Monday, February 25, 2013

Power Rankings

                                                           


1) Yes, as promised our first installment of  our Power Rankings, where we rank each NHL team 1-30 based upon overall records, and weighting recent play a tad more heavily to give a more up to date/accurate measure of where each team stands as of today, approximately 1/3+ the way through the abbreviated 2013 campaign
  1. Chicago: Have yet to lose a game in regulation this season!  Seem to be motivated to get back to the pinnacle of the league once again. Biggest surprise is how good the goaltending tandem of Crawford/Emery is doing thus far. Many expected this to be a team weakness. Not so far! Have to be every one's Cup favourites!
  2. Anaheim: Can you say Adams Trophy for Bruce Boudreau?  As many will correctly point out, coaches look as good as their goalies play. No difference here. Swedish import Victor Fasth, is off to a Fasth (sorry) start. 8-0 and lights out stats for a guy not expected to play much.  Key will be continuing to get production from old Finn Sellanne/Koivu.
  3. Pittsburgh: The best team in the East right now. Only potential issue is the Malkin concussion. However this team has shown in the past that they can withstand injuries to their top 2.  Crosby has been as dominant as ever, and Neal, despite his defensive liabilities, is the scoring wing the team has lacked in previous seasons.  Will be tough to beat from here on out if malkin comes back healthy
  4. Boston: They may not be scoring a ton of goals like the 3 teams above them, but who needs to when your #1 goalie, Tukka Rask has a save % of .925!?  After a bit of a slow start the Bruins have been turning it on in recent weeks, and appear ready to fight for bragging rights as the team to beat in the East.
  5. Montreal:  No, that's not a typo, the Habs are playing as good as anyone right now. We figured they'd be better than last year and sneak into the post season, but not be a contender. Will be interesting if they can keep it up, especially with a long road trip upcoming. They have a nice blend of speed and depth at forward and if Markov stays healthy, have a decent defense as well.
  6. Detroit: After a bit of a shaky start the Red Wings appear to be about to put it together,  Hard to adjust to losing their captain and best defensemen in Lidstrom, but Niklas Kronwall seems ready to step up, at least offensively. The dynamic duo of Zeterburg and Datsyuk are playing as good as ever, They will need to get more consistent top goal tending from Howard to stay in the top 8 of a VERY competitive West
  7. Ottawa: Just when you leave them for dead, they just keep on winning. The losses of Michalek, Spezza and Karlsson haven't dampened their competitiveness. Doesn't hurt that Craig Anderson is playing as good as any goalie in the NHL with gaudy stats of a save % of .952 and a GAA under 1.50. Probably running away with the Vezina and perhaps even some Hart consideration if this continues.
  8. Vancouver: 'Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes'. The guy the fans wanted run out of town is now arguably their best player/reason they are where they are in the standings. Roberto Luongo. Gaining points in 8 of the 10 games he's played. Can/will they trade their #1 guy? It probably would be a good idea, and as we wrote a couple of weeks ago a deal is likely sooner than later. Will be interesting if they have second thoughts?
  9. New Jersey: Despite a recent slide, the Devils remain a top 10 team. Led by ageless Marty Brodeur, as well as 'ageless Patrick Elias and emerging top power forward David Clarkson the team continues to roll along.  A veritable no name defense in front of Brodeur along with the usual rolling of 3-4 good steady forward lines keep the Devs in all their games.
  10. St. Louis: Surprisingly have been inconsistent, especially when playing in front of the home crowd.  Some of the inconsistency can be found in the disappointing start to co-#1 goalie Brian Elliott who's stats compared with Halak are dreadful. They're gonna have to either play Elliott sparingly or he better improve his game else the Blues may actually find themselves on the outside of the playoffs despite having a solid roster
  11. Carolina: Another team, like St. Louis, that seems to have the jitters at home, but prove to be tough competition when the visitors. Seem to have turned a corner as of late, the duo of the Staal brothers is performing as advertised. If Cam Ward can find his game and play to his ability on a consistent basis the 'Canes will be tough to beat in the SE division
  12. Nashville: Where would this team be without super star goalie Pekke Rinne?  They simply can not score (as usual) sitting at 29th in the 30 team league. Meanwhile Rinne has lights out stats with a .931 save %.  If he ever got injured they'd be done. Can Bary Trotz (now the longest tenured NHL coach) pull more magic and get his goal starved team into the post season once again?
  13. Toronto: The Maple Leafs were not supposed to be a playoff team until they got Luongo, right?  Well, the duo of Scrivens and Reimer have been well more than adequate, making a trade for the aforementioned Canuck silly at this time. If Kessel can start to find the net like new Leaf van Reimsdyk, they will be an especially tough opponent for fellow Eastern teams.
  14. Dallas: Although they can score more readily than their fellow conference foe Preds, the Stars could ill afford an injury to their top goalie Kari Lehtonen. Since his injury they haven't been the same team. The Stars desperately need one of their two current goalies to step up else it won't matter that they can score if they keep giving up one more than their opponents! 
  15. Tampa Bay: The high flying/scoring Bolts appeared to have their heir apparent in net with the acquisition of  Anders Lindback.  However, thus far he hasn't been consistent and may have lost his starters job to journeyman Matt Garon.  Stamkos, St. Louis, etc simply can't score enough to win consistently if they don't also get top flight goaltending.
  16. San Jose: The Sharks after a hot start have fallen off the map!  Winning only once in the past 10 games. They are absolutely dreadful away from the Shark Tank. After starting on fire Marleau and Thornton are in major scoring skids.  If not for Niemi playing at the top of his game things could be even worse for the Sharks. While we don't think they are Cup contenders any longer, they should be better than this! 
  17. Phoenix: Take the desert Dogs out of Arizona and they are whimpering puppies, winning only 2 of their first 8 road games. Some of the reasons the Coyotes are struggling at times is the inconsistent tending of Mike Smith, as well as (now) over paid Shane Doan and Keith Yandl not scoring as much as their salaries require.
  18. Philadelphia: Another team that simply is not the same when they leave town. 4-8 on the road is not going to get them into the playoffs.  The good news is they are due for a home stand to help gain some ground. Injuries to Hartnell, Briere, Simmonds and now Read have also hurt them. And shocker, the goaltending hasn't been great. 
  19. Los Angeles:  Yes, the ole Stanley Cup hangover?  Haven't yet got their footing on the season, but we feel that once they start to score, and they should, they will ascend the West. They have a lot of home cooking upcoming that will help their standings position. Quick does need to up his game a bit as well if they are to be considered a threat to repeat 
  20. NY Rangers: Surprised to see the Blue shirts this low in our rankings. However very ordinary play, especially away from MSG have dropped them  to 10th in the competitive East. The Nash injury can't be used as a crutch as Brad Richards is looking/playing like Scott Gomez.  Nash only had 3 goals in his first 14 games. We figured the acquisition might upset the chemistry they had last year, but didn't think it would cause them to miss the post season!
  21. Minnesota: The high price tag additions of Parise/Suter were going to put the Wild over the top, right?  Thus far they have been a dud. Parise for his part is having a decent season, but Suter has yet to dent the twine and has had some defensive lapses at times. Another over priced commodity, Dany Heatly after a hot start has gone into hibernation. There are simply too many good teams out West for the Wild to get too far behind, so they better start winning, especially away from home, and soon!
  22. Calgary: The veteran-laden team has hung in there so far, but are not one of the better defensive teams so we doubt they will be in the mix much longer.  It will be especially tough if #1 goalie Mikka Kiprusoff continues to have knee problems. It may be time to disassemble the team and look towards a rebuild.   
  23. Winnipeg: Looks like they will finally get their wish and be moved out West. As they say, 'be careful what you wish for....'  Right now in the weaker, but competitive East the Jets are a playoff contender. Out West, well, probably not yet. It will be especially tough with the sub par goaltending the team has received from starter Ondrej Pavelec.  Kane, Wheeler and Ladd are certainly doing their jobs, unfortunately the goalies have not
  24. Edmonton: Almost exactly a .500 team. Not where we predicted. For some reason, oddly scoring has been difficult. Perhaps its time for the franchise to make a trade of one of their prized assets to change the dynamic/fill a hole?  Or wait it out. I think a turn around is very possible if the front office allows them time to grow together
  25. Washington: Have actually ascended to 25th from dead last if we did this rankings a week ago. Still are NOT a serous threat to make the playoffs. Anyone who thinks differently is deceiving themselves. Simply not enough(if any) players willing to get dirty/give the extra effort to win enough on talent alone. Inconsistent goaltending, especially early on helped sink their season. Time to change middle management?
  26. Colorado: For some reason have been different team away from Pepsi Center. Recent run of games has dropped them out of the top 8. The Landeskog injury and O'Reilly contract issue have probably hurt their scoring . Goaltending hasn't been bad, but not quite good enough either to make the Av's a top 8 team. We wouldn't put a fork in em' just yet though
  27. NY Islanders: If they played as well at the NVMC as they did on the road they'd be a top 5 team in the East. Offensively are doing fine. The duo of Taveres and Moulson are as good as any, but too many defensive lapses along with only mediocre goaltending have brought the team under .500. Interesting what they do with goalie for life Rick DiPietro.  If they 'compliance' buy him out to create cap space will bode well. If they keep him, or buy him out as to use cap space, bodes poorly 
  28. Florida:  'Team collage' performing right where we expected them. Winning but twice in their last 10 has probably dashed any playoff aspirations. A dearth of scoring along with average defense/goaltending equals a poor record.   Bright spot is Jon Huberdeau, but Fleishman, Weiss up front and Campbell and Kuba on the backline have been disappointments, if not out right dreadful.  Time for Jose Theodore to retire
  29. Buffalo: New coach, same results so far. The 2013 version on Montreal. Underachieving in a big way.  With a new front office could see them rebounding next season. Tyler Myers looks lost and needs someone to sit him down and get him a role and stick to it.  Vanek carried the team the first few weeks, but he can't do it alone. Ryan Miller has been good, but not good enough most nights.
  30. Columbus: In familiar territory, however as our post about the team said, finally there is REAL hope for an improvement in the future. Based upon their roster they are right where we expected.  Their goalies are average at best, and the team has trouble scoring most nights. That equates to a sub .500, likely another lottery pick,  finish.  

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Week 6 Results!

 With the completion of  yesterdays busy NHL schedule we went a mondane 7-5 to bring the season total to 36-26 or a .581 winning %. We did mange to win the LOck of the Week to elevate that stat to 4-2.  Look for our Week 7 picks next Saturday when 9 games on on the NHL schedule.  Additionally, we should have our first Power Rankings out early next week as we near the 1/3 mark. 
As always, keep it here for all the latest!

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Week 6 Picks!



1) A busy day/night in the National Hockey League where a full slate of 12 games are on tap.  We go into this week carrying a record of 29-21, or a .580 winning %. So without further ado, here are our picks

New Jersey at WashingtonDevils


Winnipeg at Philadelphia : Flyers
Phoenix at Edmonton: Oilers
Colorado at Los Angeles: Kings
NY Islanders at Buffalo: Sabres
NY Rangers at Montreal Habitants
Toronto at Ottawa Maple Leafs
Tampa Bay at Carolina Hurricanes
Nashville at Detroit Redwings

Columbus at St. Louis: Blues (Lock of The Week)
San Jose at Dallas: Stars
Minnesota at Calgary: Wild

Monday, February 18, 2013

Finally!

                                                                    


1) The first, and in my opinion most important move new president John Davidson has made is to can the failed GM Scott Howson, and to hire the well regarded Jarmo Kekalainen.   Kekalainen, who has been the president and general manager of Jokerit in the Finnish Elite League since 2010, becomes the third general manager in Blue Jackets history. Succeeding Paul McClean and Scott Howson. Both of whom failed miserably. The Jackets have made the playoffs ONCE n their history and are still waiting to win their first playoff game.  All despite a seemingly annual lottery pick, and interminable "rebuilds".  With the fan base restless/eroding, ownership brought in John Davidson earlier. He is lauded as having turned around the Blues(with the help of  Kekalainen who served as asst GM). 

2) On his resume, he most recently served as the Blues assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting and was involved in all facets of hockey operations, including professional scouting efforts and overseeing the club’s amateur scouting and draft preparations.  During his eight years in St. Louis, the Blues drafted players such as David Backes, Roman Polak, David Perron, T.J. Oshie, Patrick Berglund and Alex Pietrangelo. Unlike some GM's who have questionable experience running a business Kekalainen owns a bachelor’s degree in management from Clarkson University and earned a master’s in business marketing from the University of Tampere. So he's no dummy!  WE wish the Finn all the best in trying to turn around the moribund franchise into a winner. We feel that its very possible we'll see the Jackets finally rise to prominence and become a competitive, if not top notch team with Davidson and Kekalainen at the helm. Its too bad for the fans of Columbus they had to wait so long for professional/competent hockey people to take over their team.  (Are you listening Washington, NY Islanders, Toronto, and Calgary?)

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Week 5 Results

1) Finally!  We had a day we were looking for.  WE went an excellent 6-1, to bring the season record to 29-21, or a .580 winning %. Closer to our goal of .600.  We also picked our "lock" correct to bring that to 3-2 on the season.

2) Look for week 6's predictions next Saturday morning when we will choose the winners in  the scheduled 12 game slate.  Additionally look for our opinion piece on the Blue Jackets front office moves early this week. We possibly will also get our first Power rankings post out as well. As always, keep it here for all the latest!

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Week 5 Picks!

                                                      




1) Week number 5 is a relatively quiet affair compared to others in the schedule.  A mere 7 games are being played this afternoon and tonight. Thus far we have a less than stellar record of 23-20, or a .535 winning %.  We hope to improve significantly with the following games.  

Tampa Bay at Florida: Lightning 

Ottawa at Toronto: Maple Leafs 
Philadelphia at Montreal: Habitants 
New Jersey at NY Islanders: Islanders (Lock of The Week)
Anaheim at Nashville: Predators
Columbus at Phoenix: Coyotes
Colorado at Edmonton:  Oilers

Friday, February 15, 2013

OOps, He Did It Again!?!



1) With respects to Brittany Spear, its not the (former-?) female singer/entertainer/strumpet we're alluding to, but our old friend Matt Cooke. Of course most are familiar with his "exploits".  During his NHL career Cooke has been suspended for several much-criticized hits, some involving head-shots that injured opposing players, most notably ending Marc Savard's career in 2010. Cooke was probably an important factor influencing NHL rule changes intended to deter such hideous conduct.

2) To refresh memories here is a brief  "rap sheet" on 'Cookie'
  •  November 2008  he received a two game suspension for a check to the head of NY Ranger's Artem Anisimov.
  • 11/29/08 – Matt Cooke blind-sides Zach Parise into the bench. He chose to still hit him even though the bench door was open
  • In January 2009, he received another two game suspension for a hit to the head of Scott Walker.
  • 3/16/09 – Matt Cooke’s knee-on-knee hit on Zach Bogosian. Bogosian left the game in the 2nd period and did not return
  • 05/18/09 – Matt Cooke’s knee-on-knee hit on Erik Cole. In Game One of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals, the Hurricanes lost Erik Cole midway through the third period.  Matt Cooke caught him knee-on-knee in front of the Pittsburgh net. Cole managed to play only one shift after the hit.
  • 02/06/10 – Matt Cooke cross-checks Andrei Markov in the back from behind.
  •  March 7, 2010, in a game against the Boston Bruins Cooke delivered a blow to the head of Boston's Marc Savard, causing a concussion and Savard to miss almost two months. ( No suspension given!)
  • 11/26/10 – Matt Cooke drives Erik Karlsson’s head into the boards. (Remeber that name!)Cooke drives Karlsson’s head into the boards and knocks him out
  • 12/21/2010 – Matt Cooke elbows Coyotes deender, Keith Yandle in the head
  • 12/28/2010 – Matt Cooke elbows Evander Kane in the head. Here is what should happento Cooke after he tries this shit!----->  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLqpw_uKyds
  • 02/04/11 – Matt Cooke cheap-shots Buffalo's Steve Montador. In this incident, Cooke does a few gutless things. First, he cross-checks Jordan Leopold from behind after Leopold takes down one of his teammates. Next, after Steve Montador engages him, Cooke lands an overhand right punch to an unsuspecting Montador after the linesmen separate the two.
  • 02/06/2011 – Matt Cooke’s knee-on-knee hit on Alex Ovechkin. OV not injured, but pissed
  • February 9, 2011, Cooke was given a four-game suspension for a hit from behind on Blue Jackets' defenseman Fedor Tyutin
  • March 21,2011 Cooke was suspended for the final ten games of the Penguins regular season schedule as well as the first round of the playoffs stemming from an elbow to the head of New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh

  •  3) Yes, after the last suspension it appeared that Cooke had indeed 'learned his lesson' and 'changed his ways', etc. However, we all know leopards don't change their spots.  The hit to Karlsson (seen here http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/eye-on-hockey/21697901/video-erik-karlsson-suffers-lacerated-achilles-in-loss ) was no accident as many would like to argue. Although we admit no one can know what was in Cooke's mind at the time, we feel the preponderance of evidence and past wrong doings show a clear pattern.  No F-ing way does a player lift his boot and on to the back heel of another on such plays.  An accident with 99.99% of other NHL players. Cooke has "earned" NOT getting the benefit of the doubt. And if he wasn't intending to injure Karlsson, then screw you for attempting/succedding on injure so mnay others in your shit career!

    Wednesday, February 13, 2013

    At The Quarter Pole!

    1)  Yes, we understand it hardly feels as if the season just started, but for all intents and purposes most teams have played or nearly have played 25% of their scheduled games. So as has been our history the past few years, we publish our PROJECTED order of finish based upon current records. Obviously there is plenty of time for teams outside of the playoffs to get back in, but some trends are clearly becoming evident. This is NOT a Prediction!! We merely are projecting the 48 game season point total based upon each teams current point total/games played.


    2) First in the East:
    • Boston- 79
    • NJ- 70
    • Carolina- 60
    • Montreal-60
    • Toronto- 59
    • Ottawa-59
    • Pittsburgh-59
    • Rangers- 56
    • _____________________
    • TampaBay- 52
    • Philadelphia- 45
    • Winnipeg-44
    • Florida-40
    • Buffalo-38
    • Islanders- 36
    • Washington-33




    3) Next the West:
    • Chicago-85
    • Anaheim-76
    • Vancouver- 72
    • San Jose- 63
    • Detroit-60
    • Nashville-59
    • Dallas-55
    • St. Louis-52
    • _______________________________
    • Phoenix-52
    • Minnesota-48
    • Edmonton-48
    • Los Angeles- 44
    • Calgary-43
    • Colorado-39
    • Columbus- 37

    4) To reiterate, these are PROJECTIONS NOT PREDICTIONS! With a relatively small sample size a few (more or less) games played can alter the point totals significantly. That said there are a few interesting developments thus far. Who expected teams like Toronto or Anaheim  to be in the playoff race this season? Who could have seen, LA and Washington  be so low in the standings? Yes, plenty of time for 'water to find its level' but sometimes these trends do continue throughout the season, and far less time than in previous seasons.


    5) Finally our (admittedly silly to mention) quarter pole Trophy winners.
    • Hart: Henrik Zetterburg
    • Vezina: Craig Anderson
    • Calder: Cory Conacher
    • Norris: Erik Karlsson
    • Adams: Bruce Boudreau









    Sunday, February 10, 2013

    Week 4 Results:

    1) Week 4 is in the books.  One game (Bruins postponed due to Nemo) The results weren't what we expected. For the day/night we went a piss-poor 6-5 to bring the season total to an equally crappy 23-20, or a .535 winning %. Some games we were close(OT/SO losses. Some like Montreal were embarrassments. We got our "lock" wrong to make that stat a terrible 2-2 on the year. I think last year we didn't lose more than 2 of those in a full 26 week season!  Anyway, we will persevere next week when a mere 7 games are scheduled.

    2)  Look for our "Quarter pole" post out this week. Additional posts concerning player movement are also very possible.  As always, keep it here for all the latest!

    Saturday, February 9, 2013

    Week 4 Picks

                                                          

    1) Its already a month into the abbreviated NHL season. Last week we got off our early season schnide to bring our totals to  17-15 or a .531 winning %.  There is a full slate of a dozen games at stake today/night.  Hopefully last week was a start of a good streak.   

    Tampa Bay at Boston: Bruins
    Pittsburgh at New Jersey: Devils
    Carolina at Philadelphia: Flyers
    Winnipeg at Ottawa: Senators
    Edmonton at Detroit: Red wings
    Phoenix at San Jose: Sharks
    Toronto at Montreal: Habitants
    Buffalo at NY Islanders: Islanders
    Florida at Washington: Capitals
    Anaheim at St. Louis:  Blues (Lock of The Week)
    Nashville at Minnesota: Wild
    Calgary at Vancouver: Canucks

    Friday, February 8, 2013

    No Clue?!

                                             

    1) We read with fascination the Forbes list of 10 most hated athletes. Here's the link http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2013/02/05/americas-10-most-disliked-athletes/  So we were very interested when we heard that SI had compiled a list of the NHLs 'Most hated Players' .  We perused the list compiled by Allan Muir and having made our own similar list a few times over the years(http://newfaux.blogspot.com/2011/12/all-prickmost-hated-teams-2011-edition.html were amazed how ridiculous/clueless some on his list were.  Admittedly there were some players on his and my list. Specifically, Ott, Carcillo and Tootoo, but others had me scratching my head wondering is Muir had seen any hockey the past 5+ years?

    2) The players that were inexplicably placed there were Mike Ribeiro and PK Subban.  According to Muir, Ribiero made the list for 'whining' and especially after a specific episode that he feigned an injury. Problem is that took place 9 years ago!! Are you kidding me?  If the guy was a perennial "flopper", like others we have mentioned in the past, crosby-cries-wolf.  we could understand the reference, but we don't recall any recent (last 3 years) of Mike being involved with anything similar. To say it was a stretch to place him on the list is really NOT a stretch! 

    3) As for Subban, we were amazed to see him there.  He's only been in the league a couple of years and aside from playing hard, we don't recall any recent run ins with league officials/suspensions.  So why did Muir place the African-Canadien on the list? Because of his recent contract issue AND his "flashy personality".  Sorry, we're not into 'code words' but there is no doubt that there's hint of racism here.  As for the contract issue, players don't get angry with team mates for trying to get all they can.  They all know the business side of things.  Its not like PK was pulling a Yashin; refusing to pay with a valid contract. Subban was a free agent! Why would Subban be treated differently than any other player who is a RFA w/o a deal?  Yes, we have to go back to his race.



    4) So in place of those 2, or even Marchand or Burrows, how about Chris Neal,  Matt Cooke, or Dion Phaneuf? If Whining is a prerequisite, where is the aforementioned Crosby? We're unsure if Muir's opinions were all his or he didn't do his homework properly?  Perhaps we were expecting too much from a famous publication regardless that its an online article?  AS for our list, we probably will not publish an updated version until sometime next fall. 
    Look for our Week 4 Picks tomorrow, and out soon we'll discuss the DC Capitals and the possibility of moving 2 time Hart Trophy winner, Alex Ovechkin!  As always,keep it here for all the latest!



    Wednesday, February 6, 2013

    Roberto Soon On The Move?

                                                                 

    1) The seemingly forever process of moving the maligned All Star Canuck goalie appears to have gained enough momentum.  We are hearing from several well placed sources that resolution to the situation is in the offing. Vancouver GM Mike Gillis is starting to feel the pressure of carrying two goalies with considerable cap hit and is now quite motivated and had reduced his asking price. Originally he wanted "fair market value" in return, but has since "changed his tune", as one agent told us. 

    2) Not only is the situation a big distraction for the team, but with the combined cap hit over 11 million for its 2 goalies.   The Canucks are by far the team with the biggest payroll/cap at 69 + million very near the allowed max of 70.2. The problem really kicks in next season when the cap drops to 64 and as of now the Canucks have a projected cap of 60 (For ONLY 14 players!!) Clearly something has to give and alleviating themselves of the 5.3 mil Luongo cap hit would help. The biggest hurdle is the length of the remaining contract.  In order to reduce the cap hit Gillis signed Roberto in 2009 to a 12 year deal that's heavily front loaded.  With the new CBA penalizing teams that have such contracts if the player retires early the demand for Luongo has been scant.

    3) Its not to say that there aren't interested teams.  Luongo is still an elite goalie and probably has a good 3-4 years left at that level, but teams that are going to take on that kind of payroll and long term risk aren't also going to want to part with any big assets in return " They'd be dong Gillis a favour", is how a western scout desribed the situation to us last weekend.  Gillis can't expect to much in return.  Additionally, although the Canucks haven't gotten off to a bad start, there are rumblings of discontent from Luongo's heir apparent Cory Schneider. It was a rocky start for Schneider. In his first game as the new starting goaltender for the Canucks against the Anaheim Ducks, Schneider flopped. He was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 14 shots. He has as much as said the goalie situation involving his team mate has been a distraction. Whether that's an excuse to defer criticism for his bad play or legit remains to be seen. Certainly Gillis is in a tight spot here. If he trades Luongo and Schneider flops it will likely cause him his job.

    4) As far as potential trading partners. The conventional wisdom in the Canadian hockey media is (naturally) the Maple Leafs. They have 2 young inexperienced goalies in Reimer and Scrivens (who is on a 2 way deal) However, despite the seemingly good fit' from what we have heard the Leafs are cool to bringing in a  veteran, expensive goalie upgrade. The Edmonton rumours are simply a load of poop. No way would the Canucks give the Oilers (a division/conference rival) the "final piece" to their rebuilding process. "Their Patrick Roy" is what a well placed source described it. It aint gonna happen unless the Oilers threw in a Hall, Schultz, or Yakapov. Never, ever, end of story.  If not for the almost equally absurd contact of Ilya Bryzgalov the Flyers would probably have been a good fit, but no way would the Canucks take that on (not to mention Ilya's mental illness. So that leaves us to a destination that would make all parties happy; Florida.  Its Luongo's off season home (where his wife/her family are from. The Panthers haven't been getting good goaltending thus far in T-60, and Roberto would be a good mentor to goalie of the future Jacob Markstrom.  From what we have heard it probably could get done with a 2nd/3rd round pick(s) and a 2nd level prospect.  "Don't be shocked if this is done before the month(February) is done, if not a lot sooner". 

    5) Look for our Week 4 picks upcoming Saturday morning. Additionally we are going to put out our "Quarter Pole" post early next week where we Project, the order of finish based upon current records after 12 or so games in the 48 game schedule.  As always, keep it here for all the latest!

    Sunday, February 3, 2013

    Week 3 Results

    1) Finally a day/night we expect.  we went an impressive 8-3 and if not for losing 2 late shootouts we could have conceivably been 10-1.  With this we are now above the Mendoza line with a decent 17-15 or a .531 winning %.  We also got our Lock correct to elevate that stat to 2-1.  Of course we will be right back here next Saturday when an even Dozen games will be contested.

    2) Look for additional post upcoming this week as well as we enter the first month of the season and teams approach the quarter pole and trades start to be seriously considered.
    As always, keep it here for all the latest

    Saturday, February 2, 2013

    Week 3 Picks



    1) Already 3 weeks into the abbreviated NHL season.  We stand at 9-12, or a .429 winning % through the first 2 weeks.  Today/night 11 games are scheduled, so plenty of opportunities to turn around the young season in our favour.

     New Jersey at Pittsburgh: Penguins (Lock of The Week)

    Buffalo at Montreal: Canadiens

    Edmonton at Colorado: Avalanche
    Boston at Toronto: Bruins
    Carolina at Philadelphia: Flyers 
    NY Rangers at Tampa Bay: Rangers
    Detroit at Columbus: Blue Jackets 
    Dallas at Phoenix: Coyotes 
    Chicago at Calgary: Flame
    Los Angeles at Anaheim: Kings
    Nashville at San Jose : Shark

     
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