July 26, 2014
Michael Amato
2014-07-26
If you're in the Greater Toronto Area come check out the Dobber Hockey event happening this Tuesday night. Details here.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender James Reimer avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a two-year deal worth a reported $2.3 million per season. That doesn't necessarily mean all is well in Toronto for Reimer. He's clearly the number two behind Jonathan Bernier and he could still very well be traded. The Winnipeg Jets come to mind.
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If you are looking for some under the radar forwards to steal in your draft next year, the Arizona Coyotes may be a good place to look. With Mike Ribeiro and Radim Vrbata departed, that's going to leave some opportunities in the top six to capitalize on. Of course Sam Gagner has joined the team and will fill one of the spots, but there is a chance for someone to step up and grab maybe a second line winger role.
If we assume the line of Shane Doan, Antoine Vermette, and Mikkel Boedker will stay together, then that leaves Gagner and Martin Hanzal as the other centers.
Perhaps Martin Erat recaptures his 20-goal form playing with Gagner or Hanzal, or maybe Joe Vitale and Lauri Korpikoski get a look on the second line. If Vitale could ever become a 40-point player he would be a solid option because of his PIM, but that's probably wishful thinking at this point and his lack of offensive production is likely going to keep him in the bottom six. However, Korpikoski isn't too far removed from 19 and 17-goal campaigns, so if he gets a chance with Gagner and Erat let's say, there might be some upside to consider.
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There was an interesting story recently on Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock and looking at the possibility that some free agents may want to avoid the organization because of his coaching style. This time around Babcock is chiming in on the topic of advanced stats and how he is warming up to them.