So, the long waited NHL trade deadline came and went. Lots of articles were written and anticipation was attracted to highest levels. Then the actual day went on and pretty much nothing happened. I followed on the path of the big boys and played with the thoughts of big names moving to new teams and changing the franchises' directions. Well, should have known better. I now believe this was one big hoax conjured by the viewer hungry sports media and not really based on any proper background work.
Rick Nash stayed put. No one really even tried to get him. Or at least the seller and buyers were totally on different pages. Well, he's not entering free agency so it should have been easier to predict that all the fuzz about him was bit unnecessary.
Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Alex Semin and other big names with big contracts that fill be free agents? No moves, nothing.
The kids with remarkably upbeat seasons, e.g. P.A. Parenteau and Michael Del Zotto? Nothing? New York teams must know something we don't to not make a move with these guys. Re-sign, that is.
Biggest of the actual trades took place before the deadline day. LA Kings putting their hope on fallen star Jeff Carter and New Jersey Devils coughing up a lot to take a chance with slick blueliner Marek Zidlicky were probably the biggest. Then there was some third line reshaping and grit adding moves by potential cup contenders. Added experience may well be worth a lot duning the long playoff run. Just as well it may be irrelevant.
It seems that the trend today is to trust in the team chemistry built in the first two thirds of the season instead of trying to pull a magical move in the last minute to get an edge. The mystifying part is that all the teams on the bubble or having already lost the season are also pretty content with what they have. One could think that the bubble teams would be willing to take the biggest risks at this time and the bottom dwellers would start dramatic reshaping by unloading the failed core of the team.
As a summary, I was disappointed with the deadline action and fooled by the buzz like everyone else. Mental note is to aim to be one step ahead of this media hype instead of following on the beaten path. We'll see..
2012/02/24
Capital mistake
Something's rotten in Washington! It's been discussed quite a while, but let's go on this topic too. The Washington Capitals have obviously failed big time to respond to the expectations this season. The media has quickly thrown Alex Ovechkin under the bus for not pulling the team to the level it belongs to. That's the easy way for laying the blame and to me it just seems a bit too light for a proper analysis. I'll throw in some thoughts of my own and hope to shed some more light on the matter.
The Capitals have been phenomenal the last few seasons. Taking home the Presidents' Trophy and three consecutive SE Division crowns. Ovechkin has been on top of the league in scoring, backed up by amazing numbers racked up by Mike Green on defence. However, the team has disappeared in the postseason every time and been criticized heavily on that.
Then, this season where everything seems to go wrong. Great start, but then just failures upon failures. Everyone is pointing fingers, but no one really takes the responsibility of changing the course. Horrible decisions have followed.
Bruce Boudreau got fired and replaced by Dale Hunter. That's replacing a coach with NHL-best record over last 3 seasons with a former NHL grinder with practically no experience on NHL level coaching. Just for a bad stretch in play. Well, now everyone can see that Hunter doesn't bring anything on the table for the Capitals and should not carry over for next season, no matter how this ends.
The Capitals' offense is based on three key players, Ovechkin, Semin and Bäckström. All of these guys are extremely skilled, but at the same time very much confidence-driven. On a bad streak, it seems, none of these guys will be the one to step up and carry the team. In general, these guys don't really have the flexibility to "go back to basics and grind it out". They're flashy, entertaining and lethally effective when the whole line plays on that level. If the line resorts to plain old basics, these guys will end up shaking their heads on the offensive blue line and waving their arms in frustration. Bench the millionaires and see who do you have to throw out there to play the 0-0 games.
Take another look and try to find out the guys who can score behind the big three. Laich, Chimera, Johansson, Brouwer? These are not exactly top of the league when compared to some other teams' secondary scoring. That's the biggest reason this team struggles mightily when the big guns are not blazing. It's easy to forget, but if one looks a bit back in history, the Capitals won a lot of 7-4, 6-5 games with the ultimate firepower. That doesn't promise much for the moment your gunpowder gets wet. And wet it has been this season. Especially after Rene Bourque cowardly clipped Niklas Bäckström out of the games.
So, the expectations for this team may be a bit too high and not based on their material, but rather on their regular season success of late. Washington is surprisingly fragile team. They lost one key piece in Mike Green early this season and haven't been able to recover for a balanced, entertaining style they require to be successful.
Washington's defense and goaltending have been mediocre at best through the great seasons but now they really show their vulnerability after losing the dominating puck possession up front. Tomas Vokoun has been on top of NHL for a long time, but seems to have lost the race against time. The young goalies in the lineup are as shaky as they come.
So, no wonder they're struggling to make it to the playoffs. And even if they do, it's easy to predict a first round exit against a top seed of Rangers, Boston or Pittsburgh for example. Simply no chance.
Let's turn our sights for the future and try to figure out what to do to change things around. Here's a short to-do list.
1) Fire Hunter and get a real coach, who understands that you need to adjust the team style according to the players and not vice versa. You can actually have different game plans for different lines, based on the strengths of the players on ice.
2) Trade Alexander Semin. He's a number one player-slash-diva for a team and will not rise to full potential in Ovechkin's shadow. Ovie is signed for life, so easy call here. In return the team will get almost the whole second line or top defensive pair.
3) Keep the faith on the superstars. Don't publicly scold the franchise player(s). Ovechkin is a natural force when mad, but quite the opposite when mad at the coach or ownership. There's a fine line to balance on but you just don't want to restrain this guy in any way. Just get over the envy for the alpha male and let Ovie run free and others will follow. Good things come, rock star style will prevail. And for ownership, don't sign the top players for 100M+ USD contracts if you don't plan to build and brand the team around them.
Start with that and see the light. Go Caps!
The Capitals have been phenomenal the last few seasons. Taking home the Presidents' Trophy and three consecutive SE Division crowns. Ovechkin has been on top of the league in scoring, backed up by amazing numbers racked up by Mike Green on defence. However, the team has disappeared in the postseason every time and been criticized heavily on that.
Then, this season where everything seems to go wrong. Great start, but then just failures upon failures. Everyone is pointing fingers, but no one really takes the responsibility of changing the course. Horrible decisions have followed.
Bruce Boudreau got fired and replaced by Dale Hunter. That's replacing a coach with NHL-best record over last 3 seasons with a former NHL grinder with practically no experience on NHL level coaching. Just for a bad stretch in play. Well, now everyone can see that Hunter doesn't bring anything on the table for the Capitals and should not carry over for next season, no matter how this ends.
The Capitals' offense is based on three key players, Ovechkin, Semin and Bäckström. All of these guys are extremely skilled, but at the same time very much confidence-driven. On a bad streak, it seems, none of these guys will be the one to step up and carry the team. In general, these guys don't really have the flexibility to "go back to basics and grind it out". They're flashy, entertaining and lethally effective when the whole line plays on that level. If the line resorts to plain old basics, these guys will end up shaking their heads on the offensive blue line and waving their arms in frustration. Bench the millionaires and see who do you have to throw out there to play the 0-0 games.
Take another look and try to find out the guys who can score behind the big three. Laich, Chimera, Johansson, Brouwer? These are not exactly top of the league when compared to some other teams' secondary scoring. That's the biggest reason this team struggles mightily when the big guns are not blazing. It's easy to forget, but if one looks a bit back in history, the Capitals won a lot of 7-4, 6-5 games with the ultimate firepower. That doesn't promise much for the moment your gunpowder gets wet. And wet it has been this season. Especially after Rene Bourque cowardly clipped Niklas Bäckström out of the games.
So, the expectations for this team may be a bit too high and not based on their material, but rather on their regular season success of late. Washington is surprisingly fragile team. They lost one key piece in Mike Green early this season and haven't been able to recover for a balanced, entertaining style they require to be successful.
Washington's defense and goaltending have been mediocre at best through the great seasons but now they really show their vulnerability after losing the dominating puck possession up front. Tomas Vokoun has been on top of NHL for a long time, but seems to have lost the race against time. The young goalies in the lineup are as shaky as they come.
So, no wonder they're struggling to make it to the playoffs. And even if they do, it's easy to predict a first round exit against a top seed of Rangers, Boston or Pittsburgh for example. Simply no chance.
Let's turn our sights for the future and try to figure out what to do to change things around. Here's a short to-do list.
1) Fire Hunter and get a real coach, who understands that you need to adjust the team style according to the players and not vice versa. You can actually have different game plans for different lines, based on the strengths of the players on ice.
2) Trade Alexander Semin. He's a number one player-slash-diva for a team and will not rise to full potential in Ovechkin's shadow. Ovie is signed for life, so easy call here. In return the team will get almost the whole second line or top defensive pair.
3) Keep the faith on the superstars. Don't publicly scold the franchise player(s). Ovechkin is a natural force when mad, but quite the opposite when mad at the coach or ownership. There's a fine line to balance on but you just don't want to restrain this guy in any way. Just get over the envy for the alpha male and let Ovie run free and others will follow. Good things come, rock star style will prevail. And for ownership, don't sign the top players for 100M+ USD contracts if you don't plan to build and brand the team around them.
Start with that and see the light. Go Caps!
2012/02/22
Top dogs
Let's walk away from the trade speculation for a short while and review the biggest point producers of late. The top of overall scoring list has very few surprises, both in and out. But lately there's been a few guys that have shown a reignited passion to break through to the scoring race.
Leading the pack is maybe the number one candidate for Art Ross trophy, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin. He has a steady team to back him up and seems to love the spotlight while Sidney Crosby is out. Malkin is a monster in every aspect on the ice. Big, strong, shoots a lot and makes plays like the best of them. With confidence up, this guy is practically unstoppable. He seems also to possess somewhat unique ability to explode for 5 points every now and then (three times this season!). A feat not many have pulled out ever despite having tremendously successfull careers. Malkin is on a continuous hot streak with 6+8 in last ten games. A minus one rating is maybe a small dent in February.
Chasing Malkin is Tampa Bay's and the whole league's number one sniper, Steven Stamkos. This boy is on fire and is really aiming for the scoring title to go with his somewhat sure Rocket Richard trophy for most goals. Stamkos' shot is just phenomenal and it's going to be fun to watch this kid score for years to come. He might end up with a number in career goals column that only few can dream of. Last ten games he's gone through the roof with 9+7 and positive plus minus rating on a team that's going to fail to make it to the playoffs. Tough to beat.
The third kid on the top three is Philly's Claude Giroux. He's also only 24 and starts to fill all expectations set for him and more. He's been really consistent while the team has gone up and down throughout the season. January saw Giroux fall from the scoring lead but now he's back, making a statement that it won't be easy to walk over him on this one. Giroux has sort of sneaked into superstardom this season and it's really interesting to see if he really is this good. Malkin and Stamkos already have some silverware for memories. Giroux is 5+10 in the last ten games, but also falling to -3 to raise some questions.
Chasing these three kids we can see some slightly more experienced guys with rising productivity. Ottawa's Jason Spezza is really on fire with 8+9 in last ten and has brought the surprising Senators to almost sure playoff spot with his heroics. Some praise must be thrown to amazing young blueliner Erik Karlsson for coming up with massive offensive numbers to complement Spezza's feats.
Another late season blast comes from New Jersey in form of always so thrilling Ilya Kovalchuk. He's got the most points in the last ten in the league if you don't count Edmonton's Sam Gagner and his 8 point night. 6+12 and counting for Ilya, and he's stepped it up on even strength too to rack up +5 during the stretch. Spending 100M on this guy may feel just a little bit less painful for the ownership when Kovalchuk is on this mode. The dude is one of the fastest out there and sized like a bull. Throw in his shot that pales to no one and this is what you should expect. Hopefully Devils can keep Parise and Elias to set Kovy up also in the future.
Some of the all season top ten guys seem to have run out of steam a bit.. well if you can call point per game that. There's Toronto's wonder pair Kessel-Lupul and Vancouver's identically scoring Sedin twins. Steadily following also Mr. Selke, Pavel Datsuyk and Buffalo's brightest star, Jason Pominville. All of these are still within a striking distance, should the big guns relax a little.
It'll be extremely tight this year and the big prize seems to fall for one of the young bucks. Hurray for modern NHL and skill hockey.
Leading the pack is maybe the number one candidate for Art Ross trophy, Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin. He has a steady team to back him up and seems to love the spotlight while Sidney Crosby is out. Malkin is a monster in every aspect on the ice. Big, strong, shoots a lot and makes plays like the best of them. With confidence up, this guy is practically unstoppable. He seems also to possess somewhat unique ability to explode for 5 points every now and then (three times this season!). A feat not many have pulled out ever despite having tremendously successfull careers. Malkin is on a continuous hot streak with 6+8 in last ten games. A minus one rating is maybe a small dent in February.
Chasing Malkin is Tampa Bay's and the whole league's number one sniper, Steven Stamkos. This boy is on fire and is really aiming for the scoring title to go with his somewhat sure Rocket Richard trophy for most goals. Stamkos' shot is just phenomenal and it's going to be fun to watch this kid score for years to come. He might end up with a number in career goals column that only few can dream of. Last ten games he's gone through the roof with 9+7 and positive plus minus rating on a team that's going to fail to make it to the playoffs. Tough to beat.
The third kid on the top three is Philly's Claude Giroux. He's also only 24 and starts to fill all expectations set for him and more. He's been really consistent while the team has gone up and down throughout the season. January saw Giroux fall from the scoring lead but now he's back, making a statement that it won't be easy to walk over him on this one. Giroux has sort of sneaked into superstardom this season and it's really interesting to see if he really is this good. Malkin and Stamkos already have some silverware for memories. Giroux is 5+10 in the last ten games, but also falling to -3 to raise some questions.
Chasing these three kids we can see some slightly more experienced guys with rising productivity. Ottawa's Jason Spezza is really on fire with 8+9 in last ten and has brought the surprising Senators to almost sure playoff spot with his heroics. Some praise must be thrown to amazing young blueliner Erik Karlsson for coming up with massive offensive numbers to complement Spezza's feats.
Another late season blast comes from New Jersey in form of always so thrilling Ilya Kovalchuk. He's got the most points in the last ten in the league if you don't count Edmonton's Sam Gagner and his 8 point night. 6+12 and counting for Ilya, and he's stepped it up on even strength too to rack up +5 during the stretch. Spending 100M on this guy may feel just a little bit less painful for the ownership when Kovalchuk is on this mode. The dude is one of the fastest out there and sized like a bull. Throw in his shot that pales to no one and this is what you should expect. Hopefully Devils can keep Parise and Elias to set Kovy up also in the future.
Some of the all season top ten guys seem to have run out of steam a bit.. well if you can call point per game that. There's Toronto's wonder pair Kessel-Lupul and Vancouver's identically scoring Sedin twins. Steadily following also Mr. Selke, Pavel Datsuyk and Buffalo's brightest star, Jason Pominville. All of these are still within a striking distance, should the big guns relax a little.
It'll be extremely tight this year and the big prize seems to fall for one of the young bucks. Hurray for modern NHL and skill hockey.
2012/02/17
Dare to gamble?
Okay, continuing to milk the trade deadline cow. Now I'm going through some thoughts on the potential free agents that might really spark up a team they land in. In addition I'll cover some of the ageless veterans that seem to just keep on firing on all cylinders no matter how old they get. These guys are mostly loyal to their long term teams, but there might be a chance to lure one or two out of their retirement houses by dangling the Stanley Cup in front of them. Finally I'll cover some of the ultimate risks, already proven to fail easily, but still having some hidden potential underneath.
Let's start with the impact players with somewhat inconsistent history. Number one is Washington's Alexander Semin. No matter how much the North American media hates this kid, I still believe he's up there with the best of them as far as hockey skills come. Semin is clearly unhappy as the number two primadonna in the team. OVechkin steals the spotlight and as both of these guys live for recognition as the artists they are, Semin is not going to hit his peak behind the bigger Alex. Semin has a shot like Steven Stamkos, hands like Patric Kane and skating skills to match. You just need to have the desperation level as a team to take the leap to unknown an build your offense around this young Russian. As the teams in the bottom of the standings, what can you lose? Montreal, Minnesota or something.
Another Capital is closing in on the free agency. Former league-leading defenceman, Mike Green, has the potential to be the ultimate game changer, especially on the powerplay. Just look at his stats from years 08-09 and 09-10. Green has been injured much of the past two seasons and his attitude has also been questioned. But you just don't rack up 70+ points per season as a blueliner in NHL unless you have exceptional talent day in and day out. On a team with highly skilled forward group on power play, Green could be the catalyst to just blow the PP goal column through the roof. Devils, Lightning and Ducks, just to name a few.
There's also a sneaky Swede, Kristian Huselius, who has dropped totally from the radar after injuries and other woes. This guy was producing almost a point per game in Calgary and Columbus while these teams were deep down in the bottom of the league. He managed even to crack it to the positive side of plus minus charts through 06-09. If he regains his health, this 33 year old playmaker is still very potential second line forward for any team needing secondary scoring.
Three more guys with high potential and solid careers enter the free agency unless new contracts come up soon. Brad Boyes, a lethal sniper and shootout specialist is having a horrible downswing in productivity after his high scoring years in St. Louis Blues. Install him in a proper line with a good setup man and he might well regain his level of 30+ goals per season. Olli Jokinen is playing on his best level in Calgary era. He seems to have found the groove with some true veteran leadership. Calgary is likely negotiating an extension with the Great Pumpkin Head, but Olli might be tempted to make one final attempt to be a big player in a big team. So far he has only been able to rise to high level of play while playing in mediocre teams. Edmonton's Ales Hemsky still has the speed to cause envy across the league and can pack a magnificent set of hands on top of that. The young Oilers will not make it to the playoffs yet this season. Hemsky might want to try a change of scenery for the extra notch to make it to the elite of forwards before hitting his thirties. Anyone with a gap in skill and speed should be interested. Dallas, Ottawa or even Detroit come to mind.
There are so many Hall of Fame -bound veterans still playing this season on a high level that it sometimes is hard to believe. Sweden's ironman Nicklas Lidström will likely postpone retirement and carry on for yet another season in Detroit. Even if the graying Wings run out of steam come playoff time. Martin Brodeur carries on and will want to increase his incredible numbers in a Devil uniform until retirement. I can't see Teemu Selänne migrating from warm and sunny Anaheim anywhere soon. Not even for a loan to dear neighbors San Jose or LA. He'll give the Ducks another chance and another solid year even if they miss the playoffs this season. You just cannot quit as the top scorer among this lineup while you're still skating like a 20 year old and love the game as much as Teemu.
Three more big names in the veteran corps might have a temptation play the remaining years in different teams. Jaromir Jagr might swap to another uniform for another year if he stays healthy and the Flyers mess it up early in the playoffs. Ray Whitney is absolutely killing it in Phoenix and he should be on the radar of any playoff bound team that believes that veteran leadership is critical in the postseason. Milan Hejduk is also headed for free agency and might be tempted to jump out of the Colorado train for a bit more mature team to finish off his career. Any of these guys can improve any team they land in. For some teams that rely heavily on young superstars, an elderly distinguished gentleman might be a perfect mentor. You just cannot be cocky while facing Jaromir Jagr and his merits. Take a note on this, Chicago Blackhawks.
Finally, the dark horses. Evgeni Nabokov went awol last season but humbly returned for a decent campaign in lowly NY Islanders. He might be of interest for any team with secure playoff spot but problems in the net. Chicago, Philly again. Then there are the ultimate gambles in Dustin Penner and Sean Avery. Both have proven to be valuable players to cause problems to the opponents and even score some points along with the rest of the hussle. Penner was solid big bruiser in Edmonton era, always in the face of opposing goalies. Avery was driving the opposition crazy while still amusing the home team and supporters in Rangers for a long period. Falling out of favor with the coaches has totally killed these guys' careers. For a team desperate enough and willing to gamble with the team chemistry on the line, these guys will join you on a bargain tab. Help them find their groove and give them the niche they fit in and you'll end up a winner. Penner to Washington to fill up Mike Knuble's big boots. Avery to any team that has an audience that appreciates some theatrics with their daily portion of hockey. Could the city of Chicago be ready for the Avery-show? And the young fun loving corps led by Patrick Kane might have a laugh with Sean. Captain Serious excluded of course.
Let's start with the impact players with somewhat inconsistent history. Number one is Washington's Alexander Semin. No matter how much the North American media hates this kid, I still believe he's up there with the best of them as far as hockey skills come. Semin is clearly unhappy as the number two primadonna in the team. OVechkin steals the spotlight and as both of these guys live for recognition as the artists they are, Semin is not going to hit his peak behind the bigger Alex. Semin has a shot like Steven Stamkos, hands like Patric Kane and skating skills to match. You just need to have the desperation level as a team to take the leap to unknown an build your offense around this young Russian. As the teams in the bottom of the standings, what can you lose? Montreal, Minnesota or something.
Another Capital is closing in on the free agency. Former league-leading defenceman, Mike Green, has the potential to be the ultimate game changer, especially on the powerplay. Just look at his stats from years 08-09 and 09-10. Green has been injured much of the past two seasons and his attitude has also been questioned. But you just don't rack up 70+ points per season as a blueliner in NHL unless you have exceptional talent day in and day out. On a team with highly skilled forward group on power play, Green could be the catalyst to just blow the PP goal column through the roof. Devils, Lightning and Ducks, just to name a few.
There's also a sneaky Swede, Kristian Huselius, who has dropped totally from the radar after injuries and other woes. This guy was producing almost a point per game in Calgary and Columbus while these teams were deep down in the bottom of the league. He managed even to crack it to the positive side of plus minus charts through 06-09. If he regains his health, this 33 year old playmaker is still very potential second line forward for any team needing secondary scoring.
Three more guys with high potential and solid careers enter the free agency unless new contracts come up soon. Brad Boyes, a lethal sniper and shootout specialist is having a horrible downswing in productivity after his high scoring years in St. Louis Blues. Install him in a proper line with a good setup man and he might well regain his level of 30+ goals per season. Olli Jokinen is playing on his best level in Calgary era. He seems to have found the groove with some true veteran leadership. Calgary is likely negotiating an extension with the Great Pumpkin Head, but Olli might be tempted to make one final attempt to be a big player in a big team. So far he has only been able to rise to high level of play while playing in mediocre teams. Edmonton's Ales Hemsky still has the speed to cause envy across the league and can pack a magnificent set of hands on top of that. The young Oilers will not make it to the playoffs yet this season. Hemsky might want to try a change of scenery for the extra notch to make it to the elite of forwards before hitting his thirties. Anyone with a gap in skill and speed should be interested. Dallas, Ottawa or even Detroit come to mind.
There are so many Hall of Fame -bound veterans still playing this season on a high level that it sometimes is hard to believe. Sweden's ironman Nicklas Lidström will likely postpone retirement and carry on for yet another season in Detroit. Even if the graying Wings run out of steam come playoff time. Martin Brodeur carries on and will want to increase his incredible numbers in a Devil uniform until retirement. I can't see Teemu Selänne migrating from warm and sunny Anaheim anywhere soon. Not even for a loan to dear neighbors San Jose or LA. He'll give the Ducks another chance and another solid year even if they miss the playoffs this season. You just cannot quit as the top scorer among this lineup while you're still skating like a 20 year old and love the game as much as Teemu.
Three more big names in the veteran corps might have a temptation play the remaining years in different teams. Jaromir Jagr might swap to another uniform for another year if he stays healthy and the Flyers mess it up early in the playoffs. Ray Whitney is absolutely killing it in Phoenix and he should be on the radar of any playoff bound team that believes that veteran leadership is critical in the postseason. Milan Hejduk is also headed for free agency and might be tempted to jump out of the Colorado train for a bit more mature team to finish off his career. Any of these guys can improve any team they land in. For some teams that rely heavily on young superstars, an elderly distinguished gentleman might be a perfect mentor. You just cannot be cocky while facing Jaromir Jagr and his merits. Take a note on this, Chicago Blackhawks.
Finally, the dark horses. Evgeni Nabokov went awol last season but humbly returned for a decent campaign in lowly NY Islanders. He might be of interest for any team with secure playoff spot but problems in the net. Chicago, Philly again. Then there are the ultimate gambles in Dustin Penner and Sean Avery. Both have proven to be valuable players to cause problems to the opponents and even score some points along with the rest of the hussle. Penner was solid big bruiser in Edmonton era, always in the face of opposing goalies. Avery was driving the opposition crazy while still amusing the home team and supporters in Rangers for a long period. Falling out of favor with the coaches has totally killed these guys' careers. For a team desperate enough and willing to gamble with the team chemistry on the line, these guys will join you on a bargain tab. Help them find their groove and give them the niche they fit in and you'll end up a winner. Penner to Washington to fill up Mike Knuble's big boots. Avery to any team that has an audience that appreciates some theatrics with their daily portion of hockey. Could the city of Chicago be ready for the Avery-show? And the young fun loving corps led by Patrick Kane might have a laugh with Sean. Captain Serious excluded of course.
2012/02/16
Top of the trade buzz
We're getting close to the trade deadline of February 27th and the buzz around the potential trades is increasing. I'll rank the obvious big names here and throw in a list of guys who are rocketing towards big contracts after tremendous seasons.
Let's begin with the names that come up the most when talking about major moves. On offense, there's two names above others, Zach Parise and Rick Nash. Undeniably, both are superstars and still in their prime years. Nash is not a free agent yet, but since Columbus seems to be pulling the plug, they may go all the way and trade their franchise player. Good for Nash, though. Wherever he'll land (obviously the target is in a playoff bound team), he'll have a chance of proving everyone how good he really is. I've seen him play in international level with some high caliber Canadian linemates and he's on par with anyone out there. One of the best finishers in the game and a huge physical force. Get in line if you have cap room. I wouldn't be too surprised if Detroit would be the one to decide to build their future around Rick Nash.
Parise is another guy already up there in the talent ladder. He can be the first line winger in any team in the NHL. However, the team that goes after him should have that gap in the first line for a perfect fit. Since this season has been a major improvement for New Jersey Devils, Parise might actually be tempted to sign for a few more years setting up Kovalchuk's blasts or tapping in Elias' passes. They've been on a roll lately.
In defense, who hasn't heard the talks on the Nashville pair of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Both are free agents to be and will require a boatload of cash to sign. It's unlikely that Nashville will come up with 15 million to tie to these two. They'll flip a coin and try to sign one and just need to get the maximum value out of trading the other. My guess is that Weber stays and Suter goes. Takers are numerous. All the potential Cup contenders will need depth in the defense when playoff time comes and count of bruises increases. And if the guy boosts the solid defensive play with excellent offensive weapons, well, who wouldn't love that.
There's a couple of hometown legends entering free agency after this season in Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth. It's very likely that they'll sign a couple of more years in Phoenix and Edmonton, since they seem to be very much loyal to the teams. Doan's case might be a bit more difficult in the Coyotes are broke as always and can't match his salary requirements. Either of these two would be very valuable in the playoff run with the heart and experience they bring in. Maybe even as purely rental players for the Cup run. Shaky, but potential teams like Flyers and Blackhawks could definitely use some calm leadership. Even Washington might try for a final push to make the playoffs and possibly ignite the potential to go further.
Then there's Finland's favourite, Tuomo Ruutu. He's been healthy (until this week) and playing on top of his game the past two seasons. Ruutu is an absolute force on the ice, cheking, digging for the puck and driving to the net. Anyone who has seen him play can agree that this guy really gives it all out on the rink. The style he plays has demanded a lot on his body. Now it would be the moment for Ruutu to end up in a much better hockey club and really become a fan favorite and a clutch player for the playoff run. He would fit in well in hard working Rangers or Blues. Equally well he could bring in the much needed grit to some softer talent-driven teams like Red Wings or Sharks. I hope to see him land on another team for another gear in his career.
In the bracket of underpaid, highly successful players looking for big contracts we have a few interesting names. James Neal and Matt Duchene are already in the secondary level in their current contracts, but have proven to be worth even more.
The two guys that can expect the most upgrade in the league are both from New York. Islanders' PA Parenteau has been playing a point per game for one of the poorest teams in the league for one million. He seems to have potential up through the roof and all teams should have him on their radars. Rangers' Michael Del Zotto has become a dominant force in the defense and has been on the top of plus-minus charts all season. He's also playing for a million and a chance this year and can expect much more for a long term.
On the goalies department there are three distinct guys that have stellar numbers but will not have the ice time while sitting behind established franchise goaltenders. Boston's Tuukka Rask may want to wait out in Boston for Tim Thomas to retire. Vancouver's Cory Schneider will not wait for Roberto Luongo's retirement and the Canucks cannot keep such a good goalkeeper as a backup for peanuts. He'll be traded to try out for a number one goalie spot in a team like Tampa Bay or Chicago. Another potential starter is Minnesota's Josh Harding. He has challenged Niklas Bäckström this season, but might want to take the starting position for granted somewhere else. Also for Minnesota it might be better to rely on Bäckström and start raising a next generation keeper behind him.
I'll soon post another story on the potential but dangerous investments in the trade deadline. Going to go through fragile superstars, ageless veterans and absolute gambles. Until then, let's keep our eyes on the trade trackers.
Let's begin with the names that come up the most when talking about major moves. On offense, there's two names above others, Zach Parise and Rick Nash. Undeniably, both are superstars and still in their prime years. Nash is not a free agent yet, but since Columbus seems to be pulling the plug, they may go all the way and trade their franchise player. Good for Nash, though. Wherever he'll land (obviously the target is in a playoff bound team), he'll have a chance of proving everyone how good he really is. I've seen him play in international level with some high caliber Canadian linemates and he's on par with anyone out there. One of the best finishers in the game and a huge physical force. Get in line if you have cap room. I wouldn't be too surprised if Detroit would be the one to decide to build their future around Rick Nash.
Parise is another guy already up there in the talent ladder. He can be the first line winger in any team in the NHL. However, the team that goes after him should have that gap in the first line for a perfect fit. Since this season has been a major improvement for New Jersey Devils, Parise might actually be tempted to sign for a few more years setting up Kovalchuk's blasts or tapping in Elias' passes. They've been on a roll lately.
In defense, who hasn't heard the talks on the Nashville pair of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter. Both are free agents to be and will require a boatload of cash to sign. It's unlikely that Nashville will come up with 15 million to tie to these two. They'll flip a coin and try to sign one and just need to get the maximum value out of trading the other. My guess is that Weber stays and Suter goes. Takers are numerous. All the potential Cup contenders will need depth in the defense when playoff time comes and count of bruises increases. And if the guy boosts the solid defensive play with excellent offensive weapons, well, who wouldn't love that.
There's a couple of hometown legends entering free agency after this season in Shane Doan and Ryan Smyth. It's very likely that they'll sign a couple of more years in Phoenix and Edmonton, since they seem to be very much loyal to the teams. Doan's case might be a bit more difficult in the Coyotes are broke as always and can't match his salary requirements. Either of these two would be very valuable in the playoff run with the heart and experience they bring in. Maybe even as purely rental players for the Cup run. Shaky, but potential teams like Flyers and Blackhawks could definitely use some calm leadership. Even Washington might try for a final push to make the playoffs and possibly ignite the potential to go further.
Then there's Finland's favourite, Tuomo Ruutu. He's been healthy (until this week) and playing on top of his game the past two seasons. Ruutu is an absolute force on the ice, cheking, digging for the puck and driving to the net. Anyone who has seen him play can agree that this guy really gives it all out on the rink. The style he plays has demanded a lot on his body. Now it would be the moment for Ruutu to end up in a much better hockey club and really become a fan favorite and a clutch player for the playoff run. He would fit in well in hard working Rangers or Blues. Equally well he could bring in the much needed grit to some softer talent-driven teams like Red Wings or Sharks. I hope to see him land on another team for another gear in his career.
In the bracket of underpaid, highly successful players looking for big contracts we have a few interesting names. James Neal and Matt Duchene are already in the secondary level in their current contracts, but have proven to be worth even more.
The two guys that can expect the most upgrade in the league are both from New York. Islanders' PA Parenteau has been playing a point per game for one of the poorest teams in the league for one million. He seems to have potential up through the roof and all teams should have him on their radars. Rangers' Michael Del Zotto has become a dominant force in the defense and has been on the top of plus-minus charts all season. He's also playing for a million and a chance this year and can expect much more for a long term.
On the goalies department there are three distinct guys that have stellar numbers but will not have the ice time while sitting behind established franchise goaltenders. Boston's Tuukka Rask may want to wait out in Boston for Tim Thomas to retire. Vancouver's Cory Schneider will not wait for Roberto Luongo's retirement and the Canucks cannot keep such a good goalkeeper as a backup for peanuts. He'll be traded to try out for a number one goalie spot in a team like Tampa Bay or Chicago. Another potential starter is Minnesota's Josh Harding. He has challenged Niklas Bäckström this season, but might want to take the starting position for granted somewhere else. Also for Minnesota it might be better to rely on Bäckström and start raising a next generation keeper behind him.
I'll soon post another story on the potential but dangerous investments in the trade deadline. Going to go through fragile superstars, ageless veterans and absolute gambles. Until then, let's keep our eyes on the trade trackers.
2012/02/15
Adventures of the masked men
It's time to write something about the goalies. The odd stinky guys with big clumsy gear. The ones mumbling behind the mask. The ones that in the past were the last boys picked from the pond game lineup and forced to play goalie. The ones that now are often referred as half of the team or the most important player on ice. Talk about a recipe for mental issues.
Recently there's been a lot of goalie related news in Boston. Tim Thomas surprised everyone by somehow convincing himself that hockey players are supposed to issue political or generally meaningful statements. And the sports media somehow got confused and thought that hockey players' views are a great source for highly speculative journalism. Tim Thomas should have visited the White House just as the other boys. They probably served really good food and Obama shared some autographs for the willing. A perfectly good field trip for the kids of all ages. Making a big fuss about it was just stupid. Now the media seems to have more fuel on the fire and speculate the effect of Thomas' absence to the late underachievements of the Bruins. Not to mention trade rumors.
Apparently the sports reporters in Boston area were so wired to the goalie theme that they managed to find out some Finnish magazine article based on an interview of Tuukka Rask. They ran it through Google Translator or similar and ended up connecting the dots to create another scandal article. Tuukka wants to play, doesn't like sitting on the bench. Must be unhappy, poisons the team, must be traded. And so on. Now Rask has explained his chatter behind the original story and needs to convince everyone - well, the media at least - that he's happy in the team and gives hin 100% every time he is needed. And that the team goes first and it doesn't matter who's between the pipes as long as the team succeeds. And all the rest of the cliches that you need to provide when your attitude is questioned. Hello, Scott Gomez?
Behind the tabloid journalism there's some sports related bright spots amongst the goalmouth heros. NY Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist has finally found his consistent groove and seems like the one to beat in the Vezina race. Martin Brodeur isn't the same superhuman force anymore, but keeps on piling wins in his seemingly unbreakable record. Finnish workhorses Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff keep on astonishing with their solid professionalism and St. Louis' dynamic duo of Halak and Elliott seem to fit perfectly in this unbelievably improved Blues' hockey team.
On the sad stories department I need to bring up Philadelphia with their curse that brings down seemingly any goaltender they throw on the ice. Bryzgalov played huge amounts of very solid games in his time in Phoenix, but now struggles big time behind a way better team. Go figure. Honorable mention goes, as always when picking on goalies, to NY Islanders' Rick di Pietro and his monster contract and injury woes. An odd quirk in the statistics in Chicago's Cristobal Huet. He's being paid over five million dollars this year and yet he suites up for a team in Germany. I wonder how the financials have been arranged. In this equation Mr. Huet is the clear winner, losers come in many forms.
As always, it'll be really cool to follow also the keepers along the stretch run to the playoffs. Who has the stamina to pull through the final decisive rounds and continuous mental pressure? Who will need to step down from the number one spot when a younger challenger steps up his game? And ultimately, of course, who will be intimidated or shaken by the media come playoff time? It's time for experience, thick skin and cool nerves. Well suitable for silent maskesd guys from the Nordics.
Recently there's been a lot of goalie related news in Boston. Tim Thomas surprised everyone by somehow convincing himself that hockey players are supposed to issue political or generally meaningful statements. And the sports media somehow got confused and thought that hockey players' views are a great source for highly speculative journalism. Tim Thomas should have visited the White House just as the other boys. They probably served really good food and Obama shared some autographs for the willing. A perfectly good field trip for the kids of all ages. Making a big fuss about it was just stupid. Now the media seems to have more fuel on the fire and speculate the effect of Thomas' absence to the late underachievements of the Bruins. Not to mention trade rumors.
Apparently the sports reporters in Boston area were so wired to the goalie theme that they managed to find out some Finnish magazine article based on an interview of Tuukka Rask. They ran it through Google Translator or similar and ended up connecting the dots to create another scandal article. Tuukka wants to play, doesn't like sitting on the bench. Must be unhappy, poisons the team, must be traded. And so on. Now Rask has explained his chatter behind the original story and needs to convince everyone - well, the media at least - that he's happy in the team and gives hin 100% every time he is needed. And that the team goes first and it doesn't matter who's between the pipes as long as the team succeeds. And all the rest of the cliches that you need to provide when your attitude is questioned. Hello, Scott Gomez?
Behind the tabloid journalism there's some sports related bright spots amongst the goalmouth heros. NY Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist has finally found his consistent groove and seems like the one to beat in the Vezina race. Martin Brodeur isn't the same superhuman force anymore, but keeps on piling wins in his seemingly unbreakable record. Finnish workhorses Pekka Rinne and Miikka Kiprusoff keep on astonishing with their solid professionalism and St. Louis' dynamic duo of Halak and Elliott seem to fit perfectly in this unbelievably improved Blues' hockey team.
On the sad stories department I need to bring up Philadelphia with their curse that brings down seemingly any goaltender they throw on the ice. Bryzgalov played huge amounts of very solid games in his time in Phoenix, but now struggles big time behind a way better team. Go figure. Honorable mention goes, as always when picking on goalies, to NY Islanders' Rick di Pietro and his monster contract and injury woes. An odd quirk in the statistics in Chicago's Cristobal Huet. He's being paid over five million dollars this year and yet he suites up for a team in Germany. I wonder how the financials have been arranged. In this equation Mr. Huet is the clear winner, losers come in many forms.
As always, it'll be really cool to follow also the keepers along the stretch run to the playoffs. Who has the stamina to pull through the final decisive rounds and continuous mental pressure? Who will need to step down from the number one spot when a younger challenger steps up his game? And ultimately, of course, who will be intimidated or shaken by the media come playoff time? It's time for experience, thick skin and cool nerves. Well suitable for silent maskesd guys from the Nordics.
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