July 31, 2013

Dobber Sports

2013-07-31


The Panthers signed Scott Gomez to a one-year deal reportedly worth $900K. Pretty inconsequential as far as fantasy goes since it's been quite some time since Gomez was relevant in that area, but he does provide some veteran leadership to Florida.


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It might sound crazy to some, but I think Jarome Iginla has the capabilities to post a 30-35 goal season in 2013-14. Despite his age, he would actually make a lot of sense to be used as a replacement for Nathan Horton on the top line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic.

 

Not only that, but the Bruins actually had a pretty atrocious power play last season ranking 26th in the NHL. Iginla figures to get plenty of chances with the man advantage to help Boston improve in that area.

 

Of course the Bruins also have to work in Loui Eriksson in their top six, but he might fit better on the second unit with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. That trio could make up one of the most defensive-minded and difficult lines to play against in all of hockey.

 

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Alex Edler received an additional two games for his knee-on-knee hit on Eric Staal back at the World Hockey Championships. The two games will have to be served during the Olympics and it will be interesting to see if that plays a role in Sweden's decision to take him or not. He would be back in time for the medal round, but do they take a longer look at bubble defensemen like Jonathan Ericsson, Erik Gustafsson, or Jonas Brodin instead?

 

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One thing that Bobby Ryan will have to adjust to in Ottawa is the microscope he will now be under. Playing in Anaheim has the added benefit of being out of the spotlight and moving to a city with the amount of coverage the Sens constantly get is certainly a challenge for a player new to that type of environment.   

 

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Ryan Callahan said this week that there is a chance he may not be ready to go for the start of the season because of off-season shoulder surgery. It doesn't sound like it will keep him out of the line-up for long, but shoulders are tricky when it comes to timetables so it's still something to keep an eye on. He has really emerged as the emotional catalyst for the Rangers.

 

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With the Leafs agreeing to terms with Mark Fraser on a one-year $1.275M deal yesterday, it could open the door for the team to buyout John-Michael Liles. Toronto would have a two-day window from August 2-4th to buy him out and it would give the Leafs an additional $2.5M of cap space to work with this season. The $4.6M they have available now isn't going to be enough to get both Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson signed, so parting with Liles who was at one point scratched for 12 straight games last season makes a lot of sense.

 

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This has to be the year that Florida hands the net over to Jacob Markstrom doesn't it? The Panthers shouldn't be very strong in the standings, so playing someone like Scott Clemmensen extensively wouldn't serve much of a purpose. They would be better off seeing what they have in Markstrom and letting him develop at the NHL level for a full campaign.

 

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This Puck Daddy piece details how Marc Staal is finally feeling normal again after suffering that gruesome eye injury. It also helped speed up the process for grandfathering in mandatory visors, which in my opinion was long overdue. Players in college and junior are already used to wearing them, and by grandfathering them in it shouldn't anger any current players not wearing them as they still have an option to choose.  

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Staal was included in Canada's Olympic invite list and although he is in tough to make the team, if he could sneak on it would be a nice ending to a scary stretch that could have cost him his eye.

 

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The Chicago Blackhawks are planning to sell small pieces of the United Center ice from this season. Normally I wouldn't pass up a chance to bash the NHL or one of its teams for trying to earn a buck in a borderline ridiculous way, but this is actually pretty damn cool and for charity.

 

 

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It will be a telling season for the Anaheim Ducks between the pipes in 2013-14. The organization is rich in net at the moment with four goalies that could be deemed as assets. Jonas Hiller and Viktor Fasth performed admirably in goal last year, and youngsters Frederik Andersen and John Gibson seem destined for NHL play sooner rather than later.

 

Anaheim should probably move one netminder at some point next season if they can. Hiller is heading into the final year of a deal that is set to pay him $4.5M and Fasth is locked up for two more years at $2.9M. Fasth was arguably better than Hiller last year, although still a little inexperienced when it comes to the NHL.

 

If they can get something solid in return for Hiller it would be smart to let him go. Gibson is still probably another year away, but the most interesting piece could end up being Andersen. He posted a .929 save percentage with Norfolk of the AHL in 2012-13 to go along with a 2.19 goals against average. Moving Hiller could create a chain reaction that allows Gibson to get some quality time in the AHL next season and Andersen to do the same at the NHL level.

 

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Great stuff here from Sean McIndoe with this post for Grantland on the Leafs off-season transactions that have been highly questionable. Some of which have paved the way for the possibility of having to consider dealing emerging defenseman Cody Franson. A move that would go against just about everything that resembles logic.

 

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A couple of NHLers are now KHL bound. Tim Brent, formerly of failed Leaf forwards used on the point during the power play fame, signed with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Kurtis Foster also inked a deal with Medvescak Zagreb.

 

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Cool post by Allan Muir of Sports Illustrated on the 12 best hockey commercials of all time. However, the fact that the antics of cab driving/grass cutting goalie Francois Dupuy weren't included is a travesty.  

 

Feel free to follow me on Twitter at @amato_mike

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