley Cup.

Wherever Marty ends up, the team will be receiving a true winner, on and off the ice.

The price of admission

2010-02-16T17:50:00.000-08:00

Since every hockey blogger out there is putting something out on the Olympics I figured I would put together something that maybe others haven't looked at as much - their salaries.

I actually calculated each player's salary only to google it and get the same number. Team Canada is the Rolls Royce of the group, sitting a payday of 123.600 million dollars over a 23 man roster. Averaging out for a whopping 5.3 per player, Hockey Canada sure is glad they are "on commission" (anyone who wins a gold medal receives $500,000, which after taxes is just south of $200,000). Not surprisingly, the lowest paid player is Drew Doughty, who is still on his entry level contract of $850,000. Most players are expected to donate their winnings to a charity or hockey Canada. Except for Doughty, who will be stuck with a near $200,000 bill if they go out for a team dinner.

As far as Canada's fiercest competition, team Russia, their NHL players combine for a total of 69.3 million over 14 players for an average salary of 4.95 million. Now, you should know that the 14 are of course their best players, and if their non-NHL players were contributing towards this average (best guess would be that the remaining 9 players could average a generous 3 million per year) for a total of 96.3 million. Meaning their average per player would then drop to 4.18.

By the numbers (cash money) the Russian's should be (4.18/5.3=78%) 78% as good as the Canadians, right! haha

The next threat would probably be the defending champion, Sweden. The team comes together for a total of 75.5 million with 19 players; an average of 3.97 million. Which is just under the Russian's, keeping in mind the 4 other players, who are worth about 8 million combined (Forsberg) bring them to 83.5 for 3.6 per player. Their calculation would be (3.6/5.3=67.9%). I think they have a real strong shot at upsetting one of the top two teams but those are the numbers.

Next is the Americans, they are quite the young team but do have some inflated contracts to total 80 million for an average of 3.47 per player. Bringing their salaries quite close to the Swedes at 65% of Canada's salary.

I sort of hope that calculating these numbers can give you some perspective as to how heavily favored Canada would be should this tournament be played on paper. I guess that's why they actually play the games.

Leafs' Turning Point

2010-01-31T19:04:00.000-08:00

January 31st 2010 is one of the biggest days in the new age Maple Leaf's history. The trades that were made today, quick recap below, will shape the franchise for the next 5 years.

Leafs acquire: Phaneuf, Aulie, Sjostrom

Flames acquire: Stajan, Mayers, Hagman, White

Leafs acquire: Giguere

Ducks acquire: Blake, Toskala

The trades are a significant change to the talent model of the franchise. In my opinion, talent models should resemble a pyramid; more role players and few top tier talent players. As seen is Detroit's model from their Stanley Cup winning year.

Sorry for the quality of the pyramids, the paint program leaves much to be desired.

As you can see, the Leafs' talent pyramid is seriously lacking in the upper echelons, when compared to a Stanley Cup winning team. Burke has gone out and found upper tier talent to fill these holes, since finding players of that talent level is quite difficult, he has done a good job. Looking at the players currently in the top three levels for the Leafs (after the trades) Kessel, Phaneuf, Komisarek, Beauchemin and Giguere are newly acquired.

Let's get it straight and understand that I am not crowning the Leafs to achieve much more than their current basement dweller state. I do believe that this is a step in the right direction, as opposed to the Kessel trade.

It would be a fair estimate to say the Leafs will be the lowest scoring team for the rest of the year.

In terms of salary issues, there isn't much worry as Phaneuf's high price tag (6.5 mil) can be handled easily enough and Giguere's 7 million next season can be looked at as a wash since Toskala and Blake combine for 8 million.

For those of you that have read a lot about this trade, I would just like to point out the benefits of having Keith Aulie. Sure he may have 6 points so far in this AHL season, but the 6'6'' defenseman brings a strong physical edge to the game and makes smart decisions. Imagine he was Hal Gill, but without the pylon-like mentality.

Overall, I think Leaf fans should be happy in general today with these moves. Calgary fans however should still be happier, since they still have a legitimate shot at the Division title.

World Junior Wrap

2010-01-06T14:51:00.000-08:00

A strong USA team was tenacious and really impressive throughout the tournament to bring home the gold. I know Canadian fans would have loved to win but the Americans did it our way.

They had they training camp and cut players, they played gritty and they had just enough gumption to pull it off. It was an excellent game to watch and will be remembered for a long time. Yes, I agree Canada's Jake Allen wasn't strong in the games that really counted, but neither was his defense - Ryan Ellis in particular was culprit to many offensive zone turnovers. The bottom line is the American's held out for the win and deserved it.

Ok so you all know about Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Alex Pietrangelo and Jerry D'Amico but here are some players that stood out this year that you may not have seen.

Nino Niederreiter (SUI): The only Suiss player in the top 30 in scoring, Nino had an excellent tournament for the surprising Suiss team, posting 10 points in 7 games. As a 17 year old he plays for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, with 41 points through 37 games he stands to be a force on the wing for an NHL club in the near future.

Anton Rodin (SWE): The 2009 2nd round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks was also impressive notching 10 points in the tournament. His speed was on display quite a bit, playing on a line with Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and keeping up quite well. He is currently playing for Byrnas of the SEL when not playing for the national team. He may not have a huge NHL impact down the line but could develop into a solid 2nd line playmaker.

Tomas Kubalik (CZE): With 9 points in 6 games Kubalik improved significantly over last year's 2 point tournament. He is currently playing in the QMJHL and has an impressive 44 points in 32 games before leaving for the tournament. The 5th round pick of the Blue Jackets may just prove to be a steal in the 5th round. If he continues to develop in North America he will have all the tools to succeed in the NHL.

Danny Kristo (USA): The Montreal Canadiens prospect was visually very impressive with his speed and multiple dismantling of the Canadian defenders. He accrued 7 points in 6 games but more importantly he showed a lot of character and tenacity in his back checking. The near point per game pace he has set thus far with North Dakota is indicative of his scoring ability. Habs fans will have to wait for Kristo though, much like Louis Leblanc, Kristo still has a few years left in the NCAA.

Benjamin Conz (SUI): The goaltender of the tournament faced 284 shots in 7 games (40 a night) managed to keep his save percentage reasonable with .089. He regularly plays for Langnau of the Swiss National League where he has kept a SVP consistent with the likes of former NHLers Tobias Stephan and Jussi Markkanen. Conz will most likely attract some attention from NHL teams this summer and may see consideration in the later rounds of the draft.

Looking towards next year for Canada, they have 5 eligible players: Hall, Ryan Ellis, Brayden Schenn, Jared Cowan and Calvin de Haan. Of those players, expect Hall to be playing in the NHL. They will however be bolstered by late training camp cuts Tyler Seguin, Brandon Gormley and Sudbury Wolves' John McFarland.

The Finished Flash

2009-12-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

The defending silver medalists will have a tough time following up on their successes of 2006 in Vancouver. These Fins have longer odds and older stars. With 29 Finish players skating in the NHL this season, compared to the 31 in 2006, this Scandinavian nation has stayed consistent in terms of number of players. Where it drops off is in the talent.

In 2006, the 31 Fins combined for 703 points over a full season, meaning 8.57 FSI (Finish scoring index... ok it could be any nation's scoring index, I just made it up). They had considerable contributions from Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu and Jere Lehtinen. Yes, these guys are still around this season but "they don't make them like they used to".

So far this season, the 2009 Fins have 189 through 36 games, meaning 5.25 FSI. You can start to see a drastic difference here. Even though they have found new leadership in Mikko Koivu, Olli Jokinen and Niklas Hagman there is still much to be desired. Their offensive production has been in question before but the Fins will play a very strong defensive game and wait for their opponent to make a mistake (very venus fly trap-ian). It is doubtfull they will get any help from the home bodies but if anyone makes it, it may be Hannes Hyvonen of Minsk Dynamo.

Here is a look at their forwards... (Note the number of repeated names, the Jokinen's are not related... although, every American probably thinks Brad Richards and Mike Richards are brothers, if americans watched hockey.)

Selanne-O.Jokinen-S.Koivu

Hagman-M.Koivu-T. Ruutu

J.Jokinen-Leino-Lehtinen

J. Ruutu-Filppula-Meitinen

Defensively the team will rely heavily on Kimo Timonen and the strength of their defensive forwards. They always seem to play strong against the big teams and don't count them out to stymie some of the high powered offenses. Losing Teppo Numinen to retirement (heart issues) will hurt this team a lot.

Timonen-Salo

Pitkanen-Lydman

Vaananen-Koistinen

Goaltending is definitely their ace in the hole. The SUOMI will be backstopped by some of the best goaltenders in hockey. Kiprussof or Backstrom could both be the top goaltender of the tournament if they had their way. However, with Kipper's boisterous public demand to be the starter, he seems to have laid claim. Look to see Pekka Rinne accompany the goaltenders and earn experience for the future.

Overall, this Finish team is not the most attractive selection to medal, however they could do some damage to a team that would be overlooking them. Watch for them to have close games all tournament long. Final prediction: Bronze Medal

Olympic Fever - A Russian Update

2009-12-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

"Of course I win gold" Maybe not this time Alex....

With every media outlet firing out our team Canada hopefuls faster than your morning's medium double double. I thought it would be useful to give you an update on the competition, starting with the Russians.

Since the times of the Soviet Union, never has the POSSHA been more feared. Speaking of which, Fetisov is making a return in the KHL this weekend! They may not be able to field multiple teams that could compete for a medal, but their cream of the crop is definitely tops. In case you haven't imagined it already - check it. Here is a look at their forwards.

Ovechkin-Malkin-Kovalchuk
Semin-Datsyuk-Kovalev

Frolov-Kozlov-Radulov (remember him?)

Morozov-Yashin-Afinogenov

Yikes.

But your thinking that their defense will be weak since they always have been. They only have 7 defenseman with games played in the NHL this season (I looked it up, kinda surprised) with a total of 121 games played; extrapolated over an 82 game season it means they have only played in 21% of games this season. All that to say, yes, their defense IS weak.

Gonchar-Markov

Volchenkov-Tyutin

Grebeshkov-Kulikov

Goaltending is a different story of course, they not only have veteran incumbents but rising stars (or Sputniks). The experience of Nabokov, Khabibulin put them atop the rankings however I would slide the ever shut-out-ing Ilya Bryzgalov into the mix. Don't forget about Washington's Varly as he has just one loss in 16 games played this season.

Bryzgalov

Nabokov

Varlamov

Simply looking at their offense, the Russians have too much firepower to be stopped by any defense. Yes, Canada does have it's on-ice version of NORAD in Neidermayer and Pronger. But no one, can stop Ovechkin-Malkin-Kovalchuk on one line.

Final placement: Silver Medal

Enter The Hall

2009-11-09T12:52:00.001-08:00

With the induction of some of the NHL's greatest stars into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight, I couldn't help but review my favorite memories of these players and builders. Notable would be the 2001-2002 Detroit Red Wings team which included three of these hall entrants.

Brett Hull: The Golden Brett, personally I had a poster of him because of my GT racer for years up on my wall. I was also a large supporter of the renown Brett Hull Hockey '93. As for hockey moments, his 1999 goal against the Bufallo Sabres was a picture that I will never forget (nor will any Buffalo fan). Brett Hull was one of the greatest goal scorers the game has seen, possibly the best one time slap shot in the history. The fact that Brett was a 6th round pick in the 1984 entry draft still boggles the mind, after he had scored 105 goals in 57 games in the BCHL.

His greatest season: 1990-1991: 86-45-131, Hart and Lester B. Pearson trophies.

Luc Robitaille: Lucky Luc will be remembered for his delicio commercial with Martin Brodeur, his multiple TV appearances (D2, Bones etc..check out IMDB lol) and most of all his 9th round selection in the 1984 draft. Robitaille should remain one of the more underrated players of all time as he spent most of his years in Los Angeles and only won one Stanley Cup as a Red Wing in 2002.

His greatest season: 1992-1993: 63-62-125 and 22pts in 24 playoff games.

Steve Yzerman: The ultimate captain, I will remember Yzerman for being one of the best leaders in hockey and being one of the only all-time franchise guys, along with Mario Lemieux, Jean Belliveau and Mike Modano. I will remember him for having the much talked about bionic knee after he tore both his MCL and ACL and came back to play. Yzerman will be a name renown in Canadian hockey history for years to come, even if our 2010 team falls flat on it's face.

His greatest season: 1988-1989: 65-90-155 and a Lester B. Pearson trophy.

Brian Leetch: The greatest texan, in hockey terms (although he grew up in Connecticut). Leetch will be remembered for his time with the Rangers and his 1994 Conn Smythe Trophy. He was part of a 13 year run that saw the James Norris Trophy awarded to only 4 players, Leetch, Chris Chellios, Ray Bourque and Paul Coffey. Leetch will mostly be remember for being the only American born player to win the Conn Smythe trophy.

His greatest season: 1991-1992: 22-80-102 and a James Norris trophy.

Lou Lamoriello: One of the more interesting NHL general managers, Lamoriello has built a successful team year after year in New Jersey. He is one of the few General Managers that has entered the realm of NHL decision makers without having been a player or an integral part of a team previous to his being named president in 1987. Since then he has brought his Devils to the playoffs in 18 of 20 seasons and is in line to do this again this year.

His greatest season: Having an average winning % over .500 for 2o years consecutively.

Follow the leader, or not..

2009-10-01T15:06:00.001-07:00

As the Habs and Leafs get set to kick off tonight's match-up, I can't help but think of how much these two teams have changed over the past off season. It's a lot like cheering for any AHL team, which in itself, is another challenge... but at least you have a captain.

Toronto has gotten younger, and has increased their talent pool, whether that leads to success or more of the same, the Leafs will not be a team your talking about in May. Montreal is battling the always high expectations, and will have a tough time putting together this hodge-podge soup mix.

The lineup on opening night looks like this.
Price - Halak

Markov - Spacek
Hamrlik - Mara
Gill - Gorges
O'Byrne

Pacioretty-Gomez-Gionta
Cammalleri-Plekanec-A.Kostitsyn
Latendresse-Lapierre-D'Agostini
Moen-Metropolit-Laraque

The issue here for me has to be in goal. Carey Price was asked today, what did you do to prepare for this season. His response: "I didn't think about hockey for two and a half months, I didn't do anything with hockey or talk about it. So that I could clear my head and get ready for this season". Now, I am not a Sports Psychologist, but personally I think the off season should be spent gearing up for the season via work-outs and studying film. Sure you take a lot of time off and golf but there has to be some kind of effort.

Bob Gainey is bold, and bald, but if he doesn't get production from this team - he's out on his rear.

The Maple Leafs on the other hand, are showing progression; they have unloaded some older players and freed up roster spots for younger players to gain experience. Oh and before you ask, I don't think Kessel will score more than 25 goals this year, and he will not be effective overall (he's also out until November)

For me, the key moves for this team has to be adding Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Jonas Gustavsson. Oh and I don't think Gustavsson will be a quality goaltender for a couple years yet, especially since the Leafs still have quite a bit of growing pains to undergo. Bob McKenzie just said Stalberg will compete for rookie of the year, I totally disagree, let's see what happens lol.

Here is the Leafs lineup.
Toskala-Gustavsson

Kaberle-Komisarek
Beauchemin-Schenn
White-Exelby
Finger

Stalberg-Stajan-Blake
Poni-Grabovski-Hagman
Stempniak-Mitchell-Wallin
Orr-Primeau-Rosehill
Mayers

New Team, New Coach and Same Expectations

2009-07-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me just say that I wish the Habs would have had the balls to hire an English speaking coach. Sure some can argue that Martin was the best available coach, I am still disappointed that Carbo was fired in the first place. On the other hand, I am definitely happy that Patrick Roy isn't the Habs coach though, as was rumoured, as he has basically no experience in the professional coaching ranks. At least with Martin, if all else fails, they have free satelite TV courtesy of his massive ears.

Personally, I think Martin will fit in well in Montreal as far as the culture of the team. Right now there was a plethora of change in the Habs dressing room and new leadership will rise in the mold of Martin. The obvious "downside" of the Martin would be his much-talked about defensive style of play. I think he isn't really getting his fair shake on this one; in Florida, the team had a lot less scoring talent than the current Habs team. That being said I think Martin will have to balance Montreal's offensive players and make them into a strong balanced team. Quick note, Martin's Panther's last year were last in the league in shots allowed, not so defensive after all...

His efficiency in Ottawa was among the best in the league, he made a struggling team into a strong contender every year. A lot of the Ottawa fans will probably say that he also made for boring hockey and stifled the development of youngsters like Jason Spezza and held back the offensive abilities of Martin Havlat and Marian Hossa.

The Canadiens will most likely be a contender for a playoff spot and will largely depend on the play of Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak. Unfortunately, I have trouble finding a reason why Martin will be good for Price or even Halak, and for this reason I can't really say that Martin is the right man for the Habs for me, at least right now. As far as the team in general, I think they can have solid success with the team Bob has put together, I am fully behind the two signings for Mara as well as Moen. These guys will bring some gusto that was lacked by the team especially in the playoffs.

Overall, Jacques is bringing in new ideas with a new team and I feel like the Habs can have any type of season, setting expectations on this team would be quite difficult.

Stampede Summary

2009-07-12T10:49:00.000-07:00

With the Stampede in Calgary winding down, Dion Phaneuf looks over to Jay Bouwmeester as they receive their week's bar tab and says "Don't worry Jay, you still have five million left for this year". By the way, for Flames fans, are you concerned that you just spent almost 7 million per season for a Bill Gates look-a-like? Weird.In Calgary, Darryl Sutter stuck to his guns, didn't make any noise after the Bouwmeester trade and now the defense is the story of the summer. The Flames' top 4 defense is the most expensive in hockey (over 20 million for Jay, Dion, Regehr and Sarich, just passing Detroit's fearsome foursome). A common misconception is that Calgary had trouble scoring goals last season. However, they ranked 8th in goals per game even with their power play ranking 21st in the league - I thought they had issues but they clearly did not. More of an issue would be their power play and their 23rd rank in the goals against department.

Therefore, the addition of Bouwmeester will surely boost their power play offense as well as give them a great upgrade to their team defense. Less minutes where Dion is counted on to play defense is good, right? Hopefully for Flames fans this rejuvenated defense corps will enthuse Miikka Kiprusoff who recorded his lowest totals in both save percentage (.903) and goals against average (2.84) last season (even though he led the league in wins, games, saves and minutes). A reliable back up is something Calgary hasn't had for a longtime, I doubt that Curtis McElhinney is the answer, since his AHL success hasn't translated to NHL success.

Overall, the loss of Mike Cammaleri's team-high 39 goals will hurt their goal scoring ability so they will count on some of their younger players picking up the slack. Hot shot prospect Mickael Backlund will make some noise at Calgary's training camp, look for him to have an on again, off again NHL season. Keep in mind, they still have Olli Jokinen, another former 39 goal scorer.

Interesting statistics: 29th in blocked shots, 4th in Penalty Kill, 4th most Penalty Minutes and had only two players with more than 50 points.

Leafs Cash Out

2009-07-06T13:27:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Maple Leafs went to town today and came back with 7 players signed.

Most notably, the long courting process of Francois Beauchemin finished off with Frankie signing a 3 year deal worth 3.8 million dollars per season. This signing was expected for a while now as Beauchemin became an unrestricted free agent.

My immediate reaction was to say good job to the Leafs for signing one of the best defensemen available in free agency, might not be saying much but Beauchemin is a solid top four defenseman that stepped up bigtime in the absence of Scott Neidermayer two years ago. A good puck mover and contributor on the power play, Beauchemin also brings something very few Leafs have; a Stanley Cup.

The expected BUT, would be that the terms of the deal are only for three years. Now, the assumption would be that three years from now, the 32 year old Beauchemin may not fit the team model. However, I think the signing is kind of a step sideways as the Leafs realistically don't have a team to compete over the next couple seasons. This would be the only real downfall from this signing as it does create cap space in 3 years to sign another free agent that may put them closer to the top.

And in the meantime, Beauchemin will be a great leader in the dressing room and a strong influence over the growth of the young Leafs. It is easy to assume that he will be a solid fit alongside Luke Schenn on the Leafs second pairing.

The team also signed their first round pick, Nazem Kadri to his entry level contract. Good call but Leaf fans shouldn't see this as a sign that he will be playing for the team anytime soon. Also signing today was Marlies captain Ben Ondrus, Ryan Hamilton, Jay Rosehill, Tim Brent and Richard Greenop. These signings are pretty irrelevant since they will spend 90% of the time with the AHL's Marlies.

In other news, Alex Kovalev has signed in Ottawa. This may be a move to fill the inevitable void that Dany Heatley will leave on Spezza's wing or it could be a move to tell Heater to get his act together and fire on all cylinders with this new sniper. As far as Alex's role in Ottawa, it will be difficult to see him fit in with a team that has a very weak dressing room and few Russians. Maybe he just wants to spurn the Habs by visiting the Bell Center 3 times a year...

Canadiens Spending Spree

2009-07-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

What a way to start off the Free Agency season! No waiting for Sundin to sign somewhere, no waiting for the Lightning to go crazy and sign everyone, just some fast paced high calibre signings. Here is a view at what the Canadiens have done in 12 hours.

Note: remember, you always overpay on July 1st.

Scott Gomez: viable number one center, pass first shoot second type player, not a Franchise centerman. The price they paid was acceptable on the trade front as it was largely a salary move for the Rangers. I feel like Bob Gainey will take a lot of heat for this trade but I would have done it as well. At 7.3 million per season, I would rather have Gomez than Marian Gaborik (7.5).

Mike Cammalleri: strong addition to their wing as they will miss Alex Kovalev’s wrist shot from the angles, Cammalleri will replace this and give the Habs a lot less headaches. As for giving him a Sedin contract, it’s July 1st. I think he will compliment Gomez quite nicely and give the Habs powerplay some gusto.

Brian Gionta: another addition to the wing position, his 60 points last season with New Jersey was another solid season for the 30 year old. I believe Gionta can be a valuable asset at $5 million for 5 years, his past with Gomez is promising and his skills defensively are strong.

Jaroslav Spacek: The puck moving defenseman the Habs were looking for last season to round out their top 4 steps in to fill time where Komisarek will be gone. He is consistently around the 40 point mark when he can play 80 games and will be a valuable asset in Montreal’s break out and power play. Although he will not bring a booming slap shot from the point, he will create space for the smaller forwards.

Hal Gill: This tower of power is an ideal 6th defenseman when playing 12 minutes per night. His 2.25 cap hit is acceptable and he will bring a stalwart presence to the Canadiens penalty kill. This signing should be viewed as filler for the defense corps.

Quick look at the Habs potential lines. Not counting Koivu, which I hope they can sign.

Cammalleri Gomez TBD
Gionta Plekanec A. Kostitsyn
D’Agostini Lapierre Latendresse
S. Kostitsyn Metropolit Laraque

Markov Hamrlik
Spacek Gorges
Gill Weber

2009 NHL Entry Draft Recap

2009-06-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

The NHL entry draft has come and gone with much fanfare in Montreal. Most of it went as expected but here is a quick recap to follow up on some of the draft talk we had since the WJHC in January.

Tavares: 1st Overall, as expected. No need to talk about him much more.
Hedman: 2nd overall, as expected. He's Tampa's best defenseman immediately, sorry Meszaros.
Paarjavi-Svensson: 10th overall to Edmonton. I predicted him in the top 20 with character issues however his stock rose later in the season.
Ryan Ellis: 11th overall to the Nashville Predators. I expected him to go in the top 10 and he almost did.
Thomas Tatar: 60th overall to the Detroit Red Wings. I thought he would be in the 1st round back in January after his crazy WJHC performance but going 60 to the Red Wings is kind of like going 12th to the Islanders. Also he is already rumoured to be playing with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL next season.
Jaroslav Janus: 162 overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning. After his great performance at the WJHC Janus had a solid season with the Erie Otters posting a .908 SVP on a bad Erie team.

A few other players of note.
Calvin DeHaan: Islanders move up to 12 to grab Tavares' teammate from Oshawa, huge gamble.
Jordan Schroeder: fell to 22nd and the Vancouver Canucks have a huge boner.
Landon Ferraro: fell to 32nd and the Detroit Red Wings, again that's like being 12th to the Islanders.
Anton Lander: Edmonton grabbed him with the 40th overall pick, he played in the SEL last season and put up 10 points (same amount as Marcus Johansson, 24th overall to Washington)
Sergei Andronov: 78th overall to St. Louis, had a great showing at the WJHC with 8 pts in 7 games as well as a good year with 8 goals in the KHL.
Ryan Bourque: 80th overall to the Rangers, the son of Ray had a great season with the USDP however standing only 5'9'' lowered his draft stock.
Toni Rajala: 101st overall to the Edmonton Oilers, had 19pts in 6 games in the U-18 tournament. Standing only 5'10'' he's a poor man's MPS.
Marcus Foligno: 104th overall to the Buffalo Sabres, the Sudbury Wolves product was .5 ppg in 60 OHL games. His family pedigree probably had an impact in his selection.
Mikhail Pashnin: 200th overall to the New York Rangers, Pashnin was the 1st overall selection in the KHL entry draft. This certainly lowered his draft stock at the NHL draft.
Adam Almquist: 210th overall to the Detroit Red Wings, this smooth skating defenseman put up 36 points in 41 games in the under 20 Swedish league. The wings have a tradition of hitting home runs on their last picks ( 2oo2 Jonathan Ericsson 9th Round, 1999 Henrik Zetterberg 7th round and 1994 Tomas Holmstrom 10th round) and Almquist could be their next.

Tavares finds new home in New York

2009-04-14T17:52:00.000-07:00

The New York Islanders have won the Tavares lottery, finally giving their fans something to cheer about. The draft lottery went exactly according to plan with all teams falling into their expected spots. The Lightning are headed to the draft podium second as they have captured the right to select Victor Hedman.

1 New York Islanders

2 Tampa Bay Lightning

3 Colorado Avalanche

4 Atlanta Thrashers
5 Los Angeles Kings

This marks the potential turn around for the New York Islanders, a team who by far had the worst team in the NHL this season. Lacking a true scorer the Isles may have found what they are looking for in Tavares. I believe he is a better fit for the team than Hedman as puck moving defenseman are about the only thing the Islanders have right now.

Tampa Bay will be very happy to acquire what will instantly be their team's best defenseman, Victor Hedman. I believe that there was a great chance that the Lightning would have selected Hedman even if they were assigned the 1st overall pick, sure many people say to draft with the best player available, but Hedman is really the best fit for the team.

Interestingly enough, every team that has chosen with the first overall selection since 2002 is in the playoffs this year (at the exception of Tampa Bay who have more issues than someone on Maury Povich). Columbus (Rick Nash), Pittsburgh (M.A. Fleury), Washington (Alex Ovechkin), Pittsburgh (Sidney Crosby), St-Louis (Erik Johnson) and Chicago (Patrick Kane) are all being lead by their former picks, except for St-Louis who have now banned the use of golf carts for all players.

Whether or not Tavares can have a miracle season, the Isles will more than likely be in the top 5 lottery slots again next year. Either way, someone fire up the NYI bandwagon, you're about to get a lot of followers.

Omark signs with Dynamo Moscow

2009-04-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well if you hadn't heard about this year's Youtube.com sensation, Linus Omark, it's too late to get excited about him in the NHL.

Sorry to break the news Oilers fans, but poor little Linus has decided to sign in Russia with Dynamo Moscow for about 8 times more money than he would have received playing for Springfield. His team mate Johan Harju (Tampa Bay 6th Round pick in 2007) also makes the journey to the land of the Rouble.

Both players were thrilling for the Lulea club of the SEL this year and their respective NHL organizations had high hopes for the two. Unfortunately the alure of money has ripped them away.

Omark was third in the SEL in scoring with 23-32 in 53 games and Harju finished the year in seventh spot with 27-22 in 55 games. This probably marks disaster for the Lulea team who were boosted largely by these two players along with goaltender Mattias Modig. Modig is under contract through the 09/10 season however the SEL contracts are broken as easily as a hollywood wedding. Modig was stellar for Lulea posting a .922 SVP in 2008-2009.

Oh and in case anyone was wondering, Jaromir Jagr and a decent season this year with 25 goals and 28 assists in 55 games for Omsk Avangard. Not bad for 10 million per season.

Lastly, my condolences to other Habs fans out there for the loss of Markov and Schneider. It really hurts to lose those two at this time in the season but it just seems as though the hockey gods aren't picking Montreal to win it in their 100th season. At any rate, I wish the Habs the best of luck as they look to not get swept by Boston in the first round (I figure it will line up that way).

Razor Revenge

2009-03-27T12:01:00.001-07:00

The Razor. Not Edge, Mach 3 (or 4 or Fusion) or Razor Ramon, I'm talking about Ray Emery.

The former Senators goaltender is currently on a sabbatical from his NHL career. Playing in Moscow for Mytischi Atalant, Ray was stellar this season in goal. His performance was amongst the best in the league with 36 games this season, posting a 22-8-0 record with a 2.12 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage.

Now it's easy to remember Emery for leaving the team due to a contract dispute (who continues to work if they aren't getting paid anyways?) and there was the fight with the team trainer, who really really wanted Emery to wear the hat (see Seinfeld "Who will not wear the ribbon?!?"). However, Emery has been a solid force in net, and with goaltending being the backbone of a playoff contender, it's easy to envision the Razor signing a deal this off season with an NHL team.

Keep Emery on your radar this off season as one of the better Free Agent goaltenders. I can envision him playing with a number of teams, perhaps even the Toronto Maple Leafs will end the failed Justin Pogge experiment and let Emery compete for a spot. It is also in the realm of possibilities that a team like Dallas would want a proven goaltender to back up the overworked Marty Turco.

Wherever he lands, I believe he will be relatively inexpensive (around the 2 million dollar mark) and provide solid goaltending.

Waiver Wire Prominence

2009-03-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

The waiver wire was on fire Wednesday as the trade deadline marched on at a relatively slow pace.

Many skilled players were claimed on Wednesday, and having so many of those players waived on the Monday started a new trend of cap management in the NHL. Many GMs waived long-time NHLers in order to free up cap space for their deadline moves. Other GMs made those waiver wire claims their deadline moves. Here's a quick recap of the waiver wire over the last few days.

Calgary
Claimed defenseman Lawrence Nycholat off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks, then turned around and traded him to Colorado as part of the Jordan Leopold trade.

NY Rangers
Claimed forward Sean Avery off re-entry waivers from the Dallas Stars, an expected move from the Rangers was overshadowed by other deadline moves, thank god Sean Avery' story finally got bumped off the headlines.

Toronto
Claimed goaltender Martin Gerber off waivers from the Ottawa Senators and defenseman Erik Reitz from the New York Rangers. The Gerber claim lead to the placement of Vesa Toskala on IR and an interesting change of scenery for Eric Reitz. Reitz was prominent in the AHL for the past couple seasons and brings an offensive defenseman to the mix in Toronto. It is also a vote of no confidence for Justin Pogge. Pogge has been unimpressive in his Marlies uniform this season and that play carried over to the Leafs jersey in 5 starts.

Pittsburgh
Assigned forwards Miroslav Satan and Bill Thomas to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL); claimed forward Craig Adams off waivers from Chicago Blackhawks. Really interesting to see Satan in the minors, obviously a cap move, this leads me to think that Satan will be very tempted to move to the KHL this off season. Picking up Craig Adams from Chicago will prove to be a good move as he should fill out the Pens' bottom 6.

Dallas
Claimed forward Brendan Morrison off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. Very good move for the Stars, having Brad Richards out of the lineup for at least another 3 weeks, Morrison will be a great fit on the Stars' 3rd line. Morrison also has been great friends with Marty Turco since their days at the University of Michigan.

Overall, I think the teams that benefited the most from trade deadline day are those that picked up their "rental" players for free even though they may not land the big headlines, they will fill out some very important roles for the rest of the season.

Sundin's Return

2009-02-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

With much fan fare, the return of Mats Sundin to Air Canada Center, will be on display Saturday Night. If you've watched TSN, Sportsnet or the Score lately, you already know this since they've been talking about it since the day Sundin signed with the Canucks.

What I am hoping for is that Sundin returns to cheers. Sure all you Leaf fans will tell me "He should have waived his NTC if he really liked Toronto" or "He said he didn't want to be a rental player but he is now" or even the "He represented 10 years of losing in Toronto".

After all those years of Leaf fans saying they hate Sundin or wanted him traded, are you serious? Sundin was the face of the franchise for 13 years, lead the team in scoring every single year (except for 2002-2003 Alex Mogilny), was Toronto's longest serving captain and won the team's first division title since 1938. Oh and he's the team's all-time leading scorer. Needless to say I could go on.

I plead with the Leaf fans to celebrate the return of your team's greatest player. I think that the fans will show the class that is deserved to Sundin, but I understand that there will be boos.

On another note, the Toronto media is figuring out that Pogge is not the real deal. How long until the fans figure it out?

Alexander the Great

2009-02-15T19:00:00.001-08:00

Ovechkin.

The name inspires defensemen to back off and give him room, and not get beat. It inspires defensemen to close on him fast so as to not get his laser beam shot off and onto the goalie. Basically, he causes so much confusion and frustration for opposing teams. All the while playing the game with a passion that never stops.

Having scored his 41st goal tonight in a hat-trick effort, Ovechkin is head and shoulders above any other scorer in the league. This is all after going scoreless in 10 of his first 11 games. Sure you can read all you want about Ovechkin anywhere else, but it's hard to actually understand how good he is. Realistically, this phenom has 41 goals in 45 games. Extrapolate that over 82 games and you have 74 goals (putting him just under Selanne at 76 and far off Lemieux's 85, Hull's 86 or Gretzky's average season). Also of note he takes about 150 shots more than anyone else each season, but let's not really care about that.

Claude Therrien: fired. Not surprising considering his Penguins sit in 10th in the East, 5 points out of the playoffs (look at it this way, they have just as many goals for as the Leafs). All this with having the league's leading scorer, a hart trophy winner and one of only three goaltenders chosen 1st overall, ever. Needless to say, Hossa and Malone weren't the only reasons this team went to the Finals last year. Therrien is responsible for 207 points over a two year span in Pittsburgh.

In AHL action, the Marlies continued their home ice dominance going 7-2 in their current home stand with weekend wins over Springfield and Grand Rapids. Tim Stapleton has definitely been the Marlies' best offensive player thus far with 50 points in 47 games. However, don't look for Stapleton to do any damage with the Leafs as the Oak Park, IL native is a diminutive 5'9''. Adam Munro played another excellent game for the Marlies, his .910 SVP is far greater than starter Justin Pogge's .894SVP.

Buyers and Sellers

2009-02-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

With the March 3rd trade deadline approaching, my favorite time of the year is upon us!

Last year there was a flurry of trades with the biggest in my opinion being the Stars acquiring Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist in exchange for Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and a 4th round selection. A lot of people can contest that the Hossa trade to Pittsburgh, or the Campbell trade to San Jose were bigger, however, because those players aren't there anymore, I qualify the Richards trade as bigger.

This year there are a lot of fish in the sea, Jay Bouwmeester and Vincent Lecavalier seem to be the odds on favorites to move, however don't forget about the quiet Don Waddell who traded Hossa last year, he is still sitting on Ilya Kovalchuk. The first overall pick in 2001 has one more year left on his contract and some people are feeling that if Kovalchuk isn't extended this off season he will not return to Atlanta.

Staying with the Thrashers, Matthieu Schneider is a targeted rental player as his contract is up at the end of the year. Having just 41 points thus far this season, the Thrashers are in the thick of the Tavares lottery and might as well look for the "win".

Oh and don't forget anyone on the Islanders over the age of 30, ei: Doug Weight and captain Bill Guerin are both having decent seasons and would do well in any one's playoff run.

The Leafs have injured defenseman Thomas Kaberle as their highest ranked asset however his wrist/hand injury seems like it may hinder the chances of him moving out. Also, it seems that Brian Burke is actually pro-Kaberle, as opposed to any of the other players he has bashed publicly.

The Ottawa Senators are also sellers, Bryan Murray may have to look into trading one of their big guns in Spezza or Heatley even though Eugene Melnyk seems dead set against it. The most likely candidate to leave Ottawa has been one of their best defenseman this season: Filip Kuba is a UFA at the end of this season.

Enough about sellers, the buyers in this market seem to be two-fold; established contenders and bubble teams. The Sharks, Caps, Wings and Hawks are already tight against the cap so I wouldn't count on any major moves from them. Boston is a team that I can see making a move, with the amount of depth they have in the minors and the number of injured players rising they do have the type of cap room needed to add a key contributor down the stretch, look for them to add an experienced wing player.

The Stars might be a team that can add a key contributor, they have the room under the salary cap and their defense corps could need brush up with Zubov out for the season. The Stars could be in the market for Filip Kuba (at least I would like them to be).

The Habs. Well, it's hard to say what exactly is wrong with them right now but I can only hope that they learn to fix it quickly before falling out of the playoff picture (see: Pittsburgh Penguins). There are some incredibly hard decisions coming up in Montreal right now as the following players do not have a contract for next season:

Alex Tanguay
Saku Koivu
Alex Kovalev
Robert Lang
Chris Higgins
Tomas Plekanec
Steve Begin
Kyle Chipchura
Tom Kostopoulos
Guilliaume Latendresse
Francis Boullion
Mathieu Dandenault
Mike Komisarek
Patrice Brisebois

Don't look now!

2009-01-28T09:04:00.001-08:00

Unless you have been checking the NHL.com standings more often than a TSN intern, you'll have noticed that the standings just aren't what they used to be. It's like the Bizzaro world episode of Seinfeld. The South East division is now relevant, the Pittsburgh Penguins are out of the playoffs, and top it off , the Chicago Blackhawks would play the Phoenix Coyotes at the 4-5 spot if the playoffs started today.

How did this all happen? OK, well the South East division is basically the Alex Ovechkin show, so let's not go into details on that one. The Pittsburgh Penguins being out of the playoffs, now that's something you don't see everyday! Sure they are only two points out of the playoffs, but they are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games, and through the holidays they went 1-7 for a stretch. During that stretch they allowed 33 goals in 8 games, for a GAA of 4.125. Ryan Whitney came back during that run and he has been a -8 player playing 25 minutes per game. Does this mean that when Gonchar comes back they will plummet to Senator-like play?

The Chicago Blackhawks have slowly crawled out of their basement apartment in the Central division to become on of the bandwagon teams of the last two years (the other being Washington, oh and have you noticed all the Bruins fans lately?). The 'Hawks are being outscored by only the Sharks, Wings and Bruins, (when you consider the Caps have 4 games on them and the Flyers have 2) there's something to be jovial about.

And how about those Phoenix Coyotes, the addition of Olli Jokinen seems to have invigorated the youngest team in the league. A year ago people were calling for Wayne Gretzky to step down and join the ranks of the "Great players but brutal coaches" (which everyone seemed to WANT to label him as) but he has showed them that he really knows what he is doing; just look at his former assistant, Rick Tocchet as the head coach of the 7-3-0 Lightning. It's great to see the Great One getting credit where it is due. I think he should be in the running for coach of the year along with Claude Julien, Joel Quenneville and of course Todd McLellan.

And, most of all, my Dallas Stars are back in it! Only two points out of a playoff spot and firing off a shutout win last night, the Stars seem to have turned the ship around. Slowly climbing out of the worst start in franchise history, this team looks poised to make a run in the playoffs, talk about a team you wouldn't want your San Jose Sharks to face in the first round.

How about Pogge last night? Give me your thoughts, I've seen him play a lot and I personally do not think he is the guy just yet for the Leafs, but what do you think?

Mid Season Surprises

2009-01-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, sorry about the delays, I have been quite busy lately and this post has suffered. However, here we go.

I figured since every other NHL related write-ups have included some mid season evaluation I would do my own. (I thought about ranting that NHL players don't care about the all-star game, but TSN beat me to it) So instead of talking about the first 60 guys on the NHL points sheet, I'd like to talk about some of the next 120 guys on that list.

First of all, Craig Anderson, goaltender from the Florida Panthers is the most under rated tender in the NHL. Anderson has posted the second best save percentage in the league with .930 (.014 points better than the starter Tomas Vokoun) has earned his team 23 points in 22 games and is in his third year of playing this good! His SVP in 07 was .931 and last year it was a mind blowing .935. His seventh year as a back-up should be his last, as I hope Anderson will land a starting job somewhere this off season. Anderson seen here scoping out the Ice Girls, now we know why he is 7-0-1 in arenas with Ice Girls*.

I would love to talk about David Krejci, however, he's just too good; his 52 points in 47 games is beyond the caliber of this blog. If you don't know him, go look him up, you'll be impressed.

Would you be surprised to know that Rene Bourque has as many points as Chris Drury, Keith Tkachuk and even Paul Stastny? Well you should, Bourque is 3 points away from his career high of 34 points and is playing some great defensive hockey for the Flames. The pride of Lac La Biche, Alberta (2 hours north of Edmonton) is playing about 17 minutes per game and making the most of it. Another 27 year old proving that age doesn't mean you can't have a breakout season.

Next we have Joakim Lindstrom of the very surprising Phoenix Coyotes (who are in the playoffs right now, weird). Lindstrom is 25 and is playing with his 3rd team in 8 months and is turning some heads in Phoenix. With 20 games into this season he has 7 goals, that’s a pace of 28 in a season, not bad.

It’s hard to not talk about Claude Lemieux, the 43 year old made waves when he signed with the Shanghi Sharks of the Chinese Hockey League in October. He played 2 games and out skated the likes of Hirogachi Namasaki, Eto Chung and Dave Rockford (beer league player from Cold Lake Alberta, brought in as a ringer). It's crazy to think that he has made a comeback and is playing with the best team in the NHL no less. Good luck to Claude!

In closing, I can't wait to see the All-Star game in Montreal as the super shootout (let's call it that for now) looks like it should be interesting. My pick for the event is Rob Schremp...oh; sorry he's still in the AHL since he can't play defense, my bad!

*not a real stat

WJC Wrap-up

2009-01-06T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well the tournament of the year has come and delivered on all fronts - The Canadians won, the Americans had their drama and the Russian dreams were crushed by Canada.

I am just going to write about some of the individual players that impressed me the most. These aren't the guys that won tournament all-stars or MVPs. This isn't about Hodgson, Tavares, Eberle, Karlsson or Backlund.

Here are the players that stood out for me.

Tyler Myers, Defense, Canada
The 12th overall pick in the 2008 Entry Draft is property of the Buffalo Sabres. This 6'7'' behemoth anchored Canada's blue line with Keith Aulie (6'6'') in what was in my opinion, Canada's best defensive pairing. I wasn't expecting much from pairing these two slow towers together, however, Myers' speed was very impressive for a man of his stature. In my mind, he was Canada's best defenseman.

Tomas Tatar, Wing, Slovakia
The undrafted 17 year old Slovak put up an electrifying 7 goals in as many games, and he did played his best hockey against USA, Sweden and Russia. With such strong offensive flair, Tatar is undersized and could have problems adjusting to the strength of North American defensemen, however, I expect him to be drafted in the top 20 picks of this year's entry draft.

Jaroslav Janus, Goaltender, Slovakia
This 19 year old goaltender is currently with the Erie Otters of the OHL and is not property of any NHL team. In my mind he was the best goaltender at the tournament. Making over 40 saves in three consecutive games, he was very impressive with his quickness and glove hand. Sure, Janus probably won't be a star in the NHL but I can see him being very wealthy one day in his native Slovakian league.

Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, Wing, Sweden
Another electrifying 17 year old, Magnus's speed was among the best in the tournament. His strength on the puck was that of most other 19 year olds and his quickness along the boards made him a very dangerous threat on his off wing. He busted by the defensemen on most teams with one hand on the puck and the other protecting it. He finished the tournament with 6 points in 6 games. I think he may have some character issues but he should be another top 20 pick this year.

Ryan Ellis, Defense, Canada
I could talk about how effective Ryan Ellis was for an entire blog, however, only his mom would read it. Ellis was Canada's quarterback, protector, and initiator. He had the most responsibility one defenseman can ever have on a power play: the entire blue line. With Canada's 1-3-1 system Ellis was the only man back and he rarely turned the puck over, always making the safe play. Showing that much poise as a 17 year old goes a long way, expect him to easily crack the top 10 in this year's entry draft.

I could talk about a lot more guys up here but we just don't have enough time, this tournament was easily the most exciting in a few years for Canadian Fans. I was impressed with the quality of play this year and I hope that we can see some of these guys light up the tournament again next year.

Thanks for your patience in regards to the blog, I have moved and am trying to get the computer back up and running. Feel free to post subjects you would like the next blog to be on, it can be anything but try to keep it hockey.

Merry Christmas Ottawa

2008-12-26T13:45:00.000-08:00

Its the most wonderful time of the year for those die hard hockey fans in Canada. The world junior hockey championships are a tradition in many Canadian homes from St Johns to Victoria. Every two years Canada has the privilege to host this under 20 tournament and this year Ottawa is the destination for this 10 team tournament.

Canada, as I am sure you've guessed, is the defending champion(for the 4th season in a row) and is in a good position to do it again.

This years squad features many new faces and one very old. Pat Quinn is this year's coach after Benoit Groulx backed out in late August to take a position with the Rochester Americans (who are the worst team in sports after the Detroit Lions).

I am looking forward to seeing the play of Cody Hodgson, 10th overall in 2008 selected by Vancouver. This kid can flat out play, he will lead Canada up front on a line with Jordan Eberle and Zach Boychuk. He's been tagged as the best all around forward on team Canada and his 9 points in 3 pre-tournament back it up. The Brampton Battalion captain is highly skilled and plays with a visible passion.

I am also looking forward to watching the play of Canada's defense corps as they are lead by Colten Teubert and Thomas Hickey. Both are already property of the LA Kings, who also employ Drew Doughty the best defense man in last years tournament.

In goal, Canada will be anchored by two CHL stars; Dustin Tokarski and Chet Pickard. Tokarski was named tournament MVP in last years Memorial Cup as his Spokane Chiefs captured the cup. As for our ace in the hole Pickard, The Tri-City American's tender was last years CHL goaltender of the year. He is already property of the Nashville Predators and looks to follow his former teammate Carey Price in victory.

Also noteworthy for Leaf fans will be the play of the offensively talented Chris DiDomeneco. He will battle for a spot on the second line but may be relegated to the 4th line as the tournament wears on.

Habs fans will keep their eye on the play of 2007 2nd round pick P.K. Subban. The Belleville Bulls defenseman is one of the returnees on defense and will be counted on in the third pairing with Cody Goloboef of the University of Wisconsin.

For those of you looking for undrafted players, look past the obvious one two picks in John Tavares and Victor Hedman, and see Ryan Ellis. The Windsor Spitfire defenseman is the only other undrafted player on the team and should be a top ten pick in 2009 (Leaf fans, watch him, perfect fit with Luke Schenn if your Tavares pipe dream doesn't happen)

And just a quick Marlies note, Boyd Devereaux and Justin Pogge both starred for Canada in 97 and 05, respectively.

Happy Holidays everyone, go Canada!

Fighting in Hockey

2008-12-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

Man has often resorted to violence to settle problems both big (Nuclear Warfare) or small (Sean Avery). Thankfully, hockey is no different. The problems of "you hit my boy" and "you slashed my tender" are more popular than sliced bread.

What isn't so common is the, "your GF still wants me", sure it is pretty direct and functional, but it just isn't right. However, my personal favorite exists in the AHL.

The American Hockey League boasts my favorite type of dropping the mitts. These players want to make something happen, they need to make something happen.

These guys want to lift their team up and get noticed. The fights often have a preparation that is epic; stick, gloves, undo the chin strap, throw down the bucket and lastly ditch the elbow pads. Partly because the AHL has mandatory visors, but also because it just makes you way tougher.

I have watched quite a few tilts so far this AHL season, and as a long time fan of NHL fights, there just isn't a comparison. Toe to toe, punch for punch fights are more common in the A due to, in my opinion, effort. In the minors, you are never safe and always trying to impress is your mission. To me, these AHL fights are constantly a statement about what type of player you think you are and what type you can become.

Of course, more long-time grinders in the AHL contribute to the fighting but even these guys always want to put on a show instead of just boosting their PM totals (pretty sure NHL fighting leader Brandon Prust has himself in a fantasy league).

At any rate, I am impressed with these AHL fights due to both their frequency and direct impact (the punch to the face kind). Have a look at some of the tilts next time your at a game and think to yourself; why is he fighting? If its NHL, you'll be hard pressed to find the answer past "doing his job".

On an AHL note, the Marlies lost tonight to the Lake Erie Monsters despite having out shot them 35-22. Robbie Earl finally figured out how to score again with his first goal of the season after going scoreless in his first 17 games. The Marlies top line is basically gone as Newbury is injured and all of Williams, Deveaux and Sifers are up with the big club.

The Marlies are in Syracuse tonight facing off against the Crunch for the second time this season.

Santorelli Successes

2008-12-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

The NHL has long been populated by dominant family names. Sutter, Hull, Richard come to mind immediately as names that always jumped off the score sheet. More recently, names like Sedin, Koivu and Staal are experiencing success at the NHL level.

Some brother tandems currently have the luxury of thriving in the same organization (currently Kostitsyn, Neidermayer and Sedin). Quick trivia question: highest scoring brother combo in NHL history?.......... Wayne and Brent Gretzky, even though Brent only had 1 point, imagine that conversation at xmas dinner.

Recently, a new brother combo has emerged in the minor ranks. Mike and Mark Santorelli(which stands for Santa Clause shaped pasta, in Italian) both began their pro hockey path in the British Columbia Hockey League. Only three years apart(Mark 20 and Mike 23) these two are a part of the Nashville Predators' youth entourage.

A quick thanks to the Milwaukee Admirals for producing the most embarrassing photo in brother hockey history.

Mike took the NCAA route on scholarship to Northern Michigan University, where was top 3 in scoring each year. Meanwhile, Mark went the WHL route with the Chilliwack Bruins where he saw great success having a 101 point season in 07-08.

Both started this season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. For Mike it was his second season with the team and Mark was a fresh face in Brewer land(which reminds me, the Admirals have a patch of the Brewers old logo on their jerseys, because their owner owns part of both teams). Mike has been off to a torrent start to the season with 24 points in 21 games, including three last night versus the Toronto Marlies.

Mike's speed was noticeable from the start of the game as he cut through the Marlies' defense on more than one occasion. He showed the speed and shot of a natural goal scorer, something the Predators organization has been lacking since the departure of Alex Radulov. Mike will no doubt see his first NHL action this season as the David Poile should give him a look.

Mark is a little slower than his older brother, but has better vision and is an excellent passer. So far this season, he has seen his share of adjusting. After putting up just one point in 18 games with the Admirals, Mark has since been shuffled down to the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.

I am confident that these two brothers will one day find themselves playing together in the NHL. Hopefully, they will be more successful than the Fata brothers (who will dominate the DEL together in a year or two, sorry).

On a different note: please feel free to post comments and rip up stuff that I say on here in the comment section, start a debate, post a topic you want some input on or even just say Leafs/Habs suck, whichever you prefer!

A Spacial Enigma

2008-12-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

Many things in the universe are still a mystery to the worlds greatest astronomers; the big bang, the constant expansion of the universe and the ominous black holes. For hockey experts, this year's mystery is the Dallas Stars.

For a team that kept all integral pieces of their conference finalist squad to be where the Stars are now is... Horawfull (thanks Charles Barkley for the spelling on that one). This Stars team is dwelling in the basement of the Western Conference. And things just keep getting worse - the multiple injuries, the swirling trade rumours and the tuberculosis that is, Sean Avery.

Now, I don't want to get into it with Avery (who has been suspended indefinitely by the league), but I will simply say that every day I wake up, I hope Sean Avery is done with the Dallas Stars, and even the NHL.

It's clear that the Stars' problems have been anything and everything. Marty Turco is statistically taking the brunt of the beating, but is being saved by his stellar reputation - with reason.

Dave Tippet is taking the blame for these mounting loses and he's not pulling any punches, calling out almost every player on the team and receiving little to no results. The one bright spot has to be Loui Eriksson with 11 goals on the season, this Swede is a beauty and should be recognized for his play.

As dark as the day will be when the Stars fire Head Coach Tippet, I feel as though it could happen soon. The personality clashes with Brett Hull have been downplayed, nonetheless I feel as though the conflicting cultures have been a main issue with the Stars. I fear that Tippet will be the one who becomes the fall guy, and not Hull.

This team, without their captain for the season, is having an identity crisis. It needs a leader to step up, now.

Most would look to former captain Mike Modano, however, I feel as though his leadership has been cast aside when his C was stripped and now someone else must fill the void.

The team needs Marty Turco.

He is an extremely capable leader and has always been a class act. It's gut check time in Dallas. They need someone that can lead them with discipline and put a stop to this Sean-foolery. Turco needs to stand up in that dressing room and lead them out to victory, and it all starts tonight in Calgary.

In the words of Rage Against The Machine - what better place than here, what better time than now.

Brian Burke, A Short Story

2008-12-01T05:36:00.000-08:00

It is no secret, Brian Burke is going to change this Leaf team. Burke was a hockey players' hockey hockey and the same type of GM. A straight shooter like Ron Wilson who isn't afraid of change. But in which fashion these changes will come down the line, who knows?

"A team should either be ascending rapidly or descending rapidly" says Burke. Well its easy to figure out which way the
Maple Leafs will be headed. The same way the Silver Fox has lead them, rapid descent (with rapid ascent to follow, right Luke Schenn?)

I personally think Fletcher had done a marvelous job in building a wider base of younger players. Sure he didn't really go out and grab any stars but he definitely cut the fat(sorry Kyle Wellwood). The Fletcher era was entertaining to say the least, as the leafs non-houseleague play has been surprising some pundits so far this season.

Brian takes over a team that has one of the highest number of European born players. But as stated on TSN he doesn't care what their passports say as long as they are willing to bang some bodies along the boards. Well, here's the problem, these Europeans aren't of the Pahlsson nature. Their more of the, turn your back to block a shot becase you couldn't get out of the way in time, sort of Euros.

Huge players like Ponikarovski and Antropov aren't the type of players Burke usually builds teams around. However these guys do have some talent and fit into a top 6 on some teams. So where do you go from here, clearly in my mind these guys are gone and there's one question left.

Who will be brought in to replace them?

Official rumour broken by the Rains Report: Dustin Penner for Alex Ponikarovski.

Just don't expect anything to happen too quickly as Burke needs time to sift through the recycling and wait for his extended holiday trade freeze to thaw(December 9th to January 4th)

One thing you can count on though, the team will be ascending rapidly. Eventually.

Marlies Marvel Mini Penguins

2008-11-23T13:25:00.000-08:00

For the 2008-2009 Toronto Marlies, .500 play has been the norm. The battle of wins followed by losses has been waged quite often. Prior to this week, three of the Marlies' four wins were followed by a loss.

Now, it seems the Marlies have reached a breaking point. After dropping five straight decisions, the Marlies have now said "nough's enough" and responded.

The return of Jim Hughes has clearly sparked the defense. The Marlies have allowed an average of just 1.8 Goals Against per game in the past 5 games(I could do the research and tell you that is the best in the AHL, but for my blackberry's sake, lets just say it could be) which has directly correlated to wins.

Their latest win was a convincing defeat of last year's Calder Cup Finalists, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Justin Pogge was rock solid in net for the Marlies making 33 saves; many of which were of the highlight variety. Pogge is now exuding confidence in the Marlies goal, something that the Maple Leafs brass has been looking for all season.

The game saw a season best 5,306 fans in attendance(and no Bulldogs fans). The action was slow going for the first period but ramped up in the second when Ben Ondrus woke up the physical side of the game and connected with three big hits in one shift. Someone had to make up for Andre Deveaux being out of the game and the Marlies captain always knows when he is needed.

The game also saw Jiri Tlusty score his first goal of the season on a sizzling deflection from a Todd Perry point shot. Tlusty has had trouble adjusting this season, but if you're looking for a sign he's adjusted, this is definitely it.

As far as the Penguins go, a few interesting bright spots were prevalent. Luca Caputi was named second star of the game as this Toronto native put together a great effort for his first game back at home. Penguins star, Janne Pesonen played his first pro hockey game in Canada as well and showed why he lead the Finish league last year in points by tallying an assist.

The Marlies now look to add to their three game winning streak on Wednesday when they take on the Rochester Americans in the season's first School Day Game presented by D.A.R.E. of the Halton region. The game will be played infront of a full house at 11:30 AM at Ricoh Coliseum.

Marlies Improving Greatly

2008-11-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

It was an unheralded day for the Marlies on Monday when assistant coach Doug Gilmour announced he would be leaving the team for a head coaching job with the Kingston Frontenacs.

However, making more with less is something the Marlies have accomplished by re-hiring Jim Hughes as assistant coach. Jim was with the KHL to start the season but was fired after guiding his expansion squad, Minsk Dynamo, to a last place standstill. Hughes brings a defensive presence to the coaching staff as it has been the Marlies' weakness all season long.

Since Jim has joined the team, they have fired off two wins in a row and are looking for their 3rd today as the face the Calder Cup finalists from a year ago; the W/B Scranton Penguins.

The Marlies have been bolstered by the return of Jeremy Williams, who is red hot with 4 goals in the last two games. The power play duo of Willy and Kris Newbury accounts for 9 points in those two games. It is a great sign that the PP is back where it should be.

Justin Pogge will get the call in goal today, after Adam Munro backstopped the Marlies last night in Binghampton. Pogge will look to continue is strong play as he has noticeably stepped up his play over his last 3 games.

The entire MLSE organization is celebrating Wendell Clark this weekend just as Patrick Roy is equally honored at the Bell Center in Montreal. I wonder who will get the top story on Sportscenter?

The Marlies are running a blog centric media day today as they invite bloggers to be part of the media entourage for the first time. They are invited to interact with media relations coordinator Trevor Van Knotsenberg and they will be given access to players for the first time.

Also, I would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the voice of the Marlies John Bartlett, from all of us here at the Rains Report

Early Movement in the NHL

2008-11-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

With the NHL schedule at 20 games played, trades have already been a hot topic of the rumour mill.

So many of these trades that were supposed to happen, have not. Other small but important moves have taken shape.

Marian Gaborik is injured and therefore more tied to Minnesota than Jesse Ventura. Khavibulin is still in Chicago along with his titanic salary hit and Cristobal Huet's inability to stop the puck. And Mats is still in LA talking to poker pros.

Nevertheless some significant moves have been made by organizations. Notably has been the trade of a 2 time Stanley cup winner for a former NHL all-star: Phillipe Boucher for Darryl Sydor. This trade is really one that should benefit both teams as well as both players. The Stars get a calming presence back in big D, which is a must at this stage in their season. The Penguins get a power play presence who can fire a big right handed shot that they are sorely missing right now. And finally cap wise, both players are off the hook at the end of this year. Couldn't have had it any better.

Also in the news is the newest free agent to hit the market in years. The big burly lawyer from Harvard is set to make a huge splash in Ontario's capital. That's what's been predicted for ages. And now as the Silver Fox is expected to make way for Brian Burke in Toronto, the media is loving life with a new talkative GM. This would be the most anticipated move in Leaf nation for the last 6 months and will take the heat off Mats for a few days, well, probably more like a few hours.

Following Burkes eventual signing I think it is reasonable to assume that it is now time for Sundin to step in and run with the buds for a few more months.

Also there is still a certain sniper available in Mr. Shanahan so look for him to be signed over the next week or so, I think he is still a solid player and can do some heavy damage on the power play.

Oh, and what's with the current virus going around of cash-itis? Jason Blake was a healthy scratch against Edmonton and now Dustin Penner has carried forth this gaudy mantra after being ripped by Mctavish for his conditioning. There's another story of a guy who (a la Sergei Samsonov) thought you get paid before you produce.

Well that's all for me today. Still trying to get the computer to agree with my internet card so it will be a few more days of limited blog action.

Also before leaving, the Marlies played great over the weekend in Manitoba even though dropping both decisions. They play in Rochester on Wednesday and then Saturday against the Penguins on what will be Wendell Clark bobble head night. The ACC will also be giving out Wendell moustaches on the same night as his banner is raised to the rafters. Just imagine 18 thousand handle bar moustaches watching a hockey game, too bad it isn't Lanny MacDonald night...

Grabovski: The Cancer?

2008-11-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

Last summer saw the Toronto Maple Leafs blow away 60% of their roster in various trades and mostly through buy-outs. The myriad of trades, in the NHL in generall as well as in Toronto, let many of them slide under the radar.

But one of these trades seemed particularly different from the rest. The trade over the summer that saw Mikhail Grabovski head to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a pair of draft picks seemed highly suspicious to me. Why would Montreal move such a talented young centreman with relative ease? Before you say it, yes he is 24 and is old for a prospect, and yes, he could have pulled a Nikulin and demanded a trade out of Hamilton.

He was part of a youth injection last season that saw the rise of the Kostitsyn brothers, Carey Price, Ryan O'Byrne, and Jaroslav Halak (among others). Usually when you creating this type of movement, the players become good friends and are difficult to separate (see late 80s Oilers) without breaking some friendships and certainly, chemistry. But to move part of this and one of your top prospects relatively easily... is, well... wierd.

A few more pieces of them puzzle were unveiled last night in dramatic fashion. For those of you who watched Montreal and Toronto, you would have noticed some Steve Ott and Sean Avery antics from this game. Coming from a surprising source, Grabovski.

Don Cherry kindly pointed out to us that Grabovski actually butt ended Price in the stomach while no one was watching(I think you are underestimating the sneakiness). Why would he do that to one of his former friends/teammates? Sure an advantage in the game but it sure seemed like more than that.

We later saw Saku Koivu personally deliver a message to Mr. Grabovski after a hit in the corner. What that message was seemed to me like a warning that this butt end would not go unnoticed (not so sneaky). You know that when Saku sends that type of message, you better pay attention.

Sergei Kostitsyn sure payed attention to what Koivu said and showed his passion by flooring Grabovski on an illegal hit late in the third period. This kid is a beauty, playing the role of Georges Laraque in the feather weight class is not something you see everyday from a 5'11'' kid from Novoplotsk, Belarus.

One of the more telling points was when Grabovski was asked how many friends he had left in Montreal. This was before the game, and his response was simple "none".

Mark this in the book of hockey as two very different team models. One with strong leadership that is respected and obeyed. And another that is just now forming its path without a leader to guide the way.

I hope this isn't the true colours of Grabovski we are seeing but it seems as though this young star won't be able to hide with the scrutiny that the Toronto media so aptly applies.

ECHL Implications

2008-11-02T09:34:00.000-08:00

Well this topic has been bothering me for a while now and I figured now is as good a time as any to write about the East Coast Hockey League.

I love the fact that we(hockey in general) have a resource like a tier 3 hockey league in north America. However I now find myself questioning the validity of the league who has just lost their top 30 skaters.

I say they have lost this because the AHL changed a rule this year allowing teams to carry one extra skater. So you can imagine where most of these skaters come from: the ECHL.

With this change the ECHL takes a big hit. In a league where goalies are already totally dominant with SVPs of .930 being almost normal, scoring has taken even more of a hit. And that is never good for a league that is struggling already.

I hope that this league continues to live on, however, it is becoming more and more difficult. And now considering the economic struggles that the US is enduring it is hard to see this league staying a float. The ever changing NHL affiliations bring a constant flux that also stresses this league.

It will be intersting to see how this league performs fiscally after this rule change. Well, not that I could ever find that kind of information anyways.

I think this league has still been living off residual success from the NHL lockout when it had players like Scott Gomez and other viable NHLers.

In other news, the Toronto Marlies take on the Hamilton Bulldogs today at Ricoh coliseum for what is the second of twelve QEW battles.

5 Minute Major

2008-11-01T10:57:00.000-07:00

Or so the equilvalent for the blog world. I am having computer problems (reformating) so the blog will be pretty limited. If I can get the phone up to speed with blogging it should be good.

I hope to have the computer up and running next weekend.

From the Sandbox to the Owner's Box

2008-10-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

If you were an owner in the NHL what kind of price would you put on winning?

Well we know that for Oren Koules it has to be quite high. As the part owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning, he invested heavily into free agency this past off season. But we all knew that. Add in the fact that you now have your number 1 goalie (who was handed to you) and your future face of the franchise in Steve Stamkos (also handed to you). These moves were supposed to make these Bolts a division favorite. And after all, its the weakest division in hockey.

So you go out and drop all this cash for players who are past their prime (Ryan Malone, Radim Vrbata, Olaf Kolzig, Mark Recchi, Gary Roberts and of course Barry Melrose) and you should win your division, right? I mean, your not rebuilding like the Leafs are, so you should have a good shot at this one right Barry? Well, Malone, Vrbata, Recchi, and Roberts have combined for a total of 4 points in 26 games, so I don't know if you could say they are paying off.

Well, I guess not since you are only ahead of the (once again) disfunctional Senators and the Charles Wang project. Quick thought: how is Bryan Murray going to blame this one on Ray Emery?

So, what's wrong? Hmm, I don't have that much time, so let's go with what's right instead.

Well, nothing that you did Oren. Mike Smith is the league leader in save pecentage (.941) as of Sunday so at least you have him. Oh, that's right, that wasn't you who went and got him, that was the GM with a Stanley Cup ring whom you fired.

The facts are that this team is built to win now and they are not. They panicked at the start of the season and over paid for Meszaros; lost a first round pick, another cup winner in Filip Kuba and a future stud on defense in Alex Picard. But you are still sitting in 13th in the East.

My question to you Oren, is what the heck are you going to do next?

Turco's Sluggish Starts

2008-10-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ok Jeff, I see what your saying. I will acknowledge and appease my readers! This is Marty back in his Michigan days when he set almost all the NCAA records.

Marty Turco has rarely started a season as slowly as this. He often seems to take a little bit to get accustomed to his new routine every year and this year has amplified this effect.
Near the end of the summer his family added a new member: their first baby boy. This was a momentous occasion for Marty as it is with every parent. This, in my opinion threw off his rhythm for the start of the year.. and getting new pads contributed as well.

His great play against the Rangers went unnoticed because of last nights 5-0 loss to the Devils. However, that Rangers game should be a sign of clear waters ahead.

Every goalie is streaky and this has happened before so I caution fantasy owners who are calling for his head right now - chill. His play will improve over the next two weeks and even look for him to put up great numbers in November, just like he always does. (I'm thinking player of the week one time in November, called it)

Also I am going to blame Sean Avery for this one, his distractions are limitless and his behaviour is similar to that of Marty's newborn. I am confident that Marty will have no problems in turning this one around and blocking out Avery. (ps: Brett Hull, did you really think you could change Avery? What are you, every guy's grade 8 girl friend?)

Also in the AHL this week the Toronto Marlies and the Hamilton Bulldogs fired up their first tilt of the season (1 down 11 to go) with the Marlies coming out on top. Jeremy Williams had two goals and Kris newbury had 3 assists. Justin Pogge was incredible in the 2nd period and very average in the 3rd.

Hamilton was powered by career AHLer Yannick Lehoux and Habs prospect Matt D'agostini each contributing 3 points on the evening. Max pacioretty was impressive as he took an elbow from Staffan Kronwall and was carried off the ice.

That's all for now folks, two games on tap for the marlies this weekend as they take on the Quad City Flames and the Houston Aeros(Wild's affiliate).

Some AHL action in Toronto

2008-10-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

The Marlies played the Grand Rapids Griffins over the weekend and wow was I impressed - with the Griffins.

The farm team for Detroit looks a lot like their NHL counterparts this season. Their style of play and dominance are prevelant at the AHL level.

The most impressive thing about this team is the bulk of young prospects they have leading the way. You have two very good goaltending prospects in Daniel Larsson and Jimmy Howard. Both will play in the NHL when Detroit (or more likely someone else) has room for them.

Their defense is very promising with the likes of Jonathan Ericcson, Jakub Kindl and Logan Pyett. Ericcson should see time in the NHL this year as he is quite ready.

Their forwards then have AHL superstar Darren Haydar, (who is not going up but makes the team quite strong) Finish immigrant Ville Leino who lead the Finish league in points last year and Darren Helm who is occasionally on the roster when not in the Motor city. Jan Mursak will also impress for the Griffins as he was a standout with the Belleville Bulls last year at the Memorial Cup. These players are surrounded by a host of other young guns who are extremely effective with the puck at both ends of the ice.

If this team wasn't going to lose a lot of its talent when Detroit opens the playoffs they would look like a top contender to me. Their 7-3 domination of the Marlies solidified this fact.

Its hard to believe how good this Detroit system really is, it almost seems they are like Ben Johnson of Seoul(without the "I cheetah all the time" part).

The marlies take on Hamilton bulldogs, the affiliate of the Montreal canadiens, on Wednesday night so look for a decent baby Habs report on Thursday.

Fanship

2008-10-18T19:23:00.001-07:00

Ok, first of all, let me make this clear - this is a somewhat off topic blog.

Today was my first experience at a Toronto FC soccer game (or to all the Brits who read my blog- footy… ok no one British reads this blog). Ok, I know what you're thinking, why soccer? Well I ended up getting free tickets and was placed in the most raucous crowd I have ever been part of. And yeah, I bought the jersey.

These fans are chanting 20 minutes before the game, they have drums, 10 feet wide flags, more streamers than a Gay Pride parade and to top it off, they have a cheer coordinator with a giant microphone.

These guys are what fanship should be. I personally don’t care much for the MLS brand of soccer. But this experience was unlike any other sporting event I have been to (no I have never been to see European soccer or March Madness). These fans actually throw streamers at players before they are about to kick the ball – totally interfering with the play. Confetti is blown onto the pitch by the thousands (over 20,000 today) of fans as they cheer on their Reds.

The fans have scarves with their seating section number stitched onto it, their flags have their section numbers and individual seating sections compete for cheering during the game. The FC ended up winning the game 3-2 in what has to be some kind of a record for soccer games (usually they score as many goals as Wade Belak).

This all made me think, well, wish, that all hockey games could be like that. The intensity of the fans brought out the mini soccer fan in me.

After the game I watched the Marlies defeat the Hartford Wolf Pack 4-1 at Ricoh Coliseum. It was a good game, Kris Newbury played great earning the first star and Justin Pogge stood tall with 29 saves. Mark Bell was off his game playing sluggishly and taking a few bad penalties. Artem Anisimov and Bobby Sanguinetti were pretty much invisible as I expected these Ranger prospects to play well. Sanguinetti was given much leeway by his coach but he didn’t seem to be into the game.

Happy anniversary Le Tricolore

2008-10-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

As everyone is well aware, the Habs turn 100 this season, and they sure put on a good celebration. They are to hockey like Jesus is to Catholics, no matter all the arguments, its a big deal.

To lift from SNL, I think the real question here is, did god create the habs to be superior to all other teams or is he simply a huge fan, and Gainey made them superior to all other teams?

All kidding aside the Habs have never had so much pressure on them to win, period. With impending free agents like Kovalev, Koivu, Tanguay, Higgins and RFA Plekanec, the time is now. What not many Habs fans have realized is that the Salary cap does exist(wierd) and come next year, if they lose some of these core guys without having won the cup in 09, Gainey will feel the heat and the disappointment will be larger than Sean Avery's attitude.

Now that that has been dealt with, the real idea is here. The current state of the team is nothing short of euphoria, the media and fans a like are pumping those tires 24 hours a day. And I love it! But with so much pressure, once the team slips in the slightest, I fear this euphoria could turn to panic very quickly, after all the media loves bad news.

If this team loses 3, 4, or please not 5 games in a row, they will be tested immensely. This thought crossed my mind at the end of last season, and it was scary after seeing the team fall behind so quickly against the flyers. And having Price distrusted in net really broughton the feeling of panic.

Here's where it changed for me, this off season Montreal went out and got WINNERS. Tanguay won a cup with Colorado. Lang has won a golf medal and has played on Presidents Cup winning Detroit, he knows the feeling. Laraque has made the NHL finals 2 of the last 3 years and is a guy who really is a team player. You can say all you want about this guy, but he plays his role as the best in the NHL. Winning breeds winning.

This confidence that the new additions bring should support the already strong willed team. This is why I pick these Montreal Canadiens to win the cup. This pressure is very strong, no doubt, but after all, repeating is exponentially harder than winning it the first time.

Ps: Go Habs Go!

The Greatest Show on... Ice! Right?

2008-10-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Come one come all to the greatest show on earth. Or, so that's how the advertising promoted it.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, the greatest show on earth? At one time this actually applied, the franchise did win Stanley Cups once. But now, riding on the coat tails of 50 something baby boomers, its become the most expensive hockey ticket in the world.

And with that, the most unrealistic venue has been created as a fantasy for all leaf fans. The mere thought of attending a game only crosses the minds of the rich, famous, or corporate.

With such an unattainable dream comes frustration, felt by many leaf fans in the form of... buying more mechandise, whoops I mean paying more for tickets. No, that still can't be right. Maybe it is protest that they turn to - nope still wrong.

"What is fueling the industry leader, Alex". Yup, the fans have turned this mecca of hockey into a private club.

Wait, did he just say the fans did all this? Yes. Question for you the reader, if I offer you 20 dollars for your 20 cent lemonade will you take it? Remember, you are a profit seeking missile aimed straight at climbing the corporate ladder.

Of course you will take it! And so the beat goes on. Well, you say the fans should get a break for having supported the team, for 80 years right? Well, yeah they should. Ok. Let's give them one game for free, but make sure it doesn't count for anything(hence pre-season and against the Sabres). And so the fans first game was created, great, a miracle!

Or so we thought. For anyone who actually went through the motions of going downtown and entering the tailgate party, success! My question is where the heck were all these die hard fans? There was about 1600 people who went to this tailgate party, and of them, nearly all were given tickets to the game.

So to all the people (not calling them fans at this point) that want to complain about expensive tickets, you better have been at this half empty game. Otherwise, your the worst kind of hypocrite money can buy.

Seriously though, who wants to watch a team that has Mikhail Grabovski on the ice for 20 minutes per game, might as well watch the Toronto Marlies for 30 bucks. Where the people watching the game are actually watching the game and not on their BlackBerry proposing the next sale to buy-out your dad's company.

To MLSE I say great job in your efforts, eveyone else would do the same.

The Rains Report is born!

2008-10-13T11:07:00.000-07:00

Welll it took one short train ride to figure out it was time to grow up and leave the nest, err, start a blog.

This blog will focus on professional hockey with a specific interst in the ahl and also the nhl.

It will be brougt to you by an opinionated hockey fan just like you, except I have way too much time on my hands and a phone with unlimited data.

I will be updating the blog almost on a daily basis to keep you up to date on the happenings of pro hockey.

My big interests is in prospects of the NHL and therefore a particular penchant for AHL standouts.

If your looking for talk on Denis hamel or mike zigomanis your in the wrong blog, look up career AHLers to find them. I will be focusing on players like Justin Pogge and Bobby Ryan.

Look for a fair assessment of their nightly play, I seem to catch a lot of toronto marlie games for some reason.