June 05, 2010
Dobber Sports
2010-06-05
Dobber here – TSN is reporting that Columbus has offered Guy Boucher the coaching job. The coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs favors run-and-gun hockey and doesn’t mind small players, judging by the fact that the top scorers for Hamilton were David Descharnais and Brock Trotter. I’m still holding firm in my opinion that this will be a big year for key players such as Derick Brassard, Jakub Voracek, Nikita Filatov and Kristian Huselius.
The Bruins have signed defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to a four-year extension. The contract carries a very reasonable cap hit of $3.25 million. Seidenberg is a very solid two-way defenseman, and he looked great alongside Zdeno Chara after coming over from Florida at the deadline.
Boston’s defense is getting pretty full (and expensive). Does this mean they don’t plan on re-signing Johnny Boychuk? Perhaps they try and move Dennis Wideman?
The Columbus Blue Jackets are hoping to name Guy Boucher their next head coach. If Boucher agrees to a contract, it is great news for all of their young players. Boucher has coached Derrick Brassard before in the QMJHL, and the familiarity there should help the young pivot.
The Prospects Report can be purchased here.
Arron Asham has done a ton this postseason to raise his value this summer. He is a UFA and is the prototypical fourth line player in the new NHL. He can skate, score, defend, and fight. If he had hands, he'd probably be a second liner (although you could probably say the same thing about quite a few depth guys in the NHL). He probably won't get better linemates than JVR and Giroux anywhere else in the league, but he may get some more ice time. I could potentially see 30-35 points and 150+ PIM in the right situation.
Patrick Kane was minus-4 last night. He's been completely ineffective against Philadelphia's big four on defence.
Chris Pronger has done a great job neutering… I mean neutralizing Dustin Byfuglien's size as an asset. Big Buff did manage to throw his body around last night, but Pronger is outclassing him in every other facet of the game. I was shocked that people actually expected a glorified second line winger to have the edge pre-series against one of the nastiest (and smartest) defensemen in NHL history.
Braydon Coburn was a minus-two, but I thought he had a very strong game. His skating ability has been a massive bonus against Chicago's quick forecheck. Philadelphia will have to dig deep if they want to re-sign him this summer (he's an RFA so they have at least some power).
Villie Leino played less than 12 minutes, as he missed a big chunk in the middle of the game after being steamrolled by Chicago's $7 million dollar man (who has four points this postseason – including his first goal last night).
Over-under: 60 points for Jamie Benn in 2010-11?
Working on an article for the draft – top 10 surprise trades we could see? How does a Price-for-Paajarvi-Svensson swap sound?
If Ice Edge becomes the owner of the Coyotes, they will push for the team to be renamed to the Arizona Coyotes. Perhaps the Glendale Coyotes would be more fitting?
Tomas Holmstrom's new extension has been confirmed with a $1.875 million cap hit per year. He could have fetched at least double on the open market.
How does Ben Eager NOT get called for charging? Every single hit I have ever seen him throw in his NHL career is a charge. He leaves his feet as well on basically every hit to make matters worse.
The Penguins asked Cam Fowler the following question during the NHL Combine – "if North Korea invaded your town, which family member would you leave behind?" Uh….
Claude Giroux is having a series for the ages:
As Don Cherry would say… bawango!