Goldie here - the Colorado Avalanche chose to NOT re-sign Peter Delmas. I'm very surprised by this, as I have witnessed a rise in Delmas' speed and skill at every training camp since he was drafted. As such, he will re-enter the NHL draft and probably play one more year in the QMJHL. Travis Hamonic has put pen [...]
It took me a while to figure out how to tackle this list. The selection process for my previous four keeper lists – top ten centers, left wingers, right wingers, and defensemen – has been relatively straight forward. Using a one-to-three season window, the best talents at each position were ranked (according to standard fantasy hockey categories). Secondary statistics, like shots on goal, plus-minus, and penalty minutes, are much easier to fill with the later round picks (in my experience, at least). With your top guys, you generally want to get the players who will maximize your goals and assists categories.
The 74th IIHF World Championship (WC) wrapped up on Sunday, with the Czechs prying the gold medal from the two-time defending Russian champs. Germany played host this time around, and for you trivia buffs, the world record for attendance at a hockey match was set when almost 78 000 watched the German national squad defeat the US on May 7th. If you didn’t catch this year’s version of the annual WC tournament, read on to see what you missed.
Goldie here - the Preds have signed Anders Lindback to a new entry-level deal and he's expected to play in North America for the 2010-11 season. Good move. Also the Sens have re-signed Mike Brodeur to a new one-year deal. Another good move. Expect him to see some NHL action and some consecutive starts if Leclaire has another band-aid season. [...]
Here are the individual and averaged predicitions for the 2010 Stanley Cup Final from Dobber, Angus, Bugg, Ma, Miller, and more! The panel's consensus picks were 12-3 last year, and we boast an impressive 34-11 record over the past three seasons! However, this season the panel has struggled a bit. Matt Bugg has been the most successful, going 10-4 through the first three rounds.
Steve Johnson, Marty Kwiaton, Chris Boyle, Justin Goldman, and Ian Fergusson all picked Chicago to make the Final before the playoffs began. None of the experts had Philadelphia emerging from the East. Of those who picked Chicago, Steve was the only one who had them winning it all.
At 3 o'clock this afternoon, the Lightning will introduce Steve Yzerman as their new GM. What a brilliant move and they were right to pursue him hard. Not because he is the greatest available GM, but because of the intangibles. He put them off again and again and they just kept bringing him back [...]
There are many moments during a game when a skater can afford the luxury of taking their eyes off the play. They can catch some air in the penalty box, quickly re-tie their skates or re-tape their stick on the bench or even take the rare shift off to recover from a gut-wrenching blocked shot.
Not so for a goaltender. They must be so attuned to the puck’s movement that even the most sudden bounces must be stopped. Juicy rebounds off lively back-plates, crazy caroms off the glass, deflections, re-directions, hard shots from bad angles – it doesn’t matter. If the goalie sees the puck, he must effectively make saves, control rebounds, recover quickly and be ready for the next shot. (*1)
Back from Mexico and have spent the morning getting my head back in the game. I spent an hour yesterday running through the week in hockey while I awaited my plane, so at least I wasn't coming in completely cold. I'm pretty shocked that the Sharks were swept - I know it's shocking news [...]
Ville Leino has been one of Philadelphia’s best players in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He was acquired back in February from Detroit for next to nothing (no offense to Ole-Kristian Tollefsen), and not much was expected of him. He came over to Detroit from Finland in 2008 after recording 77 points in only 58 games for Jokerit of the SM-liiga. He showed flashes of skill during his two years with the Red Wings, but the production wasn’t there (only 16 points in 55 games as a Red Wing).
Where does he go from here? Has Leino simply caught fire at the right time of year, or should we be expecting more from him in 2010-11 and beyond?
Follow Alessandro Seren Rosso's live blog during the Russia/Czech Republic Gold Medal game today! Jeff Carter played less than 14 minutes last night, and was held without a point. Philadelphia is obviously going to slowly increase Carter's ice time - the last thing they want is for him to re-aggrivate his injury. [...]
