Posts Tagged ‘Boston Bruins’

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The awkward part of No Trade Clauses

July 6th, 2010

It seems whenever a new contract is signed a no trade clause is the first thing reported, often before the term of the deal. Players want NTC’s to be in control of their career and to see teams commit to them (I guess being offered Millions of dollars isn’t enough…). GM’s offer NTC’s because they have to. If they don’t some other GM will.

But do players ever stop to wonder how awkward it would be if asked to waive their NTC’s? Regardless of how well a team or GM approaches the subject, it still says a players’ services are no longer valued as much as they once were. Let’s take a closer look at some players who’ve recently been asked to waive their NTC:

Sheldon Souray
The prospect of Steve Tambellini telling Sheldon Souray he’s going to be traded makes me laugh. In a round about way, the Oilers came to the conclusion that Souray wasn’t good enough to play on the worst team in the NHL half way through the 09-10 season when most of their roster was sick, injured, wedding ring shopping, hiding, etc… I have it on good authority that after telling Souray this, Tambellini quickly offered up a “… but no offense. It’s nothing personal.”

Simon Gagne

News of Simon Gagne being asked to waive his no trade clause hit the internet last week. It might come as a shock to some fans but probably not to Gagne. His name has been kicked around the rumor mill for some time now. But here’s the best part: Apparently the Flyers don’t have any particular team asking about Gagne. Assuming that’s factual, can you imagine that conversation between Paul Holmgren and Gagne? Philadelphia are essentially saying “You are the one player we’ve identified as getting rid of regardless of the return. Trading your contract gives us room to qualify Daniel Carcillo’s new contract.” Ouch.

Marc Savard
Around the last month’s NHL draft, word was going around that Bruins center Marc Savard was available. Apparently Savard has said he would waive his NTC to go to either Ottawa or Toronto. What do you think that conversation between Savard and Peter Chiarelli was like? Purely speculative on my part but probably something like this… “Marc, we didn’t draft Taylor Hall like we really wanted to. We ended up with Tyler Seguin and because of that, we can’t get rid of you soon enough. *Starts speaking slowly* Now, do you remember signing that seven year extension a few months ago?? No? Perfect. Just sign here… and here… and repeat ‘I, Marc Savard waive my NTC’… perfect… OK, we’re good to go. And oh – by the way, training camp is in Toronto this year… yeah… thanks!”

OMG!! It must be so awkward! I bet hockey players won’t stop asking for no trade clauses though. Let the awkwardness continue!

Stay classy, NHL players requesting no trade clauses.

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Boston’s Buckner – Take 2

May 16th, 2010

Have you ever seen a collapse like that? Ever? I’m still scraping myself off the floor. Another crazy week at work left me almost comatose by the time I turned on the television to try to catch the rest of the Bruins-Flyers Game 7 final on Friday night. Second intermission. Tie game. OK, looks like I’ll at least get to watch the third period.

Zzz.

Next thing I know, I wake up, and TSN is showing some baseball highlights. I flip around only to find out that:

(a) I’ve missed one of the best Game 7 finals in this year’s Playoff run (so far) and

(b) my neck is stiff and sore from sleeping in a funny position.

As I finally find a channel to watch the highlights with my head stuck at a 86 degree tilt, the enormity of what the Flyers have accomplished slowly sinks in. Note to Bruin fans: quit complaining about the too-many-men on the ice call — The Bruins are the collective equivalent of Bill Buckner on skates.

I think I heard someone say that this is the first time a seventh-seeded team has home ice advantage for the conference final. It’s almost like the hockey gods decided to have fun with this edition of the Playoffs and screw up everyone’s pool picks in the Eastern Conference.

So we have the seventh and eighth seeds in the East ready to battle either the first or second seed from the West. What is even more bizarre is of the various sites I have visited (OK, I know it is not very scientific), the East is picked as the winner in every case.

Montreal is looking very much like a team of destiny, and the same can be said of Philly. It’s not the first time I’ve been called a “bandwagon” fan, for jumping teams (I was cheering for Pittsburgh), but I’ll have to now root for the Canadiens. They’re a likeable bunch and you have to like the underdog, if being an eighth seed instead of a seventh seed entitles you to the underdog label. I think Chicago has a really good chance too.

But back to the implosion of the Bruins. It’s easy to question the penalty call, or whether it was Marc Savard or Milan Lucic who was at fault, but that would be missing the point. A team simply does not lose a series when they are up 3-0 on the basis of one play.

And just like Buckner, it was not one play, that cost Boston the series. It really does take an entire team to collapse the way they did.

Stay classy, Bill Buckner and the Boston Bruins.

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Saturday Chat Roulette Sessions (May 15 edition)

May 15th, 2010

Since last week’s Chat Roulette debut was an awesome success (kidding… more like nonsense…),  I’ve decided to keep my word and continue with this feature. But before getting to the new Chat images, a huge congratulations to the Philadelphia Flyers who staged a truly amazing come back against the Boston Bruins. For the Bruins, it’s going to be a painful summer… *PING* Sorry, but the Bruins hit so many posts/crossbar’s in game 7. It was ridiculous. I can just see this becoming the newest “History will be made” NHL commercial, “What if Philadelphia didn’t fly?”. I even predicted it last night around 8pm EST.

Anyways, we have Chat Roulette escapades of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Zdeno Chara, Alex Ovechkin and the Boston Bruins this week. Enjoy.

Stayclassy.net's Chat Roulette feature with the Sedin twins.

Stayclassy.net's Chat Roulette feature with Zdeno Chara and the Bruins bear

Stayclassy.net's Chat Roulette feature with Alex Ovechkin and Lebron James

Stayclassy.net's Chat Roulette feature with the Boston Bruins

Stay classy, NHL Chat Rouletters.

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Saturday Chat Roulette Sessions

May 8th, 2010

Welcome to Stayclassy.net’s newest weekly feature, Saturday Chat Roulette Sessions. Each week, I’ll have a few new Chat screenshots from our favorite NHL-ers and people associated with this great game. Before going any further, the wonderfully witty BladesofFunny.com inspired this idea, so all the credit/blame should go to them.

This week, we have Chat Roulette escapades of the Edmonton Oilers and Jaromir Jagr, Tim Thomas and Matt Cooke.

Stayclassy.net - Chat Roulette escapades of the Edmonton Oilers and Jaromir Jagr.

Stayclassy.net - Chat Roulette escapades of Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins.

Stayclassy.net - Chat Roulette escapades of Matt Cooke and some elbow pads.

Stay classy, NHL Chat Rouletters.

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Burgundy’s 2nd round NHL playoff predictions

April 29th, 2010

Stayclassy.net's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

With no real break between rounds, tonight marks the beginning of the Stanley Cup Conference Semi-Finals! The 1st round was a blast and featured the elimination of the top 3 seeded teams in the Eastern Conference. The way the Washington Capitals were eliminated was surprising to many, while the defeats of the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils was predicted by a number of people. The Western Conference saw some interesting developments – the Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings gave the Red Wings and Canucks a few scares but ultimately couldn’t hold on. And oh yeah, the San Jose Sharks are through to the next round, no thanks to Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.

For those of you wondering, I went 5 for 8 in my 1st round predictions. Here are my 2nd round predictions:

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs Montreal Canadiens (8)
The Montreal Canadiens shocked the entire hockey world with their amazing series come-back against the Washington Capitals. I don’t care what the truest of Habs fans say: no one saw them coming back after going down 3-1. Having said that, and as well as Jaroslav Halak has played, there’s no way the Pittsburgh Penguins will fall victim to the Canadiens the way the Capitals did. The Penguins are proven winners and have Russian stars that actually know how to show up in the post-season. Sidney Crosby is on another level in this year’s Playoffs and I don’t think the Hal Gill-Josh Gorges tandem will be able to contain him, despite their tremendous play so far. Pittsburgh will figure out within minutes of the first game how to not shoot directly at the two or three Habs defencemen who are trying to block shots…
Verdict: Pittsburgh in 6 games.

Boston Bruins (6) vs Philadelphia Flyers (7)
I’m not sure how many of us figured we’d see the Boston Bruins playing the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2nd round of the Playoffs, but this should be an interesting series. I really liked how Tuukka Rask played in the 1st round and I felt like the Bruins got stronger as their series with Buffalo went on. Milan Lucic seemed to wake up towards the end of the series and key players like Michael Ryder, Miroslav Satan and Mark Recchi stepped up in the big moments of each game. The highly anticipated return of Marc Savard should provide the Bruins with a nice emotional boost and perhaps a bit of additional scoring. Looking at the Flyers, although they are rested, they will be without the services of three very valuable players: Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter and Ian Laperriere. I’m not convinced Brian Boucher is for real, nor do I believe he can outplay Rask. It’s a shame we can’t see each game of this series played at Fenway Park… or can we? No, nevermind. We can’t.
Verdict: Boston in 6 games.

San Jose Sharks (1) vs Detroit Red Wings (5)
The San Jose Sharks are now at the critical point of their season. Let’s be honest: the 1st round was a formality. While the Colorado Avalanche gave them a quick scare, it was a foregone conclusion the Sharks would/should easily win that round. For the most part, the Avalanche were badly outplayed. Evgeni Nabokov played very well too – something we can’t say has always been the case in the post-season for the Sharks. Devin Setoguchi and Joe Pavelski really elevated their play in the 1st round, and yet again, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau continue to fight the Playoff pressure. Meanwhile, the Detroit Red Wings enjoyed a scare of their own from the Phoenix Coyotes. Detroit’s leaders got stronger as the series wore on and stepped it up when it mattered most. I really liked Jimmy Howard’s play and attitude (for the most part) against the Coyotes too. My gut feeling lies with the experience of the Wings and I’m still not sold San Jose are the real deal. Still.
Verdict: Detroit in 6 games.

Chicago Blackhawks (2) vs Vancouver Canucks (3)
This is easily the best series of the 2nd round. A rematch from last year’s Conference Semi-Finals, with a slight reversal. Last year, I’d say the Chicago Blackhawks were the stronger team. This year, I’d have to say the Vancouver Canucks are the stronger team. I believe the Canucks may have the most complete forward roster of any team in the Playoffs. All the lines are firing well and appear to be healthy. While the Blackhawks offense is more lethal and battle-tested than the young Los Angeles Kings, I still give the advantage to the Canucks. Both team’s have some injuries on defence, but I think this is a series that will see Roberto Luongo will steal a game or two for Vancouver. And of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how much I’m looking forward to Byfuglien & Luongo’s battle royale rematch. I can’t wait for this series to start!
Verdict: Vancouver in 7 games.

There you have it. These are my 2nd round predictions. What are your predictions?

Stay classy, NHL Conference Semi-Finals.

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Maple Leaf selling points when signing free agent prospects

April 22nd, 2010

There are a number of reports suggesting the Toronto Maple Leafs are close to signing goalie Jussi Rynnas. Rynnas, a Finnish goalie, is this year’s version of Jonas Gustavsson – a highly touted European goalie who’s elected to sign with the Leafs after seeing and talking with a bunch of other NHL clubs. This signing will mark the second consecutive time Brian Burke and the Leafs have ousted other NHL teams to sign a sought-after free agent goaltender.

I know what you are thinking. “How are the Leafs out-selling other teams that actually win and have less goaltending depth??” Here’s some of the selling points I’ve heard Brian Burke uses to sign these highly touted free agents.

  • Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is owned in majority by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan. As a result, it’s been agreed to have the Maple Leafs schedule closely follow that of an Ontario-based teacher. Every year work starts in September/October and concludes for the year in April.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs are closely affiliated with the NHL. Many former Leaf employees have gone on to great careers in the league. Take Joe Nieuwendyk for example. Wait, nevermind. You are the second good goalie we’ve stolen away from him now. Sucks when you aren’t working with us, right Joe???
  • Under performing for most of your time in Toronto is OK. All of Toronto’s other pro sports teams suck too. However, if you happen to fall in deep slumps, please make sure you do more interviews than normal and stress how hard you are working. Everyone likes to root for the loser.
  • Signing with the Maple Leafs as a goaltender gives you so much opportunity without much competition. In fact, the Leafs haven’t had a good goalie since the 1990s.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs currently staff 9 NHL-caliber defencemen, so you know you’ll be well supported. The only problem is, we can’t promise how many of them actually show up on a night-to-night basis.
  • Sometimes in Canada, the pressure to perform is too much. Luckily, there’s something very unique about Toronto and the Air Canada Center: No one in the first 15 rows shows up until the 2nd period. And as a bonus, they usually leave before the 2nd period ends.
  • Note that if you turn out to be pretty good and look to have more potential than the average NHL player, you will probably be traded to a team that plays the Leafs 8 times per year. A team like Boston, for example.
  • Our AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, are down the street from the ACC, so getting called up/sent down isn’t a big deal. It’s also not a big deal because both the Marlies and Leafs staff pretty much the same level of talent and depth.

Stay classy, Toronto Maple Leafs.

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1st round Playoff impressions (so far)

April 16th, 2010

Aside from the Chicago-Nashville series (which gets underway tonight), we’re one game into each Conference Quarter-Final series. And so far, I’ve enjoyed every minute of the games I’ve managed to watch. Anyways, I don’t want to waste any more of your time. I’ll get straight to some of my initial thoughts. I’d love to hear some of your Playoff thoughts too.

It Feels Fresh
One thing I’m really happy about this year is some of the refreshing series match-ups. Seeing series like Detroit-Phoenix, Los Angeles-Vancouver and Montreal-Washington is fun. I like the new rivalries that are already starting up (especially in the Kings-Canucks series). The intensity of the Boston-Buffalo series surprised me too. I wasn’t sure to be impressed or concerned with Raffi Torres going after Zdeno Chara last night. Note to the Sabres: it’s probably not wise to start a fight with the Bruins when Chara and Milan Lucic are on the ice.

Not So Fresh
The San Jose Sharks losing the first game of a series in which they have home ice advantage. In the last three seasons, the Sharks have had home ice advantage in the 1st round. They’ve lost all three of those first games. I know it’s early in the series, but that sinking “I thought this was finally the year San Jose would figure it out” feeling came back like a bad STD. Feel free to continue the comparison.

Guaranteed In Life
It seems there are two things as guaranteed as taxes and death in every Playoff year: San Jose struggling and reports of Alex Ovechkin playing hurt. Of course, a speculated Ovechkin injury is often followed up with “he flew his personal trainer from Russia into town… he only does this for injuries…”. Good thing it’s his personal trainer and not that steroid trainer who works in the same building as the Capitals practice rink…

Starting Slow
Speaking of the Capitals, does anyone else think it’s strange that the Capitals Playoffs always start off slow? Last night, most of their forwards (expect Nickolas Backstrom, who was phenomenal) were terrible. Very few of the Caps forwards wanted to get their noses dirty. I’d have played David Steckle and Matt Bradley more than Ovechkin last night, but that’s just me. Although Montreal played very well last night, Washington need to force their speed on the Canadiens defence. Montreal’s big three really came through last night. I expected that from Brian Gionta, but not necessarily from Scott Gomez or Mike Cammalleri. Props to them.

Burrows Is Annoying
Man, was Alex Burrow 50% more annoying last night than most regular season games? It seemed he was trying too hard to start post-season intensity. I liked the dramatic retaliation slash to Drew Doughty at the end of the 2nd period. Other than Burrows, Mikael Samuelsson really stood out to me in last night’s game. Here’s a player who’s learned how to play in the Playoffs and is leading by example in Vancouver. He was terrific in forechecking, hitting and scoring. Considering the contract he signed in July of 2009 and his impact to the Canucks, Samuelsson might be the best UFA signing of last summer. Kudos, Mike Gillis.

Wreckless
Greg “Puck Daddy” Wyshnyski once told me all the headshot/wreckless play nonsense would end come Playoff time. Last night’s Andrew Alberts hit on Brad Richardson might beg to differ. I hope this is an anomaly or I fear I may have to call Greg a liar. You should remind him on Twitter. Just saying. (Note: I have mad respect for Greg. This is a joke. But you should still harass him on Twitter).

What caught your eye? I’m looking forward to a great weekend of hockey! Also, it’s my birthday (and Fantana’s) on Sunday. Email me for instructions and ideas on what kind of gifts I’d like.

Stay classy, NHL Playoffs. I’m hooked so far!

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Burgundy’s 1st round NHL playoff predictions

April 14th, 2010

Stayclassy.net's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Tonight marks the beginning of the NHL’s 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Like everyone else, I’d like to make my predictions for the 1st round. Before breaking down each series, I have two things to say. Firstly, I don’t hate any of the Canadian teams, however, I don’t like Vancouver, Montreal, or Ottawa’s chances. Secondly, I’m far more interested in the Western Conference series than the Eastern Conference series. This means two things. 1- I won’t be getting much sleep for the next few weeks. 2- I’ll be on Twitter a lot and look forward to talking Playoffs with all of you!

Washington Capitals (1) vs Montreal Canadiens (8)
I read about Tomas Plekanec’s quotes from the other day. I don’t understand why he’s playing these silly games, but whatever. He better bury a few goals on Washington or egg will be on his face, goatee and turtleneck. Sure, Montreal probably has the edge in goaltending, but Theordore’s play this year has been pretty good. Honestly, I don’t think Montreal has any chance in this series. Even if Jaroslav Halak plays like he did at the Olympics, Washington will be too much for Montreal’s slow defence. Alex Ovechkin has something to prove and Nickolas Backstrom is fresh off his best season in his young NHL career.
Verdict: Washington in 5 games.

New Jersey Devils (2) vs Philadelphia Flyers (7)
This series could go either way. On one hand, you have a legendary goalie in Marty Brodeur versus 3rd-stringer Brian Boucher (advantage Devils). On the other hand, you have Ilya Kovalchuk/Zach Parise versus Danny Briere/Jeff Carter/Mike Richards/Simon Gagne and more (advantage Flyers). I like Philadelphia’s defence a little more than New Jersey’s, too. And because Chris Pronger has a strong reputation for helping teams over the hump in Playoffs, I have to side with the Flyers as my upset team in the East.
Verdict: Philadelphia in 7 games.

Buffalo Sabres (3) vs Boston Bruins (6)
Boston’s well documented  scoring troubles and Buffalo’s all-star goalie Ryan Miller combine for a tough challenge for the Bruins. In addition, the Bruins announced the possibility of Marc Savard’s return to the team no earlier than in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Given the challenges Boston has faced this year (off years for certain players and injuries), making the Playoffs is a considerable feat. I don’t think they have any chance against the well oiled machine that is the Buffalo Sabres. On a slightly different note, it should be interesting to see which rookie proves most valuable to their respective teams between Tyler Myers and Tuukka Rask.
Verdict: Buffalo in 5 games.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) vs Ottawa Senators (5)
This is a tough match-up for the Ottawa Senators when you consider a 6th place finish would have put them up against the Sabres, a team they’ve dominated for years. The obvious storyline for this series is goaltending: Brian Elliott versus Marc-Andre Fleury. As a fan of the Senators, I’m under no illusions, Pittsburgh will win this series, the question is how many games will it take. SensChirp (a blog I respect) believes Ottawa stacks up pretty closely with Pittsburgh. Some of the points are valid, but I’m not sure Ottawa’s defence is that much better than Pittsburgh’s, nor do I believe Ottawa can out-coach the defending Stanley Cup Champions.
Verdict: Pittsburgh in 6 games.

San Jose Sharks (1) vs Colorado Avalanche (8)
I really like the Colorado Avalanche and no, I didn’t think they’d come remotely close to making the playoffs prior to the 09-10 season starting. Having said that, I see the Sharks experience and grit over-powering the young Avalanche. The Avalanche strike me as a team very satisfied with their season whereas the Sharks have known all year that their Playoff results is what really matters. I like some of the role players San Jose has acquired between last season and now (guys like Jed Ortmeyer, Scott Nichol, Niclas Wallin, etc…). I believe these guys, along with Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle and Rob Blake will be difference makers in this series. Also, I’m concerned for Colorado that star goalie Craig Anderson might be a bit burned out from his first regular season as a starting goalie.
Verdict: San Jose in 6 games.

Chicago Blackhawks (2) vs Nashville Predators (7)
Most of us could make a living from underestimating the Nashville Predators. And although the Predators are a team built so well for the Playoffs, I simply cannot bet against the Chicago Blackhawks. People will question the Hawk’s goaltending and while it’s been suspect at times this season, I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It’s easily the weakest part of the Hawks roster, but that’s easy to say when you look at their forwards and defence depth. Chicago’s hurting with injuries to their defence, but I believe their talent up front will carry the load in this series. I look for Patrick Kane to lead the way in points and clutch plays.
Verdict: Chicago in 6 games.

Vancouver Canucks (3) vs Los Angeles Kings (6)
Alright Canucks fans, don’t hate me for saying this, but I think the Kings are going to beat the Canucks. Don’t get me wrong, this is the best team (by far) the Canucks have put together in years. But with all the pressure on them, their injuries at defence and Roberto Luongo’s inconsistencies, I don’t have a good feeling for the Canucks. I know the Canucks beat the Kings three times this year, but I think the Kings move pucks better and faster than Vancouver and have a quick transition game that will burn the slower Canucks defence. I know Jonathan Quick’s play recently hasn’t been good, but I don’t see that as a factor in this series. Simply put, the Kings are loose and Vancouver know they need a solid post-season run this year.
Verdict: Los Angeles in 7 games.

Phoenix Coyotes (4) vs Detroit Red Wings (5)
This might be the most intriguing 1st round match-up this year. Like I said with the Avalanche, I believe the Coyotes are satisfied with their season and won’t have the same drive the Red Wings will. Ilya Bryzgalov shed his reputation of burning out down the regular season stretch from previous years, but I can’t help but wonder if he’s at all fatigued from this season. He’s finally gotten used to playing 60-70 regular season games per year, but that’s without playoffs. I think Detroit are too strong and too experienced for the young up-tempo Coyotes. And with Jimmy Howard’s play over the second half of the season, he looks poised to have a great Playoff performance. I don’t like betting against this Phoenix team, but dislike betting against Detroit even more.
Verdict: Detroit in 6 games.

There you have it. These are my 1st round predictions. What are your predictions?

Stay classy, NHL Playoffs.

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NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 20

February 15th, 2010

Welcome to the final Classy Power Rankings prior to the Olympics! This week, the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators move up, while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Minnesota Wild take a slide downwards.

Scroll down to see how your favourite teams measure up at the break. Please note this will be the last Power Rankings for a few weeks – the Classy Power Rankings will return on Monday March 8th, once the NHL season resumes.

NHL Classy Power Rankings – Week 20

30.  Edmonton Oilers (last week: 30)
29.  Toronto Maple Leafs (last week: 28)
28.  New York Islanders (last week: 27)
27.  Carolina Hurricanes (last week: 29)
26.  Florida Panthers (last week: 26)

The Carolina Hurricanes have been playing their best hockey of the season recently, going 8-2 in their last 10 games. All this while the Toronto Maple Leafs lost both of their games this week. In other news, the Florida Panthers management recently sent out a letter to all season ticket holders explaining large changes will be made to their roster soon. Hmmmm…

25.  Columbus Blue Jackets (last week: 25)
24.  Atlanta Thrashers (last week: 23)
23.  Tampa Bay Lightning (last week: 17)
22.  New York Rangers (last week: 22)
21.  Montreal Canadiens (last week: 18)

The Tampa Bay Lightning keep bouncing in and out of playoff contention with inconsistent play. The New York Rangers have won two straight games and are just outside of the 8th spot in the East. The Montreal Canadiens, who are holding down the 8th position in the Conference, traded a second round draft pick for Dominic Moore (of the Panthers)… why do teams keep trading second round draft picks for Moore?

20.  Minnesota Wild (last week: 16)
19.  St. Louis Blues (last week: 21)
18.  Boston Bruins (last week: 24)
17.  Anaheim Ducks (last week: 19)
16.  Detroit Red Wings (last week: 14)

The Boston Bruins seem to have found their stride, having won their last four games, while the Anaheim Ducks continue to move closer to the playoffs. Ryan Getzlaf appears to be OK after having a sprained ankle scare earlier this week. At this point in the Western Conference, I’m starting to believe the Ducks are the only team outside of the playoffs who can make the post-season.

15.  Philadelphia Flyers (last week: 20)
14.  Dallas Stars (last week: 15)
13.  Calgary Flames (last week: 12)
12.  Nashville Predators (last week: 13)
11.  Buffalo Sabres (last week: 11)

This is where it gets tight. The Philadelphia Flyers have done a nice job moving up, thanks to four straight wins.  The Dallas Stars, Buffalo Sabres, Nashville Predators and Calgary Flames all remain in the top 15 going into the Olympic break.

10.  Pittsburgh Penguins (last week: 9)
9.  Ottawa Senators (last week: 10)
8.  Colorado Avalanche (last week: 8)
7.  Vancouver Canucks (last week: 7)
6.  New Jersey Devils (last week: 6)

The Ottawa Senators move up one spot this week thanks to big wins over the Capitals and Islanders. The New Jersey Devils, Colorado Avalanche and New Jersey Devils stay pat in their respective positions.

5.  Phoenix Coyotes (last week: 5)
4.  Los Angeles Kings (last week: 3)
3.  Chicago Blackhawks (last week: 4)
2.  San Jose Sharks (last week: 2)
1.  Washington Capitals (last week: 1)

The Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks swap positions this week, while the San Jose Sharks and Washington Capitals hold down the top two positions in the Classy Power Rankings. The Blackhawks, Sharks and Capitals are starting to pull away from the pack in the NHL points race. They are the class of the league.

Stay classy, NHL Power Rankings.

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Rumour commentary

February 10th, 2010

With twice the number of deadlines as usual, trades and trade rumours have come early this year. In fact, we’ve already seen a few trades involving some pretty big names (Kovalchuk, Phaneuf, Giguere, Jokinen) with more expected over the next few days/weeks. Here’s a few thoughts from the trades we’ve seen so far, potential fallout and well documented rumours.

  • With the Dallas Stars acquiring Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen last night, one has to wonder what the future holds for Marty Turco. There are all sorts of rumours out there, but I’m assuming bringing in Lehtonen means they are done with Turco this season. Regardless of that, goaltending is a huge question mark for the Stars moving forward. Turco, Lehtonen and Alex Auld all are free agents at the end of the season (Turco and Auld are UFAs while Lehtonen is an RFA).
  • When the New Jersey Devils traded for superstar Ilya Kovalchuk, they traded a pretty handy defenseman in Johnny Oduya. Frankly, if the Devils are serious about going for the Cup this year, they’ll need a better defense than what they currently have. And something tells me they are serious about winning this year. It’ll be interesting to see if they move on any defensemen in the rumour mill (salary cap numbers aside, players like John Michael Liles and James Wisniewski come to mind).
  • New Montreal Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier says otherwise, but it will be interesting to see if Jaroslav Halak or Carey Price is traded before the deadline. The bigger question I have for Montreal is whether Gauthier has his own plans or intends to carry out Bob Gainey’s vision. Time will tell, I guess.
  • Per Andy Strickland (as of last week), the Carolina Hurricanes were asking for a 1st round draft pick (for this summer’s draft) as well as a good prospect in return for Ray Whitney. I wonder if A- they’ll end up getting what they’re asking for and B- which team is actually willing to give up that much for a 37 year old forward. It’s also been reported players like Matt Cullen and Tuomo Ruutu are of interest to a few teams. Could they be available?
  • What are the chances the Edmonton Oilers actually move Sheldon Souray and Ethan Moreau? To be blunt, they’ll be lucky to get anything back for these two players. Getting one or both contracts off their payroll would be a coup for the Oilers, regardless of what they get back (assuming they can dump salary and not trade one bad contract for another). To me, the only Oiler player who’s known to be available that could fetch any return is young forward Andrew Cogliano. There is a market for him (it’s believed the Senators, Rangers and others have shown interest in the past).
  • The New York Rangers were busy last week trading Alex Kotalik and Chris Higgins and replacing them with Brandon Prust and Olli Jokinen. One has to wonder if they are done making moves for the season. I look at Brandon Dubinsky as a player who will be traded between now and this time next season. Dubinsky has a two year contract (this season and next) with a cap hit of $1.85 Million, however, the deal was awarded to him in arbitration. It’s clear he expected a lot more from the Rangers and didn’t like the idea of going to arbitration. I’d imagine his relationship with Glen Sather isn’t great (just my speculation).
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of players who could be traded prior to March 3rd. Players like Lee Stempniak, Alex Ponikarovsky (who I still believe will end up in Pittsburgh), Garnett Exelby (not sure if there’s a viable market for a slow defenseman who’s cap hit is $1.3 Million) and potentially Tomas Kaberle. According to Brian Burke, Kaberle won’t be traded, but I’m still listing him as a possibility.
  • There are loads of rumours circulating the Washington Capitals and their desire to add a quality defenseman. No idea how accurate the rumours are, but with a number of good defenseman available, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Capitals add another defender. The Capitals have nearly $4 Million (in cap space) to work with, according to NHLNumbers.com.
  • Despite the tailspin the Boston Bruins are currently in (hopefully for their sake getting out of), will they make any shake ups to their roster? I’ve heard the Tim Thomas rumours and I don’t believe them at all. Regardless, scoring is an issue for this club. Maybe they miss Phil Kessel more than they thought they would? Maybe they could trade back their lottery pick to the Leafs for Kessel? Obviously that was a joke.
  • Will any other playoff bubble teams like Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, St. Louis, Boston, New York Rangers and Atlanta make any moves before the deadline? I’m assuming they’ll be buyers in hopes of adding the final piece to secure a spot in the playoffs. That probably means there will be 3-5 sellers including the Leafs, Blue Jackets, Hurricanes, Oilers and maybe one other team that will soon bow out of the playoff mix.

So, what do you think will happen between now and March 3rd? I wonder what kind of implications will follow from the Olympics? I’m betting a few important players will return from the games with significant injuries. Anyways, what’s your take? Discuss!

Stay classy, NHL trades and trade rumours.

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