Last night's tilt between the Red Wings and Senators was exactly as good as the FanHouse hype suggested. We got to see the league's two best teams play the game at the highest level of ability and provide us with a nail-biting thriller. Even those of us with no rooting interest in the game could find a lot of entertainment value in the match, which is the surest mark that the game delivered.
Heatley left after he fell awkwardly into the boards while checking Detroit's Dallas Drake behind the Senators' net. He did not return. On Saturday, the team said he had an upper body injury and didn't say if he would miss any time.
*sigh* Are teams so afraid of releasing information during the middle of the regular season that they'll resort to this level of secrecy? As for Dallas Drake injuring people ... just like the old days :)
** Remember when Avs' winger Jaroslav Hlinka started the season with a bang, and then went completely in the tank? Well, the former Czech Extraleague scoring champ seems to have finally adjusted to the North American game and has put up nine points in his last 14 games and has developed some nice chemistry with Marek Svatos. With the injuries to Ryan Smyth and Joe Sakic, their production is sorely needed.
As if two straight losses against the lowly Phoenix Coyotes wasn't bad enough for the Colorado Avalanche, the Rocky Mountain club will now be without power winger Ryan Smyth, who will be gone 6-8 weeks with a broken ankle. This is already on the heels of captain Joe Sakic's hernia surgery, which will keep him out of the lineup for just as long, if not longer.
"The fracture was discovered following additional medical tests which included an MRI exam," Avalanche head trainer Matthew Sokolowski said yesterday in a release. "We expect him to make a full recovery."
In the ultra competitive Northwest Division and Western Conference environment, the Avs are clinging to a playoff spot by a single point. The loss of Ryan Smyth will surely help the likes of Anaheim, Columbus, and St. Louis, who are all chasing the Avs.
Without a lot of top prospects in the minors, one wonders if GM Francois Giguere will be ready to make a deal or two. While Giguere stated that he expected other Avs forwards to step up during Sakic's absence, it'll be hard to fill in the gaps left by missing TWO of the team's best offensive forwards. No other player can bring Smyth's level of strength and tenacity in the trenches, save for Andrew Brunette, a Ryan Smyth-lite. If I look at the Avs now, I see a team that is liable to lose a lot of physical battles in the offensive zone.
Hopefully, the injury isn't so severe that it could mean the hastened end to Joe Sakic's illustrious career in the NHL. It's certainly not easy to recovery from a painful hernia, and Sakic is at that age where each passing month is a fight against father time to maintain a high level of physical ability.
"Joe's rehabilitation has not progressed as anticipated and upon further evaluation the decision has been made to perform surgery in order for him to fully recover," Avalanche team physician Andrew Parker said.
If Sakic misses the length of time prescribed, it will be the longest absence of his NHL career. Prior to the injury, which has kept him out 12 straight games, Sakic had played in 232 consecutive games.
Sakic was struggling somewhat this season putting just 22 points in 24 games (with a gross -6) and looking rather 'tired', and now we know why.
Amazingly, the Avalanche have gone 8-4-1 since their captain has been out of the lineup, as some of the other forwards have picked up the slack. Of course, this short-term trend is unlikely to continue, and the Avs could find themselves fighting for their playoff lives by the time Sakic gets back.
While I realize the Avs have some pretty good offensive depth in their lineup, Sakic is one of those rare players that makes others better. Guys like Andrew Brunette, Marek Svatos, and Ryan Smyth need Sakic to feed them the puck to be fully effective. In the long run, the loss of Sakic is likely going to create a huge ripple effect in the Western Conference and Northwest Division.
Those of you in fantasy leagues will no doubt be aware of Paul Stastny, the young Avalanche forward who blasted out of the gates with 8 points in the first week of the season.
Flashing back to the start of last season, most everyone and their mother expected Evgeni Malkin to win the Calder Trophy in a country fair cakewalk. As the season progressed, Paul Stastny came out of nowhere to make the race closer than ever expected. Thanks to breaking the rookie record for the longest points streak, Stastny started to become more of a household name, and almost helped the Avalanche not miss the playoffs (quite a feat, given how many games Jose Theodore gave away).
Paul Stastny, despite his pedigree (being the son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny) had little hype and little press as he entered the NHL. How is it that such a good player stayed so far under the radar for so long? Even someone who follows Slovakian hockey players (or their sons) as much as I do didn't have this guy pegged as an NHL star.
Well, it starts with Paul's decision to play his junior hockey in the US Hockey League (USHL), rather than the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), or with the US National Development squad. Paul spent two seasons with the River City Lancers, far below the radar of most scouts. When most hockey hardcore fans first heard about the USHL, it was pretty much "Aww, isn't that cute, the US wants its own hockey league." The level of play wasn't nearly as good as the Canadian Hockey League, and few gave it more than a passing glance as a B-grade junior circuit.
All too often, fantasy league GMs chase after the shiny baubles, paying far too much for past production while not looking at likely future point totals and the big picture.
For good fantasy league players, they can abuse these chicken-headed GM's by gouging them with a big fat juicy carrot (or bag of seeds) right in front of their faces. Nobody ever wins their league by playing nice. Hype up your players, and prepare to reap the windfall.
There are a few good players that would be well worth waving around the trade market, given that their production next season is very likely to fall off to some degree. Rather than bank on the chance these players MIGHT another great season, let somebody else take the risk for you.
1. Andrew Brunette, Colorado Avalanche
SEASON TEAM GP G A PTS
03-04 MIN 82 15 34 49
05-06 COL 82 24 39 63
06-07 COL 82 27 56 83
Talk about your career seasons! Andrew Brunette found the fountain of Youth (Joe Sakic) in Colorado and had himself his best season ever.
Unfortunately, Brunette isn't too fleet of foot, and is approaching his 34th birthday. One has to believe that his amazing streak of luck with his health and production will come to an end. Brunette will also be conceding some ice time to some of the Avs' younger forwards and, perhaps, Ryan Smyth.
Although it's one year too late -- and what former NHL player is going to give up a fishing trip for this? -- the Florida Panthers will celebrate their Cinderella run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals this weekend. Panthers alumni like John Vanbiesbrouck, Ray Sheppard and Bill Lindsay will join the majority of the players (sans schedule-conflicted Rob Niedermayer and Robert Svehla) who led Florida to the Finals in only the third year of the franchise, before being swept away by the Colorado Avalanche. There's a golf tournament, player appearances and an exhibition game at BankAtlantic Center on Saturday that will give hockey fans something they've long dreamed about: another chance to witness the majestic skating of Terry Carkner on NHL ice.
In 1995-96, they finished third in their division (41-31-10, 92 points) and fourth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, then beat in the Bruins 4 games to 1 in a seven-game series, the Flyers 4-2 and the Penguins 4-3 before losing to the Avalanche in four games in the finals.
Right winger Scott Mellanby killed a rat in the dressing room with his stick minutes before the home opener that season, then scored two goals that night, prompting Vanbiesbrouck to declare Mellanby's feat a "Rat Trick." Throwing plastic rats on the ice after goals soon became a phenomenon.
"We accomplished some pretty lofty things with a group of guys who were considered mediocre players at the time," Lindsay said.
"Mediocre players at the time?" Has history been that kind to Johan Garpenlov and Jody Hull? Florida Panthers fans have every right to celebrate this unexpected season of meteoric success, lest they fall deeper into the depressing reality that their franchise is now known more for losing Roberto Luongo and failing to make the playoffs in the Southeast Division than plastic rodents. But for the rest of us, this weekend begs the question:
Are the Florida Panthers the most mediocre Stanley Cup finalist of the last 25 years?
Pierre Turgeon, reports the Denver Post, is set to retire after a very productive and underrated NHL career.
Pierre Turgeon, the NHL's 27th all-time leading scorer who played his final two seasons with the Avalanche, has decided to retire.
Sources close to the 37-year-old Turgeon said he will make an official announcement soon. He will live with his family in the Denver area, where he helps coach his daughter's hockey team.
Turgeon, given the derisive nickname "Tin Man", because he apparently lacked heart, has generally been looked down upon for being 'soft' or some other nonsense. Despite what people say 1,327 points in 1,294 career regular season games is the mark of a special player.
Apart from an explosive 1992-93 season, in which Pierre had 132 points in 58 games, Turgeon was generally not one of the NHLs top players in any season in which he played. Yes, Turgeon was good, but Hall of Famers tend to be 'great' players. It's not an easy call, by any stretch.
Many have called Turgeon a softy, but 97 points in 109 career playoff games shows that he could produce when the chips were down. During his days with the Blues, he led the Blues in playoff scoring in two of five post-seasons he was with them.
I don't believe Turgeon's lack of entry into the Stanley Cup Finals should be held against him. Hockey is a team game, and it takes more than one player to make a cup winning team. Anyone remember how Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne never got a sniff of the cup?
The biggest mistake, I'll maintain, that Turgeon ever made was signing with the Dallas Stars in 2001. Playing on a defensive-oriented team that already was strong down the middle, Turgeon was never given a starring role, and never allowed to play to his ability. On another team, Turgeon would have put up better numbers, and probably cemented his HoF case a lot more than he has.
There are certainly lesser players in the Hall of Fame (Clark Gillies and Bernie Federko, anyone?), and Turgeon wouldn't be out of place there. Just put him in the same wing as Mike Gartner, another very productive player who was never all that great.
Many Colorado Avalanche fans would very much like to get rid of Jose Theodore, who is the league's most expensive (and overrated) backup goaltender, as well as one of Paris Hilton's 1,000,000 ex-boyfriends.
Unfortunately for Avs fans, it looks like they'll be stuck with their pretty boy for another season.
My message to people is, 'Don't think that buying him out is going to be a big financial advantage for us.' It won't be," said [GM Francois] Giguere. "If you buy him out, two-thirds of his salary counts toward the (salary) cap, and we'd still have to sign a replacement for him."
"What it comes down to is, between the pipes, is there a guy who gives you a better chance to win?" Giguere said. "It will be a hockey decision, not so much a financial decision, because it would not be a big difference even if we bought him out."
Is there a guy who gives you a chance to win??? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
How about ... almost every other NHL goaltender?
Among qualified goaltenders, Theodore had the 5th WORST(!) save percentage with 89.1% this season. That was actually an improvement from the season before, when he had a dreadful 88.1SV%.
While it can be hard to find a decent backup, there are plenty of other goaltenders with more ability than Theodore at this moment of time.
The true reason he'll stick around, again, is purely financial, and nothing to do with being a 'hockey decision'. Theodore's cap number is $5.3mil, but the Avs will be on the hook for $4mil under the cap if they buy out Theodore.
Given that scenario, it's best just to leave him in as the backup and let Budaj take the reigns again. Given the cost of finding a replacement backup, the Avs wouldn't save much cap room by finding a different backup. Plus, Theodore might find the form he used to have. (and I might win the lottery ...)
"I was really impressed with the way this team came together and am looking forward to next year," Sakic said in a statement. "To witness the growth of our young players and see how they performed with some of our other veterans was very encouraging and says a lot about the expectations we'll have for next season.
"As I've said in the past, at this stage in my career, I prefer to do one-year deals as I evaluate my play year-to-year," added Sakic. "But I'm looking forward to next season and we feel very lucky to be a part of such a great hockey market with such amazing fan support."
While Canucks fans have always hoped "Burnaby Joe" would want to come home, it's obvious that Sakic has no wish to go anywhere else or even test the free agent market.
With 100 points last season, Sakic is still one of the premier players in the league, even at 37 years of age. Personally, I think it's great that Sakic will remain with the one franchise that he has always been with. Sakic has truly become the face of the Avalanche/Nordiques, and it looks like it'll remain so until Sakic retires.
Last night's tilt between the Red Wings and Senators was exactly as good as the FanHouse hype suggested. We got to see the league's two best teams play the game at the highest level of ability and provide us with a nail-biting thriller. Even those of us with no rooting interest in the game could find a lot of entertainment value in the match, which is the surest mark that the game delivered.
As if two straight losses against the lowly Phoenix Coyotes wasn't bad enough for the Colorado Avalanche, the Rocky Mountain club will now be without power winger Ryan Smyth, 
Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche got some very bad news yesterday 
Those of you in fantasy leagues will no doubt be aware of Paul Stastny, the young Avalanche forward who blasted out of the gates with 8 points in the first week of the season.
All too often, fantasy league GMs chase after the shiny baubles, paying far too much for past production while not looking at likely future point totals and the big picture.
Pierre Turgeon, 
Many Colorado Avalanche fans would very much like to get rid of Jose Theodore, who is the league's most expensive (and overrated) backup goaltender, as well as one of Paris Hilton's 1,000,000 ex-boyfriends.
Joe Sakic quickly answered any questions about his future plans by 
