The problem with being a hockey goalie prospect is that there are so few job openings for your position. Each team carries 13 forwards and seven defensemen, but usually only two goalies. It's kind of hard to crack the big time when only 60+ positions are open at any time.
For the Wings' Jimmy Howard, it must have been a huge relief to see Dominik Hasek retire and open up a job within the NHL ranks. No prospect, no matter how good there are, is going to get a lot of playing time when Chris Osgood and Hasek are on the roster.
"I think Jimmy Howard is very close, if not there, to playing in the NHL," Holland said. "I'm guessing Ozzie can play 50 games, maybe more. The 20-30 games that Chris doesn't play in a parity league, those are key points. The hardest thing is, we're trying to continue to be a Cup contender. How do you move young people into your team at a key position?"
The Wings have always had the mentality of breaking in their kids slowly, giving the likes of Jiri Hudler and Nicklas Kronwall tidbits of ice time while the old guys got the bulk of the work.
In Howard's case, he certainly shouldn't count on the Wings' backup job being his, given that there are a few factors working against him.
One thing that I have always enjoyed about the NHL Playoffs are those blue-collar plumbers and grinders that go on an incredible streak and get a little bit of limelight to themselves. Guys like Chris Kontos, Dave Lowry, and John Druce were typically third line players that got little notice through most of their careers, but earned some fame for some unexpected playoff heroics.
As a Panthers fan, back in 1996, I'll never forget Dave Lowry leading the Panthers in playoff scoring with 17 points and 10 goals. This, after scoring just 24 points during the whole season. Yowsa!
This season, Detroit's Johan "Mule" Franzen has leaped into Conn Smythe contention with 11(!) goals, three assists, and +9 in 13 games, including two hat tricks. Not bad for a guy who had just 27 goals and 38 points in 72 games during the regular season.
Even more impressive is that Franzen's 11 goals scored is a Red Wings record for one playoff year. That's quite a feat, given the Wings have had many great postseason performers, such as Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Brendan Shanahan.
The Mule still has one or two more series to go, and just may put that team record out of reach for good.
We must never forget that a NHL season is 82 games, and many things can happen over the course of such a long stretch. Today's darling is tomorrow's forgotten has-been.
Sure, teams and players go on hot and cold streaks, but the true nature of the beast, in terms of statistical measures, tends to show itself as more and more games are played. Just think of NBA Jam or Super Mario Kart and the 'Rubber Band AI' that tends to smooth out things like peanut butter. Goalies that I had panned or praised earlier in the season look like far different animals now that the cage has been opened.
Miikka Kiprusoff is a perfect example of the peanut butter theory, as he's now worked his save percentage to a just-below average 90.5%, up from the depth of the 88's that he was sporting earlier this season.
Not long after signing a lengthy contract extension, Kiprusoff started the season in a serious funk. It was if Kipper completely lost his game, and aged 10 years in one day.
As we've seen recently, however, Kipper has been above average since in the New Year, and one more solid month should bring his overall numbers to at least average.
Great? No, but at least he's back to a respectable level, and is playing well at the best time to be doing so. One could deduce that the Flames can expect a 91.5SV% goaltender come playoff time.
Darren McCarty, the 35-year old former Red Wing "Grind Liner" and part-time rock star, isn't ready to give up the lifestyle of a pro hockey player just yet.
"I want to play for sure," he told The News. "I'd like to give it a shot and catch on with somebody and play. I think I can still play. I still think I can bring something to the team --- that intangible stuff, leadership, a spark.
"I'm willing to start at the bottom and work my way up, prove myself. I still think there's gas in the tank."
I'm guessing McCarty's motives are mainly financial, given that he went into bankruptcy (thanks to some gambling debts) and got divorced.
What else does McCarty bring other than 'intangibles', now that he is clearly well past his prime?
Last season, McCarty didn't score a single point in 32 games with the Flames. The prior two seasons? Just 24 points in 110 games. There certainly isn't much tangible, other than nasty-looking facial hair.
I understand McCarty's popularity and why people will pull for him to succeed, but I'd be hard-pressed to find an NHL club that could really use somebody to does a whole lot of nothing. McCarty doesn't really fight a lot, or that effectively, and his lone positive attribute appears to be laying the occasional hit. I'd be shocked if McCarty played another NHL game, but stranger things have happened ...
Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.
It wasn't so long ago that Pascal Leclaire was a struggling young goaltender who let in more things between his legs than a Parisian call girl. All of a sudden, Leclaire is stingier than Scrooge McDuck and continues to pile up the shutouts.
Last night was blank sheet #7 (a 2-0 win over the Thrashees) for the young Blue Jackets netminder this season, continuing a string of dominating performances that Pascal has put out since the season started.
At 25 years of age, Leclaire is at the point where most goalies are just starting to establish themselves. It shouldn't be a surprise that Leclaire is finally showing his potential, even after years of being shell-shocked behind a poor Jackets D. With his skill-set, Leclaire should be able to maintain a high level of performance as long as his team can continue to play a stifling style for coach Ken Hitchcock.
What a difference a year can make ... from struggling goalie to Vezina candidate.
We're near the quarter point of this fine NHL season, so let's have a peek at some statistical odds and ends, trends, and other useless information you can impress your co-workers with.
While no coach would have much of a reason to put Jamal Mayers on the power-play, it's quite amazing that Mayers has played 532 NHL games and never had a single goal with the man advantage (63 career goals in that time). Not one! Even Donald Brashear, a man with far less offensive skill, has four power-play goals in his 'distinguished' career.
Are the refs asleep on Long Island? The New York Islanders have both the least amount of power-play opportunities for (67) and against (69). Meanwhile, the Ducks have the second most power-plays with 107 and most against with 111. So much for that laid-back West Coast mentality.
When the Detroit Red Wings won a Stanley Cup with Chris Osgood as their #1 goaltender many moons ago, many opined (including myself) that Osgood was, perhaps, the worst #1 goalie of a Cup winner, ever. This season, the Wings are rolling, despite having not getting good goaltending. With Osgood filling in for Dominik Hasek, who is injured again, the Wings have the 5th worst save percentage with 89.3%, but still have a 14-5-1 record. Go figure.
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?
His new destination? Detroit Red Wings, the division rival with which he started out his long NHL career.
"He's a very physical player who will add grit to our lineup and make our team even more difficult to play against," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said in a statement. "He's a veteran player, and you can never have enough experience and leadership on a team."
At this point in his career, Dallas Drake is an absolute zero on offence.
SEASON TEAM GP G A PTS 03-04 STL 79 13 22 35 05-06 STL 62 2 24 26 06-07 STL 60 6 6 12
The benefit? Dallas Drake can still kill penalties (he led Blues' forwards in PK time last season), get under the skin of opposing players, and generally be a pain in the ass.
Detroit has always been extremely good at bringing in tossed-away players (Larry Murphy, Joey Kocur, and Daniel Cleary, for example) and getting the most out of them in specific roles. Just don't expect more than 10-15 points.
It appears that the Red Wings have suffered a big blow to their chances against the Anaheim Ducks. Stalwart defenseman Mathieu Schneider apparently suffered a broken wrist in Game Five vs. the San Jose Sharks, and will not be available in the 3rd round series.
Red Wings defenseman Mathieu Schneider broke his wrist in the first period of Detroit's Game 5 victory over San Jose on Saturday in the Western Conference semifinals, knocking him out of the remainder of the playoffs.
Schneider, who scored the overtime goal in San Jose on Wednesday night that evened the series at 2, was hurt when checked by Sharks captain Patrick Marleau.
"He's a big part of our game. He's a top-four defenseman who plays a lot of minutes," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "He's a big part of our power play, so yeah, he'll be missed."
While the Wings have good depth on the blueline, Schneider's offence (52 points in 68 games this season) will be impossible to replicate.
As my AOL colleague James Mirtle notes, the Wings were forced to use forward Mikael Samuelsson on the point during Power Plays, as well as the ancient Chris Chelios. The Wings best hope in the series was to take advantage of the man advantages the Ducks were bound to give them. Without Schneider blasting bombs from the point, it's going to be hard for the Wings to have an effective Power Play unit.
Schneider plays almost 24 minutes of night, and his time will have to be distributed to poorer defensemen such as Brett Lebda and Kyle Quincey. Given the physicality of the Ducks' forwards, the Wings will be at a real disadvantage when these two youngsters are facing some immense pressure.
This will be a good test for Detroit's superior depth on D. Who knows? Maybe they can pull it together.
Holmstrom, like so many NHLers, suffered an eye injury due to his utter refusal to wear a VISOR. Yes, Holmstrom could have lost vision in one eye thanks to the lack of protection in that region of his body.
Holmstrom has been out since April 22, when Calgary's Craig Conroy hit him with his stick in Detroit's series-winning victory over the Flames. The left wing had 30 goals and 22 assists during the regular season, but missed the first three games against the Sharks.
Holmstrom lost vision in the eye on the night of the incident, and his sight remained cloudy for a few days while team doctors evaluated him. He wasn't allowed to skate or work out because the doctors feared the increased blood flow could cause further damage.
"Of course I was scared," said Holmstrom, who had just one assist in six games against Calgary. "They didn't know how badly injured the eye was. They didn't want to get the blood going and hurt the eye."
Although Holmstrom had just one lone assist in the series against Calgary, his big Swedish booty causes major problems for opposing goaltenders and defenders alike.
The Wings are just 1-for-10 on the Power Play against the Sharks, and don't have anyone else nearly as effective as Holmstrom at creating havoc.
Bertuzzi? He's now a finesse forward, apparently ... Evgeni Nabokov can expect some blocked vision in the hours to come.
The problem with being a hockey goalie prospect is that there are so few job openings for your position. Each team carries 13 forwards and seven defensemen, but usually only two goalies. It's kind of hard to crack the big time when only 60+ positions are open at any time.
One thing that I have always enjoyed about the NHL Playoffs are those blue-collar plumbers and grinders that go on an incredible streak and get a little bit of limelight to themselves. Guys like Chris Kontos, Dave Lowry, and John Druce were typically third line players that got little notice through most of their careers, but earned some fame for some unexpected playoff heroics. 
We must never forget that a NHL season is 82 games, and many things can happen over the course of such a long stretch. Today's darling is tomorrow's forgotten has-been.
Every day from Monday to Saturday, 
We're near the quarter point of this fine NHL season, so let's have a peek at some statistical odds and ends, trends, and other useless information you can impress your co-workers with.
It didn't take "Dirty" Dallas Drake long to find work 
It appears that the Red Wings have suffered a big blow to their chances against the Anaheim Ducks. Stalwart defenseman Mathieu Schneider apparently 
Some good news for Wings fans as Tomas Holmstrom, who has missed the first three games of the Sharks/Wings series, 
