Ok, so here's what's on the Christmas Wish List for the Western Conference
Minnesota - Is there a bigger surprise than the West leading Wild? Their meteoric rise under Mike Yeo and his revamped roster is the story of the year, all respect to the Panthers. But they too have a wish list. A little more O from the D is in need, and I don't think there's an in house answer. Aside from that maybe the new, slimmer Guillaume Latendresse could just start playing like the fat, old one and score some goals.
Chicago - Some consistency would go a long way. The Blackhawks have looked like Cup Favourites this season before falling in to innexplicable losing slumps. The back-end is solid with the growing talents of Nick Leddy and Nick Hjalmarsson and the return to form of Duncan Keith. Andrew Brunette hasn't been a total flop, but this team could use one more proven scorer - they've got toughness in spades.
Phoenix - Goaltender Mike Smith has all but carried this team. Radim Vrbata has set the pace offensively, and Ray Whitney is steady as ever, but the offense drops off sharply after that. Kyle Turris is pointless in five games since ending his holdout. It might be time to parlay him in to a veteran scorer with some term left on his contract. One might not be enough though.
Detroit - Pavel Datsyuk is injured and Henrik Zetterberg has shown flashes of his old self, but it's the Mule and Val Filpula who have been carrying the torch offensively for Detroit. They're heavily rumored in the Alex Semin sweepstakes and they need to be - this team is showing its age and needs to get younger and more explosive ASAP.
St.Louis - three of the top five teams are from the Central, and I stand by the Blues as my pick to eventually lead the division. Jaro Halak is rounding in to form and Bryan Elliot continues to impress. This team needs to score more, but won't. They made the big change to take Ken Hitchcock off Columbus' hands early in the season and he was well suited to a deep blues team. They're incredibly deep down the middle and veteran laden, and they've just welcomed David Perron back in to the fold, so what do they need? A puck moving d-man, which is apparently not Kris Russel - yet. The young blueliner was also acquired from Columbus and has yet to establish himself as the elite puck-mover we all thought he might one day be. He probably won't ever so it might be time for St.Lou to shop around.
Vancouver - Cursed? Nah. Just unlucky for the entire 41 year history of the franchise is all. Salo has been in and out of the line-up, and has pretty well been the best defender when he's healthy; when he's not it starts a domino effect for lack of defensive depth. In a routing of Colorado the Canucks lost David Booth, Kevin Bieksa and Roberto Luongo. Lou and Bieksa are back but the top-six forward the Canucks finally landed is out four to six weeks. Mason Raymond is back and playing well and Cody Hodgson has really stepped up of late, playing his best game ever on the road in Montreal last night. All this team needs is some health.
San Jose - The Sharks are in seventh and have played three fewer games than most of the clubs ahead of them. They haven't been great at home and though their top-six forwards are among the best in the league collectively they haven't hit the after burners yet. They have allowed a conference low 60 goals this year, fueled largely by the signign of Brent Burns and revitalization of Marc-Edward Vlasic; along with Dan Boyle, Jason Demers, Douglas Murray and Justin Braun this is one of the best groups in the league and they're playing in front of a great goaltending tandem. They will need to add some scoring depth is they want a chance to make the third consecutive run at the West Finals a charm.
Dallas - The Stars are falling fast without Kari Lehtonen. Brenden Morrow has helped buoy the ship but unfortunately he doesn't play goal. If this team wants to continue the feel-good story they need to find a goalie fast. Lehtonen isn't the answer long term anyway, and for this very reason, he's a bandaid, and Andrew Raycroft is not a good enough stop-gap.
Nashville - The Rinne signing was brilliant. He's the best goalie in the league, period. This shows a commitment to success that will help land the two stud d-men, UFA Ryan Suter and RFA and team Captain Shea Weber. Unfortunately Suters stock has never been higher as he is on pace for a career year with near identical stats to the usually more dominant Weber. They need to lock these two up ASAP and move forward. Oh ya, they need scoring, what else is new?
Los Angeles - If the Wild are the biggest success story thus far in the West then the Kings are the biggest flop. Who would've thought they'd be out of a playoff spot this far in to the season? They're awful at home and have lost three straight. A number of players have been slumping of late. They may need a shake-up to their top six to get things right again. They still have a number of good young D prospects to waste on, I mean trade for top six talent.
Edmonton - The Oilers have lost two straigth and have slowly fallen off the pace they ran to start the season, and they've taken a big hit as Taylor Hall is out with a shoulder injury for an extended period of time. This team can still make the playoffs this season and the Hall injury may prove to be a blessing in disguise as Magnus Paajarvi has points in two of his last three games. This team is missing a puck-mover (is there an echo in here?) and hopefully Ryan Whitney can stay healthy long enough to be that guy. Edmonton's D-Corps is underrated but they need a punch in the arm from the back end that they're currently missing.
Calgary - The Flames don't need to blow it up. They've got a lot of pieces they need to find a way to bring together. I really don't think Brent Sutter is the coach to turn things around; they may benefit from making a change behind the bench. Leyland Irving finally got the call after Henrik Karlsson got injured. Kipper has been OK in net this year but Irving's youth might be rejuvinating. They of course as always need a true number-one centre and should try to acquire one before dumping Jarome Iginla as part of a major rebuild. They owe it to him.
Colorado - The Avs need scoring help. David Jones, Brandon Yip and TJ Galiardi have so much potential it's frustrating to watch them underachieve this year...ditto for Paul Stastny. This team is young, and 2011s first round pick Gabriel Landeskog is performing well in this youthful environment but they need scoring help and better D. Goaltending has been hit and miss but the duo of Giggy and Varlamov are not to blame for the Avs recent slump.
Anaheim - The Ducks aren't who we thought they were. This team has one good line and one great old Finn upfront but their youth won't develop fast enough to fill this void. They are basically an AHL team after the top line, and when the top line isn't performing it becomes obvious. They continue to squander leads under Bruce Boudreau. Jonas Hiller is spectacular some nights...awful others. If they can find a taker for Hiller they should unload him; it doesn't look like he'll ever be a true number one and they need the money to shore up the top six. They also need to start begging Teemu Selanne to come back for another year now. For all intents and purposes the season is over for the Ducks so they need to start rebuilding.
Columbus - What a mess! Carter wants out already and he's barely played. Derrick Brassard is at odds with the team, and rightfully so. This teams needs a lot of everything.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Christmas Wish List for all 30 Teams
Heading in to the Christmas season I examine what every NHL team has on their Wish List
Philledelphia - The Flyers have just taken over the Atlantic Conference, and what they need more than anything is a healthy Chris Pronger who has had more surgeries in the last year than Heidi Montag. Next on their list is a time machine, to go back to unrestricted free agency last year and sign Tomas Vokoun and keep Jeff Carter so the Bryzgalov deal never happens. If they can't find a way to generate 1.21 Gigawatts then they'll need a Husqvarana to cut down the forest Ilya Bryzgalov is in.
Florida - One of the highest scoring D-corps in the league, has a great line in Kris Versteeg, Stephen Weiss and Thomas Fleischmann, all tied with 29 points on the year, but the next highest scorer after that is Thomas Kopecky with 13 - they could use a goal scorer, or, one of Jack Skille, Mike Santorelli or the rest of the crew to pick it up. If they can't look for them to make a move before the deadline.
Boston - The Bruins, if you don't hate them, are fun to watch. They are big and bad and they beat their way to success, and it looks like Tim Thomas is on his way to a third Vezina trophy. They are scoring in bunches and solid on the back end - I can't think of a single thing they need, and that's probably good because they're obviously on the naughty list anyway, well, Santas at least....
Pittsburgh - Penguins coach Dan Bylsma is hoping for a force-field to surround Sidney Crosby as he takes a precautionary two games off. Zybenak Michalek and Kris Letang both suffered concussions, so, the Pens need a little health, and if the back-end is injured long term they may be in the market for a d-man.
New York Rangers - Emerging as a dark-horse in the East the Rangers are buying in to Torts' system and locking down opponents. They still need some more scoring in a bad way, they have the fewest goals of all playoff teams in the East, fourth fewest in the division overall, luckilly they've allowed the second fewest too. Michael Del Zotto has stepped up in Marc Staal's absence but when Staal is healthy this team might just take it over the top.
Toronto - The leafs trainers room looks like a scene from MASH. Connoly, McArthur and Grabovski have all missed time, and reinvigerated d-man Mike Komisarek displaced Luke Schenn before suffering a broken arm, and the team struggled without starting goalkeeper James Reimer who missed time for an un-concussion. Not unlike any team they could use some health. But in the mean time a little scoring depth would help. Nik Kulemin hasn't gotten off to the start they'd hopped. Tyler Bozak's offensive outburst is a pleasant surprise but the scoring drops way off after Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. When Komisarek is healthy one of the young stud d-men could be trade bait for a veteran scorer.
Buffalo - The Sabres aren't getting a lot of offense from the back end and have been cold of late after a solid start. Ville Leino was signed from Philly as part of the restructuring that also brought in veteran d-men Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regher. Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller have both missed time with injury, and Drew Stafford is playing like, well, Drew Stafford again. The offense drops off after Vanek and Pomminville despite some impressive performances from youngsters Luke Adam and Zack Kassian. Hopefully Tyler Ennis will be the catalyst this team needs to get it back in to gear.
Ottawa - All Ottawa wants for Christmas is to not wake up from the dream they're living in. Also, some more of whatever Daniel Alfredsson is having. The veteran Swede is looking like his old, old self and Jason Spezza is looking like Steve Yzerman. Sergei Gonchar and Philip Kuba are out so the Sens will be leaning on Erik Karlsson even more, but they may need to look for a puck-moving veteran if those injuries are more serious.
Washington - Last game we saw the Great 8 wake up and play with some emotion. This team is too good to be where they are in the standings. The tandem of Tomas Vokoun and Michael Neuvirth were amazing to start the year but have come back down to earth recently; if the goaltending doesn't improve it might be time to dangle some of the young prospects and picks to acquire some help in net.
New Jersey - Pete De Boer is doing a respectable job in New Jersey with the oldest goaltending tandem since Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall. Travis Zajac has been out all year and the team has been riding Ilya Kovalchuk hard. Zack Parise is finally starting to play better and David Clarkson has really stepped up, but this team needs scoring and a goalie and if they're out of it around deadline time Parise may be a chip to be played.
Montreal - The Habs just jetisoned Jaro Spacek to Carolina for Tomas Kaberle; apparently things are worse in Montreal than we thought. Unless they're planning to convert Kaberle to a winger then it's a saw-off. This team has got to be one of the smallest up front ever and they lack emotion, effort, team-work...just about everything. They will need to add a difference maker up front if they have any plans of making the playoffs. It might be time to talk buy-out with Scott Gomez.
Winnipeg - The Jets are flying of late, fighting back to .500 hockey after a terrible start and are doing so on the strength of power forward Evander Kane. Dustin Byfuglien has regained his form after a tumultous offseason. All the Jets want for Christmas is for Big Buff not to go to the Big House...a little scoring help would be nice too.
Tampa Bay - The Lightning finally broke a lengthy losing skid, but have lost Martin St.Louis for an extended period. They'll also be loaning Brett Connolly to Canada for the WJC in December. This might not be the best time to open things up, but they desperately need to improve their ability to score goals and prevent them. They have a number of young prospects that could land the necessary pieces...oh, and a d-man would be nice too.
New York Islanders - The Isles just climbed out of last place in the East, or did Carolina leave them no option? Either way they're above .500 in their last ten and Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson have woken up in a big way, just in time to save Jack Capuanos job. If they play Al Montoya the rest of the way they have a chance. Like the Habs they need to consider a buy-out. Their second leading point scorer on the back end is Milan Jurcina with 4 - this is a problem. They'll need to add a d-man and a little scoring help soon. They're just two games below .500 and have played the fewest games in the league thus far. If their wish-list is fulfilled this rag-tag bunch could be a playoff contender.
Carolina - The Hurricanes are a bad team. They've over-valued their in-house youth and are the victim of Eric Staal's apparent pitty-party which he has been hosting since he hurt is baby-bwutha Marc. Cam Ward isn't performing any miracles in the crease this season and there is no depth scoring...there isn't even scoring period. The Canes need to add impact forwards and defenseman soon or they could be in real trouble.
Ok, we'll tackle the West this afternoon.
Philledelphia - The Flyers have just taken over the Atlantic Conference, and what they need more than anything is a healthy Chris Pronger who has had more surgeries in the last year than Heidi Montag. Next on their list is a time machine, to go back to unrestricted free agency last year and sign Tomas Vokoun and keep Jeff Carter so the Bryzgalov deal never happens. If they can't find a way to generate 1.21 Gigawatts then they'll need a Husqvarana to cut down the forest Ilya Bryzgalov is in.
Florida - One of the highest scoring D-corps in the league, has a great line in Kris Versteeg, Stephen Weiss and Thomas Fleischmann, all tied with 29 points on the year, but the next highest scorer after that is Thomas Kopecky with 13 - they could use a goal scorer, or, one of Jack Skille, Mike Santorelli or the rest of the crew to pick it up. If they can't look for them to make a move before the deadline.
Boston - The Bruins, if you don't hate them, are fun to watch. They are big and bad and they beat their way to success, and it looks like Tim Thomas is on his way to a third Vezina trophy. They are scoring in bunches and solid on the back end - I can't think of a single thing they need, and that's probably good because they're obviously on the naughty list anyway, well, Santas at least....
Pittsburgh - Penguins coach Dan Bylsma is hoping for a force-field to surround Sidney Crosby as he takes a precautionary two games off. Zybenak Michalek and Kris Letang both suffered concussions, so, the Pens need a little health, and if the back-end is injured long term they may be in the market for a d-man.
New York Rangers - Emerging as a dark-horse in the East the Rangers are buying in to Torts' system and locking down opponents. They still need some more scoring in a bad way, they have the fewest goals of all playoff teams in the East, fourth fewest in the division overall, luckilly they've allowed the second fewest too. Michael Del Zotto has stepped up in Marc Staal's absence but when Staal is healthy this team might just take it over the top.
Toronto - The leafs trainers room looks like a scene from MASH. Connoly, McArthur and Grabovski have all missed time, and reinvigerated d-man Mike Komisarek displaced Luke Schenn before suffering a broken arm, and the team struggled without starting goalkeeper James Reimer who missed time for an un-concussion. Not unlike any team they could use some health. But in the mean time a little scoring depth would help. Nik Kulemin hasn't gotten off to the start they'd hopped. Tyler Bozak's offensive outburst is a pleasant surprise but the scoring drops way off after Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. When Komisarek is healthy one of the young stud d-men could be trade bait for a veteran scorer.
Buffalo - The Sabres aren't getting a lot of offense from the back end and have been cold of late after a solid start. Ville Leino was signed from Philly as part of the restructuring that also brought in veteran d-men Christian Ehrhoff and Robyn Regher. Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller have both missed time with injury, and Drew Stafford is playing like, well, Drew Stafford again. The offense drops off after Vanek and Pomminville despite some impressive performances from youngsters Luke Adam and Zack Kassian. Hopefully Tyler Ennis will be the catalyst this team needs to get it back in to gear.
Ottawa - All Ottawa wants for Christmas is to not wake up from the dream they're living in. Also, some more of whatever Daniel Alfredsson is having. The veteran Swede is looking like his old, old self and Jason Spezza is looking like Steve Yzerman. Sergei Gonchar and Philip Kuba are out so the Sens will be leaning on Erik Karlsson even more, but they may need to look for a puck-moving veteran if those injuries are more serious.
Washington - Last game we saw the Great 8 wake up and play with some emotion. This team is too good to be where they are in the standings. The tandem of Tomas Vokoun and Michael Neuvirth were amazing to start the year but have come back down to earth recently; if the goaltending doesn't improve it might be time to dangle some of the young prospects and picks to acquire some help in net.
New Jersey - Pete De Boer is doing a respectable job in New Jersey with the oldest goaltending tandem since Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall. Travis Zajac has been out all year and the team has been riding Ilya Kovalchuk hard. Zack Parise is finally starting to play better and David Clarkson has really stepped up, but this team needs scoring and a goalie and if they're out of it around deadline time Parise may be a chip to be played.
Montreal - The Habs just jetisoned Jaro Spacek to Carolina for Tomas Kaberle; apparently things are worse in Montreal than we thought. Unless they're planning to convert Kaberle to a winger then it's a saw-off. This team has got to be one of the smallest up front ever and they lack emotion, effort, team-work...just about everything. They will need to add a difference maker up front if they have any plans of making the playoffs. It might be time to talk buy-out with Scott Gomez.
Winnipeg - The Jets are flying of late, fighting back to .500 hockey after a terrible start and are doing so on the strength of power forward Evander Kane. Dustin Byfuglien has regained his form after a tumultous offseason. All the Jets want for Christmas is for Big Buff not to go to the Big House...a little scoring help would be nice too.
Tampa Bay - The Lightning finally broke a lengthy losing skid, but have lost Martin St.Louis for an extended period. They'll also be loaning Brett Connolly to Canada for the WJC in December. This might not be the best time to open things up, but they desperately need to improve their ability to score goals and prevent them. They have a number of young prospects that could land the necessary pieces...oh, and a d-man would be nice too.
New York Islanders - The Isles just climbed out of last place in the East, or did Carolina leave them no option? Either way they're above .500 in their last ten and Kyle Okposo and Matt Moulson have woken up in a big way, just in time to save Jack Capuanos job. If they play Al Montoya the rest of the way they have a chance. Like the Habs they need to consider a buy-out. Their second leading point scorer on the back end is Milan Jurcina with 4 - this is a problem. They'll need to add a d-man and a little scoring help soon. They're just two games below .500 and have played the fewest games in the league thus far. If their wish-list is fulfilled this rag-tag bunch could be a playoff contender.
Carolina - The Hurricanes are a bad team. They've over-valued their in-house youth and are the victim of Eric Staal's apparent pitty-party which he has been hosting since he hurt is baby-bwutha Marc. Cam Ward isn't performing any miracles in the crease this season and there is no depth scoring...there isn't even scoring period. The Canes need to add impact forwards and defenseman soon or they could be in real trouble.
Ok, we'll tackle the West this afternoon.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Re-Aligning the stars
Somewhere between a six-hour round of golf and the all-you-can eat buffet the NHL board of governors found the time to overhaul the landscape of the NHL. I don't hate what they came up with but I'm amazed that they would invite the type of scrutiny they've faced by the lackadaisicality involved. Meetings didn't start until 3:30 in the afternoon. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said on nhl.com that the realignment discussion lasted only about an hour. These guys gotta work on their PR.
Realignment became necessary when the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg. The'll play this season in the Southeast but needed a new division before the start of next season. To accomodate a move to the west it made sense to simply shift one of the more eastern teams in the Western Conference, most likely Detroit, but instead of the simple route the NHL shook things up.
I have never liked the regional conference break down. Why group teams based on location? It makes sense to costs and scheduling to try not to spread everything around, but MLB baseball is really the blue print the league should have followed, and really didn't.
In the MLB Oakland and San Francisco, though just minutes appart, play in different leagues. Same for the New York and Florida teams. They may not face each other in the regular season as often and that might harm a regional rivalry, but it sets the stage for an inner-state championship - isn't that a lot more appealing?
As a Canadian fan the new model has changed next to nothing. Under the current format all six Canadian teams are split evenly in two divisions, which means only one even has a chance of taking top spot in their conference. The teams that don't win have only a 1 in 5 chance of home ice advantage at any point in the playoffs. The new Jets atleast weren't grouped in the same conference as the other six Canadian teams but they're a long way from competing for home-ice advantage. There's no reason why Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton had to remain all in the same conference under the new format. Same for Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.
This, to me, was a failure, but as I examine it further it appears the obvious thing will be that eventually Phoenix will leave Conference A and become the re-born Quebec team in conference D, which will then leave atleast one Canadian team in each conference. It would be nice with four conferences and soon-to-be eight Canadian teams to have two in each but that's a pipe dream I guess.
I hold out hope that Phoenix will relocate and we will have Canadian representation in each new conference, but even then it's not ideal. Under the new system four teams from each conference make the playoffs, that means only one Canadian team can come out of each, where as in the current system All three in the West and East respectively could make the playoffs and potentially play in the Conference final. Now only one can come out of each division.
I like that we've overcome the regional, I just wish the NHL atleast acted like they put more thought in to the process. Nothing they come up with would be perfect, it would just be nice for optix.
Realignment became necessary when the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg. The'll play this season in the Southeast but needed a new division before the start of next season. To accomodate a move to the west it made sense to simply shift one of the more eastern teams in the Western Conference, most likely Detroit, but instead of the simple route the NHL shook things up.
I have never liked the regional conference break down. Why group teams based on location? It makes sense to costs and scheduling to try not to spread everything around, but MLB baseball is really the blue print the league should have followed, and really didn't.
In the MLB Oakland and San Francisco, though just minutes appart, play in different leagues. Same for the New York and Florida teams. They may not face each other in the regular season as often and that might harm a regional rivalry, but it sets the stage for an inner-state championship - isn't that a lot more appealing?
As a Canadian fan the new model has changed next to nothing. Under the current format all six Canadian teams are split evenly in two divisions, which means only one even has a chance of taking top spot in their conference. The teams that don't win have only a 1 in 5 chance of home ice advantage at any point in the playoffs. The new Jets atleast weren't grouped in the same conference as the other six Canadian teams but they're a long way from competing for home-ice advantage. There's no reason why Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton had to remain all in the same conference under the new format. Same for Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.
This, to me, was a failure, but as I examine it further it appears the obvious thing will be that eventually Phoenix will leave Conference A and become the re-born Quebec team in conference D, which will then leave atleast one Canadian team in each conference. It would be nice with four conferences and soon-to-be eight Canadian teams to have two in each but that's a pipe dream I guess.
I hold out hope that Phoenix will relocate and we will have Canadian representation in each new conference, but even then it's not ideal. Under the new system four teams from each conference make the playoffs, that means only one Canadian team can come out of each, where as in the current system All three in the West and East respectively could make the playoffs and potentially play in the Conference final. Now only one can come out of each division.
I like that we've overcome the regional, I just wish the NHL atleast acted like they put more thought in to the process. Nothing they come up with would be perfect, it would just be nice for optix.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
They still can't draft
I'm enthralled with the NHL Entry Draft. I think my interest in draft day comes from a love of junior hockey. This particular Sunday afternoon I find myself checking in on the class of 2011.
The Oilers took yet another forward with yet another first overall pick. The Avs played it safe and went with the dependable Gabriel Landeskog second overall. Florida rejoiced when they were able to snag the leader of the Memorial Cup Winning St. John Sea Dogs, high-scoring forward Jonathan Huberdeau, all the way down at third. The Devils were equally enthused to take a ready-made Swedish defenseman that many still felt should've been the Oilers choice at first, Adam Larsson, way back at fourth. Three of these young men started the year with their NHL clubs. Six of the top eight selections did, and four of them have stuck and are all playing huge roles on teams in or near playoff spots. After Larsson went Ryan Strome to Long Island, Mika Zibanejad to the Sens, the Jets went off the board to take Mark Schiefle at seventh, and the Flyers stole Sean Couturier at eighth, then, the reigning cup champs used a pick they acquired from the Leafs at ninth to scoop Dougie Hamilton and the massive defender is piling up points in the OHL.
And then there were the Minnesota Wild, coming off yet another disappointing season of which the only solace was a top ten pick in a loaded draft which they used to select (insert drum roll here) none other than Jonas Brodin, a slim, average sized defenseman from Farjestads of the SEL. Now in his second full season in Sweden's top league Brodin is still seeking his first career goal. The Avs used their second first round selection to take Ducan Siemens, a beheamoth defender from the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, who unlike Brodin is both big and offensively gifted. Next in line at eleventh were the Carolina Hurricanes who drafted yet another defenseman, Ryan Murphy, from the OHL's Kitchener Rangers. Murphy started the year with the big club but was quickly returned to major junior, tallying eight points in twelve games already.
The list of talented players taken behind Brodin goes on and on, including Sven Bartschi, Jamie Oleksiak, JT Miller, Nathan Beaulieu, etc...
The Wild are first in the West right now, propelled by young coach Mike Yeo and a few good trades by GM Chuck Fletcher in the offseason, but they still can't draft to save their lives.
Luckily they were able to take Huberdeau's teammate Zack Phillips with their other first round selection. Maybe they'll prove the 20+ other teams that passed on him wrong...but probably not.
Last year's first overall pick Mikael Granlund has overcome a head injury to return to form in the Finnish League. Brent Bulmer, the first of three second round picks that year looked good in an early nine game stint with the big club, and Jason Zucker, taken 20 spots behind him is doing well in his sophomore season. Nick Leddy, taken with their first pick the season before that, has 16 points this season...for Chicago. Colton Gillies and Tyler Cuma haven't made an impact at the NHL level.
I'm glad to see a surprise success story in the NHL this season, and they've made it work via the trade route, but I can't help but feeling robbed that the ineptitude of the Wild at the draft table makes them unworthy.
The Oilers took yet another forward with yet another first overall pick. The Avs played it safe and went with the dependable Gabriel Landeskog second overall. Florida rejoiced when they were able to snag the leader of the Memorial Cup Winning St. John Sea Dogs, high-scoring forward Jonathan Huberdeau, all the way down at third. The Devils were equally enthused to take a ready-made Swedish defenseman that many still felt should've been the Oilers choice at first, Adam Larsson, way back at fourth. Three of these young men started the year with their NHL clubs. Six of the top eight selections did, and four of them have stuck and are all playing huge roles on teams in or near playoff spots. After Larsson went Ryan Strome to Long Island, Mika Zibanejad to the Sens, the Jets went off the board to take Mark Schiefle at seventh, and the Flyers stole Sean Couturier at eighth, then, the reigning cup champs used a pick they acquired from the Leafs at ninth to scoop Dougie Hamilton and the massive defender is piling up points in the OHL.
And then there were the Minnesota Wild, coming off yet another disappointing season of which the only solace was a top ten pick in a loaded draft which they used to select (insert drum roll here) none other than Jonas Brodin, a slim, average sized defenseman from Farjestads of the SEL. Now in his second full season in Sweden's top league Brodin is still seeking his first career goal. The Avs used their second first round selection to take Ducan Siemens, a beheamoth defender from the WHL's Saskatoon Blades, who unlike Brodin is both big and offensively gifted. Next in line at eleventh were the Carolina Hurricanes who drafted yet another defenseman, Ryan Murphy, from the OHL's Kitchener Rangers. Murphy started the year with the big club but was quickly returned to major junior, tallying eight points in twelve games already.
The list of talented players taken behind Brodin goes on and on, including Sven Bartschi, Jamie Oleksiak, JT Miller, Nathan Beaulieu, etc...
The Wild are first in the West right now, propelled by young coach Mike Yeo and a few good trades by GM Chuck Fletcher in the offseason, but they still can't draft to save their lives.
Luckily they were able to take Huberdeau's teammate Zack Phillips with their other first round selection. Maybe they'll prove the 20+ other teams that passed on him wrong...but probably not.
Last year's first overall pick Mikael Granlund has overcome a head injury to return to form in the Finnish League. Brent Bulmer, the first of three second round picks that year looked good in an early nine game stint with the big club, and Jason Zucker, taken 20 spots behind him is doing well in his sophomore season. Nick Leddy, taken with their first pick the season before that, has 16 points this season...for Chicago. Colton Gillies and Tyler Cuma haven't made an impact at the NHL level.
I'm glad to see a surprise success story in the NHL this season, and they've made it work via the trade route, but I can't help but feeling robbed that the ineptitude of the Wild at the draft table makes them unworthy.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wounded Ducks
There are several reports that the Anaheim Ducks on-ice problems are just the tip of the ice berg, and that the team might be making a major trade not just to kick-start the season but to save money. How can a recent cup winner be in such a bad way? Given the financial standing of the team I highly doubt they'll fire Randy Carlyle who is now just in the first year of a three year deal. However, if they're shopping Bobby Ryan or even considering trading one of their top line players then they must be in dire need. Even listening to offers on one of the big three is a major cause for concern for Duck fans.
It's really sad how fickle the non-traditional hockey markets are when their team isn't producing. The game is sold at a bargain to Sun Belt teams and win or lose the price they pay is peanuts compared to fans in traditional hockey markets, especially those that have been long suffering.
The Ducks have a great line, a couple decent defenders and a goalie who is either great or garbage on any given night and suffers from a mysterious vertigo issue. The Finnish Flash is carrying this team, but the lack of depth is too much to make up for, and Hiller has had more bad starts than good.
If this team is serious about staying in Anaheim and they need to resolve financial issues then trading Bobby Ryan would be far too big of a hit than they can afford long term. He has three straight 30 goal seasons and will soon be entering his prime. The reported financial issues really don't jive with some of the Ducks moves, like picking up Nick Hagman's salary on waivers.
Blake, Koivu and Hagman are all off the books next year, so that's huge savings. If the Ducks are up against the wall they may as well buy these guys out and save a few bucks, ditto for Francoi Beauchemin. They've got enough bodies to round out a roster, if the situation is that bad then forget the politics of buy-outs, this is survival mode.
If this year is a write-off then the player that needs to be shopped for cost cutting is Jonas Hiller. I have watched this guy play like a perennial Vezina candidate. I honestly haven't ever seen him make a bad start, but, the proof is in the pudding and he's currently sporting a sub 900 SV%. If you can pawn Hiller off on a team desperate for a goalie then you save his 4.5 million for the next few years. Dan Ellis is playing great and the Ducks have a few top prospects in net.
They've also got a ton of top talent up front and on defense. If I'm running the show in Anaheim I'm writing the year off - it won't make that big of a difference and they've got a deep system.
It's tough to find a team with the kind of offensive depth coming up to even compare to Anaheim. Emerson Etem is scoring a goal a game in the WHL. Peter Holland, Brandon McMillan, Devante Smith-Pelly and Patrick Maroon are already up and Kyle Palmieri is lighting up the AHL. Rickard Rackell was a very solid pick. On defense Justin Schultz is killing the NCAA ranks. Sami Vaatanen and Mat Clark aren't far off NHL duty.
Trading Bobby Ryan is a huge mistake, unless they are replacing him with someone of equal value, which doesn't seem to be the case in Anaheim right now.
It's really sad how fickle the non-traditional hockey markets are when their team isn't producing. The game is sold at a bargain to Sun Belt teams and win or lose the price they pay is peanuts compared to fans in traditional hockey markets, especially those that have been long suffering.
The Ducks have a great line, a couple decent defenders and a goalie who is either great or garbage on any given night and suffers from a mysterious vertigo issue. The Finnish Flash is carrying this team, but the lack of depth is too much to make up for, and Hiller has had more bad starts than good.
If this team is serious about staying in Anaheim and they need to resolve financial issues then trading Bobby Ryan would be far too big of a hit than they can afford long term. He has three straight 30 goal seasons and will soon be entering his prime. The reported financial issues really don't jive with some of the Ducks moves, like picking up Nick Hagman's salary on waivers.
Blake, Koivu and Hagman are all off the books next year, so that's huge savings. If the Ducks are up against the wall they may as well buy these guys out and save a few bucks, ditto for Francoi Beauchemin. They've got enough bodies to round out a roster, if the situation is that bad then forget the politics of buy-outs, this is survival mode.
If this year is a write-off then the player that needs to be shopped for cost cutting is Jonas Hiller. I have watched this guy play like a perennial Vezina candidate. I honestly haven't ever seen him make a bad start, but, the proof is in the pudding and he's currently sporting a sub 900 SV%. If you can pawn Hiller off on a team desperate for a goalie then you save his 4.5 million for the next few years. Dan Ellis is playing great and the Ducks have a few top prospects in net.
They've also got a ton of top talent up front and on defense. If I'm running the show in Anaheim I'm writing the year off - it won't make that big of a difference and they've got a deep system.
It's tough to find a team with the kind of offensive depth coming up to even compare to Anaheim. Emerson Etem is scoring a goal a game in the WHL. Peter Holland, Brandon McMillan, Devante Smith-Pelly and Patrick Maroon are already up and Kyle Palmieri is lighting up the AHL. Rickard Rackell was a very solid pick. On defense Justin Schultz is killing the NCAA ranks. Sami Vaatanen and Mat Clark aren't far off NHL duty.
Trading Bobby Ryan is a huge mistake, unless they are replacing him with someone of equal value, which doesn't seem to be the case in Anaheim right now.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Get Young or Die Trying: Part 2
NHL GMs are steamed at having to pay for a players potential and not their list of accomplishments. In 'Get Young or Die Trying: Part 1' it became painfully obvious that contracts to young RFA's that are establishing themselves amongst the games elite are still very affordable and probably better in the long run, now lets examine what this endless crop of young talent means to the on-ice product.
Did you know that 14 of 30 NHL teams can boast that their first or second highest scoring player is 22 years of age or younger? There are a number of other teams with U22's in third and fourth as well, and really, Edmonton's top two leading scorers are both under 22, so it's pretty well half of the league. In no particular order:
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Age: 20, Points: 20, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins, Age: 19, Points: 21, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, Age: 22, Points: 20, Team Rank: 2nd in scoring (by one point)
Craig Smith, Nashville Predators, Age: 21, Points: 16, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars, Age: 22, Points: 21, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, Age: 18, Points: 22, Team Rank: Tied for 1st in Scoring, Jordan Eberle (22) and Taylor Hall (19) are second and third.
Kevin Shattenkirk, St.Louis Blues, Age: 22, Points: 12, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in scoring
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche, Age: 20, Points: 16, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators, Age: 21, Points: 18, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in team scoring
Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils, Age: 21, Points: 11, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in team scoring
Max Paccioretty, Montreal Canadiens, Age: 17, Points: 22, Team Rank: 2nd in team scoring
Evander Kane, Winnipeg Jets, Age: 20, Points: 14, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in team scoring
Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes, Age: 19, Points: 21, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
John Tavares, New York Islanders, Age: 20, Points: 16, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
The teams included on this list: The Islanders, Hurricanes, Jets, Habs, Devils, Senators, Avalanche, Blues, Oilers, Lightning, Bruins, Blackhawks, Predators and Stars.
When you look at the teams its hard to say that there's an obvious correlation because some of them have recently won Stanley Cups, many haven't had a few, or even one off year that would allow for the type of youth infusion or high draft picks it might require to have a young star at or near the top of your teams scoring lead.
The draft position used (including Eberle) to take these players: 1st (4), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 7th (1), 14th (1), 15th (1), 22nd (2), 82nd (1), 98th (1) and 129th (1).
Six of the 15 picks were made by teams that had made the playoffs in that draft year, three of them weren't even first round picks. It's not the struggle of the team that necessarily leads to the acquisition of the player and the opening of a roster spot for him, as much as the calibre of the player and the forward thinking of the club that selected him, either first overall or in the final round.
In Matt Duchene's rookie season he lead the Avalanche to an unlikely playoff birth. Tyler Seguin is leading the Bruins in scoring in just his second year, he's got a cup ring already. The year Dalls drafted Jamie Benn they had 107 point season. Tampa was in a heap of trouble when they took Stamkos first overall, but he took them to within one game of making the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Max Paccioretty may have been the difference in the Canadiens heartbreaking seven game round-one loss to hated rivals and eventual cup winners the Boston Bruins last season. The year the Sens drafted Karlsson they were a playoff team and just one year removed from a run to the Finals.
Indisputably some of the teams on this list have benefited from their continued failures, but, atleast they had the foresight to take their prized picks and let them play right away. It didn't hinder their development, and, one of those first overall picks has a cup ring already. Most of them have already been re-signed, some of them before their rookie contracts even expired, so who cares if inserting them directly in to the NHL roster from the draft gets the clock ticking on their next big deal.
As the youth movement strengthens in the NHL this number will grow, and oddly enough as of right now only one of the Eastern teams on this list is in a playoff spot, and only three in the west, but give it a few weeks and those numbers could be anywhere from 0 to 100%.
The point is that there aren't just a whole bunch of starry eyed junior players waiting to get drafted in 2012 and jump straight in to the NHL, the real issue is that there are four years worth of picks in this age group, either in the NHL, major junior, the minors, college or overseas, that could be on this list right now, and will be sooner than later.
Sure, Detroit is currently in a playoff spot in this up-and-down season they've had, but how long can this go on for? Henrik Zetterberg is having a pitiful year, Tomas Holmstrom and Nick Lidstrom are almost done, and there isn't a lot of offensive help coming down the line. And Calgary, wow, this group is putrid. The only team in North American professional hockey they could beat is their farm squad, so the future isn't looking too friendly. If it's not now, or five years down the road, if you're team isn't getting younger then they're not getting anywhere.
Did you know that 14 of 30 NHL teams can boast that their first or second highest scoring player is 22 years of age or younger? There are a number of other teams with U22's in third and fourth as well, and really, Edmonton's top two leading scorers are both under 22, so it's pretty well half of the league. In no particular order:
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning, Age: 20, Points: 20, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Tyler Seguin, Boston Bruins, Age: 19, Points: 21, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, Age: 22, Points: 20, Team Rank: 2nd in scoring (by one point)
Craig Smith, Nashville Predators, Age: 21, Points: 16, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars, Age: 22, Points: 21, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, Age: 18, Points: 22, Team Rank: Tied for 1st in Scoring, Jordan Eberle (22) and Taylor Hall (19) are second and third.
Kevin Shattenkirk, St.Louis Blues, Age: 22, Points: 12, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in scoring
Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche, Age: 20, Points: 16, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators, Age: 21, Points: 18, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in team scoring
Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils, Age: 21, Points: 11, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in team scoring
Max Paccioretty, Montreal Canadiens, Age: 17, Points: 22, Team Rank: 2nd in team scoring
Evander Kane, Winnipeg Jets, Age: 20, Points: 14, Team Rank: Tied for 2nd in team scoring
Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes, Age: 19, Points: 21, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
John Tavares, New York Islanders, Age: 20, Points: 16, Team Rank: 1st in scoring
The teams included on this list: The Islanders, Hurricanes, Jets, Habs, Devils, Senators, Avalanche, Blues, Oilers, Lightning, Bruins, Blackhawks, Predators and Stars.
When you look at the teams its hard to say that there's an obvious correlation because some of them have recently won Stanley Cups, many haven't had a few, or even one off year that would allow for the type of youth infusion or high draft picks it might require to have a young star at or near the top of your teams scoring lead.
The draft position used (including Eberle) to take these players: 1st (4), 2nd (1), 3rd (1), 4th (1), 7th (1), 14th (1), 15th (1), 22nd (2), 82nd (1), 98th (1) and 129th (1).
Six of the 15 picks were made by teams that had made the playoffs in that draft year, three of them weren't even first round picks. It's not the struggle of the team that necessarily leads to the acquisition of the player and the opening of a roster spot for him, as much as the calibre of the player and the forward thinking of the club that selected him, either first overall or in the final round.
In Matt Duchene's rookie season he lead the Avalanche to an unlikely playoff birth. Tyler Seguin is leading the Bruins in scoring in just his second year, he's got a cup ring already. The year Dalls drafted Jamie Benn they had 107 point season. Tampa was in a heap of trouble when they took Stamkos first overall, but he took them to within one game of making the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Max Paccioretty may have been the difference in the Canadiens heartbreaking seven game round-one loss to hated rivals and eventual cup winners the Boston Bruins last season. The year the Sens drafted Karlsson they were a playoff team and just one year removed from a run to the Finals.
Indisputably some of the teams on this list have benefited from their continued failures, but, atleast they had the foresight to take their prized picks and let them play right away. It didn't hinder their development, and, one of those first overall picks has a cup ring already. Most of them have already been re-signed, some of them before their rookie contracts even expired, so who cares if inserting them directly in to the NHL roster from the draft gets the clock ticking on their next big deal.
As the youth movement strengthens in the NHL this number will grow, and oddly enough as of right now only one of the Eastern teams on this list is in a playoff spot, and only three in the west, but give it a few weeks and those numbers could be anywhere from 0 to 100%.
The point is that there aren't just a whole bunch of starry eyed junior players waiting to get drafted in 2012 and jump straight in to the NHL, the real issue is that there are four years worth of picks in this age group, either in the NHL, major junior, the minors, college or overseas, that could be on this list right now, and will be sooner than later.
Sure, Detroit is currently in a playoff spot in this up-and-down season they've had, but how long can this go on for? Henrik Zetterberg is having a pitiful year, Tomas Holmstrom and Nick Lidstrom are almost done, and there isn't a lot of offensive help coming down the line. And Calgary, wow, this group is putrid. The only team in North American professional hockey they could beat is their farm squad, so the future isn't looking too friendly. If it's not now, or five years down the road, if you're team isn't getting younger then they're not getting anywhere.
Get Young or Die Trying: Part 1
The game that emerged from the lockout was so vastly different than the decades of hockey that preceded that its impact is still, to this day, shooting ripples out into the conventional hockey wisdom. The rules changed, the game got faster with a heightened emphasis on skill, and so this new, faster, more artistic game simply left a large portion of its former stars in the dust, and this created a level playing field for rookies who were once muscled, hooked, hacked, slashed and obstructed out of the league.
There has been an absolute explosion of young talent hit the scene, and it gets bigger and more rapid every draft. This is killing the mature UFA market. It's a young mans game, and now, we will start to see the average career length shrink because of the influx of rapidly improving young talent pushing for jobs in the NHL. Some GMs hate it. They loathe signing young stars to contracts that will pay them for what they might accomplish, rather than the old system of overpaying a diminishing asset for the things they have done in their prime. But for the collective hockey brass this should be viewed as a good thing.
Lets use John Tavares's signing this past offseason as an example. The 6 year, 33 million dollar pact JT inked with the Isles is the kind of contract GMs around the league are loathing because there was a time that Tavares would be destined to make far less than his production on the free market would net him, but now with the gloves off between GMs you can't afford to have a disgruntled young star walk due to a hold-out or offer sheet. Tavares was the consensu #1 pick in the 2009 draft since he forced his way in to the OHL as a 15 year old, ammending the league rule book in the process. Even the Islanders couldn't screw up a pick like Tavares, who hasn't put up Crosby-esque numbers yet, but his supporting casts over his first two seasons makes Sid the Kids ealry Penguin teams look like the Oiler Dynasty. All Tavares did was lead his team in scoring for each of his first two seasons, and this year he is set to do so again. What other team has a leading scorer making just 5.5 million/year? What makes this deal even more amazing is that Tavares signed it this past offseason, while he still had this year to pile on points under his original rookie contract which pays him 900,000 plus bonuses.
Think Chuck Fletcher would rather be paying a 21-year-old Tavares 5.5 million for 70 points a year than the 7 million he pays Mikko Koivu for similar production on a better team? How 'bout the Habs? They're paying two players more money annually for worse production than JT. The list goes on and on.
The level of disdain that NHL GMs have for this growing trend is mind boggling, and it borders on agism. Shouldn't a player be paid what he is worth regardless of age? If Tavares was free to sign with any team next season you have to think he would be getting offered a lot more money, term and perks than just 5.5 Million. Sure, it takes him to the end of his unrestricted free agency, but he's also bound to the most embarassing franchise in the league until that contract is up. The Isles are so awful I doubt they'd ever be able to attract a free agent of comparable skill and production level to Tavares for any ammount of money.
Another thing to consider is that a young star signing what is now considered a bigger contract then he would've ten years ago is also a better player than most were at that age ten years ago because of the changes to the game, and, the obvious fact is that as they get older they'll get better, as opposed to expensive free agents in their late 20's or early 30's. Does Brad Richards look like he's stepped it up a notch in New York this year? How about Marian Gaborik when he landed in NY? Ilya Kovalchuck a better player now in New Jersey than he was as a young goal scoring machine in Atlanta? At the end of Tavares' contract the Islanders will be dying to figure out how they're going to retain his services, unlike most big UFA signings whose employers are going to, more often than not, be trying to trade them, send them to the minors, release them or buy them out.
Having to spend more money on the young stars that deserve it might even save NHL GMs from continuing to repeat the failed pattern of shelling out big bucks for fading stars and ultimately wasting the ownerships money and valuable cap space.
Part 2 coming up shortly.
There has been an absolute explosion of young talent hit the scene, and it gets bigger and more rapid every draft. This is killing the mature UFA market. It's a young mans game, and now, we will start to see the average career length shrink because of the influx of rapidly improving young talent pushing for jobs in the NHL. Some GMs hate it. They loathe signing young stars to contracts that will pay them for what they might accomplish, rather than the old system of overpaying a diminishing asset for the things they have done in their prime. But for the collective hockey brass this should be viewed as a good thing.
Lets use John Tavares's signing this past offseason as an example. The 6 year, 33 million dollar pact JT inked with the Isles is the kind of contract GMs around the league are loathing because there was a time that Tavares would be destined to make far less than his production on the free market would net him, but now with the gloves off between GMs you can't afford to have a disgruntled young star walk due to a hold-out or offer sheet. Tavares was the consensu #1 pick in the 2009 draft since he forced his way in to the OHL as a 15 year old, ammending the league rule book in the process. Even the Islanders couldn't screw up a pick like Tavares, who hasn't put up Crosby-esque numbers yet, but his supporting casts over his first two seasons makes Sid the Kids ealry Penguin teams look like the Oiler Dynasty. All Tavares did was lead his team in scoring for each of his first two seasons, and this year he is set to do so again. What other team has a leading scorer making just 5.5 million/year? What makes this deal even more amazing is that Tavares signed it this past offseason, while he still had this year to pile on points under his original rookie contract which pays him 900,000 plus bonuses.
Think Chuck Fletcher would rather be paying a 21-year-old Tavares 5.5 million for 70 points a year than the 7 million he pays Mikko Koivu for similar production on a better team? How 'bout the Habs? They're paying two players more money annually for worse production than JT. The list goes on and on.
The level of disdain that NHL GMs have for this growing trend is mind boggling, and it borders on agism. Shouldn't a player be paid what he is worth regardless of age? If Tavares was free to sign with any team next season you have to think he would be getting offered a lot more money, term and perks than just 5.5 Million. Sure, it takes him to the end of his unrestricted free agency, but he's also bound to the most embarassing franchise in the league until that contract is up. The Isles are so awful I doubt they'd ever be able to attract a free agent of comparable skill and production level to Tavares for any ammount of money.
Another thing to consider is that a young star signing what is now considered a bigger contract then he would've ten years ago is also a better player than most were at that age ten years ago because of the changes to the game, and, the obvious fact is that as they get older they'll get better, as opposed to expensive free agents in their late 20's or early 30's. Does Brad Richards look like he's stepped it up a notch in New York this year? How about Marian Gaborik when he landed in NY? Ilya Kovalchuck a better player now in New Jersey than he was as a young goal scoring machine in Atlanta? At the end of Tavares' contract the Islanders will be dying to figure out how they're going to retain his services, unlike most big UFA signings whose employers are going to, more often than not, be trying to trade them, send them to the minors, release them or buy them out.
Having to spend more money on the young stars that deserve it might even save NHL GMs from continuing to repeat the failed pattern of shelling out big bucks for fading stars and ultimately wasting the ownerships money and valuable cap space.
Part 2 coming up shortly.
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