I know it’s a short month and all, but it isn’t January any more, but there’s still hockey to be talked about (and in my world, there’s always hockey to be talked about).
Regarding both Franzen’s 5 goals and the Johnson/DiPietro fight, all I can say is WTF?
More importantly, my Habs have just won two back-to-back games to start off the “real” season, which is awesome. They play their Super Bowl weekend matinees this weekend against the Rangers and Devils
Also, the trade deadline is approaching. Who will make a move? Who will stay put? Who will cripple their franchise’s future for the next decade by giving away top draft picks for the next Phil Kessel?
Gonna bravely go out on a limb here and say the Devils. I’m thinking Jason Arnott and perhaps Johan Hedberg will waive their NTCs to go to a contender… and both could bring back some decent value. I also wouldn’t be surprised if David Clarkson were traded.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Florida got a nice haul from someone like Philadelphia or Detroit for Vokoun.
Keeping in mind that the sample size would ideally be larger (he only captured data since the lockout–5.5 years) and that the data was compiled by a fan of one of the teams that seemingly gets shafted… it does point to an interesting trend.
I would like to see, as one of the posters in the thread suggests, a different comparison that uses a team’s monetary/ratings value rather than just the age of the franchise. I suspect there would be a stronger case for bias there…
Ottawa’s going to blow the team up. Seeing as they seem to be locked in on a bottom 5 spot this season, it’s the right move to make. Supposedly anybody on the team not named “Karlsson” is available, although IMO trading Spezza would be a gigantic mistake that would set the team back years, especially given that we’d get pennies on the dollar like we did with Heatley. Even Alfredsson is said to be available if he’s willing to be traded. His wife is pregnant, so the smart money is that he’s not going to go anywhere.
Don’t expect to see the Canucks making any major trade deals. They have it on right now, and few players would be both good and cheap enough to fit in with them right now.
Salo has been out all year, might come back soon. Edler just went out for back surgery. But both these guys might be back in time for playoffs - maybe. If management things that unlikely, the Canucks then might make a move for a D-guy. On the other hand I’m amazed by the play of the two rookie D’s skating on their line up right now - Sweatt and Tanev. Both are doing great for having about a combined 7 games.
And how about Kesler - having an awesome year! Great year to be a Canucks fan - riding on top is an unfamiliar but fun place to be. And being in the lead during most games is a relaxing way to see a game.
Bring on Chicago this Friday, and we’ll get rid of those demons too.
Having read that really quickly, that looks like a giant pile of terrible statistics. That graph in particular was meaningless, (the linear correlation for the Perpetrators seems about as nonexistant as that for the Victims), and the data doesn’t reflect the fact that Hockey Operations only reviews events that also had a penalty called on the ice - and there’s a lot of anecdotal data suggesting there’s a bias going the other way for that side of it.
Montreal is having fun bitching about the total lack of hype over the Heritage Classic; the Winter Classic got months of promotion, a tv show, and was pretty much shoved down everyone’s throat as the best thing since sliced bread. The Heritage Classic hype involves an ice-making truck visiting Canadian Tire stores starting in Toronto and going west (observe: Montreal is playing in the game, Montreal is east of Toronto). Conclusion: the NHL hates Canada, and hates the Habs the most.
He only looked at “the 130 suspensions handed down since the lockout (2005-6 season to present) for on-ice violence between players which required judgment from Hockey Operations. I excluded statutory suspensions, such as the automatic one for taking an Instigator penalty in the last five minutes of a game, etc.”
He was just trying to tease out whether or not the decisions to suspend a player or not was at all related to what team they played for.
Regardless, I linked it to spark discussion. One would be wrong to draw any type of strong opinions from such a simple study, but it does point toward there perhaps being something to the thought. After all, we all know there is bias within HO… so just how deep does it run and what is its genesis?
That is, is it just personal like we saw from Colin Campbell in regards to his son, or is it more nefarious involving certain teams and/or players for whatever reason?
Doubtful Detroit will make much noise before the trade deadline. They’ve zip for cap room (the steal of a deal for Nabokov was all of our cap room) and I don’t think there are many players they’d part with. The recent injuries proved how valuable some of our role players are and how much doo-doo we’d be in if we started trading them off. Only player I can see being moved would be Hudler, but I can’t see him getting a lot in return and he’s not eating much cap either.
For good or for ill, I think Detroit will stand pat at the deadline unless one of the bottom feeders offers them a deal they can’t refuse.
I am wondering whether or not the Devils will trade a player or two or go full-on fire sale.
I’m am sure they are looking hard at what Goalie options are out there, and a few of the young guys have shown NHL talent and might be at a premium right now. I doubt they will find anything to their liking, because any goalie they would want would be to hard to fit under the cap(unless they trade a bag of pucks for Nabokov )
… So I guess you could say that this game has had an exciting start.
As for the bigger picture, the Bruins are looking pretty good at this point. Thomas has continued to play great in net, and the offense is looking better as the season goes on. I doubt they’ll make much more than a token move at the deadline, if that; one of the big strengths has been the chemistry and the way the lines have all worked together.
Capgeek isn’t working right now, but if I recall, Vokoun is in the last year of a deal and makes about $4.7m. Prorated for 30 games that comes out to about $1.7m. They couldn’t make that work?
Arnott and Hedberg are about the only movable players with any value. Some GM might think he can do something with Clarkson, and Zubrus has been making a case for himself lately, but otherwise the rest of the team are either “core” players, have burdensome contracts/NTCs or are borderline NHL players.
Their past success (playoffs notwithstanding) with a similar roster and their recent surge show that they have many of the pieces and that their stinkitude lies heavily with having gone with the wrong coach to start the season… so I don’t think they’ll blow the team up, but instead look to bolster the system with picks and prospects for the few tradeable players they have (can I interest anyone in a resurgent Brian Rolston?).
The question on every Devils fan’s mind is, who will the next coach be?
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