I'm more interested in the brad richards rumors.
He's got a massive contract and a sublime skill-set. A lot of rumors have him headed to C-bus, but I've heard whispers that Edmonton's interested. I can't possibly see Richards waiving his NTC to go to edmonton, a team that's just as shitty as the bolts, but located on the planet Hoth.

Calgary wins 1-0 over Detroit. Kinda reminds me of the 2004 playoffs, and it was like 1-0 almost every game! Exaggeration aside, they won and that's that.

All I should have to say..

Why would anyone watch a game between the kings and blackhawks..The AHL wasn't on?

Oh and since I didn't do it earlier.

Red wings and flyers.

(Yeah they suck now but the broad street bullies are the greatest team to ever lace up a pair of skates.)

Too bad they weren't around today .... I so badly want to see someone go bertuzzi on crosby..

Tampa Bay re-signs Dan Boyle to a six-year, $40 million contract, then proceeds to trade Vaclav Prospal to Philadelphia for Alexandre Picard and a 2nd-round pick. Now it seems inevitable that Brad Richards will be gone by tomorrow.

At 2/26/08 12:21 PM, Gooch wrote: Whoo-hoo! Brian Campbell's coming to San Jose! It sucks they had to give up Bernier and this year's first-round pick, but Bernier's struggled this year and his playing time's been decreasing anyways. Campbell will bolster the banged up San Jose defense immediately.

A very good fit for the Sharks. I'm glad to see him playing for a contender, as it might kick start his offense. Buffalo seems to be resigning towards a rebuild, after the loss of their biggest offensive players in the last off season. Now they've only really got Miller and Afinogenov (who's not really producing much this year anyway)

At 2/26/08 12:52 PM, Gooch wrote:

At 2/26/08 12:24 PM, Dobio wrote: Brad Richards on Dallas, that's insane.

I think it's a pretty good fit though. Plus it'll give Tampa some breathing room.

And also a nice goalie battle for the #1 job. In the games he's played for Dallas this year, Mike Smith (the guy is a freaky resemblence of Andy Samberg) has played extremely well, while Tampa Bay is looking for Ramo to be their future goaltender. That ought to be an interesting situation.

Smith will take that #1 spot with ease. No disrespect to Ramo, but he's not on form, while Smith is and I'll be looking to see him make some key progress towards taking the job for next season onwards.

Now how about Cristobal Huet getting traded from Montreal to Washington?

Great for the Caps. Olaf Kolzig appears to be drifting towards the twilight of his career and this certainly shores up their netminding

It looks like the Canadiens are going to ride Carey Price into the playoffs.

Kinky.

There's still time for them to pick up another veteran goaltender to bolster the tandem, though. It just seems strange they'd trade away Huet.

Doesn't really seem like a sensible trade for the Canadiens, but myabe it is the working of internal politics.

Looks like a renaisance for the Avalanche, with the re-acquisition of Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote. Dare I dream of the golry days of 2001? Nah.

Ruslan Salei makes an interesting brusing addition for Karlis Skrastins, as well.

Other trades of note:
Marc-Andre Bergeron to Anaheim for a 3rd round draft pick
Marian Hossa & Pascal Dupuis to Pittsburgh for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christiansen & Draft pick
Brad Stuart to Detroit for 2 Draft picks for LA.

At 2/26/08 12:21 PM, Gooch wrote: Also, in the "Buddhist would like to hear" category, the Islanders give Mike Comrie a one-year contract extension.

Garth Snow has a real fetish for one-year deals.

I like the re-signing of Comrie, especially given that I didn't want to have him locked up for more than three years. Snow wanted to give him 2nd-line-center money, which I guess is about right. He's not worth $4 million in my opinion, but I guess if we're going to give Trent Hunter $2 mil a year, we may as well give Comrie four. I like his overall style of play when it comes to passing, but he seems to think that his obscene deke skills will net him all these points. You know that goal he scored against San Jose a little while back, where he used the toe drag and went through the defenseman's legs (I think it was Christian Ehrhoff)? He does that on almost all of his breakaways, and 9 times out of 10 the puck just gets poked away from him by the defender; it's only because San Jose is a western conference team, so they hadn't seen that move before. If he passed a little more, or even just tried to score a breakaway without resorting to the toe drag, I'd be a little more pleased with him overall.

Perhaps next year he won't be -20 either... :\

I think the best move was trading Chris Simon though; not only does it rid us of a team cancer, but it allows Jeff Tambellini to come back up from the AHL (where he leads the league in goals with 29) and play on the 4th line with fellow rookies Frans Nielsen and Blake Comeau. I want to see some serious goalscoring skillz.

At 2/26/08 12:24 PM, Dobio wrote: Brad Richards on Dallas, that's insane.

I think it's a pretty good fit though. Plus it'll give Tampa some breathing room.

Brad Richards is like the Kurt Warner of the NHL, imo. Without solid offensive players around him, he can't get things going; I assume he'll be playing on the Modano second line though, as I don't think they'd drop him to line three center.

If I'm the dallas coaching staff, I switch mike ribiero to wing and use richards as the first line center. Richards is regarded as a better faceoff man and two way forward anyway, and it allows Ribiero to have more time and space to create.

The Pens way overpaid for Hossa. Not much to say. Even if they resigned him they're giving up too much. Armstrong's a second line NHLer, Christensen is probably a third liner, Esposito can easily develop into a first line player, and the first rounder will either be a top 4 defenseman or a top 6 forward. Add in the fact that Crosby's 8.7 mil contract extension kicks in next year, Malkin's coming off of his entry level deal in two years, and Staal's due for a raise soon, and there's no chance they're paying hossa what he'll command.

Really poor deal. The pens aren't at their peak, so rushing a cup run and emptying the prospects cupboard is a terrible choice.

The sharks got decent value on campbell, but tbh, I always thought campbell was overrated. He isn't half the skater he's made out to be, and he's never showed me anything that would make me consider him 'elite' at all. He's still a top flight guy, just, maybe a bit TOO regarded for what he's accomplished thus far in his career.

Avs overpaid for Foote and got a good deal for Salei. Ruslan played 26 minutes per game during the ducks cinderella run back before the lockout, and he's currently second in ice time behind Bouwmeester for the panthers. a very underrated defenseman that'll add some grit and responsibility to the avs' back end.

Ducks pretty much replicated last year's acquisitions. Marc Andre is analgous to them trading for Ric Jackman. A good offensive d-man that can capably perform as an injury fill-in. He's also signed for next year, so he may end up QBing the second powerplay unit after niedermayer retires.

Ducks also dealt off Bochenski for a conditional pick, and nabbed JS Aubin for a 7th rounder. Chances are Aubin plays in the minors, much like Sebastian Caron last season.

As a duck fan, though, I'm pretty much glad they stayed put with the roster, The edmonton pick will likely be a franchise player and bobby ryan's set to stay with the big club next season. and with them going 9-1 since selanne returned, there really isn't a need to mess with chemistry.

Deadline winners: Washington. I doubt fedorov does much, but they finally have a top goalie in the net. Kozlig's old and shitty and Brent Johnson just isn't good. Since the lockout, Huet's in the top 5 in save percentage. Good move by the caps.

Dallas: got a proven playoff performer and first line talent in richards, gave up sputtering winger Jussi Jokinen and a goalie trapped behind the incumbent.

Losers: Avs. Gave up a lot for what they got, and might not even make the playoffs. The rest of the team looks good, but anyone with Budaj or Theodore in the net runs a risk of failure.

Vancouver: Did nothing as the western playoff teams loaded up. Had the assets to deal, but didn't.

At 2/26/08 07:30 PM, Buddhist wrote: I think the best move was trading Chris Simon though; not only does it rid us of a team cancer, but it allows Jeff Tambellini to come back up from the AHL (where he leads the league in goals with 29) and play on the 4th line with fellow rookies Frans Nielsen and Blake Comeau. I want to see some serious goalscoring skillz.

A good move, where you don't have to pay his wages straight to the NHL pot, due to suspensions being served.

Some players are gritty - Simon just takes it too far.

At 2/26/08 07:38 PM, Gooch wrote:

At 2/26/08 05:27 PM, Coop83 wrote: Looks like a renaisance for the Avalanche, with the re-acquisition of Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote. Dare I dream of the golry days of 2001? Nah.

I'm half-expecting Ray Borque to come out of retirement and bolster the blueline.

I'm waiting for The Onion's sports report to confirm the rumours :P

At 2/27/08 12:15 AM, VeryProudofYa wrote: If I'm the dallas coaching staff, I switch mike ribiero to wing and use richards as the first line center. Richards is regarded as a better faceoff man and two way forward anyway, and it allows Ribiero to have more time and space to create.

So where does Modano fit in? I know that Ribero's carried the team offensively thus far, but he's no third line center, surely.

The Pens way overpaid for Hossa. Not much to say. Even if they resigned him they're giving up too much. Armstrong's a second line NHLer, Christensen is probably a third liner, Esposito can easily develop into a first line player, and the first rounder will either be a top 4 defenseman or a top 6 forward. Add in the fact that Crosby's 8.7 mil contract extension kicks in next year, Malkin's coming off of his entry level deal in two years, and Staal's due for a raise soon, and there's no chance they're paying hossa what he'll command.

Really poor deal. The pens aren't at their peak, so rushing a cup run and emptying the prospects cupboard is a terrible choice.

I see your point. Would they use Hossa to act as some additonal leadership in the side and maybe make some cap space for him, with their young corps making way in certain places?

Avs overpaid for Foote and got a good deal for Salei. Ruslan played 26 minutes per game during the ducks cinderella run back before the lockout, and he's currently second in ice time behind Bouwmeester for the panthers. a very underrated defenseman that'll add some grit and responsibility to the avs' back end.

Ruslan Salei is a good move for us, as our defense is trying to do too much, without much success either. Foote is a little on the old side and Forsberg is going to have to battle for his place against the kids, who will also have to up their game to get spaces.

Losers: Avs. Gave up a lot for what they got, and might not even make the playoffs. The rest of the team looks good, but anyone with Budaj or Theodore in the net runs a risk of failure.

We're taking steps in the right direction. Got to win games to get points and if we can steal some points from the Canucks tonight, we'll be a lot closer to the playoff contention than we were on Monday.

We're not out yet, that's for certain. Stastny has found how to score again (just as I trade him away :P) and we're encouraged by the return of Sakic and Smyth.

Theodore has the backing of the management and he's a steadier goalie than he was when we acquired him. Perhaps with the defensive upgrades that we have made, he'll have an easier time, as he'll be more confident in the defense corps in front of him. He's three quarters of a goal better in GAA than last season in Denver and his save percentage is up almost 2% as well. Confidence breeds confidence and in the 14 games since his first Avs shutout, he's only giving up 2.2 GAA.

Mind you, you'll argue that I can prove anything with statistics, so let's just sit back and watch some proper hockey :)

Speaking of good hockey....

At 2/27/08 12:15 AM, VeryProudofYa wrote: Deadline winners: Washington. I doubt fedorov does much, but they finally have a top goalie in the net. Kozlig's old and shitty and Brent Johnson just isn't good. Since the lockout, Huet's in the top 5 in save percentage. Good move by the caps.

I view Federov as more of a veteran influence acquisition, but with a lot of upside. He'll bring a solid leadership presence to the club, especially for guys like Ovechkin & Semin; he'll probably play on the second line with Fleischmann and Eric Fehr, which would benefit both greatly imo, since both are late bloomers (to put it nicely). Huet was a complete steal...I still don't know what the thought process was in Montreal. Maybe sippin' on all that Marian Hossa Kool-Aid did them in.

At 2/27/08 06:49 AM, Coop83 wrote: So where does Modano fit in? I know that Ribero's carried the team offensively thus far, but he's no third line center, surely.

Well currently (and correct me if I'm wrong here), Ribbers is the first line center and Modano is second line center.

Also, the Senators have fired head coach John Paddock with just 18 games remaining in the regular season, after the Sens lost six of their last eight and 14 of their last 21 games.

rofl sens.

Murray's a quality coach, should've stayed behind the bench instead of bringing paddock in at all, imo.

At 2/27/08 04:10 PM, Buddhist wrote:

At 2/27/08 06:49 AM, Coop83 wrote: So where does Modano fit in? I know that Ribero's carried the team offensively thus far, but he's no third line center, surely.

By he, I meant Modano...

Well currently (and correct me if I'm wrong here), Ribbers is the first line center and Modano is second line center.

Yeah, but their acquisition of Richards gives them Two options for first line center. Richards & Ribero will surely center up the first two lines and both power play lines. Does this mean that Mickey Modano goes down to being the third line center?

I'm not disputing the job he did before the acquisition of Richards, but I might have phrased it worng above. Hope it's all cleared up now.

Modano's been centering the third line for most of the year, actually.

Dave Tippet mentioned he'd like to try Richards between Hagman and Miettenen. Good mix of speed and skill, there. Great two way line if they all click.

At 2/28/08 12:14 AM, VeryProudofYa wrote: Modano's been centering the third line for most of the year, actually.

I never realised that he'd gone so far back. I knew he'd lost the captaincy to Morrow, but it seems weird to see a player of his calibre fade away like this.

At 2/28/08 01:06 AM, Gooch wrote: When a team like Ottawa is losing fourteen of twenty-one games, I don't blame Murray for making the move. The Sens do not need to be struggling right now at this time of the year. I have no problem with the move at all.

Time to get used to the new coach before the playoffs. Might give them a rocket up the arse that they've been after.

I think [Kyle McLaren] and Sandis Ozolinsh might get the boot out of San Jose at season's end.

Would that be so bad for you? Ozolinsh is getting on a bit and McLaren isn't the best defensive player you guys have

Watches McLaren land in Denver -.-

At 2/26/08 05:27 PM, Coop83 wrote:

At 2/26/08 12:21 PM, Gooch wrote: Whoo-hoo! Brian Campbell's coming to San Jose! It sucks they had to give up Bernier and this year's first-round pick, but Bernier's struggled this year and his playing time's been decreasing anyways. Campbell will bolster the banged up San Jose defense immediately.

A very good fit for the Sharks. I'm glad to see him playing for a contender, as it might kick start his offense. Buffalo seems to be resigning towards a rebuild, after the loss of their biggest offensive players in the last off season. Now they've only really got Miller and Afinogenov (who's not really producing much this year anyway)

I'll agree with having Miller, but Afinogenov? Buffalo doesn't even have him. Besides, he's been injured since January 1st. If anything, they have Roy and Vanek, who seem to finally be fitting into their #1 roles for the team. Sticking Bernier on that line just made it a hell of a lot better. Nice debut for Bernier. 2 goals, 1 assist. I think he had the most impressibe debut out of any deadline dealed player. Campbell's 1 assist pales in comparison to that. Someone might want to tell that to all those who voted Campbell's performance better.

And Andrew Peters scores.... I'll just let you guys think about that one.

At 2/28/08 01:59 PM, Gooch wrote:

At 2/28/08 01:34 PM, Tluck-Person wrote:

And Andrew Peters scores.... I'll just let you guys think about that one.

This guys scores about as often as a nerd at a lesbian convention. (does that make sense?)

Shit, the guy probably has more fights lost under his belt then he does teeth.

It makes perfect sense, and I fixed your second comment on him. Peters is about as useful as Chris Hanson, the punter for the New England Patriots (not to be confused with Chris Hansen, journalist for Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator")

At 2/28/08 01:34 PM, Tluck-Person wrote:

Sticking Bernier on that line just made it a hell of a lot better. Nice debut for Bernier. 2 goals, 1 assist. I think he had the most impressibe debut out of any deadline dealed player.

Brad Richards and his five assists say hi.

At 2/29/08 01:16 AM, Gooch wrote:

At 2/28/08 11:49 PM, VeryProudofYa wrote:

Brad Richards and his five assists say hi.

And Marian Hossa sends a postcard to both of them with a shitty knee on the other end of the spectrum.

I suppose Huet throws his hat in the ring as well after blanking the Devils.

Last night Plekanec scored a powerplay hatty off of three fantastic feeds from Kovalev. Plekanec is a good enough story on his own, but how about Kovalev? Largely written off last year he's playing at over a point per game and has a plus rating, too boot.

And to think EVERYONE mocked me when I drafted him in the NG fantasy league.

Fuck Craig Anderson.

HAHA, Montreal Trades Huet for a 2nd Round draft pick!

I've laughing my head off here in montreal on how stupid Bob Gainey is!

At 3/3/08 12:57 PM, Gooch wrote: Now, what is it with the Islanders and their ability to get so many shots on goal, Buddhist? I mean goddamn, I remember the last time they played the Penguins, Ty Conklin had to turn away over fifty shots to get the victory for Pittsburgh. How do they manage to generate so many shots?

Well, we have no defense, so we're constantly throwing it out of the zone; some nights we just happen to get all-out aggressive on offense and throw it as much as possible at the net; during the process, the defense gets tired out and we are able to get extra shots on goal. Then there are other times where we're just playing bad defenses or tired teams; however, we can never take advantage of these chances.

That game where Conklin had 50something saves, we had 20 shots blocked by the Pens' defense, so we had actually taken 70 heaves at the net and still lost.

I just find it mind-boggling how we can have so so so many good chances and not score AT ALL. I mean, I know our offense is terrible, but goddamn.

At 3/1/08 11:17 AM, VeryProudofYa wrote: I suppose Huet throws his hat in the ring as well after blanking the Devils.

Definately. Ovetchkin last night seems to have conferred the boost that Huet has brought to the team, rattling in Goal numbers 50, 51 and 52. Massive production from the Russian last night. By the end of the season, he'll have 300 career points, which isn't bad, considering players usually get better towards their 4th, 5th and 6th seasons of play...

Last night Plekanec scored a powerplay hatty off of three fantastic feeds from Kovalev. Plekanec is a good enough story on his own, but how about Kovalev? Largely written off last year he's playing at over a point per game and has a plus rating, too boot.

And to think EVERYONE mocked me when I drafted him in the NG fantasy league.

I didn't mock you, although I never commented. He played quite well for me during parts of last season :P

Haha, MTL loses 6-4 to SJ!

Lets Go Sharks Lets Go!

Okay, so the Avs lost last night, ending their 6-game winning streak. Looks like the injury bug has bitten us again, with Forsberg taking a knock. He's day to day with a groin injury, officially, but I think it will keep him out for a while...

Got to build more momentum when we take on the Thrash on Tuesday night. We're in the playoffs at present, but I'm not looking forward to a matchup with the Stars in the first round.

Super Joe and Paul Stastny (Does he have a nickname yet?!) can help us do this. With Jose playing the best hockey of his career in an Avs jersey at the moment, we can certainly use key performances from these guys, to get where we deserve to be.

WOOT!

EDM Beats CHI 6-5 in OT!

Iggy sets a new record.

At 3/11/08 01:30 AM, hongkongexpress wrote: Iggy sets a new record.

Well, the franchise record isn't really that many goals, considering that he's only averaging 33 goals per season. A player of his quality should at least be averaging a point per game for his career and I think he's got his eyes on the big prize of 500 Goals. He's only 30 and should have ample time to achieve this.

An interesting point we lean towards is the 50 Goal plateau. Ovechkin got there a while ago, while Kovalchuk and Iginla now have 40+ each. How many 50+ Goalscorers will we see this year? I'd say that the three players I've mentioned are shoe-ins, plus you can't forget about talents like Evgeni Malkin, although that is a long shot.

Zetterberg can't stay healthy enough (Though he shoots a hell of a lot) and Alfredsson is 6 shy of a career high and will have to raise his scoring game to get there. My prediction is 3, maybe 4.

At 3/11/08 03:05 AM, Gooch wrote: I know what you mean. You'd figure as "horrible" as the defense is as you say, I'm surprised that the offense doesn't have more pop to it.

To give you an overview of our defense:

Brendan Witt - Career-high 14 points in 81 games last year; career -37 +/- and a PIMs to points ratio of roughly 12. Salary: $2.7 million.

Radek Martinek - Tied his career-high with 17 points last year; 12 points in 57 games this year, 0 goals; career .2 PPG pace.

Rob Davison - Career-high in points was 6 with the Sharks in 2005; career .08 PPG pace, career PIMs to points ratio of about 16; spent most of 2007-08 as a healthy scratch; has one point in 22 games while being -6.

Aaron Johnson - 2 points in 21 games this year, career-high 10 points last year for the Blue Jackets; never played more than 61 games in a season (Jackets, 06-07) and played just 21 games this year; healthy scratch for 15 games this season.

Bryan Berard - 17 points in 42 games this year, -12; 20/400 vision and the complete inability to play defense; healthy scratch for 18 games this season.

Andy Sutton - Career high of 25 points in 05-06 with the Thrashers; 8 points, 86 PIMs, and -6 +/- in 58 games this year (PIMs to points ratio of 10.75); career PIMs to points ratio of 7.7; currently on IR (out 4-6 weeks with a torn hamstring). A complete goon who does very little on defense and is being paid $3 million a year to do so.

Freddy Meyer - Reclaimed off waivers from the Coyotes; spent each of the past two seasons on two different teams (06-07: Flyers/Islanders, 07-08: Islanders/Coyotes); 10 points in 45 games this year, all with the Islanders; career-high of 27 points in 57 games in 2005-06 with Philadelphia.

Chris Campoli - The only good offensive/defensive combo player on the team; career-high of 34 points in 80 games as a rookie in 2005-06 with the Islanders; career -20 (-1 this season); career PIMs to points ratio of 1.2; currently on IR & is out for the season after undergoing shoulder surgery in mid-January.

I know Marc-Andre Begeron wasn't having a good offensive year, but it didn't help to trade him away.

We traded Bergeron because he cannot play defense for his life; it was like watching a lower-paid version of Bryan McCabe. He singlehandedly cost us at least two games, and that's just off the top of my head.

Regardless, Isles + 311 Day = pretty solid. SEASON SWEEP PLZ

I can't believe it's almost the end of the season! I just hope the Sabres can make some ground in the last 12 games and snatch the 8th spot from Philly.