With the Salary Cap hovering over the Pittsburgh Penguins like a dark cloud over a Sunday picnic (cue dark and evil background muzak), many pundits and fans have wondered if the Penguins will be able to keep the dynamic duo of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby together for the long-term. Given the Penguins are having to spend big bucks to keep the likes of Ryan Whitney and Marc-Andre Fleury in the fold, can and will the Penguins be able to have enough cap room to keep Malkin while icing a successful club?
It has been widely speculated that Malkin would demand "Ovechkin!!" money, and might price himself out of the Penguins ability to keep him. Would the Pens have to trade Malkin rather than risk losing him on the Restricted Free Agent market to some poacher?
Well, it appears that Pens fans need not worry any longer. Reports from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and TSN.ca indicate that the Pens and Malkin are close on a new deal which will see Malkin and Crosby stay together for a very long time.
"I'm thinking maybe five or six years," said Malkin, set to enter the final season of his three-year entry-level deal. "I'm an easy guy to deal with. I'd love to stay in Pittsburgh."
Malkin told the newspaper he does not need to exceed the $8.7 million salary of captain Sidney Crosby but sources tell TSN the likely target for Malkin is a five-year deal worth more than $9 million per season.
Obviously, this bodes well for both the Penguins and the league. Having THE dynamic duo together and maintaining a popular 'dynasty' (for lack of a better term) will provide the fans with a must-see team for many years, and give the league a team that it can promote. As great as the Wings are, their style of play, and their quiet superstars, just aren't as marketable as the Golden Boys.
Part of me worries that the Pens could end up like the Tampa Bay Lightning: Stacked with a few highly-paid superstars and a whole bunch of chaff. On the other hand, the Pens have a much better farm system, plenty more quality depth, and a salary cap that continues to rise. The future is bright.
Chris Simon's tumultuous National Hockey League career may have officially come to an end on Saturday when he signed a contract with Vityaz Chekhov of the Continental Hockey League in Russia, according to Russian media reports.
Simon, who has been suspended twice by the NHL in the past 15 months for a total of 55 games, finished the 2007-08 season with the Minnesota Wild. He scored one goal and added two assists in 38 NHL games split between the Wild and New York Islanders last season.
Fighting is not allowed in European leagues, which already negates Simon's #1 skill. With Simon's lack of foot-speed, you know he'll end up taking a lot of dumb fouls, which he's very good at, and hurt his team with many penalties to kill.
I know the Russian Super league loves to sign ex-NHLers, but why sign a 36-year old thug who has just 52 points in his last 177 games?
As I grow older and more mature (stop snickering), I'm beginning to see the folly of a team, on Deadline Day, spending major assets for a playoff rental. Yes, D-Day is always hyped to the max, and gets fans drooling at the prospect of seeing their team get the likes of Marian Hossa, Peter Forsberg, or Mats Sundin to put their team over the top.
Think of building a house. A good house takes time to plan, and the foundation is laid early in the design choices one makes. You can't simply stick some Sears Aluminum siding on the outside of a stucco monstrosity and expect it to turn into a million-dollar mansion, can you?
Ask any coach of his from his checkered past, and you'll likely find out that Brad Isbister is one of the most frustrating players they have ever had the misfortune of coaching.
Blessed with great size (6'4" 222), good balance, and a blistering shot, Isbister has all the physical tools needed to be a successful power forward. It's just too bad that he seems to have none of the mental ones.
The phrase "a million dollar body and a ten cent head" is most appropriate when talking about the guy (although he is kinda pudgy), and one wonders how long he'll remain in the NHL. After the Canucks made him a healthy scratch for the third straight game, especially against a physical team like the San Jose Sharks, it's quite obvious that he isn't part of the team's plans for much longer.
The [line combination] alignment also showed that Brad Isbister has become a non-factor. For the third-straight game and 13th time this season, the winger was a healthy scratch. So, what does the future hold for a 6-foot-4, 225-pound grinder who seldom plays to his imposing size?
To describe Isbister's game, think of a big marshmallow. It's big, white, soft, and just sits there and provides little nutritional value or taste.
Isbister was given a prime opportunity to play a big role with the Canucks, a team in desperate need of both size and offensive output up front. Instead of seizing that opportunity by the throat, Isbister loafed around and put up a pathetic two goals and five assists in 30 games. All the while, Isbister rarely hit anyone, rarely broke a sweat, and spent more time hitting the local sushi buffets than working on his game.
After showing some potential with the Isles in his early days, Isbister has produced just 81 points in 224 games as he's floated between teams and between the AHL and NHL. As Isbister can't really provide much value in any facet of the game, I'd be shocked if another NHL team wants to take a chance on the guy. Good riddance to bad rubbish (I hope!).
Well, the old dog is back! The Calgary Flames, one of about four teams chasing after the old pup, have won the sweepstakes and signed the geezer to a contract. We're still awaiting the actual details, but it's assumed to be a deal simply for this season.
The other scuttlebutt floating around is Mike Keenan made a personal phone call to Joseph and apologized for being such a complete asshat back in their St. Louis days. I didn't think 'Iron' Mike was capable of a sincere apology. How about that?
While CuJo is hardly capable of providing quality goaltending at this stage of his career, he is an instant upgrade on Curtis McElhinney, a no-name backup goalie so awful that Mike Keenan would rather play with an empty net than give a start to the guy.
With Kiprusoff playing so horribly this season, and having started 45 of the 46 Flames' games, it's obvious that the Flames needed somebody that could give Kiprusoff some nights off. "Kipper" looks like a tired goalie and he's been unable to put together a consistent string of good starts.
While Joseph may not have the ability he once did, he'll have the confidence of Iron Mike, which is the most important reason for this signing. Getting Kiprusoff some rest down the stretch may very well help their #1 goalie get his groove back.
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.
According to reports from TSN, 40 year old goaltender Curtis Joseph will likely make his decision this weekend on where he'd like to be when he rejoins the NHL.
It's come down to two teams: Calgary and San Jose. Both these franchises have strong starting goalies, yet lack quality backups, so they're very interested in acquiring the veteran.
Why Calgary? Well, can you name Calgary's backup netminder without having to look it up? Exactly. However, as The Bleacher Report duly points out, Joseph and Calgary coach Mike Keenan don't have the best history together. Is Joseph willing to put behind the past for a backup job? Has enough time passed?
As for San Jose? Well, Evgeni Nabokov has started EVERY SINGLE GAME this season so far, and it's obvious the Sharks are afraid to play anyone else. At least a veteran like Joseph would have the confidence of coach Ron Wilson.
Last season, CuJo had a rotten 89.3SV%, well below the league average (90.5%), and has gotten steadily worse each season. Only six goalies with 30+ games played last season has worse numbers than CuJo, and the old dog is not going to get any better. Why bring him in as an expensive backup when you can get a willing, and younger, backup for the league minimum?
His 89.3SV% would put him right in the same spot in the rankings (near the basement), which makes you wonder why a team would even bother signing him as a backup in the first place. Oh, you'll wonder, that is, until you look at those anonymous backup goalies the Sharks and Flames have been playing, and realize that, sadly, CuJo is an upgrade.
Looks like this old dog may have one last trick. It certainly won't make the Sharks and Flames much better to sign the guy, but it'll at least give them a chance to rest their #1 goaltenders more than once every three months.
Not too long ago, there was talk that the Ducks might let go of high-priced J-S Giguere, and go with the much cheaper Ilya Bryzgalov as their #1 goalie.
If Bryzgalov isn't claimed, he'll be assigned to the team's American Hockey League club in Portland, Me.
Bryzgalov, who is making $1,362,500 this season, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
For sure, this is a cost-saving measure, and one would have to speculate that the Ducks may be preparing for the return of one indecisive Scott Niedermayer. Why else would the Ducks just waive their long-time backup, who is generally above-average in his play? While Giguere has often been injured in the playoffs, Bryzgalov has always been there, picking up the proverbial ball and running with it.
Looking at this season's stats, Bryzgalov is the superior keeper in save percentage, and has provided with the Ducks with a guy they can depend on when Giguere isn't there.
Desperate for an injection of offense that only a free agency syringe could provide, Lowe paid heavily for a young forward who has just 101 games of experience and one productive season under his hockey pants. Not only are the Oilers coughing up $4.3mil per season for an rather unproven commodity, they also have to give up three draft picks (a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd rounder).
I understand that Kevin Lowe wants some offense, but for that much money, and those kind of draft picks, you better be getting a star. The chances are, Penner will be a solid winger, but nowhere near the kind of assets that Lowe just pissed away. The Oilers would have been better off saving these assets for another day, rather than over-spending in a desperate attempt to get SOMETHING!
"But Jes, they need the offense just to make the playoffs!"
Right, and when they try and make improvements in the future just to make the playoffs (because they are a long way away, folks), or make other moves to strengthen their team, they'll realize that they are hamstrung because they paid so much for a 2nd-line winger.
Back when Kristian Huselius was a member of the Florida Panthers, coach "Iron Mike" Keenan made it a point to put the Swedish sniper in his permanent doghouse. Despite Huselius' slick stick-handling skills, boyish looks, and crisp play-making abilities, his game never got off the ground during his time in Florida.
Huselius earned a fresh start in Calgary and made the most of it. Those fantasy players who saw how Kristian came out of his shell as a member of the Flames were most pleased that their investment finally paid off.
SEASON TEAM GP G A PTS +/- 03-04 FLA 76 10 21 31 -6 05-06 FLA 24 5 3 8 -11 05-06 CGY 54 15 24 39 +2 06-07 CGY 81 34 43 77 +21
As you can see, Huselius' pre-Calgary numbers were horrible. Only after the trade did Huselius produce like he was expected to when he came over from Sweden.
With the Salary Cap hovering over the Pittsburgh Penguins like a dark cloud over a Sunday picnic (cue dark and evil background muzak), many pundits and fans have wondered if the Penguins will be able to keep the dynamic duo of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby together for the long-term. Given the Penguins are having to spend big bucks to keep the likes of Ryan Whitney and Marc-Andre Fleury in the fold, can and will the Penguins be able to have enough cap room to keep Malkin while icing a successful club?
When you think of what it would take to play in the Russian Super league, if you ever do, what do you think of?
As I grow older and more mature (stop snickering), I'm beginning to see the folly of a team, on Deadline Day, spending major assets for a playoff rental. Yes, D-Day is always hyped to the max, and gets fans drooling at the prospect of seeing their team get the likes of Marian Hossa, Peter Forsberg, or Mats Sundin to put their team over the top.
Ask any coach of his from his checkered past, and you'll likely find out that Brad Isbister is one of the most frustrating players they have ever had the misfortune of coaching.
Well, the old dog is back! The Calgary Flames, one of about four teams chasing after the old pup, 
Last night's tilt 
With his recent play at the does-anyone-watch-this? Spengler Cup over in Davos, Switzerland, 
Not too long ago, there was talk that the Ducks might let go of high-priced J-S Giguere, and go with the much cheaper Ilya Bryzgalov as their #1 goalie.
Despite all of 
Back when Kristian Huselius was a member of the Florida Panthers, coach "Iron Mike" Keenan made it a point to put the Swedish sniper in his permanent doghouse. Despite Huselius' slick stick-handling skills, boyish looks, and crisp play-making abilities, his game never got off the ground during his time in Florida.
