NHL and other hockey related posts.
Ok. I gave you my Eastern Conference preview. I like the Captials to win the regular season, but I don’t see them getting past the second round of the playoffs. I think the East will be a crapshoot again this season. Much like 2009-10 when the Flyers came outta nowhere to win a trip to the finals.
The West however, is another story. There are some great teams and a ton of talent. The top-five will have to punch each other out for a chance at Lord Stanley. Here is how I see it.
It is finally hockey season. Here is a look at how I think things are going to shake out in order of conference finish.
Eastern Conference Continue reading
SI.com put together a really cool number ranking for the NHL. It chronicles the best player to wear each number. Plenty of no-names up there wearing numbers like 98, 73 and the likes of that. But, it is still pretty cool. I’m not sure who they choose for number 99….
One of Chicago’s Stanley Cup heroes has found a new home. Antti Niemi agreed to a one-year deal with San Jose. Sportsnet has the details.
This is an interesting signing considering the Sharks brought in Antero Niittymaki early in free agency. With Thomas Griess waiting in the wings for the past few years, there seemed to be little need for another goaltender on the roster. Albeit, Griess doesn’t seem to have IT – if you ask me.
I am a big Niittymaki fan and he and Niemi will be great in tandem and the Fins will likely have great rapport in the locker room as well.
Look for San Jose to move either Griess or, although unlikely, Niittymaki before the start of the season. They have invested far too much into Griess to waste him in the AHL for yet another season.
The NHL held it’s first research and development camp last week in Toronto. The camp featured some of the top prospects on-ice trying out some new ideas that the league office has thought up.
Some of the ideas are rather strange, some are ingenious and some are downright ridiculous. TSN has the details (and a second article).
I’m not even talking about the recent R&D Camp that took place in Toronto. Numerous changes to the game were tested by the league in hopes that some may take hold and make the game better in the future.
The rule changes I am talking about will be instituted for the 2010-11 season.
The first tiebreaker will be a combination of regulation time and overtime victories, with shootout wins excluded, according to the online report.
In the past, the first tiebreaker had been total wins of any kind.
This is a wise choice for the NHL. The new rule will place more emphasis on the team portion of the game without sacrificing the history of the game by changing the point system. Now, say the Red Wings finish the season 42-28-12 with 96 points and the Blues finish 42-28-12 but the Blues had four more shootout wins, the Wings would win the tiebreaker.
I think this type of change is what the NHL needs to stick with. The same can be said for some of the proposed rules pitched at the R&D Camp. If the integrity and history of the sport are sacrificed there is a chance to lose fans. But, if the rich history of this great sport is maintained while improving the overall product, the NHL will benefit.
The NHL has overturned the obnoxiously enormous contract that the New Jersey Devils awarded to Ilya Kovalchuk.
Now the league is looking into every ludicrous deal that was agreed upon over the past couple seasons. Among the players whose deals are being reviewed are; Philadelphia’s Chris Pronger, Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo, Boston’s Marc Savard and Chicago’s Marian Hossa. Here is the TSN story with all the details.
Pardon my French, but seriously. How awful are the uniforms – well, Calgary’s at least – for this year’s Heritage Classic?
I have never been a Max Talbot fan. I loved when he fought Dan Carcillo in the 2009 playoffs and held his finger to the Wachovia Center crowd. That was great. But, on the whole, I’m not a huge fan of his.
So, Ilya Kovalchuk’s ridiculous contract was nixed by the NHL. Some sources (Scott Burnside) say it was nullified before the news conference but, the Devils went ahead and announced it anyway.
It was a bad deal, borderline cheating. But, the Chris Pronger and Marian Hossa deal are just as bad, and the league did nothing about them. So, why is Kovalchuk the example?
Personally, I think it is the right thing to do for the NHL. This ridiculous contract structuring needs to be stopped. Unfortunately Lucky Lou wasn’t so this time around. Hopefully he turns around and gives the guy an actual contract – one that gives him the term he is looking for, plus the right annual earnings. Maybe they can keep it under ten years too.
Better yet, maybe the Kings swoop in at the 11th hour to steal the big fish back.
Two in the Box 